Rig Veda 8.16.3: Mandala 8, Sukta 16, Mantra 3
Sukta 8.16
- Devata
- Indra
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
तं सुष्टुत्या विवासे ज्येष्ठराजं भरे कृत्नुम् । महो वाजिनं सनिभ्यः ॥
táṃ suṣṭutyā́ vivāse jyeṣṭha-rā́jaṃ bháre kṛ́tnum | mahó vā́jinaṃ saníbhyaḥ ||
Prawdziwą i dobrze ukształtowaną chwałą pragnę go zdobyć, najstarszego króla, doskonałego w walce, wielkiego przynosiciela wadży, pełni siły, dla naszych zysków.
Word by Word
- तम्
- him / that onePronounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सुष्टुत्या
- with good praiseNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया विभक्ति; एकवचनRole करणRoot सु- + स्तु (धातु) → सुष्टुति- (स्त्री. प्रातिपदिक)
- विवासे
- I honor / I worshipVerbलट् (वर्तमान); उत्तमपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole (क्रिया)Root √वस् (विवासयति/विवासते; ‘to honor, to worship, to serve’—RV usage)
- ज्येष्ठराजम्
- the eldest/foremost kingNoun (with adjective compound)पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot ज्येष्ठ- (विशेषण) + राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- भरे
- in the contest/battleNounपुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी विभक्ति; एकवचन (स्थानीय/अधिकरण)Role अधिकरणRoot √भृ (to bear, to bring; also ‘battle/contest’ as noun bhara- in RV)
- कृत्नुम्
- the complete/fully-effective oneAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्म (विशेषणत्वेन)Root कृत्नु- (विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक; ‘whole, complete, effective’ RV)
- महो
- greatAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचन (Vedic acc. sg. of महत्)Role कर्म (विशेषणत्वेन)Root महत् (विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक)
- वाजिनम्
- the prize-winning/strong (one)Noun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot वाजिन् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘possessing vāja—strength/prize; swift’)
- सनिभ्यः
- from winnings/gainsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole अपादानRoot सनि- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘gain, winning, acquisition’ RV)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: तम् | सुष्टुत्या | विवासे | ज्येष्ठराजम् | भरे | कृत्नुम् | महो | वाजिनम् | सनिभ्यः । 1) सु॑ष्टु॒त्या: सु- + स्तुति- → सुष्टुति-
- तृतीया एकवचन ‘सुष्टुत्या’। 2) ज्येष्ठ॒राजं॒: समास ‘ज्येष्ठ-राजन्’
- द्वितीया एकवचन ‘ज्येष्ठराजम्’। 3) म॒हो: वैदिकरूपम्—महतः/महान्तम् इत्यस्य द्वितीया एकवचन रूप ‘महो’। 4) स॒निभ्य॑: ‘सनिभ्यः’ (पञ्चमी बहुवचन). उच्चारणचिह्न (उदात्त/स्वरित) मूलपाठानुसार
The meaning
Outer meaning
With well-formed praise the singer seeks to win Indra, the eldest king, complete in battle, the great bringer of vāja (winning force) for gains.
Inner meaning
Rightly shaped praise (suṣṭuti) is not flattery but an exact inner formation of thought and will that calls Indra—the sovereign of illumined mind—into the field of struggle (bhara). Indra is ‘complete’ (kṛtnu) because illumination must govern the whole being, not a part; then vāja arises as plenitude of force and capacity for attainment (sani).
Universal truth
When aspiration is precise and well-formed, higher intelligence descends into the conflict of life and makes the being integral; true power is the fruit of right invocation and right alignment.
Themes
victory in struggle, gain of force, kingly sovereignty
The seer
- Lineage
- Kāṇva
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 8.2, Rig Veda 8.6, Rig Veda 8.45, Rig Veda 8.92
Family tradition
Kāṇva hymns often stress the craft of praise as a yogic act: shaping speech to shape consciousness and call down Indra’s victorious light.
Significance
The seer presents stuti as a technology of consciousness: the right mantra-form is itself a vehicle for descent of the Indric power.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Jyeṣṭharāja (eldest king), Vājī (lord of vāja), Kṛtnu (the complete/entire)
- Related deities
- Maruts (impulses that increase Indra), Soma (bliss that intoxicates/strengthens Indra), Bṛhaspati (word-power that breaks the cave)
Cosmic role
Champion of the gods who leads the battle for light, releasing hidden powers and establishing sovereignty of luminous order.
Inner power
Decisive illumination that organizes the whole being for victory; brings vāja as energetic plenitude and effective capacity.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra praise in Soma offering sequences; also used as a stotra for victory/attainment
तं सु॑ष्टु॒त्या वि॑वासे ज्येष्ठ॒राजं॒ भरे॑ कृ॒त्नुम् । म॒हो वा॒जिनं॑ स॒निभ्य॑: ॥
तम् । सु॒ऽस्तु॒त्या । वि॒वा॒से॒ । ज्ये॒ष्ठ॒ऽराज॑म् । भरे॑ । कृ॒त्नुम् । म॒हः । वा॒जिन॑म् । स॒निऽभ्यः॑ ॥
tam | su-stutyā | vivāse | jyeṣṭha-rājam | bhare | kṛtnum | mahaḥ | vājinam | sani-bhyaḥ
32
4 × 8 (probable; confirmation needs full accent-sandhi scansion)
Energetic, forward-driving; suited to ‘winning’ and ‘battle’ themes.
Builds resolve and a clean, martial clarity; encourages decisive inward orientation.
- सु-स्तुत्या (su-stutyā)
- Literal: with good praise. Symbolic: exact, harmonious inner formulation; mantra as right thought-vibration
- विवासे (vivāse)
- Literal: I seek to win/attract. Symbolic: to invite the descending power by conscious opening
- ज्येष्ठ-राजम् (jyeṣṭha-rājam)
- Literal: eldest king. Symbolic: primordial sovereignty of illumined mind over the being
- भरे (bhare)
- Literal: in battle/contest. Symbolic: inner conflict: truth vs. obstruction, clarity vs. confusion
- कृत्नुम् (kṛtnum)
- Literal: complete, entire. Symbolic: integral governance; wholeness of force
- वाजिनम् (vājinam)
- Literal: bringer of vāja/prize. Symbolic: bringer of plenitude-energy, victorious capacity
- सनि-भ्यः (sani-bhyaḥ)
- Literal: for gains/attainments. Symbolic: for realizations and secure possessions of consciousness
Praise aimed at securing vāja (force/plenitude) and victory in ‘bhara’ (struggle); fits competitive-sacrificial ethos inwardly reinterpreted
During contests/rites seeking strength and success; adaptable as a daily invocation before demanding action.
Stuti (praise) as invitation; offering of voice and intention.
Use before difficult conversations, exams, leadership decisions: chant to align speech (stuti) with clarity and integral power.
su-stutí ‘good praise’ (su + √stu ‘praise’) → correctness of mantra-formation. vivāse from √vas (to dwell/seek favor?) in desiderative/causative nuance ‘to win’ (traditional: ‘I seek to gain’). vāja from √vaj/√vāj ‘be strong, speed’ → not only ‘prize/food’ but ‘plenitude of force’ (strength-fullness). saní ‘gain’ from √san (to win) → attainment as inner acquisition.
mantric right-form (suṣṭuti), vāja as force-plenitude, completion/integrality (kṛtnu)
Right praise aligns the human with ṛta, enabling Indra’s orderly victory in the ‘battle’ of life.
Truth-shaped speech becomes a means of manifestation; the ‘well-formed’ is a satya-instrument.
Establishing kingship of light in the human field; the elder sovereignty reasserts itself over chaos.
Integral yoga of mantra: speech as formative power (vāc-śakti) calling higher mind.
Battle = inner struggle; vāja = surge of life-force uplifted by illumination.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘battle for vāja’: the heroic contest where Indra, the foremost king, grants the plenitude of force. Inner sense: the seeker’s disciplined praise calls down a complete power that wins the struggle against fragmentation.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The ‘glory/gain’ economy (praise → favor → winnings) parallels Indo-European gift-poetics. √stu ‘praise’ is widespread (cf. Latin stupeo not cognate; but Indo-Iranian stuti tradition is strong). √san ‘win’ has Indo-Iranian parallels; the semantic field of ‘winning’ is central to IE heroic diction.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi offers suṣṭuti as a precise instrument; Indra reciprocates by granting vāja and saní—inner strength and realized attainments—so the human struggle (bhara) is carried to completion (kṛtnu).
Formulate one clear intention (saṅkalpa) and offer it as ‘well-shaped praise’; invite illumined mind to govern the whole being in action.
Maṇipūra (will/action) guided by Ājñā (illumination)
4-4 breathing (inhale 4, exhale 4) while mentally repeating ‘su-stutyā’ to keep precision; then chant aloud.
Collected, courageous, mentally bright—ready for decisive movement.
Before chanting, refine the inner word: remove agitation and exaggeration; let the praise be exact, then act from that clarity.
Maintain RV three-tone accents; pay attention to compounded accents in and (accented segments should lift gently).
Let the main udatta carry the phrase; keep consonant clusters clean so meter remains crisp.
(suṣṭutyā): retroflex ‘ṣṭ’, avoid ‘sht’ blur, (vivāse): long ‘ā’ clear, (jyeṣṭharājam): ‘jyeṣṭha’ with retroflex ‘ṣṭh’, (vājinam): ‘vā’ long, ‘j’ soft
clear, firm, bright—like a command aligned with truth.
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