Rig Veda 1.175.2: Mandala 1, Sukta 175, Mantra 2
Sukta 1.175
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
आ नस्ते गन्तु मत्सरो वृषा मदो वरेण्यः । सहावाँ इन्द्र सानसिः पृतनाषाळमर्त्यः ॥
ā́ nas te gantu matsaró vṛ́ṣā mádo váreṇyaḥ | sahávāṃ indra sānásīḥ pṛtanāṣā́ḷ amártyaḥ ||
Que venha a nós a tua embriaguez, taurina e arrebatadora, digna de ser escolhida. Ó Indra, forte no esforço, doador de ganhos, esmagador de batalhas hostis, Poder imortal: entra em nosso campo e firma a vitória.
Word by Word
- आ
- hither, towardsIndeclinableउपसर्ग (पूर्वपद)Root आ (उपसर्ग)
- नः
- to us / for usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी? (एन्क्लिटिक) बहुवचन; here: दत्तिव्-भावे (to us)Role SampradānaRoot अस्मद्
- ते
- thy, yourPronounषष्ठी एकवचन (enclitic)Root त्वद्
- गन्तु
- let (them) comeVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ) परस्मैपद, 3 पुरुष, बहुवचनRoot गम्
- मत्सरः
- exhilaration / intoxicationNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot मत्सर
- वृषा
- the bull (strong one)Noun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole Kartā (apposition)Root वृषन्
- मदः
- rapture, exhilarationNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole Kartā (apposition)Root मद
- वरेण्यः
- most choice, excellentAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole Kartā (qualifier/apposition)Root वरेण्य
- सहावान्
- mighty, powerfulAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole Kartā (vocative-sense epithet) / qualifierRoot सहावन्
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNoun (proper)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन एकवचनRoot इन्द्र
- सानसिः
- winner, bestower of gainNoun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole Kartā (apposition to Indra)Root सानसि
- पृतनाषाळ्
- battle-overpowerer, conqueror of hostsNoun (compound epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole Kartā (apposition)Root पृतना-षाह् (√षह्)
- अमर्त्यः
- immortalAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole Kartā (apposition/qualifier)Root अमर्त्य
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (Vedic sandhi resolved): आ | नः | ते | गन्तु | मत्सरः | वृषा | मदः | वरेण्यः || सहावान् | इन्द्र | सानसिः | पृतनाषाळ् | अमर्त्यः || 1) आ नः ते: एन्क्लिटिक सर्वनाम-समूह
- ‘नः’ दत्तिव्-अर्थे (to us) प्रायः। 2) सहावाँ॑ → सहावान् (प्रथमा एकवचन, -वान् प्रत्यय; पदान्ते न्). 3) पृतना॒षाळम्॑र्त्यः: संहिता में -ळ् + अ- (अमर्त्यः) के संयोग से ‘ळम्’ जैसा दृश्य
- पदपाठ में पृतनाषाळ् | अमर्त्यः।
The meaning
Outer meaning
May Indra’s rapturous, bull-like ecstasy come to us, worthy of choice; Indra is strong, winner of gains, smiter of battles, deathless.
Inner meaning
Invoke the descent of Indra’s chosen ecstasy—an empowering joy that makes the will steadfast. The deathless power in us (amartyaḥ) enters the field of effort, turns struggle into victory (pṛtanāṣāṭ), and secures true attainment (sānasiḥ) for the evolving soul.
Universal truth
The right joy is not escapism; it is a chosen force that makes us capable of sustained effort, transforms conflict, and brings durable gains.
Themes
Invocation, Victory over hostile powers, Soma-ecstasy as spiritual energy
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Lineage
- Vasiṣṭha-gotra (traditional)
- Other hymns
- RV 1.175.1-5, RV 7.18 (traditional association with Vasiṣṭha; broader corpus context)
Family tradition
Seer of harmonizing power: aligns human effort with divine help; emphasizes victory through right relation with the gods.
Significance
The rishi calls not merely for outer success but for the ‘chosen’ ecstasy that makes inner victory secure—an Aurobindonian theme of ānanda as dynamic power.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- सहवान् (sahavān), सानसिः (sānasiḥ), पृतनाषाट् (pṛtanāṣāṭ), अमर्त्यः (amartyaḥ)
- Related deities
- Soma, Maruts, Agni
Cosmic role
Champion of the gods who wins the spoils of light and establishes wide space for life.
Inner power
Courageous illumined will that enters the seeker and converts struggle into steady progress.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra invocation in Soma rites; also battle/victory prayers in a broad sense
आ न॑स्ते गन्तु मत्स॒रो वृषा॒ मदो॒ वरे॑ण्यः । स॒हावाँ॑ इन्द्र सान॒सिः पृ॑तना॒षाळम॑र्त्यः ॥
आ । नः॒ । ते॒ । ग॒न्तु॒ । म॒त्स॒रः । वृषा॑ । मदः॑ । वरे॑ण्यः । स॒हऽवा॑न् । इ॒न्द्र॒ । सा॒न॒सिः । पृ॒त॒ना॒षाट् । अम॑र्त्यः ॥
ā | naḥ | te | gantu | matsaraḥ | vṛṣā | madaḥ | vareṇyaḥ | saha-vān | indra | sānasiḥ | pṛtanāṣāṭ | amartyaḥ
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4 × ~11 syllables
Invocatory and martial; balanced strength with clarity.
Creates a ‘calling down’ feeling; supports confidence and readiness for disciplined action.
- आ नः ... गन्तु (ā naḥ ... gantu)
- Literal: may it come to us. Symbolic: Invitation for descent/arrival of higher force into the embodied consciousness
- वरेण्य (vareṇya)
- Literal: worthy to be chosen. Symbolic: Discerned spiritual selection—choosing the higher movement over lower impulses
- सहवान् (sahavān)
- Literal: possessing strength. Symbolic: Endurance-power for tapas and sustained inner work
- सानसिः (sānasiḥ)
- Literal: winner of gains. Symbolic: Capacity to secure realizations (light, wideness, mastery) as stable possessions
- पृतनाषाट् (pṛtanāṣāṭ)
- Literal: battle-smiter. Symbolic: Power that overcomes inner conflict—fear, desire, doubt, inertia
- अमर्त्यः (amartyaḥ)
- Literal: immortal. Symbolic: The deathless principle in us—spirit/mind-force not bound to decay
Indra-invocation within Soma liturgy; stotra calling Indra’s mada to the pressing
At moments of invoking Indra’s presence and strength; before decisive ritual actions.
Recitation with offering (Soma/libation) and invitation for Indra’s power to enter the rite.
Chant before challenging conversations, exams, or sādhanā periods to invite steady courage and ‘chosen’ joy rather than agitation.
vareṇyaḥ from √vṛ ‘to choose’ (var-), ‘worthy of choosing’—psychologically, the force the seeker must deliberately select over lower impulses. pṛtanāṣāṭ is a compound: pṛtanā ‘battle/hostile array’ + √sad/ṣad ‘to overcome, crush’ (as in ‘ṣāṭ’ ‘conqueror’), indicating the breaking of opposing formations in consciousness. sahávān from sáhas ‘strength’ (related to √sah ‘to be able, endure’).
Tapas and sahas (enduring force), R̥ta through victory over disorder, Immortality (amṛtatva) as divine station
Victory is framed as alignment with the right movement; Indra’s coming stabilizes ṛta in the human field.
‘Worthy to be chosen’ implies discrimination toward truth-force rather than impulse.
Descent of divine power into human effort—cooperation of heaven and earth within the being.
Integral-psychological Vedism: gods as functional powers in consciousness.
Bull = concentrated potency; battle = inner conflict; coming/arrival = descent of force into the nervous-mind system.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Indra as pṛtanāṣāṭ, the breaker of hostile arrays—an archetype of the champion who turns Soma-force into victory. Inner reading: the god dismantles consolidated patterns of ignorance/falsehood that resist r̥ta.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The victory lexicon (√san ‘win’, conqueror compounds) and the ‘choose’ lexeme (var-) reflect archaic IE poetic diction: the hero ‘wins’ and the worshipper ‘chooses’ the right power. The epithet amartyaḥ continues the old sacred opposition mortal/immortal, widespread in IE mythic grammar.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer calls for the descent of Indra’s mada into the community (‘to us’), implying that human aspiration and offering invite the divine champion; the return gift is victory—both outer protection and inner conquest.
Invite the descent of fearless joy; convert stress into steady power.
maṇipūra (will/strength) with support of ājñā (clear guidance)
4-4-6 breathing (inhale-hold-exhale) while inwardly repeating ‘ā naḥ… gantu’.
Steady, battle-ready equanimity.
On each repetition, feel Indra’s power ‘arrive’ in the solar plexus as warm steadiness; then offer it upward to the brow for clear action.
Tri-svara per śākhā; preserve udātta on key invocatives (ā, indra) where marked in accented text.
Do not over-accent consonant clusters in पृतनाषाट्; keep vowel lengths clear (ā, ī).
(vareṇyaḥ): retroflex ṇ, yya glide, (amartyaḥ): ‘tya’ palatal cluster cleanly, (sahavān): light aspiration on h
Inviting yet firm; like calling a strength that is benevolent.
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