Rig Veda 2.21.1: Mandala 2, Sukta 21, Mantra 1
Sukta 2.21
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
विश्वजिते धनजिते स्वर्जिते सत्राजिते नृजित उर्वराजिते । अश्वजिते गोजिते अब्जिते भरेन्द्राय सोमं यजताय हर्यतम् ॥
viśvá-jite dhaná-jite svaḥ́-jite satrā́-jite nṛ́-jite urvarā́-jite | aśvá-jite gó-jite ap-jíte bhárendrā́ya sómaṃ yajatā́ya haryatáṃ ||
Ao Vencedor de tudo, vencedor das riquezas, vencedor do céu luminoso, vencedor constante, vencedor das forças do homem, vencedor dos amplos campos do crescimento; vencedor da potência do corcel, vencedor das vacas-raio da Luz, vencedor das águas da inspiração — trazei o Soma para Indra, o digno do sacrifício, o amado.
Word by Word
- विश्वजिते
- to the all-conqueringAdjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी-एकवचन (दत्तिव्) — ‘to/for the all-conquering (one)’Role सम्प्रदानRoot विश्वजित् (विśva- + √जि ‘to conquer’)
- धनजिते
- to the wealth-conqueringAdjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी-एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot धनजित् (धन- + √जि)
- स्वर्जिते
- to the heaven-conqueringAdjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी-एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot स्वर्जित् (स्वर्/स्वर्ग- + √जि)
- सत्राजिते
- to the conqueror in (ritual) sessionsAdjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी-एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot सत्राजित् (सत्र- ‘session/rite’ + √जि)
- नृजिते
- to the conqueror of menAdjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी-एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot नृजित् (नृ- ‘men’ + √जि)
- उर्वराजिते
- to the conqueror of fertile fieldsAdjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी-एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot उर्वराजित् (उर्वरा- ‘fertile field’ + √जि)
- अश्वजिते
- to the horse-winningAdjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी-एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot अश्वजित् (अश्व- ‘horse’ + √जि)
- गोजिते
- to the cow-winningAdjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी-एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot गोजित् (गो- ‘cow’ + √जि)
- अब्जिते
- to the water-winningAdjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी-एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot अब्जित् (अप्/अब् ‘waters’ + √जि)
- भरेन्द्राय
- to Indra-the-battle-lordNoun (proper epithet)पुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी-एकवचन — ‘to Bhareindra (Indra in battle)’Role सम्प्रदानRoot भरेन्द्र (भर- ‘battle/struggle’ + इन्द्र)
- सोमम्
- Soma (drink)Nounपुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-एकवचनRole कर्मRoot सोम
- यजताय
- to the worship-worthyAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी-एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot यजत (यज्-धातोः क्त-प्रत्ययान्त ‘worthy of worship’)
- हर्यतम्
- pleasing, delightfulAdjective (used predicatively/qualifying the offering)नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-एकवचन (agreeing with सोमम् understood as offering/juice) OR adverbial accusative ‘pleasantly’ (Vedic usage)Role कर्म (as qualifier of सोमम्)Root हर्यत (√हृ/हर् ‘to desire/like’ → हर्य ‘to be desired’; Vedic adj. ‘dear/pleasing’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (no major external sandhi): विश्वजिते | धनजिते | स्वर्जिते | सत्राजिते | नृजिते | उर्वराजिते || अश्वजिते | गोजिते | अब्जिते | भरेन्द्राय | सोमम् | यजताय | हर्यतम् || All -जिते forms are dative singular masculine epithets built on -जित् (< √जि ‘conquer’). Accent marks are preserved from the Saṃhitā text
- pada-analysis here focuses on morphological segmentation rather than full accent derivation
The meaning
Outer meaning
An invocation to bring Soma for Indra, praised as the conqueror of every field: wealth, heaven, continual victory, human powers, fertile expanses; winner of horses, cows, and waters.
Inner meaning
Offer the Soma (bliss-essence) to Indra, the illumined Mind that conquers every layer of the being: material plenitude (dhana), higher luminous consciousness (svaḥ), persistent victory over recurring resistance (satrā), the human faculties and energies (nṛ), the broad fields of growth in the nature (urvarā). Indra’s victories include mastery of vital force (aśva), release of rays of knowledge (go), and opening of the inner waters—streams of inspiration and consciousness (ap).
Universal truth
Spiritual progress is an integrative conquest: illumination must win not only a “heavenly” insight but also stable, repeated victory in daily life—transforming vitality, knowledge, and the flow of inspiration into a unified growth of the whole being.
Themes
Indra-invocation, Soma-offering, epithet-chain (victory litany), inner battle: Light vs. obstruction, acquisition of rays (go) and waters (ap)
The seer
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada (Bhārgava)
- Lineage
- Bhārgava (Bhr̥gu lineage)
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 2.1, Rig Veda 2.3, Rig Veda 2.12, Rig Veda 2.19, Rig Veda 2.23
Family tradition
The Bhārgavas are strongly associated with the fire-knowledge (Agni), inspired speech, and the winning of light through inner sacrifice; Gṛtsamada’s Indra hymns emphasize victorious illumination and the recovery of plenitudes.
Significance
Gṛtsamada’s vision frequently presents Indra not merely as a battle-god but as the power of luminous mind that secures all-sided victory—light, force, inspiration, and abundance—for the evolving soul.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- viśvajit, dhanajit, svarjit, satrājit, nṛjit, urvarājit, aśvajit, gojit, apjit, yajata, haryata
- Related deities
- Agni, Soma, Uṣas, Bṛhaspati, Maruts
Cosmic role
Breaker of the Coverer, opener of the luminous world (svar), leader in the release of the Waters and the Cows (knowledge and inspiration), establisher of victorious order.
Inner power
Illuminative intelligence that conquers obscurity, organizes the energies, and turns bliss (soma) into effective force for transformation.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma offering/invocation to Indra in Soma-yajña sequences (Indra-stotras/śastras contextually)
वि॒श्व॒जिते॑ धन॒जिते॑ स्व॒र्जिते॑ सत्रा॒जिते॑ नृ॒जित॑ उर्वरा॒जिते॑ । अ॒श्व॒जिते॑ गो॒जिते॑ अ॒ब्जिते॑ भ॒रेन्द्रा॑य॒ सोमं॑ यज॒ताय॑ हर्य॒तम् ॥
वि॒श्व॒ऽजिते॑ । ध॒न॒ऽजिते॑ । स्वः॒ऽजिते॑ । स॒त्रा॒ऽजिते॑ । नृ॒ऽजिते॑ । उ॒र्व॒रा॒ऽजिते॑ । अ॒श्व॒ऽजिते॑ । गो॒ऽजिते॑ । अ॒प्ऽजिते॑ । भ॒र॒ । इन्द्रा॑य । सोम॑म् । य॒ज॒ताय॑ । ह॒र्य॒तम् ॥
viśva-jite | dhana-jite | svaḥ-jite | satrājite | nṛ-jite | urvarājite | aśva-j ite | go--jite | ap-jite | bhara | indrāya | somam | yajatāya | haryatam
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4 pādas of ~11 syllables each
Driving, martial yet expansive; built for proclamation of power and victory.
Energizes will and confidence; creates a forward-thrusting cadence suitable for invoking decisive illumination.
- सोम (soma)
- Literal: pressed soma-juice, offering. Symbolic: divine Ananda/bliss, nectar of consciousness offered upward
- इन्द्र (indra)
- Literal: Vedic god Indra. Symbolic: divine Mind/illumination-force that breaks obstruction and establishes clarity
- विश्वजित् (viśvajit)
- Literal: conqueror of all. Symbolic: illumination that can master every plane of the nature
- धनजित् (dhanajit)
- Literal: winner of wealth. Symbolic: attainment of inner and outer plenitudes needed for the work
- स्वर्जित् (svarjit)
- Literal: winner of heaven/light. Symbolic: victory in the luminous mind; access to higher consciousness
- सत्राजित् (satrājit)
- Literal: conquering continuously/always. Symbolic: stable repetition-proof mastery over recurring habits and subconscient returns
- नृजित् (nṛjit)
- Literal: winner of men. Symbolic: mastery of human faculties: will, thought, sense-mind, ego-forces
- उर्वराजित् (urvarājit)
- Literal: winner of wide fields. Symbolic: opening broad growth-grounds in the being for sustained transformation
- अश्वजित् (aśvajit)
- Literal: winner of horses. Symbolic: mastery and right direction of vital energies and action-force
- गोजित् (gojit)
- Literal: winner of cows. Symbolic: recovery of rays of Light/knowledge held back by darkness
- अप्जित् (apjit/abjit)
- Literal: winner of waters. Symbolic: release of inspiration, intuitive currents, living consciousness-streams
- हर्यत (haryata)
- Literal: to be gladdened/pleasing, desired. Symbolic: the illumined Power that rejoices in the offering of bliss and responds quickly
Indra-Soma praise used in Soma sacrifice contexts (e.g., Agniṣṭoma/pressing chants as a general Indra-stotra); invitatory/affirming verse for offering Soma to Indra.
During Soma pressing and offering when Indra is invited to drink; also as praise before oblations.
Bringing/mentally offering Soma with recitation; intensifying the call to Indra’s victorious force.
Use as a mantra of ‘all-sided victory’: before study, difficult decisions, or sādhanā periods requiring persistence and integration of mind–life–body.
Key epithets are dative singular compounds in -jite (< √ji ‘to conquer, win’). viśvá ‘all’ + √ji; dhaná ‘treasure/plenitude’ (cf. √dhan/√dhā semantic field of placing/holding wealth); svaḥ ‘luminous heaven’ (Vedic svaḥ, related to brightness); satrā ‘continuously’ (adverb) + √ji; nṛ ‘man/heroic human power’; urvarā ‘fertile field’ (growth, wideness); aśva ‘horse’ (dynamic force); gó ‘cow’ (ray/illumination in Vedic symbolism); áp ‘waters’ (inspiration, flow). bhára is 2nd sg. imperative of √bhṛ ‘to bear/bring’; yajatāya is dative sg. of yajatá- from √yaj ‘to worship/sacrifice’; haryatá- ‘delightful, desirable’ from √hṛ/har ‘to gladden, be golden/pleasing’ (Vedic semantic spread).
Satya-Rita orientation (victory that restores right order), inner conquest (over obstruction/ignorance), plenitude and growth (dhana, urvarā) as fulfillment of being
Indra’s ‘conquests’ signify the establishment of ṛta in all planes—thought, vitality, and embodied life.
Svaḥ-jit: truth-light becomes accessible and operative, not merely glimpsed.
Release and ordering: opening the waters (ap) and rays (go) so the ‘fields’ (urvarā) of being can bear fruit.
Proto-Vedāntic and Yogic reading (Aurobindo/Kashyap): ascent to light and descent of force to transform nature.
Soma = bliss; fields = inner growth-ground; horses = vital dynamism; cows = rays of knowledge; waters = inspiration and flowing consciousness; svar = higher luminous mind.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- A litany of Indra’s victories culminating in the Soma-offering: the mythic pattern is ‘strengthening the victorious god with Soma’ so he may win the Light (go), the Waters (ap), and the wide fields (urvarā). In the inner sense, Soma (delight-consciousness) is brought to the illumined Will (Indra) to secure repeated conquest over obscurity and to recover rays of knowledge and inspired flow.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The repeated -jita ‘won/conquered’ reflects √ji (PIE *gʷeyh₃-/ *gʷei- ‘to live/overcome’ is debated; Indo-Iranian √ji ‘conquer’ is well established). √bhṛ ‘bear/bring’ (bhara) is from PIE *bʰer- ‘to carry’ (cf. English bear, Greek phérein). áp ‘waters’ aligns with PIE *h₂ep- ‘water’ (cf. Latin aqua via different development; Hittite ḫāpa-; Sanskrit áp-). gó ‘cow’ (and by extension ‘ray’) is from PIE *gʷōus (cf. Greek bous, Latin bos).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer positions himself (and the sacrificer) as the one who ‘brings Soma’—an act of offering that is simultaneously an act of inner preparation. Indra is addressed through a cascade of functional epithets, establishing reciprocity: the human gives Soma (delight/clarity distilled by discipline), and Indra returns victory—manifesting as illumination (go), inspired currents (ap), and widening growth (urvarā) in the human vessel.
Offer inner bliss (soma) to the illumined mind; contemplate ‘all-sided conquest’—light, force, inspiration, and growth unified.
Ājñā (illumined mind) with support from Maṇipūra (will-force)
Moderate ujjāyī or equal breathing (sama-vṛtti) while mentally offering ‘soma’ on exhale and receiving ‘indra-force’ on inhale.
Dynamic concentration (ekāgratā) moving toward luminous wideness.
Before meditation, recall one recurring obstacle; chant once slowly, then 3–9 times with the intention: ‘May the higher light conquer this field too.’ End by sitting silently, sensing inspiration as ‘waters’ rising.
Use Vedic tri-svara: udatta on principal accented syllables; anudatta in preceding low tones; svarita as the falling accent—follow śākhā-specific recitation if available.
Stress the ‘-jité’ compounds distinctly (viśva-jité, dhana-jité, svar-jité…) as a litany of victories; keep ‘índrāya sómam’ clear and centered.
(viśvajite): ‘śv’ cluster clean; short ‘i’ in -jite, (svaḥ): pronounce visarga softly, not as ‘ha’, (urvarā): roll ‘rv’ lightly; long ā at end, (aśva): ‘śv’ not ‘shva’ with extra vowel, (go): long ‘o’, (apjite): keep ‘pj’ conjunct; avoid inserting a vowel
Firm, bright, invoking; slightly rising energy through the list of epithets, settling into reverence on ‘yajatāya haryatam’.
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