Rig Veda 8.18.19: Mandala 8, Sukta 18, Mantra 19
Sukta 8.18
- Devata
- Ādityas
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Shringara (love)
यज्ञो हीळो वो अन्तर आदित्या अस्ति मृळत । युष्मे इद्वो अपि ष्मसि सजात्ये ॥
yajñó hīḷó vo ántara ādityā́ asti mṛḷáta | yuṣmé íd vo ápi ṣmasi sajātyé ||
Jadżnia jest waszym wewnętrznym zachwytem, o Aditjowie - bądźcie łaskawi. Albowiem należymy do was; jesteśmy w waszym pokrewieństwie i wspólnej naturze.
Word by Word
- यज्ञः
- the sacrifice (yajña)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक; √यज्)
- हि
- indeed, forIndeclinableनिपातRoot हि
- ईळः
- praiseworthy / to be invokedAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ-विशेषणRoot ईळ (प्रातिपदिक; √ईळ्/ईड् ‘स्तुतौ/आह्वाने’)
- वः
- of you (pl.)Pronounषष्ठी (सम्बन्धे), बहुवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot युष्मद्
- अन्तर्
- within, amongIndeclinableउपसर्ग/उपपद (अव्यय), ‘within/among’Role अधिकरण (भावार्थे) / सम्बन्धRoot अन्तर्
- आदित्याः
- the ĀdityasNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole अधिकरण (अन्तर्-शब्देन सह: ‘among the Ādityas’)Root आदित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- अस्ति
- isVerbलट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot √अस् (भू)
- मृळत
- be gracious; show mercy (to us)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, बहुवचनRoot √मृळ्/मृड् (सुखायने/अनुग्रहे)
- युष्मे
- in/among youPronounसप्तमी (अधिकरणे), बहुवचनRole अधिकरणRoot युष्मद्
- इत्
- just, indeedIndeclinableनिपात (एव/खलु-अर्थे)Root इत्
- वः
- of youPronounषष्ठी (सम्बन्धे), बहुवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot युष्मद्
- अपि
- also, evenIndeclinableअव्यय (अपि = also/even)Root अपि
- श्मसि
- we areVerbलट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचन; वैदिक रूप ‘श्मसि’ = ‘स्मसि’Root √अस् (भू)
- सजात्ये
- in kinship; in common lineage (as kindred)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot सजात्य (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सम्भाव्य): यज्ञः हि ईळः वः अन्तर् आदित्याः अस्ति | मृळत | युष्मे इत् वः अपि स्मसि सजात्ये || 1) हीळो = हि + ईळः (इ-आदि स्वर-सन्धि; दीर्घ ‘ई’ बना रहता, विसर्ग-लोप/पद-समासिक उच्चारण)
- 2) वो अन्त॑र = वः + अन्तर् (विसर्गः ओ-आदेशः: वः → वो, परे अ-आदि)
- 3) आदित्या अस्ति = आदित्याः + अस्ति (विसर्ग-लोपः पदान्ते; संहितायां ‘आदित्या अस्ति’)
- 4) युष्मे इद्वो = युष्मे + इत् + वः (इत्-निपातः; वः → वो संहितायाम्)
- 5) ष्मसि = स्मसि (वैदिक/पाठभेद: स-कारस्य षत्वं/उच्चारण-परम्परा)
The meaning
Outer meaning
O Ādityas, the yajña is your inner delight; be gracious. For we belong to you; we are within your kinship.
Inner meaning
Yajña is re-read as inner offering: the self-giving of ego-nature to the Truth-Powers. The Ādityas ‘delight within’ this sacrifice because it restores law, clarity, and wideness in the being. The r̥ṣi affirms an identity-relationship: we are of your kind (sajātye)—our deeper nature is truth-born, capable of living in ṛta. Grace (mṛḻata) is the descent of that lawful light making our nature conform to its own highest kinship.
Universal truth
Spiritual practice succeeds when it is an offering aligned with our true lineage: we are made for truth, and truth responds with grace when we return to it.
Themes
grace, divine-human kinship, inner yajña, Ādityas
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 8.18.16, Rig Veda 8.18.17, Rig Veda 8.18.18, Rig Veda 8.18.20
Significance
The r̥ṣi articulates a key Aurobindonian principle: yajña as inner yoga, and the gods as powers that respond to self-offering with an increase of truth in the nature.
The deity
- Devata
- Ādityas
- Epithets
- gracious ones (mṛḻata invoked), kin-related powers (sajātye)
- Related deities
- Mitra, Varuṇa, Aryaman, Bhaga
Cosmic role
Maintain cosmic and moral order; widen the being toward truth and harmony.
Inner power
Transformative governance: they rectify crooked movements, establish clarity, and make the inner sacrifice fruitful.
In ritual
Where it is used
General yajña context; especially suitable as an inner-sankalpa verse before offerings.
य॒ज्ञो ही॒ळो वो॒ अन्त॑र॒ आदि॑त्या॒ अस्ति॑ मृ॒ळत॑ । यु॒ष्मे इद्वो॒ अपि॑ ष्मसि सजा॒त्ये॑ ॥
य॒ज्ञः । ही॒ळः । वः॒ । अन्त॑रः । आदि॑त्याः । अस्ति॑ । मृ॒ळत॑ । यु॒ष्मे इति॑ । इत् । वः॒ । अपि॑ । स्म॒सि॒ । स॒ऽजा॒त्ये॑ ॥
yajñaḥ | hīḷaḥ | vaḥ | antaraḥ | ādityāḥ | asti | mṛḷata | yuṣme iti | it | vaḥ | api | smasi | sa-jātye
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4 × 8 (likely)
Declarative + supplicatory; a turn from statement (yajño…asti) to appeal (mṛḻata) to belonging (sajātye).
Creates inner alignment: devotion grounded in identity rather than fear.
- yajñáḥ
- Literal: sacrifice. Symbolic: inner self-offering; conscious exchange between human and divine powers
- hīḷáḥ
- Literal: gladness, delight (also ‘invoked praise’). Symbolic: the divine’s inner satisfaction when the being aligns with truth
- antáraḥ
- Literal: within, inner. Symbolic: the inward seat of experience; the psychic interior
- mṛḻata
- Literal: be gracious, show mercy. Symbolic: let the truth-powers soften resistance and correct distortion
- sajā́tye
- Literal: kinship, same kind. Symbolic: identity of essence with the truth-conscious nature (satya-dharma)
Closing conciliatory appeal: establishes intimacy/kinship with the deities to secure grace; fits concluding verses of an Āditya hymn in recitation cycles.
At the start of meditation, homa, or any act of self-offering; also when seeking forgiveness/realignment.
Recite while offering ghee or while making an inner offering of a limiting habit.
Use as a ‘re-centering’ mantra: remind oneself that practice is for truth and that one belongs to truth.
yajña from √yaj ‘worship/sacrifice’ (PIE *h₁yeh₂g- often cited). mṛḷata from √mṛḍ ‘be gracious’. sajātya ‘same-birth/same-kind’ (sa + jāti from √jan ‘be born’) expresses intimate affiliation: humans as participants in divine order.
yajña as inner consecration, sajātya: participation in divine nature via ṛta
The Ādityas’ delight is the restoration of ṛta through inner offering.
Kinship with Ādityas implies a satya-nature within the human seeking expression.
Exchange between human aspiration and cosmic truth-powers sustains the world-process.
Yoga of works/devotion (inner yajña) anticipating Upaniṣadic interiorization.
sunrise-to-midday (symbolic of increasing clarity)
Sun = truth-illumination; yajña-fire = will offering; inner delight = psychic consent to truth.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The kinship-with-gods mythologem: through yajña as an inner delight, humans affirm belonging (sajātya) with the Ādityas. The mythic action is covenantal—shared nature established by right offering.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √jan ‘be born’ (sajātye) continues PIE *ǵenh₁- (cf. Lat genus, Eng. kin). √yaj is often connected with an IE worship/sacrifice root-complex; the verse preserves archaic IE linkage of ritual act and divine favor.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi claims proximity: the yajña is ‘within’ the gods (their accepted delight), and the speakers are ‘of the same kind’—not equality, but participation. Hence the plea mṛḷata is grounded in shared order rather than fear.
Offer a current difficulty into the inner fire; feel the Ādityas’ ‘delight within’ as a sign of alignment; rest in the sense of belonging to truth.
Anāhata (devotional belonging) and Ājñā (truth-alignment)
Inhale: ‘yajño…antara’; exhale: ‘mṛḻata’; then silent pause feeling kinship (sajātye).
Inner consent; devotional clarity; sattvic sweetness.
If guilt or unworthiness arises, repeat ‘yuṣme id…sajātye’: shift from self-judgment to identity with the truth-nature, then act accordingly.
Not fully recoverable; emphasize yajñáḥ, antáraḥ, ādityāḥ, mṛḻata, sajā́tye.
yajñó hīḷó / vo antáraḥ // ādityā́ / asti mṛḻata // yuṣmé id / vo api smasi // sa-jā́tye.
hīḷo: retroflex ḷ, mṛḻata: vocalic ṛ; retroflex ḻ, sajātye: jaa-tye with palatal y
Intimate, sincere, inward—slightly warmer tone.
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