Rig Veda 3.9.2: Mandala 3, Sukta 9, Mantra 2
Sukta 3.9
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Agni / Apām Napāt complex
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
कायमानो वना त्वं यन्मातॄरजगन्नपः । न तत्ते अग्ने प्रमृषे निवर्तनं यद्दूरे सन्निहाभवः ॥
kā́yamāno vanā́ tvaṃ yán mātṝ́r ájagan ápaḥ | ná tát te agne pramṛ́ṣe nivártanam yád dūré sán nihā́bhavaḥ ||
Хотя ты движешься по лесам, когда ты пришёл к матерям — к водам, — это для тебя, о Агни, не поворот вспять, не ослабление твоего порыва вперёд: будучи далеко, ты становишься здесь, присутствующим.
Word by Word
- कायमानः
- shining/appearing (as you blaze)Adjective/Participleपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (अग्नेः विशेषणम्)Root काय (प्रातिपदिक; ‘काय’ = ‘कायमान’ as kṛdanta base) < √क॑ (कायने/प्रकाशने; Vedic usage ‘to appear/shine’)
- वनाः
- woods/forestsNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot वन (प्रातिपदिक)
- त्वम्
- youPronounपुंलिङ्ग (सामान्य), प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- यत्
- when/that (in that)Indeclinable/Relativeअव्यय (सम्बन्धार्थे)Root यद् (सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम)
- मातॄः
- mothersNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot मातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- अजगन्
- they went/they cameVerbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपद, 3 पुरुष, बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot √गम् (गत्यर्थः)
- अपः
- to the waters / the watersNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्म (गमनस्य)Root अप्/आप् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘waters’)
- न
- notIndeclinableअव्ययRoot न (निषेध)
- तत्
- thatPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (अत्र ‘तत्’ = ‘that (deed/thing)’)Role कर्म/विषय (निषेधस्य)Root तद् (सर्वनाम)
- ते
- of you/yourPronounषष्ठी, एकवचन (enclitic)Role सम्बन्ध (possessive)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- अग्ने
- O AgniNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रमृषे
- you overlook/forgiveVerbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, 2 पुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot प्र + √मृष् (सहने/उपेक्षायाम्; also ‘to overlook/forgive’)
- निवर्तनम्
- turning back/returnNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (प्रमृषे इत्यस्य)Root नि + √वृत् (वर्तने/निवृत्तौ) → ‘निवर्तन’ (प्रातिपदिक)
- यत्
- when/that (in that)Indeclinable/Relativeअव्ययRoot यद् (सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम)
- दूरे
- far awayAdverbial (locative form)नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (अव्ययीभाववत्: ‘far away’)Role अधिकरणRoot दूर (प्रातिपदिक)
- सन्
- beingParticipleपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (त्वम्/अग्निः)Root √अस् (भू)
- इह
- hereIndeclinableअव्ययRole अधिकरण (देश)Root इह (देशवाचक-अव्यय)
- अभवः
- you became/you came to beVerbलुङ् (अorist/preterite), परस्मैपद, 2 पुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √भू (भवने)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-resolution): कायमानो → कायमानः (visarga before व)
- वना → वनाः (nom./acc. pl. neuter in saṃhitā often appears without final ḥ)
- यन्मातॄरजगन्नपः → यत् + मातॄः + अजगन् + अपः (त् + म → न्म्; मातॄः + अजगन्: र् + अ → रज; अजगन् + अपः: न् + अ → न्न)
- तत्ते → तत् + ते (final -t before enclitic)
- प्रमृषे निवर्तनं → प्रमृषे + निवर्तनम् (anusvāra/ending normalized)
- यद्दूरे → यत् + दूरे (त् + द → द्द)
- सन्निहाभवः → सन् + इह + अभवः (न् + इ → न्नि; इह + अभवः: a- sandhi gives इहाभवः)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Though you move through the woods, when you went to the mothers, the waters—this is no turning back for you, O Agni: no slackening of your drive; though far away, you become here.
Inner meaning
Agni, the divine Will, travels through the ‘woods’—the tangled growth of nature and experience. He goes to the ‘mothers, the waters’: to the deep sources of life and the subconscient where his flame is concealed and must be recovered. Yet this descent is not a regression; it is part of the forward movement. The divine Will does not lose its impetus (pramṛṣe nivartanaṃ); even if it seems distant, it can suddenly become present ‘here’—in the immediate consciousness—when invoked and when conditions are prepared.
Universal truth
A true spiritual force can work in the depths without losing its direction; what appears like a detour or descent can be a necessary part of forward progress, and the help that seems far can become immediately present.
Themes
Agni’s omnipresence, renewal through sources, persistence of will
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Other hymns
- RV 7.9, RV 7.10, RV 3.9
Family tradition
The Vasiṣṭha vision often integrates descent and ascent: Agni works through all layers, including the waters (depths), without losing the forward law (ṛta).
Significance
This verse articulates a crucial inner rule: divine Will can enter the subconscient to transform it; this is not ‘backsliding’ but a deeper advance.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni (in the Apām Napāt complex)
- Epithets
- Agni, the one who becomes ‘here’ though far
- Related deities
- Apām Napāt, Soma, Varuṇa, Indra
Cosmic role
Mediator between worlds; moves through terrestrial growth and aquatic depths to bring forth light and order.
Inner power
Persistent transforming will that can descend into depths and re-emerge as present flame in the mind-heart.
In ritual
Where it is used
Agni invocation with imagery of forest fuel and waters; purification and rekindling themes
काय॑मानो व॒ना त्वं यन्मा॒तॄरज॑गन्न॒पः । न तत्ते॑ अग्ने प्र॒मृषे॑ नि॒वर्त॑नं॒ यद्दू॒रे सन्नि॒हाभ॑वः ॥
काय॑मानः । व॒ना । त्वम् । यत् । मा॒तॄः । अज॑गन् । अ॒पः । न । तत् । ते॒ । अ॒ग्ने॒ । प्र॒ऽमृषे॑ । नि॒ऽवर्त॑नम् । यत् । दू॒रे । सन् । इ॒ह । अभ॑वः ॥
kāyamānaḥ | vanā | tvam | yat | mātṝḥ | ajagan | apaḥ | na | tat | te | agne | pra-mṛṣe | ni-vartanam | yat | dūre | san | iha | abhavaḥ
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3×~8 syllables; compact movement mirroring ‘far → here’.
Swift, decisive, with a turning-point in the final phrase.
Creates confidence in immediacy of divine presence; useful when the seeker feels distant from the inner fire.
- वना (vanā)
- Literal: woods. Symbolic: tangled nature, mixed growth of life-experience and impulses
- मातॄः (mātṝḥ)
- Literal: mothers. Symbolic: origin-powers; foundational energies that bear and shape consciousness
- अपः (apaḥ)
- Literal: waters. Symbolic: life-flows and subconscient depths
- प्रमृषे (pramṛṣe)
- Literal: slackening, fading, being rubbed away. Symbolic: loss of force/ardor; diminution of divine drive
- निवर्तनम् (nivartanam)
- Literal: turning back, retreat. Symbolic: regression in the yoga; relapse into obscurity
- दूरे सन् (dūre san)
- Literal: being far away. Symbolic: higher power seemingly remote from surface mind
- इह अभवः (ihābhavaḥ)
- Literal: you become here. Symbolic: descent/manifestation into present awareness and life
Agni’s ubiquity and return: used to affirm the ever-present fire invoked from afar; relevant to kindling rites and calls to Agni across spaces.
In sequences emphasizing Agni’s hiddenness and reappearance; possibly during rekindling or transitional offerings.
Recitation to affirm Agni’s unbroken forward force and his capacity to manifest near.
Use when motivation seems lost: chant to restore the sense that the divine Will has not retreated and can become present now.
kāyamāna (from √kāy? often connected with ‘seeking/roaming’; also kāya ‘body’ from √ci ‘pile’? but kāya is ‘body’; here sense ‘moving/working itself out’). vana ‘wood’ (forest). mātṛ ‘mother’ (PIE *méh₂tēr). ap ‘water’ (PIE *h₂ep-; cf. Latin aqua is different but water roots are widespread; Sanskrit āpas is classic). nivartana from ni-√vṛt ‘turn back’. pramṛṣe from pra-√mṛṣ ‘neglect, forget, be careless’ (also ‘to touch/wipe’; semantic extension to ‘let slip’).
immanence of the divine (far yet here), non-retreat of aspiration (no nivartana), source-return (to the waters/mothers) as renewal, not regression
‘No turning back’ expresses the irreversibility of the ṛta-driven evolution toward light.
The truth of the divine intention persists even when hidden in depths.
Fire’s emergence from waters: manifestation of consciousness from undifferentiated life.
Integral yoga reading: descent into subconscient as part of transformation, not failure.
Forest = complexity of nature; waters = subconscient/life; fire = will/aspiration that survives and returns as presence.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘far-and-near fire’ mythologem: Agni roams in woods and goes to the waters (mothers), yet this is not retreat; he becomes present here even from afar—symbolizing the divine will that renews itself in the sources and remains immediately accessible.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- mātṛ and āpas preserve very old PIE vocabulary (*méh₂tēr, *h₂ep-). The preverb system ni- (back) vs pra- (forward) encodes a spatial opposition that becomes psychological: retreat vs onward urge.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi reassures and affirms Agni’s unwavering forward movement: even apparent ‘return’ to the waters is renewal. The devotee’s call presumes a devatā who can bridge distance—answering aspiration by immediate presence.
Restoring forward drive; trusting the divine Will’s presence even when obscured.
manipura
brisk_energetic
Re-ignited, forward-moving, unregressing.
Chant 9 times with slightly stronger exhalation; on ‘ihābhavaḥ’ feel the flame ‘arrive’ in the belly and rise to the heart; then sit silently, watching for renewed impetus.
Observe accents on key words (e.g., kā́yamānaḥ, mātṝ́ḥ, ápaḥ, agné, dū́re, ihá).
Let the last pāda land clearly: ‘yad dūre san nihābhavaḥ’—a gentle emphasis on the ‘arrival’.
(kāyamānaḥ): long ā; nasal ‘naḥ’, (mātṝḥ): vocalic ṝ; sustain slightly, (ajagan): soft g; avoid ‘ajagan-n’ over-nasalization, (nivartanam): dental n at start, vṛ as vocalic ṛ, (iha): short i; light h
Firm and reassuring; slightly brighter on the final phrase.
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