Rig Veda 6.45.28: Mandala 6, Sukta 45, Mantra 28
Sukta 6.45
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja Bārhaspatya
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shringara (love) and Shanta (peace)
इमा उ त्वा सुतेसुते नक्षन्ते गिर्वणो गिरः । वत्सं गावो न धेनवः ॥
imā́ u tvā sutesute nákṣante girvaṇo gíraḥ | vatsáṃ gā́vo ná dhenávaḥ ||
Te słowa docierają do ciebie przy każdym wyciskaniu Somy, o panie, który radujesz się śpiewem; jak krowy mleczne ściskają się wokół swego cielęcia, tak słowa śpieszą do ciebie.
Word by Word
- इमाः
- thesePronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (स्तुतयः/गिरः) विशेषणरूपेणRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- उ
- indeed, justIndeclinableनिपात (सम्बोधन/अनुनासिक-बलार्थक)Root उ (निपात)
- त्वा
- youPronounद्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सुते
- in the pressed (Soma)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot सुत (√सु ‘press, extract’ से निष्पन्न; सोम-रस)
- सुते
- at each pressingNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (पुनरुक्ति)Role अधिकरणRoot सुत (√सु ‘press, extract’)
- नक्षन्ते
- reach, attainVerbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot √नश्/नक्ष् (Vedic: ‘reach, attain, come to’)
- गिर्वणः
- O praised-by-songs (Indra)Noun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot गिर्वणस् (इन्द्र-विशेषण; ‘स्तुतिभिः वण्यमान’)
- गिरः
- songs, praisesNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot गिर् (स्तुति/वाक्)
- वत्सम्
- a calfNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (उपमान-रूपेण)Root वत्स (बछड़ा)
- गावः
- cowsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (उपमान-रूपेण)Root गो (गौः)
- न
- likeIndeclinableउपमार्थक निपातRoot न (उपमा-निपात)
- धेनवः
- milch-cowsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (उपमान-रूपेण)Root धेनु (दूध देने वाली गाय)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (RV-पदपाठानुसार): इमाः । उ । त्वा । सुते सुते । नक्षन्ते । गिर्वणः । गिरः । वत्सम् । गावः । न । धेनवः । विशेष: ‘सुतेसुते’ = ‘सुते सुते’ (सप्तमी-एकवचन की पुनरुक्ति: ‘प्रत्येक सोम-सवन/प्रेसिंग में’)। ‘गिर्वणो गिरः’ में ‘गिर्वणः’ सम्बोधन-एकवचन (इन्द्र) तथा ‘गिरः’ प्रथमा-बहुवचन कर्तृ।
The meaning
Outer meaning
At each Soma pressing, these hymns reach you, O Indra who delights in chants, as milch-cows crowd to their calf.
Inner meaning
At every renewed extraction of inner essence (Soma pressing), the mantras—vibrations of aspiration and knowledge—move toward Indra, the power that loves and responds to the inspired word (girvaṇas). The image of cows and calf is a symbol of the soul’s natural attraction to its source: the rays of knowledge (gāvaḥ) hasten to the ‘calf’ (vatsa)—the growing inner consciousness that must be nourished. Speech (giraḥ) becomes a living stream that seeks union with the illumined Mind.
Universal truth
When aspiration is repeated sincerely, the higher Power is approached again and again; true speech naturally converges toward its source and nourishes the emerging inner being.
Themes
Soma-ritual, Mantra-power (vāc), Go-symbolism (rays of knowledge), Devotion and attraction
The seer
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja (Bārhaspatya)
- Lineage
- Bharadvāja
- Other hymns
- RV 6.45, RV 6.44 (Indra themes nearby)
Family tradition
Bārhaspatya—mantra as a force that ‘reaches’ the god; emphasis on the efficacy of inspired speech.
Significance
The rishi affirms the law of correspondence: repeated offering (Soma) and repeated true speech (giraḥ) create a dependable channel to the illumined Power.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- girvaṇaḥ (delighter in chants), Soma-pā (Soma-drinker, contextual)
- Related deities
- Soma, Agni, Sarasvatī (as speech-power, thematic)
Cosmic role
Receiver and amplifier of the mantra-force; opens paths between human speech and divine illumination.
Inner power
Responsive intelligence: when invoked by true vibration, it descends as clarity and victorious force.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing recitation (Indra invoked repeatedly at pressings).
इ॒मा उ॑ त्वा सु॒तेसु॑ते॒ नक्ष॑न्ते गिर्वणो॒ गिर॑: । व॒त्सं गावो॒ न धे॒नव॑: ॥
इ॒माः । ऊँ॒ इति॑ । त्वा॒ । सु॒तेऽसु॑ते । नक्ष॑न्ते । गि॒र्व॒णः॒ । गिरः॑ । व॒त्सम् । गावः॑ । न । धे॒नवः॑ ॥
imāḥ | oṃ iti | tvā | sute--sute | nakṣante | girvaṇaḥ | giraḥ | vatsam | gāvaḥ | na | dhenavaḥ
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4 × ~11; with a flowing simile in the latter half.
Quickened flow in the first half (‘sute-sute nakṣante’), then a soft gathering cadence in the cow-calf simile.
Creates a sense of approach and convergence—mind and speech ‘moving toward’ a higher Presence.
- सुतेसुते (sute-sute)
- Literal: at each pressing. Symbolic: at each renewed effort of inner extraction and offering
- नक्षन्ते (nakṣante)
- Literal: reach, attain. Symbolic: mantric forces effectively contact the higher consciousness
- गिर्वणः (girvaṇaḥ)
- Literal: delighting in hymns. Symbolic: the divine that answers vibration/true speech
- गिरः (giraḥ)
- Literal: utterances, hymns. Symbolic: formative words of consciousness; mantra as power
- वत्सम् (vatsam)
- Literal: calf. Symbolic: the nascent inner being, the psychic growth needing nourishment
- गावः (gāvaḥ)
- Literal: cows. Symbolic: rays of knowledge/illumination
- धेनवः (dhenavaḥ)
- Literal: milch-cows. Symbolic: fertile streams of knowledge that yield nourishment (light becoming substance)
Soma-stotra addressed to Indra at repeated pressings (savanas)
At successive Soma pressings (prātaḥ/mādhyandina/tṛtīya savana—broad alignment).
Calling Indra to the offering through hymns; reinforcing the link between pressing and invocation.
For japa/chant cycles: treat each round as a ‘pressing’; let words ‘reach’ the inner Indra, then pause to feel response.
nákṣante: 3pl middle from √naś ‘reach, attain’. girvaṇas: epithet of Indra, traditionally ‘fond of hymns’; analyzable as gir- ‘song’ + van- ‘to desire/like’ (semantic). sute-sute: locative in iterative compound, ‘in each pressing’. go/ dhenū symbolism: go from √gā/√gam ‘to go’ but Vedic go is a polyvalent sign for ‘cow’ and ‘ray/light’, enabling the inner reading: illuminations crowding to the nascent psychic formation (vatsa).
Mantra as a force that ‘reaches’ the deity (vā́c as effective power), Nourishment of inner being (milk/cow imagery as illumination)
The repeated rhythm of offering and response mirrors ṛta: right recurrence yields stable connection.
True speech (giraḥ) ‘reaches’—satya is effective, not merely correct.
Nourishment of the growing inner being: rays gather to feed the ‘calf’ of awakened consciousness.
Mantra-śakti emphasis consonant with Aurobindo/Kashyap: speech as a power of consciousness.
Pressing = concentrated inner practice; cows = illuminations; calf = emergent psychic being; crowding close = intensity of aspiration and receptivity.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The magnetism between mantra (gíraḥ) and Indra (girvaṇas): inspired speech ‘reaches’ the god at each Soma pressing. The cow-to-calf simile encodes the mythic motif of ‘rays returning to the central light’—illumining powers converging to nourish the growing inner being.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √naś ‘reach’ aligns with Indo-Iranian *naś- ‘attain’ (Avestan nās-). The pastoral simile (cow/calf) parallels widespread Indo-European poetic formulas where cattle imagery encodes prosperity and light; Vedic uniquely intensifies it into a cognitive/illumination register.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi’s speech is not descriptive but causative: it ‘arrives’ and establishes contact. Indra is approached as one who actively enjoys and responds to hymns, implying reciprocity—utterance draws down force; the force, in turn, sustains the utterer’s growth (vatsa-nourishment).
Let mantra become a ‘living cow’ of light returning to its calf—your inner being; feel words converging toward a listening luminous Presence.
Viśuddha (speech/mantra) aligning with Ājñā (illumined reception).
Chant on a long exhale; silent inhale as ‘listening space’ where Indra receives; repeat 12 cycles.
From mental dispersion to gathered devotion and receptive attention.
After chanting, sit briefly: sense the ‘approach’ (nakṣante). Allow a response—an intuition, a widening, a quiet strength.
Keep the cadence light and flowing in ‘sute-sute nakṣante’; give a gentle settling on the simile pāda.
Accent the address ‘girvaṇo’ clearly; pause slightly before the cow-calf comparison for imagery to land.
: articulate the repetition distinctly (su-te | su-te), : ‘gir-va-ṇo’ with retroflex ṇ, : ‘dhe’ aspirated, not ‘de’
warm, inviting, slightly softer on the simile.
12
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