Rig Veda 4.16.5: Mandala 4, Sukta 16, Mantra 5
Sukta 4.16
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
ववक्ष इन्द्रो अमितमृजीष्युभे आ पप्रौ रोदसी महित्वा । अतश्चिदस्य महिमा वि रेच्यभि यो विश्वा भुवना बभूव ॥
vavakṣa índro ámitam ṛjīṣy ùbhé ā́ paprau ródasī mahi-tvā́ | átaś cid asya mahimā́ ví recy abhí yó víśvā bhúvanā babhū́va ||
Indra wzrósł do niewyobrażalnej wielkości; swoją rozległością wypełnił zarówno Niebo, jak i Ziemię. Nawet ponad to jego potęga się rozszerza, on, który stał się ogarniającym wszystkie światy stawania się.
Word by Word
- ववक्ष
- has grown strong / has waxedVerbPerfect (लिट्), 3rd person singular, ParasmaipadaRoot √वह् (वहति) / वैदिक √वक्ष् (वक्षति) ‘to grow/strengthen’
- इन्द्रः
- IndraNounMasculine, Nominative singularRole KartāRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- अमितम्
- immeasurably / immeasuredAdjectiveNeuter, Accusative singular (used adverbially) / or agreeing with implied बलम्/महिमानम्Role Karma (as measure/extent) / ViśeṣaṇaRoot अमित (a-mita) (प्रातिपदिक) < √मा ‘to measure’
- ऋजीष्युभे
- the r̥jīṣa-bearing (Indra)Adjective (epithet)Masculine, Nominative singular (Vedic ending -e for -aḥ)Role Kartā (as epithet of Indra)Root ऋजीष्युभ् (प्रातिपदिक) ‘having/using r̥jīṣa (barley-stalks), r̥jīṣin-like’
- उभे
- bothPronoun/AdjectiveFeminine, Accusative dualRole KarmaRoot उभ (प्रातिपदिक)
- आ
- towards, untoIndeclinablePreverb / directional particleRoot आ (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- पप्रौ
- filled / pervadedVerbPerfect (लिट्), 3rd person singular, ParasmaipadaRoot √पॄ/पॢ (पृणाति/पिपर्ति) ‘to fill, to pervade’
- रोदसी
- the two worlds (heaven and earth)Noun (dual)Feminine, Accusative dualRole KarmaRoot रोदसी (द्विवचन-प्रातिपदिक) ‘heaven-and-earth’
- महित्वा
- by (his) greatnessNoun (abstract)Neuter, Instrumental singularRole KaraṇaRoot महित्व (प्रातिपदिक) < महत्
- अतः
- from this / thereforeIndeclinableAblatival adverbRole Apādāna (source) / HetuRoot अतः (अव्यय) < अ (pronoun base) + तस्
- चित्
- evenIndeclinableEmphatic particleRoot चित् (निपात)
- अस्य
- of him / hisPronounMasculine/Neuter, Genitive singularRole Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandhaRoot इदम्/अ (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- महिमा
- greatness, majestyNounMasculine, Nominative singularRole Kartā (of ‘is spread out’)Root महिमन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- वि
- apart, widelyIndeclinablePreverb ‘apart, widely’Root वि (उपसर्ग)
- रेचि
- spread out / extendedVerbAorist (लुङ्), 3rd person singular, Ātmanepada (middle) — Vedic formRoot √रिच् (रिणक्ति/रेचयति) ‘to empty, to leave; to extend/spread’
- अभि
- towards, overIndeclinablePreverb ‘towards, over’Root अभि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- यः
- whoPronoun (relative)Masculine, Nominative singularRole Kartā (of ‘became’)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- विश्वा
- allAdjectiveNeuter, Accusative pluralRole KarmaRoot विश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- भुवना
- beings / worldsNounNeuter, Accusative pluralRole KarmaRoot भुवन (प्रातिपदिक)
- बभूव
- became / came to beVerbPerfect (लिट्), 3rd person singular, ParasmaipadaRoot √भू (भवति)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (pada-style): ववक्ष इन्द्रः अमितम् ऋजीष्युभे उभे आ पप्रौ रोदसी महित्वा । अतः चित् अस्य महिमा वि रेचि अभि यः विश्वा भुवना बभूव ॥ Notes: (1) रोदसी is a fixed dual ‘heaven-and-earth’. (2) ऋजीष्युभे is a Vedic nominative singular in -e (for expected -aḥ), used as Indra’s epithet. (3) चित् remains a particle
- ‘अतः चित्’ = ‘even from this/therefore even’. (4) वि + रेचि kept as separate preverb + verb
- in continuous recitation may appear as विरेचि. (5) अभि + यः kept separate
- in saṃhitā often shows sandhi as अभियो (अभि + यः)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra has grown to immeasurable greatness, the straight-pressing one; by his vastness he has filled both Heaven and Earth. Even beyond that his might expands—he who has become encompassing over all worlds.
Inner meaning
The hymn affirms the boundlessness of the illumined consciousness. Indra ‘grows’ (vavakṣa) in the seeker as the capacity for light and force increases; he fills both poles—heaven and earth—meaning the higher mind and the embodied life are pervaded by one power of illumination. Yet even that is not the limit: the might expands beyond our present opposites into an all-encompassing awareness over all states of becoming (viśvā bhuvanā). The psychological message is expansion: illumination is not a peak experience but a widening that can occupy the whole nature and exceed it.
Universal truth
True spiritual power is expansive and integrative: it pervades both contemplation and action, inner heights and earthly life, and keeps widening beyond any achieved boundary.
Themes
Cosmic expansion, Indra’s greatness, Pervasion of worlds
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 4.16.4, Rig Veda 4.18
Family tradition
Gautama seer-line; Mandala 4 Vāmadeva hymns celebrating Indra’s light and wideness
Significance
Vāmadeva’s vision often culminates in wideness (mahat) and pervasion: the divine Mind does not merely strike down darkness; it fills and transforms the whole field of heaven-and-earth within the seeker.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Ṛjīṣī (straight-pressing), Amitam (immeasurable, as quality), World-encompassing (viśvā bhuvanā abhi, as function)
- Related deities
- Viṣṇu (wideness/three strides motif, thematic), Soma, Agni
Cosmic role
Cosmic expander of light and power; pervades the two worlds and exceeds them; sovereign over becoming.
Inner power
Widening illumination—capacity to hold opposites, integrate planes, and act from vast consciousness.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra praise in Soma ritual sequences (affirming greatness after offerings)
व॒व॒क्ष इन्द्रो॒ अमि॑तमृजी॒ष्यु१॒॑भे आ प॑प्रौ॒ रोद॑सी महि॒त्वा । अत॑श्चिदस्य महि॒मा वि रे॑च्य॒भि यो विश्वा॒ भुव॑ना ब॒भूव॑ ॥
व॒व॒क्षे । इन्द्रः॑ । अमि॑तम् । ऋ॒जी॒षी । उ॒भे इति॑ । आ । प॒प्रौ॒ । रोद॑सी॒ इति॑ । म॒हि॒ऽत्वा । अतः॑ । चि॒त् । अ॒स्य॒ । म॒हि॒मा । वि । रे॒चि॒ । अ॒भि । यः । विश्वा॑ । भुव॑ना । ब॒भूव॑ ॥
vavakṣe | indraḥ | amitam | ṛjīṣī | ubhe iti | ā | paprau | rodasī iti | mahi-tvā | ataḥ | cit | asya | mahimā | vi | reci | abhi | yaḥ | viśvā | bhuvanā | babhūva
44
4 × 11 syllables
Grand, expansive triṣṭubh; long-breath feel suited to wideness and pervasion.
Induces spaciousness; reduces constriction and anxiety; supports a stable ‘wide mind’ state after recitation.
- ववक्ष (vavakṣa)
- Literal: has grown, has increased. Symbolic: progressive enlargement of consciousness and capacity for light
- अमितम् (amitam)
- Literal: immeasurable. Symbolic: the infinite/limitless aspect of awakened mind-force
- ऋजीषी (ṛjīṣī)
- Literal: straight-pressing. Symbolic: direct truth-movement; uncompromised aspiration and action
- रोदसी (rodasī)
- Literal: Heaven and Earth. Symbolic: higher mind-plane and embodied life/nature; the two poles to be unified
- महित्वा (mahitvā)
- Literal: by greatness. Symbolic: by vastness of being; wideness as power
- महिमा (mahimā)
- Literal: might, greatness. Symbolic: the expansive sovereignty of illumination
- विश्वा भुवना (viśvā bhuvanā)
- Literal: all worlds/becomings. Symbolic: all states of consciousness and life-movements encompassed by the higher power
Soma liturgy praising Indra’s mahiman before/around Indra’s Soma offering; establishes the deity’s capacity to grant wide victory and fullness.
After successful invocation/offerings as a proclamation of Indra’s all-pervading might
Recitation as stuti (praise) reinforcing Indra’s presence and wideness
Use when feeling cramped or overwhelmed: chant to shift from narrow mental loops into spacious awareness that can include and master experience.
√pṝ ‘fill’ (paprau) expresses pervasion; √bhū ‘become’ (babhūva) indicates realized status, not mere potential. amita ‘unmeasured’ (a- + √mā ‘measure’) reinforces transcendence beyond mental limitation. The hymn frames Indra as the expanding consciousness-force that can occupy both poles (rodasī) and exceed them.
Bṛhat (vastness), cosmic pervasion, transcendence beyond measure (amita)
Pervasion of both worlds suggests harmonization under one law of truth-force (ṛta).
Amitam indicates truth is not bounded by mental measures; satya widens beyond constructs.
Expansion/pervasion as a mode of divine manifestation across worlds of becoming.
Integral-Vedāntic: the Infinite entering and exceeding mind-life; unity of planes.
Heaven-earth = upper and lower nature; pervasion = integration; expansion beyond = opening to supramental/greater-than-mind wideness (in Aurobindonian terms).
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘cosmic pervasion’ mythologem: Indra expands to fill Heaven-and-Earth and then exceeds them, becoming lordly over all bhuvanas. It mythically encodes the ascent of consciousness from duality to an all-containing wideness.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- amita from √mā ‘measure’ reflects PIE *meh₁- ‘measure’ (cf. Greek métron). √bhū (become) reflects PIE *bʰuH- ‘be, grow’ (cf. English be). The verse uses inherited IE oppositional cosmology (sky/earth pair) as the basic frame for totality.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi magnifies Indra’s boundlessness to justify trust in his aid: if Indra pervades and exceeds the cosmic frame, he can also pervade the seeker’s inner divided nature and bring integral victory.
Widen the mind until it ‘fills heaven and earth’—upper clarity and lower life—then rest in the sense of the immeasurable beyond both.
Sahasrāra/Ājñā axis for wideness; grounding through Mūlādhāra to include ‘earth’
Slow meditative breathing with lengthened exhale (inhale 4, exhale 8) while feeling expansion around the head (heaven) and stability in the pelvis/legs (earth).
Wide, inclusive awareness; stable, luminous equanimity.
On each pāda, expand the felt space: (1) growth, (2) pervasion of above-below, (3) beyond-limit expansion, (4) all-becoming encompassed. End with 2 minutes of silent wideness.
Triṣṭubh with strong udatta emphasis on ‘indro’, ‘amitam’, ‘rodasī’, ‘viśvā’; exact accents require a svara text.
Chant with long-breath phrasing; broaden tone on ‘ubhe ā paprau rodasī’; keep ‘ataś cid asya mahimā vi recy’ as a gentle crescendo of expansion.
vavakṣa: pronounce kṣ as conjunct (k + ṣ), not ‘x’, rodasī: long ī at end; light visarga not present here, bhuvanā: soft bh; short u; long ā
Deep, spacious, resonant; avoid sharpness—let the sound ‘fill’ the room.
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