Rig Veda 1.116.2: Mandala 1, Sukta 116, Mantra 2
Sukta 1.116
- Rishi
- Kutsa Āṅgirasa
- Devata
- Aśvinau
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
वीळुपत्मभिराशुहेमभिर्वा देवानां वा जूतिभिः शाशदाना । तद्रासभो नासत्या सहस्रमाजा यमस्य प्रधने जिगाय ॥
vīḷupátmabhir āśuhémabhir vā devā́nāṃ vā jūtíbhiḥ śā́śadānā | tád rāsábho nāsatyā sahásram ā́jā yámasya pradháne jigāya ||
С крепко-летящими шагами, или с быстрыми золотыми порывами, или с натиском самих божественных скоростей, всё вперёд устремляясь, — так, о Насатьи, осёл выиграл тысячу в состязании Ямы. Так и ваши силы да одержат в нас победу, добывая из предела и смертной привычки изобилие мощи.
Word by Word
- वीळुपत्मभिः
- with swift/rolling (vehicles/means) called vīḷupatman-Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग (प्रायः), तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole करणRoot वीळुपत्म (प्रातिपदिक; दुर्व्युत्पत्तिः/वैदिक-विशेषः)
- आशुहेमभिः
- with quick-golden (horses/means), with swift shining onesNoun/Adjectiveपुं/नपुंसक (प्रयोगानुसार), तृतीया, बहुवचनRole करणRoot आशुहेम (प्रातिपदिक; वैदिक-विशेषः)
- वा
- orIndeclinableविकल्पार्थक-अव्ययRoot वा
- देवानाम्
- of the godsNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot देव
- वा
- orIndeclinableविकल्पार्थक-अव्ययRoot वा
- जूतिभिः
- with speeds, with swift impulsesNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचनRole करणRoot जूति
- शाशदानाः
- hastening, speeding onwardParticiple (Adjective) / Verb-derivedस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (नासत्यौ इति द्विवचन-विषये वैदिक-प्रयोगे स्त्रीबहुवचन-रूपं ‘-आनाः’ प्रायः रथादि-स्त्रीवाचक-सम्बन्धेन)Role कर्तृ (विशेषणरूपेण)Root √शद् (शदँ गतौ/हिंसायाम्; वैदिक), शाशदाना = वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्-प्रकारः)
- तत्
- thatPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म/सम्बन्ध (सन्दर्भानुसार ‘that (deed/act)’)Root तद्
- रासभः
- the ass (Rāsabha, the donkey)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot रासभ
- नासत्या
- O Nāsatyas (Aśvins)Noun (dual deity-name)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन/प्रथमा, द्विवचन (वैदिक-प्रयोगे रूप-समास/संक्षेपः)Role सम्बोधनRoot नासत्य (अश्विनौ)
- सहस्रम्
- a thousandNoun/Adjective (numeral)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot सहस्र
- आजा
- Ājā (a person/hero named Ājā)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (जिगाय इत्यस्य)Root आजा (प्रातिपदिक; वैदिक-विशेषः, ‘goat/driver/contestant’ इत्यादि व्याख्येय)
- यमस्य
- of YamaNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot यम
- प्रधने
- in the contest, in the battleNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot प्रधन
- जिगाय
- won, conqueredVerbलिट् (परस्मैपद), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √जि (जि जय॑े)
Sandhi Notes
- सन्धि-विच्छेद (मुख्य): वीळुपत्मभिर् + आशुहेमभिर् + वा + देवानाम् + वा + जूतिभिः + शाशदानाः । तत् + रासभः + नासत्या + सहस्रम् + आजा + यमस्य + प्रधने + जिगाय । ‘भिर्’ + स्वरादि → ‘भिरा…’ (भिः + आ…)
- ‘भिः’ + ‘श…’ इत्यत्र विसर्ग/रकार-लोपादि पदपाठानुसार समासित-प्रवाहः।
The meaning
Outer meaning
With firm-flying strides or swift-golden impulses, or with the gods’ rushing speeds, ever pressing forward—thus the ass won a thousand in Yama’s contest; the poet invokes the Nāsatyas’ victorious power.
Inner meaning
The ‘ass’ (rāsabha) is a paradox-symbol: the humble, burden-bearing vital instrument that, when yoked to divine impulsion, becomes victorious even in the ‘contest of Yama’—the field of death, limitation, and habitual decline. The Aśvins’ swift golden movements indicate illumined vital energies (āśu-hema) and sure-going strides (vīḻu-patman) that can carry the seeker through inertia. The mantra asks that the same forward-pressing force in us win abundance—turning the very mechanism that usually serves limitation into a carrier of progress.
Universal truth
What seems crude or slow in us can become a vehicle of victory when aligned with higher impulsion; perseverance joined with illumination can overcome deathward habit.
Themes
Victory in contest, Divine twins as helpers, Transcending deathward constraint
The seer
- Rishi
- Kutsa Āṅgirasa
- Lineage
- Āṅgirasa
- Other hymns
- RV 1.116–1.120
Family tradition
Āṅgirasa tradition often frames progress as a conquest: retrieving light and power from restricting forces; Kutsa’s Aśvin hymns stress practical aid in the human condition.
Significance
Kutsa turns even homely mythic images into a psychology of transformation: the vital nature, when divinised, can win against deathward drift.
The deity
- Devata
- Aśvinau (Nāsatyā)
- Epithets
- Nāsatyā, Dasrā (wonder-workers), Śubhaspatī (lords of splendour, common epithet family)
- Related deities
- Yama (as limiting law/death principle), Indra (victory of illumination), Soma (delight that supports progress)
Cosmic role
Powers of swift transition and rescue; they bring effective means, healing, and right movement in crises and passages.
Inner power
They awaken and convert the vital energies into luminous, disciplined forward motion; they help the seeker win force from the very realm of limitation.
In ritual
Where it is used
Aśvin praise in Soma rites; general invocation for success in contests/journeys
वी॒ळु॒पत्म॑भिराशु॒हेम॑भिर्वा दे॒वानां॑ वा जू॒तिभि॒: शाश॑दाना । तद्रास॑भो नासत्या स॒हस्र॑मा॒जा य॒मस्य॑ प्र॒धने॑ जिगाय ॥
वी॒ळु॒पत्म॑ऽभिः । आ॒शु॒हेम॑ऽभिः । वा॒ । दे॒वाना॑म् । वा॒ । जू॒तिऽभिः॑ । शाश॑दाना । तत् । रास॑भः । ना॒स॒त्या॒ । स॒हस्र॑म् । आ॒जा । य॒मस्य॑ । प्र॒ऽधने॑ । जि॒गा॒य॒ ॥
vīḷupatma-bhiḥ | āśuhema-bhiḥ | vā | devānām | vā | jūti-bhiḥ | śāśadānā | tat | rāsabhaḥ | nāsatyā | sahasram | ājā | yamasya | pra-dhane | jigāya
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4 × ~11
Driving and competitive; suited to ‘pressing onward’ imagery.
Energises resolve; supports a feeling of victorious advance against inertia.
- वीळुपत्मभिः (vīḻupatmabhiḥ)
- Literal: with firm/strong-flying tracks/strides. Symbolic: sure, stable progress of disciplined energy
- आशुहेमभिः (āśuhemabhiḥ)
- Literal: with swift-golden (impulses). Symbolic: illumined vital impulses; rapid luminous motivation
- जूति (jūti)
- Literal: speed/rush. Symbolic: divine impetus; accelerated movement of consciousness
- रासभः (rāsabhaḥ)
- Literal: ass/donkey. Symbolic: the burden-bearing vital-physical instrument; humble energy made serviceable to yoga
- यमस्य प्रधन (yamasya pradhana)
- Literal: Yama’s contest/battle. Symbolic: struggle against limitation, mortality, tamasic habit
- सहस्रम् (sahasram)
- Literal: a thousand. Symbolic: plenitude/abundance; large gain of force or light
Aśvin praise highlighting victorious aid; applicable in rites seeking overcoming of danger/illness and attainment of vāja-like abundance.
Morning/transition offerings; also before undertakings requiring speed and sure progress.
Recitation as stotra; offering to invite the Aśvins’ jūti (divine speed).
Chant before starting difficult work, breaking addictions, or changing entrenched habits—invoking illumined momentum.
ājí ‘race/contest’ (competitive striving) and pradhána ‘battle’ frame life as an ordeal of progress. √ji ‘conquer’ (jigāya) expresses victory over limitation. jūti from √ju ‘hasten’ emphasizes impulsion. yama- signifies the boundary/constraint (death, law of limitation). sahásra ‘thousand’ functions as idiom for fullness/abundance (not mere count).
overcoming limitation (Yama as boundary), vājá-like abundance (sahasra as plenitude), right energy and victory (ji)
Right movement (ṛta) is restored when energies move in divine rhythm rather than deathward repetition.
Truth-force expresses as victorious advance, not mere aspiration.
Transmutation of the lower instrument into a carrier of higher force.
Integral Yoga psychology: vital nature can be purified and illuminated rather than rejected.
dawn-to-morning transition (Aśvin sphere)
Luminous energy replacing tamasic drag; the ‘beast of burden’ becomes steady tapas in action.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- A contest in Yama’s domain where an unlikely figure (rāsabha) wins abundance—an emblem of the Aśvins’ power to reverse limitation. Inner sense: endurance and right impulsion, supported by the divine twins, can win plenitude even from the conditions that seem death-bound.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The victory verb √ji (PIE *gʷeyh₃- ‘live/conquer’ proposed; cognate patterns vary) and the ‘race/contest’ framing are common Indo-European heroic-poetic features. The divine twins aiding victory aligns with the Indo-European Dioscuri-type pattern.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The ṛṣi cites a paradigmatic deed as a warrant for present help: ‘as you enabled victory there, enable it here.’ The exchange is exemplar → invocation: myth becomes a lever for inner conquest over Yama-like constriction.
Offer the stubborn vital habits to the Aśvins; visualise them becoming ‘swift-golden’ impulses under higher guidance.
manipura (will, disciplined energy)
kapālabhāti-light (if suitable) or 4-4-6 breathing to build steady force without agitation
from tamasic repetition to energetic, illumined striving
Repeat while feeling the navel-centre steady. On each repetition, affirm: ‘My vital instrument serves the soul’s journey; deathward habit is conquered by right speed.’
Maintain udatta marks (॑) precisely; triṣṭubh allows a strong caesura—do not rush through it.
Emphasise forward-driving words: āśuhemá-, jūtíbhiḥ, śāśadānā; keep pitch steady on unmarked syllables.
vīḻu-: keep ḻ as retroflex lateral in scholarly transliteration; in practice, render as clear ‘ḍ/ḷ’-like lateral per tradition., śāśadānā: long ā’s sustained., pradhane: clear dha (aspirated)., jigāya: hard g, long ā.
firm, energising, not harsh
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