Rig Veda 3.34.3: Mandala 3, Sukta 34, Mantra 3
Sukta 3.34
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Raudra (fury)
इन्द्रो वृत्रमवृणोच्छर्धनीतिः प्र मायिनाममिनाद्वर्पणीतिः । अहन्व्यंसमुशधग्वनेष्वाविर्धेना अकृणोद्राम्याणाम् ॥
índro vṛtrám avṛṇoc chárdha-nītiḥ prá māyínām aminād várpa-nītiḥ | áhann ví-aṃsam uśádhak váneṣv āvír dhénā akṛṇod rāmyā́ṇām ||
Indra odkrył Vṛtrę, przywódcę natarcia; złamał formy czarowników, mistrz prawego kształtowania. Uderzył na przeszkodę w lasach i uczynił widocznymi promieniste stada, rozkosze, które poruszają się na otwartej przestrzeni.
Word by Word
- इन्द्रः
- IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- वृत्रम्
- Vṛtra (the obstructor)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot वृत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- अवृणोत्
- he split/opened (him)Verbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपद, 3 पुरुष, एकवचनRoot √वृ (वृणोति ‘to cover/obstruct’; here ‘to open/tear apart’ in Vedic usage)
- शर्धनीतिः
- the leader/impeller of the host (epithet of Indra)Noun/Adjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (इन्द्रस्य विशेषणम्)Root शर्धनीति (प्रातिपदिक; बहुव्रीहि/कर्मधारय-समास: शर्धन् ‘host, troop’ + नीति ‘leading/impulse’)
- प्र
- forth, forwardIndeclinableअव्ययRoot प्र (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- मायिनाम्
- of the sorcerers/illusionistsNoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root मायिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- अमिनात्
- he shattered/destroyedVerbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपद, 3 पुरुष, एकवचनRoot √मी/मि (मिनाति ‘to diminish, damage, destroy’)
- वर्पणीतिः
- the impeller of forms/strength (epithet of Indra)Noun/Adjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (इन्द्रस्य विशेषणम्)Root वर्पणीति (प्रातिपदिक; from वर्पस्/वर्पण ‘form, body, appearance’ + नीति ‘impulse/leading’)
- अहन्
- he slewVerbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपद, 3 पुरुष, एकवचनRoot √हन् (हन्ति ‘to strike, slay’)
- व्यम्
- Vya (a demon/serpent)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot व्या (प्रातिपदिक; Vedic form, ‘the encompassing one/serpent’ used as a demon-name)
- सम्
- together, completelyIndeclinableअव्ययRoot सम् (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- उशधक्
- Uśadhak (a demon)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot उशधक् (प्रातिपदिक; Vedic demon-name; often analyzed as उशध्/उषध् + क्)
- वनेषु
- in the woods/forestsNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचनRole अधिकरणRoot वन (प्रातिपदिक)
- आविः
- openly, manifestlyIndeclinableअव्ययRoot आविस्/आविः (अव्यय)
- धेना
- with the milch-cow (i.e., as a means; figuratively ‘with the nourishing stream’)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole करणRoot धेनु (प्रातिपदिक)
- अकृणोत्
- he madeVerbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपद, 3 पुरुष, एकवचनRoot √कृ (करोति ‘to make, do’)
- अद्राम्याणाम्
- of the untamed/wild (ones)Adjective (used substantively)पुंलिङ्ग (or सामूहिक), षष्ठी, बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root अद्राम्य (प्रातिपदिक; नञ्-समास: a- + द्राम्य ‘tame/settled’; ‘not-tame, wild’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (मुख्य-सन्धि-निर्णय): इन्द्रो वृत्रम् अवृणोच्छर्धनीतिः → इन्द्रः | वृत्रम् | अवृणोत् | शर्धनीतिः (त् + श् → च्छ्)
- प्र मायिनाम् अमिनाद्वर्पणीतिः → प्र | मायिनाम् | अमिनात् | वर्पणीतिः (त् + व् → द्व्)
- अहन्व्यं समुशधग्वनेषु → अहन् | व्यम् | सम् | उशधक् | वनेषु (त्-लोप/संयोग-सरलीकरण: सम् + उशधक् → समुशधक्; उशधक् + वनेषु → उशधग्वनेषु, क् + व् → ग्व्)
- आविर्धेना अकृणोद्राम्याणाम् → आविः | धेना | अकृणोत् | अद्राम्याणाम् (त् + द् → द्र्)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra uncovered Vṛtra, leader of the assault, broke the forms of magicians, struck the obstructer in the woods, and made manifest the radiant herds—moving delights.
Inner meaning
Indra reveals and exposes Vṛtra (the Coverer) as the organized resistance behind inner assaults (śardhanītiḥ). He shatters the deceptive formations of the māyins—powers that fabricate false appearances (varpaṇītiḥ: ‘form-making’), restoring right shaping. He strikes the obstructer hidden in the ‘woods’ (vaneṣu: dense subconscient thickets) and makes the luminous herds (dhenuḥ / go-rūpā rays of knowledge and delight) openly manifest—free movements of harmony (rāmyāṇām).
Universal truth
Spiritual progress requires not only battling surface difficulties but exposing the hidden coverer and breaking the mind’s deceptive constructions so that innate light and delight can emerge freely.
Themes
vritra-slaying, breaking-illusion, finding-the-cows, revelation
The seer
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Lineage
- Viśvāmitra (Kauśika lineage, traditional)
- Other hymns
- RV 3.31–3.35 (Indra cycle), RV 3.33 (waters/flow theme)
Family tradition
Warrior-seer tradition: conquest of inner enemies through revelation and mantra-force.
Significance
Viśvāmitra emphasizes that victory is revelation: the coverer must be uncovered, and false form-making broken, to release the cows of light.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- śardhanīti (leader of the assault—here as the one who confronts it), varpaṇīti (master of right shaping), vṛtra-han (slayer of Vṛtra)
- Related deities
- Bṛhaspati (breaker of the cave), Sarasvatī (truth-flow of inspiration), Agni
Cosmic role
Breaker of obstruction who releases lights/waters and defeats powers of illusion.
Inner power
Penetrating discernment and force that exposes the root resistance and dissolves deceptive constructions of mind and vital.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra–Vṛtra victory recitations in Soma ritual cycles; general apotropaic (obstacle-removing) praise.
इन्द्रो॑ वृ॒त्रम॑वृणो॒च्छर्ध॑नीति॒: प्र मा॒यिना॑ममिना॒द्वर्प॑णीतिः । अह॒न्व्यं॑समु॒शध॒ग्वने॑ष्वा॒विर्धेना॑ अकृणोद्रा॒म्याणा॑म् ॥
इन्द्रः॑ । वृ॒त्रम् । अ॒वृ॒णो॒त् । शर्ध॑ऽनीतिः । प्र । मा॒यिना॑म् । अ॒मि॒ना॒त् । वर्प॑ऽनीतिः । अह॒न् । विऽअं॑सम् । उ॒शध॑क् । वने॑षु । आ॒विः । धेनाः॑ । अ॒कृ॒णो॒त् । रा॒म्याणा॑म् ॥
indraḥ | vṛtram | avṛṇot | śardha-nītiḥ | pra | māyinām | amināt | varpa-nītiḥ | ahan | vi-aṃsam | uśadhak | vaneṣu | āviḥ | dhenāḥ | akṛṇot | rāmyāṇām
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables
Hammering, incisive; suited to ‘breaking forms’ and decisive blows.
Produces a cathartic sense of clearing; sharpens inner vigilance against illusion.
- वृत्र (vṛtra)
- Literal: obstructor/coverer. Symbolic: subconscient resistance that blocks light and flow
- अवृणोत् (avṛṇot)
- Literal: uncovered, opened. Symbolic: brings to consciousness what was hidden; revelation of the root obstruction
- शर्धनीति (śardhanīti)
- Literal: leader of the host/assault. Symbolic: organizing principle of inner attacks and disturbances
- मायिन् (māyin)
- Literal: magician, possessor of māyā. Symbolic: forces of illusion constructing false experience
- वर्पनीति (varpaṇīti)
- Literal: fashioning of forms. Symbolic: mental-vital form-making that distorts truth; false structures
- वनेषु (vaneṣu)
- Literal: in the woods. Symbolic: tangled subconscient/vital domain where obstruction hides
- धेनाः (dhenāḥ)
- Literal: milch-cows. Symbolic: streams of light/knowledge and nourishing delight released
- रम्य (ramya)
- Literal: delightful, pleasant. Symbolic: free harmonies of the soul-nature moving in openness
Core Indra myth recitation in Soma rites for victory over obstruction (Vṛtra) and for manifestation of the ‘cows’ (illumined riches).
When invoking Indra’s power to remove obstruction and release abundance (symbolized as cows/waters).
Stotra/śastra emphasizing vṛtrahan aspect; supports the rite’s ‘opening’ and increase.
Chant when facing confusion, deceptive narratives, or recurring subconscious blocks; pair with journaling to ‘uncover’ the hidden vṛtra.
vṛtra from √vṛ ‘cover’ (obstruction). māyā from √mā ‘measure/form’ → power of forming appearances (hence ‘illusion’). varpa ‘form/shape’ (related to √vṛp/√vṛ?; ‘appearance’). √han (PIE *gʷhen-). dhenu ‘cow’ (PIE *dʰeh₁-? debated) becomes symbolic ‘streams of light/nourishment’.
battle of knowledge vs ignorance, uncovering (avṛṇot) as revelation, manifestation (āviḥ) as emergence into consciousness
Indra restores ṛta by breaking māyā-forms and enabling true movements (rāmyāṇām) in the open.
‘Uncovering’ is satya’s act: bringing truth into the light of awareness.
Release of hidden lights (cows) from concealment—re-creation of the being’s luminous order.
Yoga-psychology of subconscient resistance; mantra as instrument of unveiling and transformation.
Forest = subconscious tangle; cows = rays/knowledges; Vṛtra = covering inertia and fear; ‘open’ = conscious, integrated life-field.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Vṛtra-uncovering and cow-manifestation: Indra opens what is covered, breaks deceptive formations (māyā), and brings the luminous herds into the open—an archetype of revelation and liberation of knowledge.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √han (PIE *gʷhen-) is a stable IE ‘slay’ root in heroic myth. The cover/uncover semantics of √vṛ resonate with IE concealment/revelation patterns, though Sanskrit uniquely systematizes it into the Vṛtra myth complex.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi recalls Indra’s archetypal act to re-activate it in the present sacrifice: narration is invocation. By naming māyā and varpa, the hymn asks Indra to defeat not only brute obstruction but also deceptive form—psychologically, false constructions in consciousness.
Uncover the hidden resistance; dissolve false mental forms; invite the release of luminous perceptions and quiet joy.
maṇipūra (force to strike through obstruction)
Kapalabhāti mild (30–60 strokes) then quiet breathing; chant once; sit in stillness noticing what ‘opens’.
Piercing, courageous lucidity; vigilant truth-discrimination.
During silence, scan for a recurring ‘cover’ (avoidance, dullness, self-deception). Name it gently, then chant; afterward, visualize a clearing in a forest and rays (cows) stepping into open light.
Strong accentuation on udatta-marked syllables; keep consonant clusters crisp (vṛtram, varpaṇītiḥ).
Mark the turning points: अवृणोत् (uncovered) and आ॒विः (manifest) should be clearly distinguished in tone and pause.
: vocalic ṛ twice; keep tr conjunct clear., : retroflex ṣ? here ś (palatal) in śardh-; dh is voiced aspirate., : long ā; y glide clean., : dh voiced aspirate; long āḥ at end.
Cutting, precise, forceful yet controlled; like a mantra of discernment.
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