Rig Veda 10.34.2: Mandala 10, Sukta 34, Mantra 2
Sukta 10.34
- Rishi
- Kavasha Ailūṣa
- Devata
- Akṣāḥ as adversarial power
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion) and Bibhatsa (revulsion)
न मा मिमेथ न जिहीळ एषा शिवा सखिभ्य उत मह्यमासीत् । अक्षस्याहमेकपरस्य हेतोरनुव्रतामप जायामरोधम् ॥
ná mā mimetha ná jihīḷa eṣā́ śivā́ sakhíbhyá utá máhyam āsīt | akṣasyā́hám éka-parasya hétor ánu-vratām ápa jāyā́m arodham ||
न मां मिमेथ न जिहीळ एषा—शिवा सखिभ्य उत मह्यम् आसीत्। अक्षस्याहम् एकपरस्य हेतोः, अनुव्रताम् अप जायाम् अरोधम्।
Word by Word
- न
- notIndeclinableनिषेध (negation)Root न
- मा
- mePronounद्वितीया एकवचनRole KarmaRoot अस्मद्
- मिमेथ
- you have (so) regarded/valued (me)Verbलिट् (परोक्ष) मध्यमपुरुष एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole Kartā (implied ‘त्वम्’)Root मा (माने/मिमाते) / √मा (to measure/esteem; Vedic)
- न
- notIndeclinableनिषेधRoot न
- जिहीळे
- you have reviled / been hostileVerbलिट् (परोक्ष) मध्यमपुरुष एकवचन, आत्मनेपदRole Kartā (implied ‘त्वम्’)Root √हीळ् (to revile, be angry at; Vedic) with reduplication ji-
- एषा
- this (woman/one)Pronoun (demonstrative)प्रथमा एकवचन स्त्रीलिङ्गRole KartāRoot एतद्
- शिवा
- kind, auspiciousAdjectiveप्रथमा एकवचन स्त्रीलिङ्गRole Kartā (as qualifier of एषा)Root शिव
- सखिभ्यः
- to (my) friendsNounचतुर्थी बहुवचन पुंलिङ्गRole SampradānaRoot सखि
- उत
- and, alsoIndeclinableसमुच्चय/अपि-अर्थRoot उत
- मह्यम्
- to mePronounचतुर्थी एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot अस्मद्
- आसीत्
- wasVerbलङ् (अनद्यतन भूत) प्रथमपुरुष एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole (copula)Root √अस् (to be)
- अक्षस्य
- of the dice / of the die-gameNounषष्ठी एकवचन पुंलिङ्गRole Sambandha (genitive relation)Root अक्ष
- अहम्
- IPronounप्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot अस्मद्
- एकपरस्य
- of one who is devoted to one thing only / single-aimedAdjective (compound)षष्ठी एकवचन पुंलिङ्ग (agreeing with हेतोः)Role SambandhaRoot एकपर
- हेतोः
- because of (the) cause; on account ofNounषष्ठी एकवचन पुंलिङ्गRole Apādāna (cause/source, ‘because of’ in genitive usage)Root हेतु
- अनुव्रताम्
- obedient, faithfulAdjective (used substantively)द्वितीया एकवचन स्त्रीलिङ्ग (agreeing with जायाम्)Role KarmaRoot अनुव्रत
- अप
- awayIndeclinable (preverb)उपसर्ग (separative)Root अप
- जायाम्
- wifeNounद्वितीया एकवचन स्त्रीलिङ्गRole KarmaRoot जाया
- अरोधम्
- I shut out / kept away / restrainedVerbलङ् (अनद्यतन भूत) उत्तमपुरुष एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole Kartā (अहम्)Root √रुध् (to obstruct, restrain, shut off)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution: सखि॑भ्य उ॒त → सखिभ्यः + उत (visarga before vowel, RV often written without explicit ḥ)
- मह्य॑मासीत् → मह्यम् + आसीत् (m + ā)
- अ॒क्षस्या॒हमे॑कप॒रस्य॑ → अक्षस्य + अहम् + एकपरस्य (word-boundary)
- हेतोरनु॑व्रता॒मप॑ → हेतोः + अनुव्रताम् + अप (visarga before vowel)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The speaker says: “She did not pity me nor hold back—she who was once kind to my friends and to me. Because of the dice, that sole master, I shut out my faithful wife, obedient to the vow/law.”
Inner meaning
The ‘she’ is the seductive power of addiction/fortune that once seemed benevolent—social, pleasurable, bonding—yet becomes merciless. ‘Ekapara’ (“one-sole master”) is the tyrannical fixation that displaces all other loyalties. The ‘wife’ (jāyā), described as anuvratā (faithful to the right law), symbolizes the soul-consent or the harmonizing partner-power of life (right relationship, steady dharma) that gets excluded when obsession rules. Psychologically: compulsive desire ejects the supportive inner companion (conscience/psychic guidance) and isolates the being.
Universal truth
When a single obsession becomes master, it drives out the faithful supports of life—right relationship, conscience, and harmony. What once seemed kind turns ruthless when fed by fixation.
Themes
addiction and ruin, exclusion of the faithful companion, ethical collapse
The seer
- Rishi
- Kavaṣa Ailūṣa
- Lineage
- Ailūṣa
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 10.34
Family tradition
A confessional-didactic voice that turns personal downfall into collective instruction; emphasizes truthful speech as purification.
Significance
The seer reveals the relational and ethical cost of addiction: it expels the anuvratā (right-following) principle—showing why recovery requires restoring that alliance.
The deity
- Devata
- Akṣāḥ (Dice) as adversarial ‘sole master’; the ‘she’ as personified compulsion
- Epithets
- ekapara (sole-master) as a functional epithet of fixation, aśiva (implied opposite of śivā) as it turns cruel
- Related deities
- Varuṇa/Mitra (keepers of vow/relationship), Agni (restorer of right will), Indra (breaker of the coverer)
Cosmic role
A disintegrative power that breaks social and inner bonds, replacing rita-based relation with craving-based compulsion.
Inner power
Captivation: narrowing of consciousness to one channel; displacement of love/dharma by stimulus-seeking.
In ritual
Where it is used
Didactic warning; reinforces dharmic/ṛta-aligned household order as necessary support for spiritual life.
न मा॑ मिमेथ॒ न जि॑हीळ ए॒षा शि॒वा सखि॑भ्य उ॒त मह्य॑मासीत् । अ॒क्षस्या॒हमे॑कप॒रस्य॑ हे॒तोरनु॑व्रता॒मप॑ जा॒याम॑रोधम् ॥
न । मा॒ । मि॒मे॒थ॒ । न । जि॒ही॒ळे॒ ए॒षा । शि॒वा । सखि॑ऽभ्यः । उ॒त । मह्य॑म् । आ॒सी॒त् । अ॒क्षस्य॑ । अ॒हम् । ए॒क॒ऽप॒रस्य॑ । हे॒तोः । अनु॑ऽव्रताम् । अप॑ । जा॒याम् । अ॒रो॒ध॒म् ॥
na | mā | mimetha | na | jihīḷe eṣā | śivā | sakhi-bhyaḥ | uta | mahyam | āsīt | akṣasya | aham | eka-parasya | hetoḥ | anu-vratām | apa | jāyām | arodham
44
4 pādas of ~11 syllables; strong narrative caesura; emotional turn in second hemistich
Taut, regret-laden; forward push with a bitter check at ‘apa jāyām arodham’.
Brings remorse and clarity; helps surface the moment of choice where obsession overrides dharma.
- शिवा (śivā)
- Literal: kind, auspicious. Symbolic: the initial ‘friendly’ face of pleasure/fortune before it reveals bondage
- एषा (eṣā)
- Literal: this (she). Symbolic: personified addiction or seductive fate-power
- अक्षस्य (akṣasya)
- Literal: of the dice. Symbolic: of compulsive habit-energy
- एकपरस्य (ekaparasya)
- Literal: having one as supreme/sole. Symbolic: monomania; tyranny of a single desire
- अनुव्रताम् (anuvratām)
- Literal: following the vow/law; faithful. Symbolic: the dharmic/psychic companion-force that aligns with rita
- जायाम् (jāyām)
- Literal: wife. Symbolic: inner partner of harmony: conscience, right relation, supportive life-order
- अप...अरोधम् (apa...arodham)
- Literal: I shut out. Symbolic: self-exclusion from the soul’s support; cutting off the healing bond
Didactic warning; reinforces dharmic/ṛta-aligned household order as necessary support for spiritual life.
For recovery work: chant as a mirror of ‘what fixation cost me’; then consciously ‘invite back’ the anuvratā principle—repair, apology, recommitment.
éka-parasya: ‘having one as the beyond/only end’ → fixation. √rudh ‘block’ (arodham) gives the psychological act of self-exclusion from harmony. anu-vratā: one who follows vrata (divine law); here the wife embodies ordered life. The verse dramatizes how compulsion violates ṛta by expelling the supportive harmony of the being.
vrata/ṛta vs compulsion, loss of śraddhā and harmony (wife as inner consent), bondage through fixation (éka-paratā)
Anuvratā explicitly evokes vrata/rita; shutting her out is a fall from order into compulsion.
Naming the act (I shut out…) is satya that begins restoration.
Contraction vs harmony: fixation contracts the world; rita restores wholeness.
Ethical-psychological Vedism: dharma as alignment with cosmic order; addiction as coverer.
Home/wife = inner hearth of harmony; shutting out = closing the heart; ‘she’ = seductive wave of prāṇa that turns cruel.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘expulsion of the faithful wife’ mythologem: the harmonious partner-power (anu-vratā) is cast out for the sake of a devouring fascination, depicting the soul’s divorce from ṛta.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The semantic field of ‘yoking to one’ (éka-paratā) parallels Indo-European motifs of obsession/possession; √rudh ‘block’ is an old verbal idea of obstruction that maps readily to psychological repression/exclusion.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- No reciprocity: the ‘devata’ is a hostile lord (akṣa) demanding exclusive devotion, replacing the gods’ life-giving vrata with a tyrannical single-point compulsion.
Restore the ‘anuvratā’ within: recommit to inner law and supportive relationships; release the ‘sole-master’ fixation.
Anahata (relationship/heart) and Manipura (will)
Heart-focused breathing: inhale into chest 5, exhale 7; on exhale feel the ‘door’ reopen. Optionally add humming (bhrāmarī) to soothe craving agitation.
Contrite clarity leading to gentle rebuilding.
After chanting, do one concrete act of repair (message, restitution, boundary). Then sit 5 minutes repeating inwardly: ‘Not ekapara—many-sided wholeness under rita’.
Keep the first hemistich gently narrative; intensify slightly on ‘akṣasyāham…’ and release into a regretful fall on ‘apa jāyām arodham’. Follow marked udātta where present.
Do not rush clusters; pause after ‘āsīt |’. Emphasize ‘ekaparasya’ as the turning point.
mimetha: clear short i; dental th, jihīḻe: long ī; ḻ sound may be rendered carefully as retroflex lateral in Vedic recitation tradition, śivā: palatal ś, long ā, ekaparasya: keep ‘r’ light, anuvratām: clear ‘vr’, arodham: dental dh, not retroflex
Low, truthful, penitential; avoid melodrama.
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