Rig Veda 10.34.3: Mandala 10, Sukta 34, Mantra 3
Sukta 10.34
- Rishi
- Kavasha Ailūṣa
- Devata
- Akṣāḥ as the destructive power
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion) and Bibhatsa (revulsion)
द्वेष्टि श्वश्रूरप जाया रुणद्धि न नाथितो विन्दते मर्डितारम् । अश्वस्येव जरतो वस्न्यस्य नाहं विन्दामि कितवस्य भोगम् ॥
dvéṣṭi śvaśrū́r ápa jāyā́ ruṇaddhi ná nāthitó vindate marḍitā́ram | áśvasyeva járato vásnyasya náhaṃ vindāmi kitavásya bhógam ||
Teściowa mnie nienawidzi; żona mnie odpycha i zamyka przede mną drzwi; ten, kto szuka schronienia, nie znajduje pomocnika. Jak stary koń wystawiony na sprzedaż, nie znajduję radości, tylko pustą cząstkę hazardzisty.
Word by Word
- द्वेष्टि
- hatesVerbलट् (वर्तमाने), परस्मैपद, प्र. 3, एकवचनRole (क्रिया)Root द्विष्
- श्वश्रूः
- the mother-in-lawNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot श्वश्रू
- अप
- awayIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRole (क्रियाविशेषण)Root अप
- जाया
- the wifeNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot जाया
- रुणद्धि
- shuts out / restrainsVerbलट् (वर्तमाने), परस्मैपद, प्र. 3, एकवचन; (वेद. रूप: रुणद्धि < रुणद्धि/रुणद्धि = रुणद्धि)Role (क्रिया)Root रुध्
- न
- notIndeclinableनिषेधRole (निषेध)Root न
- नाथितः
- one who has sought help / a suppliantParticiple (past passive)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कृदन्त: √नाथ्/नाथय् (to seek help) + क्तRole कर्तृ (यः नाथितः)Root नाथित
- विन्दते
- findsVerbलट् (वर्तमाने), आत्मनेपद, प्र. 3, एकवचनRole (क्रिया)Root विद्
- मर्डितारम्
- a comforter / one who relievesNoun (agent)पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot मर्डितृ
- अश्वस्य
- of a horseNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot अश्व
- इव
- likeIndeclinableउपमा-अव्ययRole (उपमा)Root इव
- जरतः
- of an aging (one) / of an oldAdjective (present participial stem used adjectivally)पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole विशेषण (अश्वस्य)Root जरत्
- वस्न्यस्य
- to be bought / saleableAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole विशेषण (अश्वस्य)Root वस्न्य
- न
- notIndeclinableनिषेधRole (निषेध)Root न
- अहम्
- IPronounउत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot अहम्
- विन्दामि
- findVerbलट् (वर्तमाने), परस्मैपद, उ. 1, एकवचनRole (क्रिया)Root विद्
- कितवस्य
- of the gamblerNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot कितव
- भोगम्
- enjoyment / benefitNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot भोग
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (RV pada-style): द्वेष्टि | श्वश्रूः | अप | जाया | रुणद्धि | न | नाथितः | विन्दते | मर्डितारम् || अश्वस्य | इव | जरतः | वस्न्यस्य | न | अहम् | विन्दामि | कितवस्य | भोगम् || Sandhi/phonology notes: (1) श्वश्रूरप → श्वश्रूः + अप (visarga before vowel; RV often writes °र्). (2) नाहम् → न + अहम् (a-sandhi). (3) Other words largely already in pada form
- accents in Saṃhitā (e.g., द्वेष्टि॑, श्व॒श्रूः, अप॑, जा॒या, रु॑णद्धि॒, न ना॑थि॒तः, वि॑न्दते, मर्डि॒तार॑म्, अश्व॑स्येव॒, जर॑तः, वस्न्य॑स्य, नाहं, वि॑न्दामि, कित॒वस्य॒, भोग॑म्) are Saṃhitā accents
- pada analysis here is accent-neutral
The meaning
Outer meaning
The gambler is hated by his mother-in-law; his wife drives him away and bars him out. Seeking refuge, he finds no helper. Like an old horse put up for sale, he finds no enjoyment—only the empty ‘share’ of the gambler.
Inner meaning
When the consciousness gives itself to compulsive desire (kitava-bhāva), the harmonizing powers of life turn hostile: the ‘mother-in-law’ (the established law/discipline of the house of being) rejects him; the ‘wife’ (the soul’s chosen delight/companionship in life) shuts him out. The seeker who has fallen into addiction cannot find the inner helper (marḍitā) because the will is dispersed and self-betrayed. The ‘old horse for sale’ is the vital force (aśva) worn out by repetition; it can no longer carry the journey of tapas, and the pleasure it promises becomes tasteless and humiliating.
Universal truth
Addiction isolates: it breaks trust, expels one from inner and outer supports, and turns the life-force into a depleted instrument. Without a return to inner will and truth, pleasure becomes a hollow remainder rather than nourishment.
Themes
social rupture, inner exile, unfulfilled seeking
The seer
- Rishi
- Kavaṣa Ailūṣa
- Other hymns
- RV 10.34 (Akṣa-sūkta)
Family tradition
Traditionally linked with the Ailūṣa lineage; remembered as a seer who voices stark self-knowledge and social-spiritual consequences of error, turning confession into instruction.
Significance
Kavaṣa’s tone is penitential and diagnostic: the rishi does not moralize from outside but reveals the psychology of bondage so the will can turn back toward inner law (ṛta) and saving fire (Agni as the true helper).
The deity
- Devata
- Akṣāḥ (Dice)
- Epithets
- vājin (seizing the ‘prize’), tapanāḥ (burning), nitodinaḥ (piercing), aṅkuśinaḥ (goading-hooks)
- Related deities
- Nirṛti (decay/misfortune), Vṛtra (the Coverer, as resistance), Agni (as the counter-power: inner will and purifier)
Cosmic role
A coercive power of division and chance that entangles the human in repetitive action; in a wider sense, a force of lower nature that deranges right order.
Inner power
Compulsion, craving, and the deceptive sweetness that binds attention; a power that fragments will and obscures the inner guide.
In ritual
Where it is used
Instructional lament; reinforces the necessity of self-rule for social and inner order.
द्वेष्टि॑ श्व॒श्रूरप॑ जा॒या रु॑णद्धि॒ न ना॑थि॒तो वि॑न्दते मर्डि॒तार॑म् । अश्व॑स्येव॒ जर॑तो॒ वस्न्य॑स्य॒ नाहं वि॑न्दामि कित॒वस्य॒ भोग॑म् ॥
द्वेष्टि॑ । श्व॒श्रूः । अप॑ । जा॒या । रु॒ण॒द्धि॒ । न । ना॒थि॒तः । वि॒न्द॒ते॒ । म॒र्डि॒तार॑म् । अश्व॑स्यऽइव । जर॑तः । वस्न्य॑स्य । न । अ॒हम् । वि॒न्दा॒मि॒ । कि॒त॒वस्य॑ । भोग॑म् ॥
dveṣṭi | śvaśrūḥ | apa | jāyā | ruṇaddhi | na | nāthitaḥ | vindate | marḍitāram | aśvasya-iva | jarataḥ | vasnyasya | na | aham | vindāmi | kitavasya | bhogam
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables
Grave, forward-driving cadence with a confessional weight; strong caesura supports stark statements.
Produces sober clarity and self-recognition; the rhythm ‘presses’ the mind to face consequence and choose reversal (nivṛtti).
- द्वेष्टि (dveṣṭi)
- Literal: hates. Symbolic: the recoil of life’s supportive energies when harmony is violated
- श्वश्रूः (śvaśrūḥ)
- Literal: mother-in-law. Symbolic: the established rule/tradition/constraints of embodied life that demand order
- जाया (jāyā)
- Literal: wife. Symbolic: the intimate delight/companionship of life; consent of prakṛti to the soul’s direction
- रुणद्धि (ruṇaddhi)
- Literal: shuts out, blocks. Symbolic: inner exclusion—doors of joy and intimacy close under false will
- नाथितः (nāthitaḥ)
- Literal: one seeking refuge/protector. Symbolic: the part of the being that turns for help when it has lost self-mastery
- मर्डितारम् (marḍitāram)
- Literal: helper/reliever. Symbolic: the inner saving force (Agni as leader/help) not found when will is perverted
- अश्व (aśva)
- Literal: horse. Symbolic: vital energy and force of action
- जरत (jarata)
- Literal: old, worn. Symbolic: depleted prāṇa from repetitive indulgence
- कितव (kitava)
- Literal: gambler. Symbolic: the consciousness that stakes itself on desire and chance
- भोग (bhoga)
- Literal: enjoyment, share. Symbolic: the supposed rasa of experience that becomes empty without truth (satya)
Instructional lament; reinforces the necessity of self-rule for social and inner order.
Didactic/ethical recitation; reflective contexts rather than a fixed śrauta employment.
Admonitory chanting or teaching within assemblies; a ‘warning hymn’ against bondage.
Addiction recovery, impulse-control practice, and contemplative journaling: chant before making choices involving risk/compulsion.
√mṛḍ ‘be gracious’ (marḍitā́ram) evokes the sought divine mercy, absent here due to disorder. vasná ‘price’ frames the self as commodified—innerly, the being reduced to exchange-value by desire. The social alienation images encode inner alienation: the supportive powers turn hostile when consciousness is ruled by compulsion.
loss of support (absence of marḍitā), degradation of the self (old horse for sale), fruitlessness of sense-enjoyment (bhoga without ānanda)
Violation of ṛta fractures relational harmony; the being is ‘shut out’ from supportive powers.
Truth is lost when desire dictates; restoration begins with honest seeing (confession).
A fall from ordered becoming into disordered repetition; the need for re-kindling the inner fire.
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral (Aurobindo-style) psychology: lower nature’s compulsion vs. psychic assent to the Divine Will.
The ‘old horse’ is exhausted life-energy; the blocked door is the closing of inner delight when will is misaligned.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘loss of the helper’ mythologem: when one abandons ṛta, even the protecting powers (human and divine analogues) withdraw; the seeker becomes like a worn-out horse—force without direction.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The refuge/help vocabulary (√nāth) and mercy vocabulary (√mṛḍ) show inherited social-ritual semantics: protection and grace are relational, not mechanical—mirroring Indo-European patronage/reciprocity structures.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi stands in negative reciprocity: by aligning with the dice-power, he loses access to marḍitā (grace). The verse implies restoration requires re-entry into the gods’ vrata.
Witness the craving-cycle; re-offer desire into the inner fire (Agni) as will-to-truth.
maṇipūra (will/drive)
Nadi-śodhana or 4-4-6 breathing to cool compulsion and restore choice.
From rajasic agitation to sattvic remorse and clarity.
Name the ‘door that is shut’ (where joy is blocked), then invoke Agni as helper: one deliberate renunciation followed by one deliberate right action.
Mixed udātta/anudātta/svarita as per Ṛgvedic recitation; preserve the pada boundaries for clarity.
Lean on the verbal stresses in dvéṣṭi / rúṇaddhi / víndate / náham; keep caesura after the first hemistich (…marḍitāram |).
ṣ in dveṣṭi is retroflex (not dental s), śvaśrūḥ: śv- cluster; long ūḥ at end, ruṇaddhi: double ddh, nasalized u (ru-ṇa-), aśvasyeva: avoid inserting extra vowel between s-y, kitavasya: short i, dental t
Sober, steady, confessional; avoid dramatic speed—let meaning land.
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