Rig Veda 10.154.2: Mandala 10, Sukta 154, Mantra 2
Sukta 10.154
- Devata
- The accomplished ones in the Yama/Pitṛ context
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
तपसा ये अनाधृष्यास्तपसा ये स्वर्ययुः । तपो ये चक्रिरे महस्ताँश्चिदेवापि गच्छतात् ॥
tápasā yé anādhṛ́ṣyās tápasā yé svàr yayúḥ | tápo yé cakriré máhas tā́ṃś cid evā́pi gacchatāt ||
ये तपसा अनाधृष्याः, ये तपसा स्वर्लोकं ययुः, ये च तपसा महत् अचक्रिरे—तान् एव सः अपि गच्छतात्; तान् एव प्राप्नुयात्॥
Word by Word
- तपसा
- by/with austerity, by tapasNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole करणRoot तपस् (प्रातिपदिक) < √तप् (तप् ‘तप्/उष्णीकरणे, तपस्या’)
- ये
- who (those who)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अनाधृष्याः
- unassailable, unconquerableAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot अनाधृष्य (प्रातिपदिक; न- + आ-√धृष् ‘धर्षणे/अभिभवे’ → ‘अधृष्य’ ‘to be overpowered’)
- तपसा
- by austerityNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole करणRoot तपस् (प्रातिपदिक) < √तप्
- ये
- whoPronounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- स्वर्ययुः
- heaven-going, going to the sun/heavenAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot स्वर्ययु (प्रातिपदिक; स्वर् ‘स्वर्ग/प्रकाश’ + ययु ‘going’ < √या ‘गत्यर्थ’)
- तपः
- tapas (austerity)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (कर्मरूपेण) अथवा अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोगे ‘तपः’ (तपसा इत्यर्थे) — वैदिकेRole KarmaRoot तपस् (प्रातिपदिक) < √तप्
- ये
- whoPronounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- च
- andIndeclinableअव्ययRoot च (निपात)
- चक्रिरे
- they have done/made, they performedVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRoot √कृ (करणे) — वैदिक आत्मनेपद-परस्मैपदभेदेषु; लिट्
- महत्
- the great (deed/thing), greatnessAdjective (used substantively) / Noun-likeनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot महत् (प्रातिपदिक) < √मह् ‘वृद्धौ/महत्त्वे’
- तान्
- those (them)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- चित्
- indeed, evenIndeclinableअव्ययRoot चित् (निपात)
- एव
- just, preciselyIndeclinableअव्ययRoot एव (निपात)
- अपि
- also, evenIndeclinableअव्ययRoot अपि (निपात)
- गच्छतात्
- let him go/attain (may he reach)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ/विधिलिङ्ग-सदृश), परस्मैपद, तृतीयपुरुष, एकवचन — वैदिक रूप ‘-तात्’ (injunctive/imperative nuance)Root √गम् (गत्यर्थ)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (सन्धिविच्छेद): तपसा | ये | अनाधृष्याः | तपसा | ये | स्वर्ययुः | तपः | ये | च | चक्रिरे | महत् | तान् | चित् | एव | अपि | गच्छतात् । मुख्य-सन्धयः: (1) महत् + तान् → महस्तान् (त् + त्/त् + त् संयोगे ‘त्’ स्थाने ‘स्’ वैदिक/पदपाठ-परम्परा अनुसार)
- (2) तान् + चित् → ताँश्चित् (न् + च् → ञ्श्/ंश्च्; अनुनासिक-समायोजन)
- (3) चित् + एव + अपि → चिदेवापि (द् + ए → दे; एव + अपि → एवापि)
The meaning
Outer meaning
A prayer to reach those who through tapas are invincible, who through tapas have gone to svarga (the sun-world), and who through tapas have fashioned the Vast (mahas).
Inner meaning
Tapas is the soul’s concentrated force—ardour that purifies, strengthens, and opens higher worlds. The ‘unassailable’ are those in whom this inner fire has made the being firm against obscurity and desire. ‘Gone to svar’ indicates ascent into illumined mind (sun-world). ‘Fashioned mahas’ points to building the vast consciousness (bṛhat/mahat) within—an inner heaven not merely post-mortem but realizable as a state.
Universal truth
Sustained inner discipline and aspiration create invincibility against lower impulses and open the mind to luminous wideness; the vast is constructed by consistent ardour, not by belief alone.
Themes
ascent, spiritual discipline, attainment of the vast
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 10.154.1, Rig Veda 10.154.3, Rig Veda 10.154.4, Rig Veda 10.154.5
Significance
Represents a collective yogic memory: the path of tapas as the means to svarga (illumination) and mahas (vastness), aligning with Aurobindonian ascent by inner fire.
The deity
- Devata
- Tapas (as operative power) with implicit Yama/Pitṛ horizon
- Epithets
- Dīptá (kindled), Śukrá (luminous), Pāvaka (purifying)
- Related deities
- Agni (inner fire), Sūrya (illumination), Yama (guide of passage)
Cosmic role
Tapas is a creator-force in Vedic cosmology—heat that brings forms and worlds into manifestation and supports the soul’s journey to higher planes.
Inner power
Will of concentration that burns impurity, gathers scattered energies, and opens the sun-world of clear seeing.
In ritual
Where it is used
Funerary/ancestral guidance: directing the soul toward the tapasvins and their world; also recited in contexts honoring ascetics/forebears
तप॑सा॒ ये अ॑नाधृ॒ष्यास्तप॑सा॒ ये स्व॑र्य॒युः । तपो॒ ये च॑क्रि॒रे मह॒स्ताँश्चि॑दे॒वापि॑ गच्छतात् ॥
तप॑सा । ये । अ॒ना॒धृ॒ष्याः । तप॑सा । ये । स्वः॑ । य॒युः । तपः॑ । ये । च॒क्रि॒रे । महः॑ । तान् । चि॒त् । ए॒व । अपि॑ । ग॒च्छ॒ता॒त् ॥
tapasā | ye | ānādhṛṣyāḥ | tapasā | ye | svaḥ | yayuḥ | tapaḥ | ye | cakrire | mahaḥ | tān | cit | eva | api | gacchatāt
44
4 x ~11 syllables
Forceful and ascending; repeated ‘tapasā’ gives hammering insistence
Builds inner heat and resolve; the repetition acts like a mantra of concentration.
- तपसा (tapasā)
- Literal: by heat/ardour. Symbolic: Concentrated spiritual force; purifying austerity; soul-fire
- अनाधृष्याः (anādhṛṣyāḥ)
- Literal: unassailable, not to be overpowered. Symbolic: Established in inner mastery; immune to chaos and ignorance
- स्वः (svaḥ/svar)
- Literal: heaven, sun-world. Symbolic: Plane of illumination; luminous mind-consciousness
- महः (mahaḥ)
- Literal: the Vast, greatness. Symbolic: Wide consciousness (bṛhat); the great world/mahat principle
- चक्रिरे (cakrire)
- Literal: they have made/fashioned. Symbolic: Conscious construction of higher nature by tapas
Funerary/ancestral invocation: commending the departed/aspirant to the company of those who reached svar through tapas.
Antyeṣṭi/śrāddha-associated recitation; remembrance of those who lived by discipline
Verbal ‘leading’ (gacchatāt) through naming qualifications of the destination
For practitioners: a resolve-formula before meditation/retreat—‘By tapas, to illumination and vastness.’
तपस्: from √tap ‘to heat, glow’ → ascetic/psychic heat; in inner sense ‘concentrated force that transforms’. अनाधृष्य: from √dhṛṣ ‘to dare/assail’ with negation and intensification. स्वः (svar): luminous heaven (cognate cluster around brightness). चक्रिरे: perfect of √kṛ ‘do/make’ (PIE *kwer- ‘make’ often proposed). महः: mahas ‘greatness, vastness’ from mah- ‘great’.
tapas (transformative concentration), svar (luminous plane), mahas (vastness/wideness)
Tapas aligns the being to ṛta by enforcing right measure and truth-order in thought, will, and action.
Invincibility (anādhṛṣya) arises when will stands in satya rather than desire.
Tapas as cosmogonic heat: the Vast is ‘made’—a constructed higher order of consciousness.
Yoga-oriented Vedic mysticism; bridges to Upaniṣadic tapas as means to Brahmavidyā.
midday (implied by svar/sun)
Heat = concentration; Sun = illumined mind; Vast sky = widened consciousness (mahas).
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The tapas-born ascent: accomplished beings reach svar and fashion mahas. Mythically a ‘heaven-reaching by austerity’; psychologically the disciplined inner heat makes the being invulnerable and opens the vast luminous consciousness.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √tap ‘heat’ reflects a common IE semantic of heat → vitality/ardor. √yā ‘go’ is an Indo-Iranian staple (Avestan yā-). mah- ‘great’ is widely IE (cf. Greek mégas, Latin magnus).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The prayer does not bargain for external goods; it asks for association (gati) with tapas-accomplished beings—implying that communion with higher realized states is itself the boon.
Kindle tapas as steady aspiration; feel ascent to ‘svar’ as clarity and to ‘mahas’ as wideness.
Maṇipūra (tapas/fire) rising to Ājñā (illumination) and Sahasrāra (vastness)
Kapalabhāti (mild) or bhastrikā (gentle) followed by long exhale; then silent witnessing in the ‘vast’
Collected, luminous, upright; heat without agitation
Repeat ‘tapasā’ mentally with each inhale; on exhale, feel obstacles burn away; rest after chanting in a wide sky-like awareness (mahas).
Keep repeated ‘tapasā’ clearly articulated with consistent accent; follow Saṃhitā marks for udatta/anudatta/svarita as given in the pada tradition.
Slight emphasis on each ‘tapasā’; let ‘svaḥ yayuḥ’ rise subtly in pitch to suggest ascent; keep cadence even on the refrain.
‘tapasā’: dental t, short a; avoid ‘th’., ‘anādhṛṣyāḥ’: retroflex ṛ; keep long ā; cluster dhṛṣ clear., ‘svaḥ’: visarga audible but light., ‘mahas’: final s soft but present.
Firm, warm, focused; avoid mournful tone—this is a strength-verse
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
