Rig Veda 8.80.8: Mandala 8, Sukta 80, Mantra 8
Sukta 8.80
- Devata
- Indra
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
मा सीमवद्य आ भागुर्वी काष्ठा हितं धनम् । अपावृक्ता अरत्नयः ॥
mā sīm avádyé ā́ bhāk urvī́ kā́ṣṭhā hitáṃ dhánam | apā́vṛktā aratnáyaḥ ||
Niech nie mają udziału w tym, co godne nagany; szerokie słupy celu stoją, skarb jest utwierdzony. Odwrócone, nieumiejętne ręce cofają się, tylko sprawiedliwi działacze osiągają umieszczone bogactwo istnienia.
Word by Word
- मा
- do notIndeclinableनिषेधार्थक अव्यय (prohibitive particle)Root मा (निषेध) / mā́
- सीम्
- indeed; just; them/it (emphatic)Indeclinableएन्क्लिटिक अव्यय (emphatic/limiting particle)Root सीम् (enclitic particle)
- अवद्य
- blameworthy; reproachableAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (used predicatively)Root अवद्य (अ-वद्य) < √वद्
- आ
- towards; forthIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्यय (directional/intensifying)Root आ (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- भागुर्वी
- Bhāgurvī (a female name/epithet)Noun (proper/epithet)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot भागुर्वी (प्रातिपदिक)
- काष्ठा
- the goal/limit; boundary (lit. ‘post, end’)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot काष्ठा
- हि
- indeed; forIndeclinableनिपात (emphatic/causal)Root हि
- हितम्
- placed; set; depositedParticiple/Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (PPP)Root √धा (धा → हित) / ‘हित’
- धनम्
- wealth; treasureNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot धन
- अपावृक्ता
- turned away; driven back; repelledParticiple/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (PPP)Role KartāRoot अप-आ-√वृत् (वृत्त) → अपावृक्त
- अरत्नयः
- the handless/forearmless ones (crippled/disabled; lit. ‘without forearms’)Noun/Adjective (substantivized)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot अरत्न (a-ratna) / ‘without hands/without forearms’
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: मा | सीम् | अवद्य | आ | भागुर्वी | काष्ठा | हि | हितम् | धनम् | अपावृक्ता: | अरत्नयः । Sandhi/phonetics: (1) ‘मा सीम्’ = prohibitive particle + enclitic ‘सीम्’ (no sandhi change). (2) ‘अवद्य आ’ shows hiatus across pada-boundary (no coalescence in padapāṭha). (3) ‘अपावृक्ता अरत्नयः’ likewise kept separate
- visarga in ‘अपावृक्ता:’ is padapāṭha punctuation, not lexical
The meaning
Outer meaning
A protective injunction: do not share in what is blameworthy; the wide “posts/limits” are set and the treasure is firmly placed; those with unskilled hands turn back, while the capable reach the established wealth.
Inner meaning
In the inner yajña, the seeker is warned not to consent to the “blameworthy” movements (lower impulses, falsehood, inertia). The “wide posts/goal-limits” are the stable boundaries of right striving (ṛta) that hold the path open. The “treasure set firm” is the secured inner wealth—light, force, delight—already placed by the gods in the being. Only the right-trained faculties (dakṣiṇa—skill, consecrated capacity) can grasp it; the unformed, ego-driven powers (aratnayaḥ, ‘without right measure/skill’) recoil and fail.
Universal truth
Lasting inner gain requires refusal of degrading consent and cultivation of right capacity. The higher attainment exists as a real potential, but it is accessed only by disciplined, rightly directed faculties.
Themes
ethical purification, fitness and exclusion, attainment of treasure, boundary/goal symbolism
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 8.80 (context hymn), Rig Veda 8.81 (continuation in similar Indraic tone)
Significance
The anonymous seer-voice here functions as an inner instructor: it distinguishes the capable instruments of sādhanā from the unfit, emphasizing ethical-psychological purification as a condition for Indra’s illuminative gifts.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra (implicit, by hymn context)
- Epithets
- maghavan (bountiful), vṛtrahan (slayer of the coverer), śatakratu (of a hundred powers)
- Related deities
- Agni, Soma, Uṣas, Maruts
Cosmic role
Breaker of obstruction, opener of the path, giver of luminous force and victorious increase.
Inner power
Divine Mind-force that rejects the false, stabilizes right limits, and enables the faculties to seize the hidden treasure of being.
In ritual
Where it is used
Apotropaic/ethical-ritual closure: excludes the unfit from the ‘placed wealth’ and affirms attainment for the aligned; could accompany competitive rites or distribution of gains.
मा सी॑मव॒द्य आ भा॑गु॒र्वी काष्ठा॑ हि॒तं धन॑म् । अ॒पावृ॑क्ता अर॒त्नय॑: ॥
मा । सी॒म् । अ॒व॒द्ये । आ । भा॒क् । उ॒र्वी । काष्ठा॑ । हि॒तम् । धन॑म् । अ॒प॒ऽआवृ॑क्ताः । अ॒र॒त्नयः॑ ॥
mā | sīm | avadye | ā | bhāk | urvī | kāṣṭhā | hitam | dhanam | apa-āvṛktāḥ | aratnayaḥ
Probable 2 pāda half-verse with internal cadence
Injunctive and firm; a ‘checking’ rhythm suited to restraint and right decision.
Creates a psychological boundary—strengthening refusal of the lower and concentrating the will to grasp the established inner wealth.
- mā
- Literal: do not. Symbolic: inner prohibition: refuse consent to lower movements
- sīm
- Literal: indeed/just. Symbolic: decisive emphasis in the will of renunciation
- avadya
- Literal: blameworthy, censurable. Symbolic: falsehood, ego-impulse, tamasic habit that obstructs growth
- urvī kāṣṭhā
- Literal: wide posts/limits/goal-frames. Symbolic: broad, stable law of the path (ṛta) that keeps the way open
- hitaṃ dhanam
- Literal: placed/established treasure. Symbolic: secured inner wealth: light-knowledge, strength, delight set in the being
- apāvṛktāḥ
- Literal: turned away, recoiling. Symbolic: energies that cannot bear truth-force; they fall back from the ascent
- aratnayaḥ
- Literal: unskilled hands / without ‘ratna’ or right measure. Symbolic: untrained faculties lacking consecration and right discernment; incapacity to hold the higher force
Apotropaic/ethical-ritual closure: excludes the unfit from the ‘placed wealth’ and affirms attainment for the aligned; could accompany competitive rites or distribution of gains.
Use as a short resolve-mantra before meditation: ‘I refuse the blameworthy; I turn back from unskilled movements; I align to the wide law and grasp the placed treasure.’
avadyá ‘blameworthy’ from a- + vadya (to be spoken against) related to √vad ‘speak’ (PIE *wed- ‘speak’). bhāk from √bhaj ‘share, allot’ (PIE *bʰag- ‘share, apportion’). kāṣṭhā ‘limit/goal’ (also ‘direction’), marking a fixed station. hitam ‘placed’ (ppp; in Vedic often from √dhā ‘set’). aratni/aratnáyaḥ: aratni ‘forearm’ (measure; ‘hand’ metonymy), a- privative → ‘handless/unskilled’, those unable to grasp the treasure.
exclusion of falsehood (avadyá) to maintain Rita, right fitness to receive spiritual wealth, attainment as reaching a fixed station
The ‘wide posts/limits’ suggest the fixed supports of ṛta that hold the path and prevent deviation.
Only truth-aligned capacities can ‘reach’ what is truly established (hita).
Hidden plenitude placed in the being, to be recovered by right action and illumination.
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral (Aurobindonian) reading: ascent of consciousness, recovery of concealed light.
Posts = stable law/supports of practice; treasure = inner light-force-delight; hands = faculties of grasping/doing (karma-indriyas and will).
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is the ‘guarded treasure at the goal’: wealth is ‘placed’ (hitam) at a wide station (urvī kāṣṭhā), but the unfit are ‘turned away’ (apāvṛktāḥ). Psychologically, the soul’s treasure of being is reserved for those whose instruments (‘hands’) are capable—disciplined faculties aligned with Rita—while defective movements (avadyá) cannot partake.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √bhaj ‘share/apportion’ reflects the Indo-European distribution motif (PIE *bʰag-; cf. Slavic bogŭ ‘giver/fortune’ in later developments, and Sanskrit bhaga ‘portion’). The moral category avadyá built on √vad ‘speak’ parallels IE shame/blame as ‘what is spoken against’.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi aligns with the deity’s law of right distribution: the god sets the treasure and the goal; the singer asks that wrong formations be denied participation. The reciprocity is maintained by purity and fitness—human discipline ensures the divine gift can be securely ‘placed’ and truly held.
Refusal of lower consent; strengthening the right will to grasp the inner ‘placed treasure’.
Manipura (will/force) and Ajna (right discernment)
4-4-6 breathing (inhale-hold-exhale) while repeating the first pāda as a resolve; exhale on ‘apāvṛktāḥ’.
From scattered impulse to collected, upright determination.
Before practice, name one ‘avadya’ tendency to renounce; then invoke Indra inwardly to stabilize the ‘wide limits’ (ṛta) and train one faculty (speech, attention, action) to become ‘dakṣiṇa’—fit to hold the higher force.
Not fully determinable from provided text alone; follow śākala recitation with udatta on accented syllables as marked in saṃhitā (e.g.,,,,, :).
Keep udatta crisp and slightly raised; avoid flattening svarita after marked accents; maintain caesura before the final phrase.
Maintain long vowels: urvī, kāṣṭhā, Cluster clarity: apāvṛktāḥ (:)—do not drop vṛ, aratnayaḥ (:)—light ‘r’, dental ‘t’
Firm, declarative, with a ‘protective’ tone.
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