Rig Veda 1.79.7: Mandala 1, Sukta 79, Mantra 7
Sukta 1.79
- Rishi
- Gotama Rāhūgaṇa
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
अवा नो अग्न ऊतिभिर्गायत्रस्य प्रभर्मणि । विश्वासु धीषु वन्द्य ॥
ávā no agna ūtíbhir gāyatrásya prá-bharmaṇi | víśvāsu dhīṣú vandyá ||
Zstąp do nas, o Agni, ze swą pomocą; w niesieniu naprzód Gāyatrī, naszego natchnionego śpiewu, bądź tym, którego należy czcić we wszystkich naszych myślach.
Word by Word
- अवा
- down; forth; in aidIndeclinableनिपात/उपसर्ग; क्रियाविशेषणार्थे ‘अधः/अव’ तथा ‘अव-’ (down, forth; in aid)Root अव (उपसर्ग/निपात) अथवा अवस् (अव्यय-प्रयोग)
- नः
- to us / for usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी? एकवचनस्य न; बहुवचनस्य ‘नः’ = अस्माकम्/अस्मभ्यम् (एन्क्लिटिक); अत्र प्रायः चतुर्थी (दत्ते/हिते) ‘to us’Role SampradānaRoot अस्मद्
- अग्ने
- O AgniNounपुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचनRole SambodhanaRoot अग्नि
- ऊतिभिः
- with (your) aids / protectionsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया बहुवचनRole KaraṇaRoot ऊति
- गायत्रस्य
- of the Gāyatra (metre/chant)Noun/Adjective(वेदे) प्रायः पुं/नपुंसक-प्रयोग; षष्ठी एकवचनRole Sambandha (genitive relation)Root गायत्र (गायत्री) / गायत्र
- प्रभर्मणि
- in the offering/bringing-forth (performance)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot प्र-भर्मन् (प्र + भृ धातु-सम्बद्ध ‘bearing/bringing’; ‘प्रभर्मन्’ = प्रस्तुति/आहव/प्रयत्न-भाव)
- विश्वासु
- in allAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी बहुवचन (विश्वासु = ‘in all’ [fem. loc. pl.])Role AdhikaraṇaRoot विश्व
- धीषु
- in (our) thoughts / insights / prayersNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी बहुवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot धी
- वन्द्यः
- worthy of praise / to be reveredAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनRole Kartā (as predicate-nominative of Agni) / ViśeṣaṇaRoot वन्द्य (√वन्द् ‘to praise, salute’ से कृत्य-प्रत्यय)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सन्धि-विग्रह): अवा | नः | अग्ने | ऊतिभिः | गायत्रस्य | प्रभर्मणि | विश्वासु | धीषु | वन्द्यः । 1) ‘अग्न’ + ‘ए’ (सम्बोधन) → ‘अग्ने’ (रूपसिद्धि, न सन्धि-समास). 2) ‘ऊतिभिः’ में दीर्घ ‘ऊ’ तथा -भिः तृतीया बहुवचन. 3) ‘विश्वासु’ = ‘विश्वा’ (स्त्री. लो. बहु.) + ‘सु’ (लोकेटिव बहुवचन-प्रत्यय) रूप
- पृथक् सन्धि नहीं. 4) मन्त्र में मुख्य क्रिया (जैसे ‘अव’ के साथ ‘अव’/‘अवा’ + √अव् ‘रक्षा’/‘अव’ ‘help’) निहिता/अध्याहृत-प्रयोग सम्भव
The meaning
Outer meaning
A prayer to Agni to descend with his helps into the act of chanting; in the forward movement (prabharmaṇi) of the Gāyatrī hymn he is to be revered in all thoughts.
Inner meaning
Agni, the divine Will and priest of the inner yajña, is invoked to “come down” into the human consciousness with his effective powers (ūtayaḥ). The Gāyatrī here is not only a meter but a mode of inspired seeing: a luminous rhythm that carries thought forward. When Agni enters that forward-bearing inspiration, he becomes the object of reverence within every movement of dhī—intuitive intelligence—so that all thoughts are turned into offerings and made fit for illumination.
Universal truth
When aspiration is supported by a steady inner fire, the mind’s rhythms become vehicles of higher knowledge; all thinking can be consecrated when the will-to-truth leads it.
Themes
Invocation, Mantric inspiration, Divine assistance, Speech-sacrifice
The seer
- Rishi
- Gotama Rāhūgaṇa (Gautama)
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 1.79.1-12, Rig Veda 1.78, Rig Veda 1.80 (Gautama-associated sequence in Mandala 1)
Family tradition
Gotama seer-line noted for hymns that refine speech (vāc) into a vehicle of illumination and invoke Agni as the organizer of the inner sacrifice.
Significance
As a Gotama vision, the mantra stresses dhī (inspired intelligence) and the disciplined descent of Agni into the mental field, a hallmark of the Aurobindonian ‘psychicized’ yajña where mantra is a means of transformation.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- ūtibhis (helper/protector), tigmaśociṣ (keen-flaming), yajñasya netā (leader of the sacrifice—implied)
- Related deities
- Uṣas, Indra, Soma, Bṛhaspati
Cosmic role
Mediator between human and divine worlds; carrier of offerings; awakener of light and order (ṛta) in the earthly plane.
Inner power
The will-flame that purifies thought, kindles aspiration, and opens the way for higher knowledge to descend.
In ritual
Where it is used
Agni-stotra / Agni-invocation within Soma and fire rites; general opening/strengthening verse for the inner ‘carrying forward’ of chant.
अवा॑ नो अग्न ऊ॒तिभि॑र्गाय॒त्रस्य॒ प्रभ॑र्मणि । विश्वा॑सु धी॒षु व॑न्द्य ॥
अव॑ । नः॒ । अ॒ग्ने॒ । ऊ॒तिऽभिः॑ । गा॒य॒त्रस्य॑ । प्रऽभ॑र्मणि । विश्वा॑सु । धी॒षु । व॒न्द्य॒ ॥
ava | naḥ | agne | ūti-bhiḥ | gāyatrasya | pra-bharmaṇi | viśvāsu | dhīṣu | vandya
24
3 pādas of 8 syllables
Bright, swift, forward-driving cadence suited to invocation and ascent/descent dynamics.
Creates a lucid, uplifting pulse that gathers scattered thought (dhī) into a single current of aspiration, making the mind receptive to Agni’s ‘descent’.
- अवा (avā)
- Literal: down, hither, toward us. Symbolic: descent of higher force into the embodied mind-life
- अग्ने (agne)
- Literal: O Agni. Symbolic: divine Will, inner priest, transformative flame
- ऊतिभिः (ūtibhiḥ)
- Literal: with helps, protections. Symbolic: effective powers of guidance, safeguarding, and strengthening in sadhana
- गायत्रस्य (gāyatrasya)
- Literal: of the Gāyatrī. Symbolic: luminous rhythm of inspired thought; mantra-force that carries illumination
- प्रभर्मणि (prabharmaṇi)
- Literal: in the forward-bearing, in the act of carrying forth. Symbolic: progressive movement of consciousness; onward drive of aspiration
- धीषु (dhīṣu)
- Literal: in thoughts, insights. Symbolic: intuitive discernments; inspired intelligence
- वन्द्य (vandya)
- Literal: to be adored. Symbolic: that which the being constantly turns toward as the inner Divine
Recitation accompanying the offering/hymn-bearing (stotra/śastra milieu): inviting Agni’s aid to empower the metrical chant and stabilize inspired cognition during sacrifice.
At the kindling/praise of Agni; also adaptable to daily agnihotra-style remembrance.
Invocation (āvāhana) and offering of praise as oblation through speech.
Use at the start of meditation/chanting to invite steadiness of will and to consecrate the thinking mind before japa or study.
(áva) ‘down, towards’ from PIE *h₂epo ‘off, away’ in directional usage; in Vedic often ‘descent’ of grace. (ūti-) ‘help’ from √av/√ū? traditionally linked with √av ‘to protect, favor’ (cf. ávati ‘he helps’). - (gāyat-) from √gai ‘to sing’ → gāyatrī ‘song-measure’ (also a chandas). - (pra-bharmaṇi) from √bhṛ ‘to bear, carry’ with pra- ‘forth’ → the carrying-forward of offering/speech. (dhī-) from √dhī/√dhā? ‘to think, to set in mind’ → inspired understanding rather than discursive thought. (vandya) gerundive from √vand ‘to praise, salute’.
dhī (inspired intelligence) as a channel of Ṛta, descent of divine help into mind and speech, mantra as vehicle of transformation
Agni is asked to enter all dhī so thought aligns with ṛta rather than wandering impulse.
True thought becomes possible when the will is kindled and made worship-worthy in every cognition.
Descent of divine force into mind as a microcosmic ‘creation’ of light within darkness.
Proto-Vedāntic / Yogic-psychological reading (Aurobindo–Kashyap): mantra as instrument of consciousness-change.
dawn or early morning (typical Agni kindling; compatible with Gāyatrī mood)
unspecified
Fire = awakened will; dawn/sun = rising illumination within the mind; descent = higher consciousness entering the mental plane.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The descent of Agni into the hymn: the deity is not merely praised but invited to inhabit and propel the metrical speech (Gāyatrī) so that inspired thought (dhī) becomes a sacrificial vehicle—mythically, the god enters the chant; psychologically, the will-fire enters cognition and expression.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The √bhṛ ‘to bear’ (pra-bharmaṇi) is a strong IE inheritance (cf. English bear, Latin ferō from *bher-). The semantic frame ‘bearing forth’ links sacrifice, speech, and action—an IE poetic trope where utterance is an act that carries power.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi offers structured speech (chandas) and asks Agni to supply operative force (ūtí). The reciprocity is: human formulation + aspiration → divine energizing of mantra and illumination of dhī, making the sacrifice effective inwardly.
Invite the ‘descending flame’ into the mind; consecrate thinking so every thought becomes an offering.
anahata (heart—psychic fire) and ajna (clarified dhī)
gentle nāsikā breathing; inhale on avā no agne, exhale on ūti-bhir…; brief pause after each pāda to feel descent.
collected, receptive, luminous attentiveness (dhī-prasāda).
Chant 3–9 times, then sit silently; notice where thought scatters and ‘offer’ it into the inner fire, returning to a single aspiration.
Mixed udātta/anudātta/svarita per Rigvedic recitation; maintain the udātta lifts on key vocatives (agne) and cadence-falls at pāda ends.
Keep each 8-syllable pāda distinct; slight caesura after agne and after gāyatrasya; let vandya end with a settled cadence.
avā (not ‘ava’): long ā at end, agne: hard ‘g’ (ag-ne), clear final ‘e’, ūtibhiḥ: long ū; aspirate bh; final ḥ as light visarga, gāyatrasya: long ā; ‘tr’ crisp, prabharmaṇi: ‘bh’ aspirated; retroflex ṇi, viśvāsu: ś as palatal ‘sh’, dhīṣu: long ī; ṣ retroflex
clear, bright, slightly upward-leading on udātta; calm resonance in the chest.
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