Rig Veda 8.76.11: Mandala 8, Sukta 76, Mantra 11
Sukta 8.76
- Devata
- Indra
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism)
अनु त्वा रोदसी उभे क्रक्षमाणमकृपेताम् । इन्द्र यद्दस्युहाभवः ॥
ánu tvā ródasī ubhé krákṣamāṇam akṛpetām | índra yád dasyu-hā́ abhavaḥ ||
Niebo i Ziemia, dwa rozległe światy, podążały za tobą z wołaniem i nie opuściły cię, o Indro, gdy stałeś się pogromcą sił Dasyu, mocy zasłaniającego oporu.
Word by Word
- अनु
- after, along, in accordance (with)Indeclinableअव्यय (उपसर्ग/क्रियाविशेषण)Root अनु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- त्वा
- you (accusative: thee)Pronounद्वितीया एकवचन (अकर्मक/कर्मपद-रूप), पुं/स्त्री/नपुं (सर्वनाम)Role KarmaRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- रोदसी
- the two worlds (Heaven and Earth)Nounप्रथमा/द्वितीया/संबोधन द्विवचन, स्त्रीलिङ्ग (द्विवचन-शब्द)Role KartāRoot रोदसी (द्विवचन-प्रातिपदिक; द्यावापृथिव्यौ)
- उभे
- bothAdjectiveप्रथमा/द्वितीया/संबोधन द्विवचन, स्त्रीलिङ्ग (रोदसी इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role KartāRoot उभ (सर्वनाम/विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक)
- क्रक्षमाणम्
- roaring, crying aloudVerb (participle)वर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्), द्वितीया एकवचन, पुंलिङ्ग (त्वा इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role KarmaRoot क्रक्ष् (धातु; ‘क्रक्ष्/क्रक्ष्’ = गर्जने/क्रन्दने, वैदिक)
- अकृपेताम्
- (let them) not be pitiless; (let them) show compassionVerbलुङ्/आशीर्लिङ्-प्रयोग (वैदिक), ३ पुरुष, द्विवचन, परस्मैपद (रोदसी उभे इत्यस्य क्रिया)Role KartāRoot कृप् (धातु; ‘कृप्’ = कृपायाम्/अनुकम्पायाम्) + अङ् (निषेध)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNounसंबोधन एकवचन, पुंलिङ्गRole SambodhanaRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- यत्
- when/that (in that)Pronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन; यहाँ ‘यत्’ = ‘यदा/यत्’ (यत्-सम्बन्धार्थे)Role Adhikaraṇa (समय/कारण-संबन्ध)Root यद् (सम्बन्ध/यत्-प्रातिपदिक)
- दस्युहा
- slayer of the DasyuNoun/Adjectiveप्रथमा एकवचन, पुंलिङ्ग (इन्द्रस्य विशेषणम्)Role KartāRoot दस्युहन् (प्रातिपदिक; दस्यु + हन् ‘slayer’)
- अभवः
- you became / you wereVerbलुङ् (अorist), २ पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole KartāRoot भू (धातु)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: अनु | त्वा | रोदसी | उभे | क्रक्षमाणम् | अकृपेताम् | इन्द्र | यत् | दस्युहा | अभवः । सन्धि: (1) ‘क्रक्षमाणम् + अकृपेताम्’ में संधि नहीं
- केवल पद-संयोग। (2) ‘इन्द्र + यत्’ में विसर्ग/स्वर-संधि नहीं (संबोधनान्त ‘इन्द्र’ के बाद यत्)। (3) ‘दस्युहा + अभवः’ में भी बाह्य-संधि नहीं। स्वर-टिप्पणी: मन्त्रपाठ में उदात्त/अनुदात्त चिह्न (अनु॑, त्वा॒, रोद॑सी, उ॒भे, क्रक्ष॑माणम्, इन्द्र॒, यद्द॑स्यु॒हाभ॑वः) पदच्छेद के बाद भी वैदिक स्वर-परंपरा के अनुसार यथास्थान ग्रहणीय हैं।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Heaven and Earth followed Indra with their cry and did not abandon him when he became the slayer of the Dasyus.
Inner meaning
When the illumined Mind takes up the battle against the Dasyu-forces (powers of obscuration, disorder, and falsehood), the two foundational realms—rodasī (Heaven and Earth: mind and embodied life)—support the action. Their ‘cry’ is the spontaneous assent of the whole being when truth-force begins to conquer resistance. The mantra affirms integral participation: not only a mental victory, but the consent of both heights and depths.
Universal truth
Real transformation requires the alliance of the higher aspiration and the grounded life-nature; when obscuring habits are confronted, the whole system must follow and not desert the effort.
Themes
Indra-victory, Dasyu-slaying (inner obstruction), cosmic support of the hero-force
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 8.76.9-12 (surrounding Indra-Soma and victory motifs)
Family tradition
Indra hymns emphasizing victory over hostile forces; psychological battle imagery typical of the warrior-seer temperament.
Significance
The seer speaks from an integral standpoint: transformation is a cosmic event mirrored in the individual—Heaven and Earth ‘follow’ the awakened Indra.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Dasyuhā (slayer of Dasyus), Vṛtrahan, Śatakratu
- Related deities
- Dyāvā-Pṛthivī (Heaven-Earth), Maruts, Agni
Cosmic role
Champion of the gods who restores cosmic order by defeating hostile powers and securing the worlds.
Inner power
Courageous discrimination and luminous force that cuts through obscuration, gaining the consent of both mind and life.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra victory invocation within Soma rites or battle-protective recitations
अनु॑ त्वा॒ रोद॑सी उ॒भे क्रक्ष॑माणमकृपेताम् । इन्द्र॒ यद्द॑स्यु॒हाभ॑वः ॥
अनु॑ । त्वा॒ । रोद॑सी॒ इति॑ । उ॒भे इति॑ । क्रक्ष॑माणम् । अ॒कृ॒पे॒ता॒म् । इन्द्र॑ । यत् । द॒स्यु॒ऽहा । अभ॑वः ॥
anu | tvā | rodasī iti | ubhe | iti | krakṣamāṇam | akṛpetām | indra | yat | dasyu-hā | abhavaḥ
Two-pāda verse as given; probably part of a larger metrical set in the hymn.
March-like, supportive cadence—‘following’ rhythm with a strong concluding beat on dasyuhā.
Builds confidence and steadiness; evokes a sense of being backed by the whole cosmos/whole being.
- rodasī ubhe
- Literal: both Heaven and Earth. Symbolic: mind and life/body; higher and lower hemispheres of the being needing harmony
- anu tvā
- Literal: after you, following you. Symbolic: supporting movement; alignment of parts behind the leading illumination
- krakṣamāṇam
- Literal: crying out, calling loudly. Symbolic: the awakening call of the being; the rallying vibration in nature toward victory
- akṛpetām
- Literal: they did not abandon/neglect. Symbolic: steadfastness of aspiration and embodiment; refusal to relapse into old inertia
- dasyu-hā
- Literal: slayer of Dasyu. Symbolic: destroyer of obscuring/anti-truth impulses and chaotic forces
Indra-focused Soma praise; suitable for Soma offerings and recitations invoking Indra’s victory-power in the pressing (general Soma-yajña usage).
When calling Indra as protector and conqueror of enemies/obstacles; Soma-related contexts common in RV 8.
Praise to secure Indra’s aid; affirmation of cosmic support.
Use when facing inner relapse: affirm that both ‘heaven’ (clarity) and ‘earth’ (daily life) can align behind the higher decision.
: pres. mid. ptc. from √krakṣ/√krax ‘to cry out, call’ (onomatopoetic nuance), marking a resonant acclaim/support. : 3rd dual perfect/aorist-like form from √kṛp/√kḷp in the sense ‘to yield, be weak, fail’ with privative a-; ‘the two did not give way’. : tatpuruṣa ‘dasyu + hā’ from √han ‘to strike, slay’; in inner sense, to strike down obscuration.
R̥ta as upheld order through victory over disorder, support of the worlds for the true action
Indra’s slaying of Dasyus re-establishes right movement; Heaven-Earth remain faithful to that restoration.
Dasyu stands for the anti-truth; victory is the triumph of satya-consciousness.
Stabilization of the worlds: the two realms are kept in harmony through victory over disorder.
Early Vedic integralism: cosmic forces correspond to psychological powers; order is both universal and inward.
Heaven=clarity/illumination; Earth=embodied habit-nature. Their ‘following’ is psycho-physical alignment behind the soul’s warrior-intelligence.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Indra as dasyu-hā: the archetypal victory of the illumined force over the Dasyu powers (darkness/chaos). The two worlds (rodasī) acclaim and sustain the act, indicating that the triumph aligns with R̥ta rather than being mere violence.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The slaying epithet hā (< √han) continues PIE *gʷhen- ‘to strike, kill’ (cf. Avestan jan-, Greek -phonos in semantic field of killing). The cosmic pair rodasī parallels Indo-European dual cosmologies (sky/earth dyad) expressed via dual number and paired lexemes.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The verse frames Indra’s act as cosmically endorsed: Heaven and Earth ‘do not abandon’ him. The singer aligns his own aspiration with that endorsement—praise becomes a means to participate in the R̥ta-consistent victory over inner Dasyu resistance.
Feel the ‘two worlds’ in you—quiet sky-mind and grounded earth-body—consciously consenting to the work of removing obscurations.
Muladhara–Ajna integration (earth support + illumined command)
Grounding inhale to belly (earth), lift exhale to brow (heaven), silently repeat ‘anu tvā’ on the lift for 12 rounds.
Steady warrior poise; supported effort without strain.
When resistance appears, do not isolate the effort in the head: enlist the body through posture, breath, and routine so ‘Earth’ does not abandon ‘Heaven’.
Standard RV svara rules; emphasize udātta on key nouns (rodasī, indra, dasyuhā) according to marked accents in a svara-text.
Sustain the mid-phrase momentum; land firmly on ‘indra’ and ‘dasyuhābhavaḥ’.
rodasī: keep long ī, krakṣamāṇam: conjunct kṣ; do not split too widely, akṛpetām: retroflex ṛ; long ām, dasyuhā: clear hā (long ā)
Steady, martial, supportive—less sharp than a battle-cry, more like a firm vow.
9
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.
