Rig Veda 10.55.2: Mandala 10, Sukta 55, Mantra 2
Sukta 10.55
- Devata
- Indra or a supreme formative principle within the hymn
- Chandas
- Trishtubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
महत्तन्नाम गुह्यं पुरुस्पृग्येन भूतं जनयो येन भव्यम् । प्रत्नं जातं ज्योतिर्यदस्य प्रियं प्रियाः समविशन्त पञ्च ॥
mahát tán nā́ma gúhyaṃ puru-spṛ́g yéna bhūtáṃ jánayo yéna bhávyam | prátnam jātáṃ jyótir yád asya priyáṃ priyā́ḥ sám aviśanta páñca ||
Wielkie jest to ukryte Imię, dotykające wielu rzeczy, którym rodziłeś to, co było, i którym to, co ma być. Pradawne światło, które się narodziło, jego umiłowane siedzenie, do którego pięciu umiłowanych wchodzi razem.
Word by Word
- महत्
- greatAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (तत् का विशेषण) / विधेय-विशेषणRoot महत् (प्रातिपदिक; मह् ‘to be great’ से)
- तत्
- that (thing, principle)Pronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (वस्तु/तत्त्व) / विषयRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- नाम
- nameNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (apposition to तत्) / विशेष्यRoot नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- गुह्यम्
- secret, hiddenAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (नाम का विशेषण)Root गुह्य (गुह् ‘to hide’ से; कृत्/विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक)
- पुरुस्पृग्येन
- by/with the widely-reaching (power)Adjective (instrumental qualifier)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole Karaṇa (येन… भूतम्—करण/हेतु-भाव)Root पुरुस्पृग्य (प्रातिपदिक; ‘many-touching/ widely-reaching’)
- भूतम्
- become, come into beingParticiple (past passive) used adjectivallyनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma/विधेय (तत्/नाम के लिए ‘become/come-to-be’)Root भू (धातु) → भूत (कृदन्त; भूत = ‘become’)
- जनयः
- begetters, progenitorsNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole Kartā (समविशन्त का कर्ता)Root जनय (प्रातिपदिक; जन ‘to be born’ से; ‘begetters/creators’)
- येन
- by whichRelative pronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole Karaṇa (येन… भव्यं—‘by which’)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- भव्यम्
- what is to be, futureAdjective/participle (future sense)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma/विधेय (तत्/नाम के लिए ‘that which is to be’)Root भू (धातु) → भव्यम् (कृदन्त; भविष्यत्-अर्थ ‘to be, future’)
- प्रत्नम्
- ancient, primevalAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (जातं का विशेषण)Root प्रत्न (प्रातिपदिक)
- जातम्
- born, arisenParticiple (past passive)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma/विधेय (तत्/ज्योतिः के लिए ‘born’)Root जन् (धातु) → जात (कृदन्त; PPP)
- ज्योतिः
- lightNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma/विशेष्य (जातम् का विशेष्य; ‘light’)Root ज्योतिस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- यत्
- which, thatRelative pronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma/सम्बन्ध (यद्… प्रियं—‘which/that’)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अस्य
- of him/itPronoun (genitive)पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive: ‘of him/it’)Root इदम्/अदस्-सम्बद्ध सर्वनाम ‘अस्य’ (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रियम्
- dear, belovedAdjective/Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (समविशन्त का कर्म; ‘the dear (thing)’)Root प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रियाः
- the dear ones, beloved (ones)Adjective used substantivelyपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole Kartā (समविशन्त का कर्ता; ‘the dear ones’)Root प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
- समविशन्त
- entered together, came intoVerbलङ् (इम्परफेक्ट), परस्मैपद, तृतीया पुरुष, बहुवचनRole क्रिया (मुख्य क्रिया)Root सम् + विश् (धातु) ‘to enter’
- पञ्च
- fiveNumeral (indeclinable in Vedic usage here)अव्यय/संख्या (अविकारी)Role विशेषण (प्रियाः/जनयः का संख्याविशेषण)Root पञ्चन् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सन्धि-निरसन): महत् | तत् | नाम | गुह्यम् | पुरुस्पृग्येन | भूतम् | जनयः | येन | भव्यम् || प्रत्नम् | जातम् | ज्योतिः | यत् | अस्य | प्रियम् | प्रियाः | सम्-अविशन्त | पञ्च । मुख्य सन्धि: (1) महत्तत् → महत् + तत् (व्यञ्जन-सन्धि: त् + त्)
- (2) ज्योतिर्यत् → ज्योतिः + यत् (विसर्ग-सन्धि: ः + य → र्)
- (3) समविशन्त → सम् + अविशन्त (उपसर्ग ‘सम्’ + लङ् रूप; म् + अ → म-अ (अनुस्वार/व्यञ्जन-सम्पर्क))
The meaning
Outer meaning
Great is that hidden Name, touching many things; by it you generate what has been and what will be. The ancient light that is born—his beloved place—into which the five dear ones enter together.
Inner meaning
The ‘hidden Name’ is a vast operative power (mahat, puruspṛk) that contacts and arranges multiple planes of existence. It is the formative principle by which past realizations are re-generated and future possibilities are brought forth—memory of the soul and destiny of the spirit unified in one power. The ‘ancient light born’ is the timeless illumination manifesting in time (pratnaṃ jātaṃ jyotiḥ). The ‘beloved seat’ is the secure inner station of that light in us; the ‘five dear ones’ can be read as the five faculties/energies (five prāṇas or five senses refined into powers) that enter and harmonize in the light when the hidden Name is realized—multiplicity gathered into unity.
Universal truth
Behind becoming is a secret, many-touching power that births both continuity and newness. When inner light is established, the diverse powers of life converge into harmony around it.
Themes
Hidden Name as temporal generator, Primeval light, Fivefold integration, Pervasive contact (puru-spṛk)
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 10.55.1-2
Significance
The rishi emphasizes the hidden Name as a cosmic-psychological generator of time (past/future) and as the organizer of the fivefold human instrumentation around an ‘ancient born light’—a concise map of transformation.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra (or Indra as representative of the supreme formative power within this hymn)
- Epithets
- Maghavan (contextual from hymn), Bearer of the hidden Name (implied), Generator of becoming (implied)
- Related deities
- Savitar (impulsion of becoming), Bṛhaspati (truth-speech), Soma (delight that makes the light ‘beloved’)
Cosmic role
Formative intelligence that brings forth worlds and times; establishes the ancient light in manifestation; gathers the fivefold powers into a beloved station.
Inner power
Integrative illumination: the power that unites faculties and aligns them with a central truth-light.
In ritual
Where it is used
Meditative stotra on the hidden nāma governing time (past/future) and the ‘five’ entering the light—apt for inner concentration during Soma offering.
म॒हत्तन्नाम॒ गुह्यं॑ पुरु॒स्पृग्येन॑ भू॒तं ज॒नयो॒ येन॒ भव्य॑म् । प्र॒त्नं जा॒तं ज्योति॒र्यद॑स्य प्रि॒यं प्रि॒याः सम॑विशन्त॒ पञ्च॑ ॥
म॒हत् । तत् । नाम॑ । गुह्य॑म् । पु॒रु॒ऽस्पृक् । येन॑ । भू॒तम् । ज॒नयः॑ । येन॑ । भव्य॑म् । प्र॒त्नम् । जा॒तम् । ज्योतिः॑ । यत् । अ॒स्य॒ । प्रि॒यम् । प्रि॒याः । सम् । अ॒वि॒श॒न्त॒ । पञ्च॑ ॥
mahat | tat | nāma | guhyam | puru-spṛk | yena | bhūtam | janayaḥ | yena | bhavyam | pratnam | jātam | jyotiḥ | yat | asya | priyam | priyāḥ | sam | aviśanta | pañca
44
4 x ~11 syllables
Expansive and cosmogenic; long vowels and compounds convey vastness (mahat, puruspṛk).
Opens a sense of wideness and time-depth; supports integrative concentration where scattered energies gather.
- महत् (mahat)
- Literal: great. Symbolic: vastness of consciousness-power
- नाम गुह्यम् (nāma guhyam)
- Literal: hidden name. Symbolic: secret effective identity/power of the Divine
- पुरुस्पृक् (puruspṛk)
- Literal: touching many. Symbolic: contact with many planes, integrative reach
- भूतम् (bhūtam)
- Literal: what has been. Symbolic: formed past, stored samskāra/past realization
- भव्यम् (bhavyam)
- Literal: what will be. Symbolic: future possibility, unfolding destiny of consciousness
- जनयः (janayaḥ)
- Literal: you generate. Symbolic: bring forth by consciousness-force
- प्रत्नम् (pratnam)
- Literal: ancient. Symbolic: timeless origin, perennial truth
- जातम् (jātam)
- Literal: born. Symbolic: manifested in experience
- ज्योतिः (jyotiḥ)
- Literal: light. Symbolic: illumination, truth-knowledge
- प्रियम् (priyam)
- Literal: beloved. Symbolic: the soul’s chosen seat of truth
- पञ्च (pañca)
- Literal: five. Symbolic: fivefold powers (senses/prāṇas/faculties) harmonized in light
Meditative stotra on the hidden nāma governing time (past/future) and the ‘five’ entering the light—apt for inner concentration during Soma offering.
Meditation on integration: chant when feeling fragmented; then sit and invite the ‘five’ (senses/prāṇas/faculties) to enter a single luminous center.
puru-spṛś/ spṛk: from √spṛś ‘touch’ (PIE *(s)pergʰ- ‘touch’ often compared), indicating pervasive contact. bhūta/bhavya: from √bhū ‘become, be’ (PIE *bʰuH- ‘be, grow’), spanning past/future—total time. viś ‘enter’ (PIE *weys- ‘enter’). ‘pañca priyāḥ’ is interpretable as the five powers/faculties (often linked with five senses or five prāṇas), here entering the ‘beloved’ light-state.
time-totality (bhūta/bhavya) under one power, hidden name as law of manifestation, integration of the five faculties into the beloved light
The many-touching Name orders becoming (past/future) according to a hidden rightness.
Ancient light = perennial truth manifesting; not created by mind but revealed.
Time and manifestation emerge from a secret name-power; unity gathers multiplicity (five) into a beloved center.
Early cosmological monism with yogic psychology; compatible with Aurobindo’s ‘secret Name’ as conscious power behind evolution.
sunrise (ancient light ‘born’)
Sun/light = truth-consciousness; five rays = fivefold instrumentation (senses/prāṇas) entering harmony in the inner sanctum.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The hidden Name as world-law that generates both past and future, and the ‘five’ entering the beloved light. Mythically it is the secret formula that governs becoming; psychologically it is the integrating illumination into which the faculties are gathered.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The bhūta/bhavya pair from √bhū (PIE *bʰuH-) shows an inherited ‘becoming’ lexicon used for temporal totality. The verb √viś ‘enter’ is also archaic IE. The numeric ‘five’ as a structuring device is common in IE ritual-poetic systems.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi contemplates the deity’s secret name not as a label but as a generative principle. The implied request is initiatory: that the ‘five dear ones’ (faculties) may enter and dwell in the beloved light-state governed by that name.
Hold the sense of a ‘great hidden Name’ behind your life-story; let past and future quiet into a single luminous presence.
sahasrāra (vastness) with grounding in mūlādhāra (earth support)
slow inhalation imagining ‘mahat’; exhalation imagining ‘jyotiḥ’; 12 cycles, then silence
Wide, timeless poise; faculties collected around a central light.
Gather the five senses inward (pratyāhāra-like) without suppression; offer them to the inner light so they become instruments of knowledge rather than dispersion.
Keep udātta prominence on mahat/nāma/guhyam/puruspṛk/bhūtam/bhavyam/jyotiḥ/priyam/pañca as per accent marks; sustain anudātta baseline for spaciousness.
Let the first pāda feel ‘wide’; avoid clipping compounds (puruspṛg). Slight pause after ‘bhavyam’ to mark time-span.
puruspṛg: articulate ‘pṛg’ with syllabic ‘ṛ’, bhūtaṃ: long ‘ū’, bhavyam: ‘bhav-yam’ not ‘bha-viyam’, aviśanta: ‘a-vi-śan-ta’ with palatal ‘ś’
Open-throated, spacious, unhurried; aim for a ‘wide hymn’ feel.
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