Rig Veda 6.62.2: Mandala 6, Sukta 62, Mantra 2
Sukta 6.62
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja Bārhaspatya
- Devata
- Aśvinau
- Chandas
- Jagatī
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
ता यज्ञमा शुचिभिश्चक्रमाणा रथस्य भानुं रुरुचू रजोभिः । पुरू वरांस्यमिता मिमानापो धन्वान्यति याथो अज्रान् ॥
tā́ yajñám ā́ śúci-bhiś cakramāṇā́ ráthasya bhānúṃ rurucū́ rájobhiḥ | purū́ varā́ṃsy ámitā mimānā́ apó dhanvā́ny áti yātho ajrā́n ||
Tamci dwaj, zdążając do ofiary swymi czystymi mocami, sprawili, że blask ich rydwanu lśnił przez przestrzenie; wymierzając liczne niewyczerpane pożądane rozległości, przekraczacie wody i suche przestrzenie, poza otwarte równiny.
Word by Word
- ताः
- those (two/these), they (fem.)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole KartāRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- यज्ञम्
- sacrifice, ritualNounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole KarmaRoot यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
- आ
- towards, untoIndeclinableउपसर्ग (गत्यर्थ/समन्तात्-आगमन)Root आ (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- शुचिभिः
- with the bright/pure (ones)Adjectiveपुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया; बहुवचनRole KaraṇaRoot शुचि (प्रातिपदिक)
- चक्रमाणाः
- moving, stepping, proceedingVerb (Participle)वर्तमान कृदन्त (शानच्), आत्मनेपदी; स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole KartāRoot क्रम् (धातु) + चक् (परस्मैपद-आत्मनेपद कृदन्त-प्रत्यय: शानच्)
- रथस्य
- of the chariotNounपुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी; एकवचनRole SambandhaRoot रथ (प्रातिपदिक)
- भानुम्
- radiance, beamNounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole KarmaRoot भानु (प्रातिपदिक)
- रुरुचुः
- they shone forthVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परोक्श-भूत); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष; बहुवचनRole KartāRoot रुच् (धातु)
- रजःभिः
- with the regions/airy spacesNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया; बहुवचनRole KaraṇaRoot रजस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- पुरू
- many, muchAdjectiveअव्ययवत् (नपुंसक-एकवचन/अविकारी प्रयोग)Role ViśeṣaṇaRoot पुरु (प्रातिपदिक)
- वरांसि
- excellent (things), boonsNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot वरस्/वर (प्रातिपदिक; ‘श्रेष्ठ/वरणीय’)
- अमिता
- immeasurableAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचन (वरांसि इति विशेषण)Role ViśeṣaṇaRoot अमित (प्रातिपदिक; a- + मित ‘measured’)
- मिमानाः
- measuring out, allottingVerb (Participle)वर्तमान कृदन्त (शानच्), आत्मनेपदी; स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole KartāRoot मा (धातु ‘माने/मापन’) + शानच्
- अपः
- watersNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot अप् (प्रातिपदिक)
- धन्वानि
- dry lands, desertsNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot धन्वन्/धन्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- अति
- over, beyondIndeclinableगत्यर्थ-निपात (अतिक्रमण)Root अति (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- याथः
- you two goVerbलट्; परस्मैपद; मध्यमपुरुष; द्विवचनRole KartāRoot या (धातु)
- अज्रान्
- open plains, fields (unbroken stretches)Noun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot अज्र (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सन्धि-निरसन): ताः | यज्ञम् | आ | शुचिभिः | चक्रमाणाः | रथस्य | भानुम् | रुरुचुः | रजःभिः | पुरू | वरांसि | अमिता | मिमानाः | अपः | धन्वानि | अति | याथः | अज्रान् । मुख्य सन्धयः: (1) यज्ञम् + आ → यज्ञमा (अकार-सन्धि; म् + आ इति संयोगलेखन)
- (2) शुचिभिः + चक्रमाणाः → शुचिभिश्चक्रमाणाः (विसर्गाभाव; भिः + च → भिश्च)
- (3) रजः + भिः → रजोभिः (विसर्गस्य ओ-आदेशः: रजःभिः → रजोभिः)
- (4) मिमानाः + अपः → मिमानापो (आ + अ → आ; तथा अपः इत्यस्य पदान्त-ओ: अपः → अपो)
- (5) धन्वानि + अति → धन्वान्यति (इ + अ → य्-अगम: नि + अ → न्य)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The two Aśvins, moving to the sacrifice with pure powers, made the radiance of their chariot shine through the spaces; measuring many immeasurable desirable widenesses, you pass beyond waters and dry lands, beyond open plains.
Inner meaning
The Aśvins are seen arriving to the inner sacrifice with śuci powers—purified energies that do not distort. Their chariot’s bhānu (radiance) shines through the rajāṃsi (spaces/realms): the light of swift discernment and effective movement penetrates all layers of our being. They ‘measure out’ (mimānā) many ‘immeasurable’ widenesses (amitā varāṃsi): the seeker receives expansions of consciousness that exceed ordinary mental metrics. They pass beyond ‘waters’ and ‘dry stretches’—beyond emotional floods and barren aridities alike—crossing all terrains of nature without being trapped. The mantra describes integral mobility: a power that can traverse every condition, carrying the offering forward until the wide plains of free being are reached.
Universal truth
Spiritual progress requires a pure, luminous mobility that can cross both excess and deficiency—floods and droughts of the psyche. True helpers expand our consciousness beyond what the mind can measure, bringing a stable wideness through all terrains.
Themes
Chariot-of-light, Crossing-extremes, Ordering-infinity
The seer
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja Bārhaspatya
- Lineage
- Bharadvāja
- Other hymns
- RV 6.62.1 (paths opened at dawn), RV 6.61.14 (avoid barren fields—contrast resolved here by Aśvin crossing power)
Family tradition
Mantric pragmatism: the hymn maps inner travel—how divine powers arrive, illumine, and carry the seeker across varied psychological terrains.
Significance
Bharadvāja’s insight is integrative: not avoiding life’s waters/dryness, but crossing them with purified energy and luminous movement—yoga as mastery of transitions.
The deity
- Devata
- Aśvinau
- Epithets
- śucibhiḥ cakramāṇā (moving with pure powers), ratha-bhānu (chariot-radiant), wideness-measurers (amitā mimānā), terrain-crossers (beyond waters and deserts)
- Related deities
- Sūrya, Uṣas, Soma (as delight sustaining the journey), Agni (as sacrificial will)
Cosmic role
They traverse the worlds, bringing light and healing; they connect realms and make passage possible for the sacrificer.
Inner power
Swift, pure prāṇic-mental force that illumines and moves; grants measured expansions and the ability to cross extremes without imbalance.
In ritual
Where it is used
Aśvin invitation to the yajña, especially in morning sequences; emphasizes their arrival and radiance.
ता य॒ज्ञमा शुचि॑भिश्चक्रमा॒णा रथ॑स्य भा॒नुं रु॑रुचू॒ रजो॑भिः । पु॒रू वरां॒स्यमि॑ता॒ मिमा॑ना॒पो धन्वा॒न्यति॑ याथो॒ अज्रा॑न् ॥
ता । य॒ज्ञम् । आ । शुचि॑ऽभिः । च॒क्र॒मा॒णा । रथ॑स्य । भा॒नुम् । रु॒रु॒चुः॒ । रजः॑ऽभिः । पु॒रु । वरां॒सि । अमि॑ता । मिमा॑ना । अ॒पः । धन्वा॑नि । अति॑ । या॒थः॒ । अज्रा॑न् ॥
tā | yajñam | ā | śuci-bhiḥ | cakramāṇā | rathasya | bhānum | rurucuḥ | rajaḥ-bhiḥ | puru | varāṃsi | amitā | mimānā | apaḥ | dhanvāni | ati | yāthaḥ | ajrān
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4 pādas of ~12 syllables; extended imagery and movement suited to jagatī’s long stride.
Flowing, traversing rhythm; suggests continuous travel across varied landscapes.
Induces a sense of onward motion and resilience; stabilizes the mind through a ‘journeying’ cadence.
- यज्ञम् आ (yajñam ā)
- Literal: to the sacrifice. Symbolic: toward inner offering and transformative practice
- शुचिभिः (śucibhiḥ)
- Literal: with pure (powers). Symbolic: purified energies—clarity, sincerity, non-mixed motives
- रथस्य भानुम् (rathasya bhānum)
- Literal: radiance of the chariot. Symbolic: luminous dynamic force that carries consciousness forward
- रजोभिः (rajobhiḥ)
- Literal: through the spaces/realms. Symbolic: across planes of mind-life-body; also across inner atmospheres
- अमिता (amitā)
- Literal: immeasurable. Symbolic: beyond mental limitation; supramental wideness
- मिमाना (mimānā)
- Literal: measuring out. Symbolic: apportioning realizations stepwise—grace in gradations
- अपः (apaḥ)
- Literal: waters. Symbolic: vital-emotional currents; subconscious tides
- धन्वानि (dhanvāni)
- Literal: dry lands/deserts. Symbolic: aridity, inertia, lack of rasa/joy
- अज्रान् (ajrān)
- Literal: open plains. Symbolic: free, unobstructed field of being and action
Invocation of the Aśvins’ swift arrival to yajña; associated with morning rite and the bringing of luminous help across all conditions.
During invocations calling the Aśvins to partake and assist; linked to beginnings and transitions in the rite.
Recitation during āhvāna; may accompany preparation/arrangement of offerings symbolizing ‘pure powers’.
Use before challenging days: to cultivate purity of motive, luminous momentum, and the capacity to cross emotional turbulence and dryness with steadiness.
śuci ‘bright/pure’ from √śuc ‘shine, be pure’ (fire/light semantics). bhānu ‘radiance’ from √bhā ‘shine’ (PIE *bʰeh₂- ‘shine’ often proposed). √ruc ‘shine’ is another luminous root; the piling of light-verbs is deliberate. √mā ‘measure’ (PIE *meh₁-) appears with amitā ‘immeasurable’ creating a paradox: the gods ‘measure out’ the immeasurable—poetic expression of ordering infinity (ṛta). dhanvan ‘dry land’ contrasts ap ‘waters’: the twins cross all terrains—innerly, they traverse emotional floods and dry inertias.
Ṛta as measuring/ordering even the immeasurable, Traversal of extremes (flood and drought) as integral yoga, Purity (śuci) as luminous force
Their orderly traversal across realms restores right movement; they keep the journey aligned with ṛta despite extremes.
Satya is experienced as a radiance that can shine ‘through the spaces’ without obstruction.
Expansion is both immeasurable and measured: the Infinite gives itself in graded steps to the finite.
Integral yoga reading: graded expansions beyond mind, supported by purified energies and dynamic guidance.
morning (implied by Aśvin context)
Waters = emotional/subconscious flux; deserts = aridity/inertia; plains = free openness; chariot-light = illumined prāṇa-mind moving through all layers.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The radiant chariot journey: the Aśvins arrive to the yajña, shining through the spaces, crossing waters and deserts alike. Innerly, they are powers that can move the seeker through emotional overflow and arid inertia, establishing wide possibilities.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The measurement lexicon √mā (PIE *meh₁-) and the luminous roots √bhā/√ruc/√śuc encode a shared IE poetic habit: cosmic order is ‘measured’ light. The chariot motif itself is widely IE in heroic-divine imagery.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi calls them into the yajña (inner offering) and describes their mode of coming: with śuci powers and radiance. The reciprocity is practical: their arrival expands the ‘varāṃsi’—the desirable widenesses—so the sacrificer’s path is not narrowed by any terrain of experience.
Cultivate pure, luminous mobility: the capacity to move through emotional waves and dry inertia while staying aligned to the inner sacrifice.
Svādhiṣṭhāna (waters/emotion) balanced with Maṇipūra (drive) and Ājñā (direction)
‘Crossing breath’: inhale imagining light filling the spine; exhale imagining the chariot moving forward through space. 12 cycles, then 9 mantra recitations.
Resilient flow—steady forward attention with widened field awareness.
When overwhelmed (waters) or numb (desert), do one round: breathe, recite once, take one small step toward your chosen offering (yajña). Let expansions come without forcing measurement—receive them as ‘amitā’ yet integrated.
Jagatī pacing: sustain vowels in long compounds; udātta emphasis often on śuci-, bhānuṃ, amitā, yātho.
Keep a smooth forward line across pādas; slightly stress the traversal sequence ‘apo dhanvāny ati …’ to evoke crossing.
: retroflex ṇ in -māṇa; keep long ā., : roll the repeated ru-ru distinctly; end with light visarga-like ḥ., : pronounce j as voiced; keep -bhiḥ crisp., : dental n; do not nasalize vowels unnecessarily.
Clear, energized, ‘traveling’ tone with steady breath support.
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