Rig Veda 2.5.1: Mandala 2, Sukta 5, Mantra 1
Sukta 2.5
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
होताजनिष्ट चेतनः पिता पितृभ्य ऊतये । प्रयक्षञ्जेन्यं वसु शकेम वाजिनो यमम् ॥
hótā́ janiṣṭa cétenaḥ pitā́ pitṛ́bhyā ūtáye | prayákṣañ jényam vásu śakéma vājíno yámam ||
Nasceu o Hotṛ — consciente, luminoso — como um Pai, para o amparo dos Pais. Avançando no sacrifício, possamos conquistar o tesouro nobre, o yama dos vājins: a justa contenção e a ordem que conduzem a força ao seu fim.
Word by Word
- होता
- the Hotṛ-priest (invoker)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot होतृ (√हु) प्रातिपदिक
- जनिष्ट
- was born / came into beingVerbलुङ् (आorist), 3 पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot √जन्
- चेतनः
- conscious, discerningAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (विशेषणम्) / कर्तृ-विशेषणRoot चेतन (√चित्) प्रातिपदिक
- पिता
- fatherNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (समानााधिकरणम्) / कर्तृRoot पितृ प्रातिपदिक
- पितृभ्यः
- for the fathers / to the Fathers (ancestors)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, बहुवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot पितृ प्रातिपदिक
- ऊतये
- for aid, for helpNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole प्रयोजन-सम्प्रदानRoot ऊति प्रातिपदिक
- प्रयक्षन्
- he worshipped / he sacrificedVerbलङ् (imperfect), 3 पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; उपसर्ग: प्र-Role क्रियाRoot √यज्
- जेन्यम्
- worthy of worship, venerableAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (विशेषणम्) / कर्म-विशेषणRoot जेन्य प्रातिपदिक
- वसु
- good (wealth), treasureNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot वसु प्रातिपदिक
- शकेम
- may we be ableVerbविधिलिङ् (optative), 1 पुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot √शक्
- वाजिनः
- the prize-winners / the vigorous (we)Noun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot वाजिन् प्रातिपदिक
- यमम्
- Yama (the god)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot यम प्रातिपदिक
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: होता | जनिष्ट | चेतनः | पिता | पितृभ्यः | ऊतये | प्रयक्षन् | जेन्यम् | वसु | शकेम | वाजिनः | यमम् । मुख्य-सन्धि/रूप-टिप्पणी: (1) ‘होता जनिष्ट’ इति पदसन्धिः—अन्त्य ‘आ’ + आरम्भ ‘ज’ (स्वर-सन्धि न, केवल संहिता-पाठ). (2) ‘पिता पितृभ्यः’—अन्त्य ‘आ’ + ‘पि’ (सन्धि-परिवर्तन नहीं). (3) ‘प्रयक्षन्’ = प्र- + √यज्
- वैदिक रूप में ‘यज्’ का लङ् 3sg ‘अयक्षत्/अयक्षन्’ प्रकार
- यहाँ संहिता में ‘प्रयक्षन्’ (नकार-आगम सहित) वैदिक प्रयोग. (4) ‘शकेम वा॒जिनो॒ यम॑म्’ में ‘वाजिनः’ कर्तृ-बहुवचन (हम, वाजिनः) के रूप में ‘शकेम’ से समन्वय
- ‘यमम्’ कर्म (प्राप्तव्य/आह्वेय देवता)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The Hotṛ-priest has been born, conscious and luminous, like a Father for the aid of the Fathers. Offering forward in sacrifice, may we win the noble treasure and the yama (ordering/restraint) of the vājins (possessors of force).
Inner meaning
Agni as Hotṛ is the awakened power of conscious offering: the part in us that can speak the true word and place each movement on the altar. ‘Born, conscious’ indicates the ignition of the psychic will—no longer mechanical ritual but luminous aspiration. ‘Father for the aid of the Fathers’ means Agni supports the ancestral powers within (pitṛs as previous realizations, established inner formations of truth, or guiding fore-runners) so they can act again in the present seeker. The aim is jenyam vasu—noble inner treasure: purified capacities, right discernment, stable peace and force. yama here is the right law/discipline of the vājins: the ordering that harnesses energy so it reaches the goal (not wasted in desire).
Universal truth
When conscious offering is born in us, our inherited strengths and past gains become living helpers rather than dead tradition. True mastery is disciplined energy directed by a higher will toward a noble inner treasure.
Themes
priestly functions, birth of conscious invocation, winning noble wealth, inner regulation of force
The seer
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada (Bhārgava)
- Lineage
- Bhṛgu / Bhārgava
- Other hymns
- RV 2.5.1-8
Family tradition
Priestly-Agni tradition: emphasis on the inner Hotṛ (speech and offering) as the key to transformation.
Significance
Begins a hymn focusing on Agni’s priestly functions, shifting attention from outer rite to the birth of conscious offering within the practitioner.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni (as Hotṛ)
- Epithets
- Hotṛ, Cetana (conscious), Pitā (father-like guide), Jātavedas
- Related deities
- Sarasvatī (inspired speech), Bṛhaspati (word-power), Indra (illumined mind for victory)
Cosmic role
Priest of the cosmic sacrifice; awakener of right speech and right action; sustainer of lineage (pitṛs) and continuity of ṛta.
Inner power
The psychic-mental flame that makes offering intelligent, establishes discipline (yama), and enables the winning of noble inner treasure.
In ritual
Where it is used
Agnihotra and priestly invocations in śrauta settings; hymn to Agni’s Hotṛ function
होता॑जनिष्ट॒ चेत॑नः पि॒ता पि॒तृभ्य॑ ऊ॒तये॑ । प्र॒यक्ष॒ञ्जेन्यं॒ वसु॑ श॒केम॑ वा॒जिनो॒ यम॑म् ॥
होता॑ । अ॒ज॒नि॒ष्ट॒ । चेत॑नः । पि॒ता । पि॒तृऽभ्यः॑ । ऊ॒तये॑ । प्र॒ऽयक्ष॑न् । जेन्य॑म् । वसु॑ । श॒केम॑ । वा॒जिनः॑ । यम॑म् ॥
hotā | ajaniṣṭa | cetanaḥ | pitā | pitṛ-bhyaḥ | ūtaye | pra-yakṣan | jenyam | vasu | śakema | vājinaḥ | yamam
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3 pādas of 8 syllables
Compact, luminous, mantra-like; suited for daily recitation and inner concentration.
Centers attention quickly; creates a bright, concise ignition of aspiration and disciplined intent.
- होता (hotā)
- Literal: Hotṛ, invoking priest. Symbolic: the conscious power of offering and true speech in the seeker
- अजनिष्ट (ajaniṣṭa)
- Literal: has been born. Symbolic: awakening/ignition of the inner fire as a new stage of sādhanā
- चेतनः (cetanaḥ)
- Literal: conscious, luminous. Symbolic: psychic awareness; awakened will with discernment
- पिता (pitā)
- Literal: father. Symbolic: originating guide-force; protector and establisher of inner law
- पितृभ्यः (pitṛbhyaḥ)
- Literal: to/for the fathers. Symbolic: fore-runners/ancestral powers: established inner truths and guiding influences
- प्रयक्षन् (prayakṣan)
- Literal: offering forward. Symbolic: active consecration of works; pushing the sacrifice into manifestation
- जेन्यं वसु (jenyaṃ vasu)
- Literal: noble treasure. Symbolic: inner riches: purified faculties, truth-joy, stable force
- यमम् (yamam)
- Literal: restraint, ordering, rule. Symbolic: right discipline and law that directs energy to its true end
- वाजिनः (vājinaḥ)
- Literal: possessors of vāja/steeds. Symbolic: energies/forces capable of victory when rightly governed
Priestly-function hymn: establishing Hotṛ (invoker) in the rite; applicable to Soma-yajña preliminaries and role-consecration of speech (hotṛ) in Śrauta performance.
At kindling/establishing the fire and the beginning of recitation cycles; also suitable for daily practice
Inviting Agni as Hotṛ to lead the offering and secure noble gains and right order
Daily ‘consecration mantra’: before work, chant to awaken conscious offering and invoke yama (right ordering) of one’s energies.
hotṛ from √hu ‘to call, invoke’ (agent noun); cetana from √cit ‘to perceive, be conscious’. pra-yakṣan from pra-√yaj ‘to sacrifice forward’. jényam from jana ‘race’/√jan ‘be born’ > ‘of the lineage, noble’. vá su ‘good’/vasu ‘good, wealth’ (semantic of excellence). yáma from √yam ‘to hold, restrain, regulate’; here not the deity Yama but ‘restraint/controlled course’—a technical inner sense consistent with √yam.
ancestral continuity (Pitṛs as prior realizations), discipline/restraint (yama from √yam), efficacious speech (invocation as power)
Hotṛ embodies ṛta through correct invocation and right placing of movements on the inner altar.
Cetana Hotṛ enables speech and action aligned with truth rather than impulse.
Birth of the priestly consciousness within—creation as ignition of awareness and law in nature.
Inner yajña psychology; ethical-yogic discipline (yama) as Vedic ordering of force.
morning_or_evening (Agnihotra context)
Fire = awakened will; father/ancestors = continuity of inner realizations; offering = consecrated action.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The 'birth' of the Hotṛ is the emergence of a divine-priestly power in the human field: speech-as-fire becomes a fathering principle that aids the Fathers (ancestral lights). Mythically it is the installation of Agni as officiant; psychologically it is the awakening of conscious invocation.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √yam ‘hold, rein’ continues PIE *yem- ‘to hold’ (cf. Latin iugum is different root; but Indic yama aligns with holding/binding semantics found across IE). √jan ‘be born’ is PIE *ǵenh₁- (cf. Greek γίγνομαι, Latin gignō). √hu ‘call’ fits an IE pattern of sacral calling/invocation verbs.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi recognizes Agni/Hotṛ as a newly active faculty (ajaniṣṭa) and asks for capability (śakema) to win jényam vasu—wealth befitting the lineage—through regulated force (yama). The reciprocity is: we 'sacrifice forth' (prayakṣan), Agni establishes capacity and right order.
Awaken the inner Hotṛ: conscious offering of thoughts, speech, and actions; establish yama as right governance of energy.
Manipura (ignition) with Ajna (right discernment guiding yama).
3 slow breaths; on each exhale silently offer one aspect (thought, speech, act) into the inner fire; then chant once or thrice.
Collected, luminous sobriety; consecrated readiness.
After chanting, choose one ‘jenyaṃ vasu’ quality to embody today (truthful speech, steady will, calm strength). Observe impulses and apply yama: redirect force toward the chosen aim.
Gāyatrī recitation with clear udātta peaks per Saṃhitā marks (hotā́-, cetánaḥ, pitā́, ūtáye).
Keep each 8-syllable pāda crisp; slight pause between pādas; emphasize ‘cetanaḥ’ and ‘yamam’.
(hotā): long ā, (ajaniṣṭa): retroflex ṣṭ cluster, (cetanaḥ): ‘ce’ as ‘che’ not; keep dental t, (pitṛbhyaḥ): vocalic ṛ; aspirated bh, (prayakṣan): kṣ conjunct, (vājino): long ā; light ‘ji’
Clear, steady, slightly inward; avoid force.
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