Rig Veda 7.66.2: Mandala 7, Sukta 66, Mantra 2
Sukta 7.66
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Mitra–Varuṇa
- Chandas
- Short meter
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
या धारयन्त देवाः सुदक्षा दक्षपितरा । असुर्याय प्रमहसा ॥
yā́ dhāráyanta devā́ḥ sudákṣā́ dákṣapitārā | asuryā́ya prámāhasā ||
Oni, którzy podtrzymują, bogowie, dobrze biegli w sztuce, z Dakszą jako ojcem, przez władczą moc i przez przewyższającą wielkość.
Word by Word
- याः
- who (fem. pl.)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole Kartā (याः … धारयन्त) / सम्बन्धः (देवाः इत्यस्य विशेषण-सम्बन्धः)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- धारयन्त
- they bore / upheldVerbलङ् (इम्पर्फेक्ट्), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपदम्Role KriyāRoot √धृ (धारणे)
- देवाः
- the godsNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot देव (प्रातिपदिक) < √दिव् (दीप्तौ)
- सुदक्षाः
- well-skilled, very capableAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (देवाः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role Kartā (विशेषणरूपेण)Root सु-दक्ष (प्रातिपदिक) [सु- उपसर्ग + दक्ष ‘able, skilled’]
- दक्षपितरः
- having Dakṣa as father / sons of DakṣaNoun/Adjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (देवाः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role Kartā (विशेषणरूपेण)Root दक्ष-पितृ (समास-प्रातिपदिक; बहुव्रीहिः/कर्मधारयः: ‘whose fathers are Dakṣa’ / ‘having Dakṣa as father’)
- असुर्याय
- for the asuric power / for lordshipNoun (abstract/collective) / Adjective used substantivelyनपुंसकलिङ्ग (प्रायः), चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole Sampradāna (यस्यार्थे/यस्य कृते)Root असुर्य (प्रातिपदिक) < असुर (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रम्हसा
- with great might / with surpassing powerNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole Karaṇa (येन साधनेन)Root प्र-महस् (प्रातिपदिक) [प्र- उपसर्ग + महस् ‘greatness, might’]
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: याः | धारयन्त | देवाः | सुदक्षाः | दक्षपितरः | असुर्याय | प्रम्हसा । 1) ‘या’ + visarga (पदपाठे) → ‘याः’ (स्त्री. प्रथमा बहु.). 2) ‘देवाः सुदक्षाः’ इत्यत्र विसर्गः परे स-कारे यथावत् (देवाः सुदक्षाः). 3) ‘सुदक्षा दक्षपितरा’ संहितायां अन्त्य-अः + आरम्भ-द् → ‘सुदक्षाः दक्षपितरः’ (पदपाठानुसारं प्रथमा बहु.)
- ‘प्रम्हसा’ = प्र + महसा (तृतीया एक.)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The well-skilled gods, whose father is Dakṣa, uphold (the world/order) by sovereign power (asuryāya) and surpassing greatness (pra-mahasā).
Inner meaning
The luminous powers (devāḥ), perfected in discernment (su-dakṣā), uphold the seeker’s inner order by the Father-Principle Dakṣa (conscious skill, right arranging intelligence). Their ‘asuryā’ is not demonic here but sovereign mastery—an inner lordship that stabilizes the mind and life so the sacrifice (yajña) can proceed without collapse into confusion.
Universal truth
Lasting harmony is sustained by conscious competence aligned to a higher law: when intelligence becomes ‘dakṣa’ (right skill) and is empowered by inner sovereignty, the being is upheld in truth and greatness rather than by force or impulse.
Themes
cosmic sustentation, sovereignty, source in Dakṣa
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Lineage
- Vasiṣṭha-gotra
- Other hymns
- RV 7.66.1, RV 7.66.3, RV 7.66.4, RV 7.66.5, RV 7.66.6
Family tradition
Maṇḍala 7 is predominantly the Vasiṣṭha family collection; hymns emphasize ṛta (cosmic order), protection, and the harmonizing law of the Ādityas.
Significance
Vasiṣṭha’s vision is of stable inner kingship: the powers of Truth (Mitra–Varuṇa/Ādityas) establish a disciplined wideness where aspiration can be safely intensified.
The deity
- Devata
- Mitra–Varuṇa (Āditya sustainers)
- Epithets
- su-dakṣa, dakṣa-pitarā, rājānā (implicit)
- Related deities
- Aditi, Aryaman, Bhaga, Savitṛ
Cosmic role
Guardians of ṛta: they uphold the moral-cosmic law, bind disorder, and maintain the right relations among beings and worlds.
Inner power
Mitra: harmony, right relation, clarity of consent; Varuṇa: vastness, purity, truth-compulsion that releases from falsehood. Together they stabilize the seeker in luminous discipline.
In ritual
Where it is used
Āditya invocations in Soma-related and daily praise contexts (general protection/order hymns)
या धा॒रय॑न्त दे॒वाः सु॒दक्षा॒ दक्ष॑पितरा । अ॒सु॒र्या॑य॒ प्रम॑हसा ॥
या । धा॒रय॑न्त । दे॒वाः । सु॒ऽदक्षा॑ । दक्ष॑ऽपितरा । अ॒सु॒र्या॑य । प्रऽम॑हसा ॥
yā | dhārayanta | devāḥ | su-dakṣā | dakṣa-pitarā | asuryāya | pra-mahasā
32
4 pādas of ~8 syllables (approx.)
Compact, declarative, ‘supporting’ cadence—suited to statements of law and stability.
Creates a feeling of being ‘held’ and ordered; good for grounding the mind before deeper invocation.
- devāḥ
- Literal: gods, shining ones. Symbolic: luminous powers of consciousness supporting growth
- su-dakṣā
- Literal: well-skilled, good in capacity. Symbolic: right discernment and effective inner faculties
- dakṣa-pitarā
- Literal: having Dakṣa as father. Symbolic: born of conscious skill; founded on intelligent ordering power
- asuryāya
- Literal: to/for sovereignty, lordship (asura-power). Symbolic: inner mastery; sovereign consciousness that governs nature
- pra-mahasā
- Literal: by surpassing greatness. Symbolic: expansive spiritual magnitude that overbears limitation
Praise of sustaining sovereignty: establishes the theological basis for later requests (protection, right order).
During praises to Mitra–Varuṇa/Ādityas for protection, right order, and truthfulness; also adaptable to dawn/day-opening recitations.
Recitation as stotra/śastra-style praise to establish ṛta and request sustaining power.
Use as a centering mantra before work/decisions: invoke ‘dakṣa’ (skill) and ‘asuryā’ (inner sovereignty) to uphold right action.
dhāráyanta from √dhṛ ‘hold, sustain’ (PIE *dher-). mahas ‘greatness’ from √mah ‘be great’. dakṣa as ‘capacity/skill’ functions as an originating principle (dákṣa-pitarā).
dakṣa (formative competence), mahas (vast greatness), asurya (sovereign power)
The verse points to the sustaining function of the gods as uphold-ers of ṛta through sovereign power.
Truth as a power that supports and stabilizes existence when intelligence is aligned to it.
Sustenance of the manifested order by conscious powers rather than by inert mechanism.
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral (Aurobindo): gods as inner powers; order as consciousness-law.
The ‘holding’ is the steadiness of the psychic and mental frame when governed by truth and skill.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘world-sustaining sovereignty’ mythologem: the gods uphold by asurya (lordly power) and mahas (vastness). Innerly, it asserts that the cosmos and the seeker are stabilized by a competent will (dakṣa) expanded into greatness.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √dhṛ ‘hold’ continues PIE *dher- ‘support’ (cf. Greek θρόνος via ‘support’ notions; Germanic ‘to bear’ parallels are semantic). √mah ‘great’ aligns with an inherited ‘greatness’ lexeme family across IE (e.g., Avestan maz- ‘great’).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi first establishes authority: the addressed powers are sustainers by inherent sovereignty and greatness; this legitimizes the later petitions for protection and guidance as requests to those already constitutive of order.
Invoke inner sovereignty (asuryā) and right skill (dakṣa) to ‘hold’ the mind steady in truth.
ajna
nāḍī-śodhana (gentle alternate-nostril) for balance before recitation
Collected, law-abiding clarity; widening without dispersion.
Repeat slowly, feeling a firm luminous support above and within; offer today’s actions into ‘dakṣa’—do the next right thing with quiet mastery.
Use Vedic three-tone: udatta (raised), anudatta (lower), svarita (falling); follow śākhā tradition markings (not fully specified in provided text).
Keep udatta on marked syllables (e.g., dhārayanta, dakṣa, pramahasā by tradition); avoid flattening compound accents (su-dakṣā, dakṣa-pitarā).
dhā- (long ā) in dhārayanta, Maintain retroflex ṣ in dakṣa, Do not insert vowel between kṣ (dakṣa, kṣa), asuryāya: clear y-glide, long ā
Steady, firm, ‘supporting’ tone; minimal vibrato.
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