Rig Veda 10.34.4: Mandala 10, Sukta 34, Mantra 4
Sukta 10.34
- Rishi
- Kavasha Ailūṣa
- Devata
- Akṣāḥ
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion) and Bhayankara
अन्ये जायां परि मृशन्त्यस्य यस्यागृधद्वेदने वाज्यक्षः । पिता माता भ्रातर एनमाहुर्न जानीमो नयता बद्धमेतम् ॥
ánye jāyā́m pári mṛśanty asya yásyā́gṛdhad védane vājí akṣáḥ | pitā́ mātā́ bhrā́tara enam āhur ná jānīmo náyata baddhám etám ||
अन्ये जायां परि मृशन्त्यस्य यस्यागृधद्वेदने वाज्याक्षः। पिता माता भ्रातर एनमाहुर्न जानीमो नयता बद्धमेतम्॥
Word by Word
- अन्ये
- othersAdjective/Pronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- जायाम्
- wifeNounस्त्रीलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot जाया (प्रातिपदिक)
- परि
- around, aboutIndeclinable (Preverb/Adverb)उपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot परि
- मृशन्ति
- they touch/handleVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Root मृश् (धातु)
- अस्य
- of himPronounपुं/नपुंसकलिङ्गः, षष्ठी, एकवचनम्Role सम्बन्धRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → अस्य
- यस्य
- whosePronounपुं/नपुंसकलिङ्गः, षष्ठी, एकवचनम्Role सम्बन्धRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → यस्य
- आगृधत्
- he became greedy/longedVerbलुङ्/आओरिस्ट (भूत), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Root गृध् (धातु) + आ-
- वेदने
- in the winning/at the stake (game)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, सप्तमी, एकवचनम्Role अधिकरणRoot वेदन (प्रातिपदिक) < √विद्/√वेद् (to know) (नामधातु-निर्मित)
- वाजि-अक्षः
- the dice-player (whose ‘axles’/dice are swift/impelling)Compound Noun (Tatpuruṣa/Karmadhāraya)पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot वाजिन् (प्रातिपदिक) + अक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
- पिता
- fatherNounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- माता
- motherNounस्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot मातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- भ्रातरः
- brothersNounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot भ्रातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- एनम्
- himPronounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → एनम्
- आहुः
- they have said / they sayVerbलिट् (परोक्श/परफेक्ट), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Root अह्/ब्रू (धातु; वैदिक प्रयोग ‘आहुः’)
- न
- notIndeclinableनिषेधRoot न
- जानीमः
- we knowVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपदम्, उत्तमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Root ज्ञा (धातु)
- नयत
- lead (you all)Verb (imperative)लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), परस्मैपदम्, मध्यमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Root नी (धातु)
- बद्धम्
- boundParticiple (Past Passive) used adjectivallyपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot बद्ध (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) < √बन्ध्
- एतम्
- this onePronounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → एतम्
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (padapāṭha-style): अन्ये | जायाम् | परि | मृशन्ति | अस्य | यस्य | आ-गृधत् | वेदने | वाजि-अक्षः । पिता | माता | भ्रातरः | एनम् | आहुः । न | जानीमः | नयत | बद्धम् | एतम् ॥ Key sandhi: (1) जायां परि → जायाम् परि (m before p)
- (2) मृशन्त्यस्य → मृशन्ति अस्य (i + a sandhi)
- (3) यस्यागृधद् → यस्य आ-गृधत् (a + ā; final -d realized as -t before pause in padapāṭha)
- (4) वेदने वाज्यक्षः → वेदने वाजि-अक्षः (compound; internal sandhi i+a→ya in saṃhitā)
- (5) एनमाहुः → एनम् आहुः (m + ā)
- (6) अहुर्न → आहुः न (visarga before n)
- (7) नयता → नयत (tiṅ ending; saṃhitā lengthening/phonetic)
- (8) बद्धमे॒तम् → बद्धम् एतम् (m + e)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Others handle and take about his wife—his whom the eager dice has seized for winning. Father, mother, brothers say: ‘We do not know him; lead him away, bound.’
Inner meaning
When the being is ‘seized’ by the winning-instinct (vājy akṣaḥ), it forfeits its rightful intimacy with life and joy: the wife (jāyā) is ‘touched by others’—meaning the delight and energy that should belong to the soul’s true direction is commandeered by external forces, habits, and opportunistic impulses. Even the foundational supports (father, mother, brothers = mind, life, body and their allied faculties; also social kinship) disown the addict-self: the personality becomes unrecognizable. ‘Bound’ indicates karmic compulsion: past formations now drag the will.
Universal truth
Compulsion alienates identity: what is most intimate becomes vulnerable to appropriation, and one’s own faculties disavow the distorted self. Freedom begins when bondage is seen as bondage.
Themes
dishonor and dispossession, family rejection, bondage imagery
The seer
- Rishi
- Kavaṣa Ailūṣa
- Other hymns
- RV 10.34
Family tradition
A seer-poet using social imagery to map inner states; the hymn functions as a psychological case-study.
Significance
He articulates the moment when the addicted personality is no longer ‘owned’ by its own higher kin—an invitation to recover the true lineage through inner sacrifice.
The deity
- Devata
- Akṣāḥ (Dice)
- Epithets
- agṛdhad (greedy-seizing), vājin (prize-bearing)
- Related deities
- Soma (true delight as antidote to false sweetness), Indra (illumined mind that breaks compulsions)
Cosmic role
A power that promises victory but delivers dispossession; it redistributes one’s energies to alien claimants.
Inner power
Appropriation: the sweet ‘win’ that steals intimacy, trust, and selfhood.
In ritual
Where it is used
Social-ethical admonition; illustrates consequences: loss of kin-recognition and binding (external and internal).
अ॒न्ये जा॒यां परि॑ मृशन्त्यस्य॒ यस्यागृ॑ध॒द्वेद॑ने वा॒ज्य१॒॑क्षः । पि॒ता मा॒ता भ्रात॑र एनमाहु॒र्न जा॑नीमो॒ नय॑ता ब॒द्धमे॒तम् ॥
अ॒न्ये । जा॒याम् । परि॑ । मृ॒श॒न्ति॒ । अ॒स्य॒ । यस्य॑ । अगृ॑धत् । वेद॑ने । वा॒जी । अ॒क्षः । पि॒ता । मा॒ता । भ्रात॑रः । ए॒न॒म् । आ॒हुः॒ । न । जा॒नी॒मः॒ । नय॑त । ब॒द्धम् । ए॒तम् ॥
anye | jāyām | pari | mṛśanti | asya | yasya | agṛdhat | vedane | vājī | akṣaḥ | pitā | mātā | bhrātaraḥ | enam | āhuḥ | na | jānīmaḥ | nayata | baddham | etam
44
4 × ~11
Public, declarative rhythm—like a verdict pronounced by the ‘kin’.
Creates moral lucidity and a sense of consequence; supports resolve to cut bonds.
- अगृधत् (agṛdhat)
- Literal: has seized greedily. Symbolic: craving that captures attention and choice
- वेदने (vedane)
- Literal: in the winning/at the stake. Symbolic: the consciousness fixed on gain rather than truth
- वाजी अक्षः (vājin akṣaḥ)
- Literal: the prize-winning die. Symbolic: the ‘victory’ impulse that mimics true conquest but enslaves
- परि मृशन्ति (pari mṛśanti)
- Literal: touch all around, handle. Symbolic: invasion/appropriation of one’s delight and life-energy by lower forces
- पिता माता भ्रातरः (pitā mātā bhrātaraḥ)
- Literal: father, mother, brothers. Symbolic: supporting powers of the being (and society) withdrawing recognition
- बद्धम् (baddham)
- Literal: bound. Symbolic: karmic fixation; habit-chains in the subconscient
Social-ethical admonition; illustrates consequences: loss of kin-recognition and binding (external and internal).
Instructional recitation; social counsel; personal vow-making.
Recited as warning before games/ventures; used to strengthen restraint (niyama).
Mindful reflection before high-risk behaviors; family-systems healing: recognizing how addiction displaces intimacy.
√gṛdh ‘greed’ (agṛdhad) marks possession by craving. védana ‘winning/acquisition’ (from √vid ‘find/know’ with specialized sense ‘obtaining’) becomes the false ‘knowledge’ that captures the gambler. vājí (from vāja) is ironized: force meant for victory in ṛta is diverted into compulsive contest.
greed as possession (gṛdh), false vāja (force diverted), loss of identity (kin say ‘we do not know him’)
Dispossession and social rupture are signs of falling out of ṛta (right relation).
‘We do not know him’—loss of true identity; satya is the recovery of the real self.
Misuse of force leads to fragmentation and loss of rightful ‘ownership’ of energies.
Integral-psychological reading: false victory vs. true conquest (Indra’s victory over Vṛtra).
Bandhana is the natural image of habit-energy coagulating into constraint.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘seizure and binding’ mythologem: a hostile force captures the person for the sake of ‘winning’, leading to social and spiritual unrecognition—symbol of the soul bound by desire.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The ‘bind’ imagery (baddha) resonates with widespread Indo-European metaphors of sin/compulsion as bonds; while specific etymologies vary, the conceptual grammar of bondage vs freedom is deeply inherited.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The relationship is one of capture, not worship: the dice becomes a pseudo-devata demanding sacrifice of household harmony and identity; the verse implicitly contrasts this with the gods who uphold kinship and ṛta.
Observe how craving ‘seizes’ and how it displaces intimacy and self-respect; reclaim the ‘wife’ as rightful delight aligned with the soul.
svādhiṣṭhāna (desire/attachment)
Exhale-lengthening (e.g., 4 in / 8 out) to weaken grasping.
From fear and shame to quiet determination.
Make a clear inner statement: ‘This is not my true self.’ Then perform one act of repair (apology, restitution, or boundary) to re-enter ṛta.
Standard Ṛgvedic accents; keep compound clarity (vājy akṣaḥ).
Mark the contrastive emphasis: anyé … (others) / yásya … (whose) / pitā mātā … (kin) / ná jānīmaḥ … (disowning).
anye: clear palatal ny, pari mṛśanti: ṛ is vocalic r; no extra vowel, agṛdhat: hard gṛ cluster; short a- prefix, vājy akṣaḥ: avoid inserting y between ā and j; akṣaḥ with retroflex kṣ, baddham: double ddh, aspirated
Firm and unornamented, like a testimony.
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