Rig Veda 8.19.36: Mandala 8, Sukta 19, Mantra 36
Sukta 8.19
अदान्मे पौरुकुत्स्यः पञ्चाशतं त्रसदस्युर्वधूनाम् । मंहिष्ठो अर्यः सत्पतिः ॥
ádān me paurukutsyáḥ pañcāśátaṃ trasádasyur vadhū́nām | maṃhíṣṭho aryáḥ sátpatiḥ ||
Trāsadasyu z rodu Paurukutsów dał mi pięćdziesiąt dziewic, on, najhojniejszy, szlachetny, pan prawdy.
Dānastuti (donation-praise) concluding/embedded in ritual recitation; records patron’s gift and reinforces sacrificial reciprocity.
sat (truth/being), right order/nobility (arya), bounty as plenitude
Implicit via satpati and arya: right support belongs to truth-aligned action.
Satpati emphasizes mastery rooted in truth, not mere power.
Manifestation of supportive powers (‘many maidens’) around the truth-led will.
Ethico-spiritual Vedic humanism leading toward inner kingship (Aurobindonian: outer event as symbol of inner gain).
The multiplication of supportive faculties within the being when the ruling will becomes ‘satpati’.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The patron as ‘most bounteous’ (maṃhiṣṭha) and ‘lord of sat’: a social mythologem of the generous king mirrored in cosmic terms. Innerly, it figures the giving power that supplies formative energies (vadhū-symbol) to the seeker under truth-mastery.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- sat (< √as ‘be’) reflects PIE *h₁es- ‘to be’ (English is). pati ‘lord’ is widespread IE (cf. Greek despótēs is not cognate; but ‘pati’ relates to Indo-Iranian *pati- ‘master’), showing inherited social-sacral vocabulary of mastery and being.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- In dānastuti, the relationship is explicit reciprocity: the poet receives gifts and returns praise that confers lasting fame and sacral legitimacy. In inner terms, generosity is read as influx of supporting powers when one aligns with sat (truth-being).
Gratitude and resource-consecration: offer your capacities (skills, time, energy) to the inner yajña.
Maṇipūra (organizing will) supported by Anāhata (gratitude).
4-6 breathing (inhale 4, exhale 6) while recalling supports received; on exhale, mentally ‘offer’ them back to the Divine.
Warm, steady, supported aspiration.
List the ‘fifty maidens’ as your concrete capacities; choose one to discipline today under the ‘satpati’—the truth within.
Observe marked accents (adā́n, pañcāśatáṃ, trasádasyuḥ). Keep the cadence even across the enumerative phrase.
Do not rush ‘pañcāśataṃ trasadasyur’; keep clear word boundaries despite sandhi in continuous chanting.
paurukutsyaḥ: split as pauru-kutsyaḥ; keep ‘ts’ cluster clean, pañcāśatam: pañ-ca; long ā in śā, trasadasyuḥ: dental s, clear yuḥ with visarga, satpatiḥ: crisp t; short iḥ at end
warm, grateful, narrative clarity.
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