Rig Veda 8.44.11: Mandala 8, Sukta 44, Mantra 11
Sukta 8.44
- Devata
- Agni
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Raudra (fury)
अग्ने नि पाहि नस्त्वं प्रति ष्म देव रीषतः । भिन्धि द्वेषः सहस्कृत ॥
agne ní pāhi nas tváṃ práti ṣma deva ríṣataḥ | bhindhí dvéṣaḥ sahaḥ-kṛta ||
O Agni, strzeż nas od dołu i zewsząd; stawaj twarzą ku krzywdzącemu, o Boska Mocy. Rozbij wrogość wykutą siłą, skrusz wolę nieprzyjaźni.
Word by Word
- अग्ने
- O AgniNoun (vocative)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot अग्नि- (प्रातिपदिक) < PIE *h₁n̥gʷnis
- नि
- down; in; (as preverb)Indeclinableउपसर्ग (क्रियाविशेषक)Root नि (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- पा॑हि
- protect!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); मध्यम-पुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot पा (धातु) ‘रक्षणे’
- नः
- us; of us / for usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी-बहुवचन (एन्क्लिटिक ‘नः’)Role सम्प्रदान (हितार्थ) / सम्बन्धRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- त्वम्
- youPronounप्रथमा-एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रति॑
- against; towardIndeclinableअव्यय; (क्रियाविशेषक/दिशासूचक)Root प्रति (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- ष्म
- indeed; just; prayIndeclinableवैदिक-निपात (बल/अनुनय/सम्बोधन-प्रयोगे)Root ष्म (निपात)
- देव
- O godNoun (vocative)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot देव- (प्रातिपदिक)
- रीष॑तः
- of the assailant; of the injurerParticiple used as noun/adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-एकवचन (रीषतः = ‘of the injuring one’)Role अपादान/सम्बन्ध (यस्य विरुद्धम्)Root रीष् (धातु) ‘हिंसायाम्/क्षतौ’ → वर्तमान-कृदन्त ‘रीषत्’
- भि॒न्धि
- split; shatter!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); मध्यम-पुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot भिद् (धातु) ‘भेदने’
- द्वेषः
- hatred; hostilityNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया-एकवचनRole कर्म (भिन्दि इति क्रियायाः)Root द्वेष- (प्रातिपदिक) < द्विष् ‘द्वेषे’
- सहस्कृत
- made strong; force-wrought; strengthenedAdjective/Participle (compound)नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया-एकवचन; (द्वेषः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role कर्म-विशेषणRoot सहस्- (प्रातिपदिक ‘बलम्’) + कृ (धातु) ‘करणे’ → कृत (भूतकृदन्त)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: अग्ने | नि | पा॑हि | नः | त्वम् | प्रति॑ | ष्म | देव | रीष॑तः | भि॒न्धि | द्वेषः | सहस्कृत । 1) ‘अग्ने’ सम्बोधन-एकवचन (अग्नि-). 2) ‘नि’ उपसर्गः ‘पा॑हि’ इत्यनेन सह अर्थसम्बन्धः (नि-पा॑हि = ‘नितराम्/अधः/अन्तः रक्ष’). 3) ‘नस्त्वम्’ इति संहितायां ‘नः + त्वम्’ (विसर्गलोप/एन्क्लिटिक-संयोग) → पदे ‘नः | त्वम्’. 4) ‘देव॒ रीष॑तः’ संहितायां केवलं पदक्रमः
- ‘रीषतः’ षष्ठी-एकवचनं ‘रीषत्’ (वर्तमानकृदन्त) इत्यस्य. 5) ‘द्वेष॑:’ = ‘द्वेषः’ (विसर्गः)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Agni is asked to protect from below and all around, to stand facing the injurer, and to break the hostility forged by force.
Inner meaning
Invoke the inner Fire as guardian of the being’s lower nature (subconscient impulses ‘from below’) and as a circumference of protection on every side. ‘Stand facing the injurer’ means: bring conscious will directly against the attacking forces—fear, doubt, anger, inertia, hostile suggestions. ‘Hostility forged by force’ points to hardened patterns in the vital (sahaḥ-kṛta), aggressive formations that resist change. Agni is prayed to shatter these formations so the sacrifice can proceed without leakage of energy.
Universal truth
Transformation requires both aspiration and protection: a vigilant inner will must confront and dissolve entrenched hostility and compulsive reactions, not merely avoid them.
Themes
protection, warding-off hostility, inner battle (light vs. obstruction), Agni as guardian and purifier
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 8.44 (adjacent verses as a protective-invoking sequence), RV 1.99 (Agni as protector), RV 7.13 (Agni guarding the rite)
Family tradition
Kāṇva style of practical sādhanā: Agni as protector and breaker of inner enemies.
Significance
This is a ‘rakṣa’ (protective) orientation: the inner sacrifice needs a protective fire that can meet and break resistance.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- deva, sahaskṛt (addressed as breaker of force-forged hostility), rakṣitṛ (protector—functional epithet)
- Related deities
- Indra (slayer of Vṛtra—parallel action of breaking resistance), Rudra (protector-healer aspect when hostility is fierce)
Cosmic role
Guardian at thresholds; purifier who repels hostile powers and maintains the integrity of the rite.
Inner power
Protective psychic heat that exposes and dissolves hostile formations; courage and clarity in confrontation.
In ritual
Where it is used
Protective recitation during offerings; apotropaic use alongside Agni kindling
अग्ने॒ नि पा॑हि न॒स्त्वं प्रति॑ ष्म देव॒ रीष॑तः । भि॒न्धि द्वेष॑: सहस्कृत ॥
अग्ने॑ । नि । पा॒हि॒ । नः॒ । त्वम् । प्रति॑ । स्म॒ । दे॒व॒ । रिष॑तः । भि॒न्धि । द्वेषः॑ । स॒हः॒ऽकृ॒त॒ ॥
agne | ni | pāhi | naḥ | tvam | prati | sma | deva | riṣataḥ | bhindhi | dveṣaḥ | sahaḥ-kṛta
16
2 x 8
Command-like, imperative rhythm; sharp verbs (pāhi, bhindhi) drive the beat.
Energizes will and courage; creates a protective psychological boundary and a sense of decisive cutting-through.
- ni pāhi
- Literal: protect from below. Symbolic: guard the subconscient and lower impulses; stabilize the foundation
- prati
- Literal: facing, against. Symbolic: direct confrontation with inner/outer negativity in conscious awareness
- rīṣataḥ
- Literal: injurer, attacker. Symbolic: hostile forces—fear, doubt, depression, resentment, disruptive impulses
- dveṣaḥ
- Literal: hatred, hostility. Symbolic: inner division; reactive aversion that blocks harmony
- sahaḥ-kṛta
- Literal: made/forged by force. Symbolic: hardened vital formations; compulsions powered by raw energy
General Agni-invocation within the domestic and śrauta fire-cult; protective/apotropaic use in the yajña to ward off hostile forces (dvéṣas, rīṣant-).
When seeking protection from obstacles/enemies; at transitions in ritual or before a difficult undertaking.
Offer ghee; mentally place Agni as a guard at the ‘lower gate’ and around the field of action.
Use before work, travel, or intense sādhanā to cut reactive hostility; also as a boundary-setting mantra in emotional turbulence.
Key roots: √pā ‘protect, preserve’ (pāhi 2sg imp.); √riṣ ‘injure, harm’ (rīṣataḥ gen. sg. ‘of the injurer’); √bhid ‘split, cleave’ (bhindhi 2sg imp.). dvéṣas- ‘hostility/aversion’ from √dviṣ ‘to hate, be hostile’. sáhas- ‘force, might’ (often a raw power of the vital) + √kṛ ‘make’ → sahaḥ-kṛta ‘force-made/violently fashioned’. Psychological sense: the “injurer” is the distorting movement in the lower/vital nature; dvéṣas is the reactive aversion that blocks ṛta (right order).
Ṛta (right order defended against distortion), tapas (Agni as inner heat/purification), rakṣā (spiritual protection)
Hostility is a movement against ṛta; Agni restores right order by breaking it.
Facing (prati) the injurer implies truth-seeing rather than denial; satya as fearless clarity.
Purification by fire as necessary for emergence of higher order from mixed forces.
Integral yoga resonance: hostile forces are real formations; they are met by psychic fire and illumined will.
Fire as a ‘guardian perimeter’; downward protection indicates safeguarding the subconscient base; breaking hostility equals burning knots in the vital.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Apotropaic guardianship by Agni: the divine Fire stands ‘facing’ the injurer and cleaves hostile formations. Mythically this echoes Agni as rakṣohā (slayer of obstructers) and as the forward-placed guardian of the sacrifice; psychologically it is the awakened will that confronts and breaks reactive aversion (dvéṣas) forged by violent vital force (sáhas).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √pā ‘protect’ continues PIE *peh₂- ‘to protect, pasture’ (cf. Latin pāstor ‘shepherd’, English ‘food’ is different root; but the pastoral/protective semantic field aligns). √bhid ‘split’ reflects PIE *bʰeyd- ‘to split’ (cf. English ‘bite’ often compared in older literature; more securely: Slavic cognates for ‘split’). dvéṣas from √dviṣ aligns with Indo-Iranian hostility terms (Avestan dviša- ‘hatred/hostility’), showing shared inherited moral-psychological vocabulary.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The speaker asks for an active reciprocity: Agni is not merely praised but commanded as the inner ally—‘protect us’ and ‘break hostility’. The implied exchange is: the human offers attention and sacrificial aspiration; Agni returns guardianship, confronting the rīṣant (injuring impulse) and restoring conditions for ṛta within the practitioner.
Place Agni as protective will at the navel/heart; confront a specific inner hostility (resentment, self-attack, doubt) and offer it into the flame.
Manipura (protective will) and Anahata (psychic courage without hatred).
Exhale-focused practice: longer exhale while mentally saying bhindhi dveṣaḥ; feel release of tension/hostility.
Firm, vigilant, courageous presence.
Recite 3 times slowly to establish protection ‘below and around’; then 7 brisk repetitions to ‘break’ the hostile formation; end with 1 silent minute sensing a clear boundary of calm heat.
Follow svara marks; emphasize imperatives pāhi and bhindhi with clear udatta lift; keep prati ṣma together as a single directional push.
Do not rush ‘agne ni pāhi naḥ’; slight pause after rīṣataḥ; strike ‘bhindhi dveṣaḥ’ cleanly.
agne: clear ‘gn’ cluster, ni pāhi: long ā in pāhi, naḥ: visarga softened before tvam, rīṣataḥ: long ī; retroflex ṣ, bhindhi: aspirated bh; dental dh, sahaḥkṛta: visarga in sahaḥ; kṛ with vocalic ṛ
Protective, forceful but controlled; avoid anger—keep it luminous.
11
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
