Rig Veda 10.71.6: Mandala 10, Sukta 71, Mantra 6
Sukta 10.71
- Rishi
- Bṛhaspati
- Devata
- Vāc
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
यस्तित्याज सचिविदं सखायं न तस्य वाच्यपि भागो अस्ति । यदीं शृणोत्यलकं शृणोति नहि प्रवेद सुकृतस्य पन्थाम् ॥
yás tityā́ja sacivídaṃ sakhā́yaṃ ná tásya vā́cy ápi bhāgó asti | yad ī́ṃ śṛṇóty álakāṃ śṛṇoti náhi pravéda sukṛtásya pánthām ||
यः सचिविदं सखायं त्यजति, तस्य वाच्यपि भागो नास्ति। स शृण्वन्नपि रिक्तमेव शृणोति; सुकृतस्य कर्मणः पन्थानं न प्रजानाति।
Word by Word
- यः
- who (he who)Pronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- तित्याज
- has abandoned, has forsakenVerbलिट् (परोक्षभूत/परफेक्ट), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role Kriyā (मुख्यक्रिया)Root त्यज् (धातु)
- सचिविदम्
- the wise/knowing companion (one who knows with/along)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम् (विशेषणम्)Role Karma (विशेष्य ‘सखायम्’)Root सचिविद् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘सचि-’ + ‘विद्’/‘विद्’ ‘knowing’)
- सखायम्
- friend, companionNounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot सखि (प्रातिपदिक)
- न
- notIndeclinableनिषेधRoot न (निपात)
- तस्य
- of himPronounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्गः, षष्ठी, एकवचनम्Role Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)Root तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वाचि
- in speech, in (the realm of) utteranceNounस्त्रीलिङ्गः, सप्तमी, एकवचनम्Role AdhikaraṇaRoot वाच् (प्रातिपदिक)
- अपि
- evenIndeclinableसमुच्चय/अपि ‘even’Root अपि (निपात)
- भागः
- a share, portionNounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role Kartā (अस्ति इत्यस्य)Root भाग (प्रातिपदिक)
- अस्ति
- is, existsVerbलट्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role KriyāRoot अस् (धातु)
- यद्
- when, ifIndeclinable/Conjunctional relativeअव्ययीभाव-प्रयोगः ‘when/if’ (यद् … तद्)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ईम्
- indeed, justIndeclinableप्राग्रह/अन्वर्थक कणः (enclitic) ‘indeed, just’Root ईम् (निपात)
- शृणोति
- he hearsVerbलट्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role KriyāRoot श्रु (धातु)
- अलकम्
- in vain, to no purposeIndeclinableक्रियाविशेषणम्Root अलकम् (अव्यय/निपात; ‘in vain, idly’)
- शृणोति
- he hearsVerbलट्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role KriyāRoot श्रु (धातु)
- न
- notIndeclinableनिषेधRoot न (निपात)
- हि
- for, indeedIndeclinableहेतौ/निश्चयार्थे ‘for/indeed’Root हि (निपात)
- प्रवेद
- has known, understandsVerbलिट् (परफेक्ट), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role KriyāRoot विद् (धातु) + प्र- (उपसर्ग)
- सुकृतस्य
- of the well-doer / of good deed (merit)Noun/Adjective (genitive dependent)पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्गः, षष्ठी, एकवचनम्Role Sambandha (पन्थाम् इत्यस्य)Root सुकृत (प्रातिपदिक; सु- + कृत) अथवा सुकृत् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
- पन्थाम्
- path, wayNounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role Karma (प्रवेद इत्यस्य)Root पथिन्/पन्था (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (sandhi-resolved): यः | तित्याज | सचिविदम् | सखायम् | न | तस्य | वाचि | अपि | भागः | अस्ति || यद् | ईम् | शृणोति | अलकम् | शृणोति | न | हि | प्रवेद | सुकृतस्य | पन्थाम् || मुख्य-सन्धयः: (1) वाच्यपि → वाचि + अपि (इ + अ = य्, ‘वाच्यपि’)
- (2) यदीं → यद् + ईम् (द् + ई- संयोग; संहितायां ‘यदीं’)
- (3) नहिप्रवेद → न + हि + प्रवेद (निपात-संहिता)
The meaning
Outer meaning
He who abandons the companion who knows the right working—he has no share even in the Word. Even if he hears, he hears what is empty; he does not truly know the path of well-done work.
Inner meaning
The ‘companion who knows’ (sacivid sakhā) is the inner guide—right discernment, the illumined will, or the realized teacher within/without. To abandon that companion is to break the law of the yoga: speech then becomes hollow, a shell without the living truth. Such a person may still hear mantra, but it enters as ‘alaka’—empty sound—because the being refuses right practice (sukṛta panthā). The Word is inseparable from right working: mantra and tapas must cohere.
Universal truth
Knowledge without fidelity to conscience/inner guide becomes sterile; abandoning right practice turns even sacred words into emptiness. True hearing is measured by the path one walks.
Themes
initiation, teacher-companion motif, right practice
The seer
- Rishi
- Bṛhaspati
- Lineage
- Āṅgirasa
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 10.71.4, Rig Veda 10.71.5, Rig Veda 10.71.7, Rig Veda 10.71.8
Family tradition
Āṅgirasa emphasis on right counsel (brahman) and the victory over obscurity through disciplined illumination.
Significance
Bṛhaspati speaks as the inner ‘priest of discernment’: without loyalty to the knowing companion, mantra becomes void and the path is lost.
The deity
- Devata
- Vāc
- Epithets
- Sukṛta-pathā (implied: leading to right work), Brahmaṇī (implied: bearer of brahman)
- Related deities
- Bṛhaspati, Agni (right working), Indra (illumination)
Cosmic role
Connects revelation to right action; safeguards the efficacy of truth by withholding it from betrayal of the inner law.
Inner power
Discernment in speech—ability to distinguish living mantra from empty verbalism; power of effective guidance.
In ritual
Where it is used
Normative teaching: stresses need of a ‘sacivid’ companion (guru/inner guide/ritual skill) for mantra to bear ṛta; relevant to priestly training and initiation.
यस्ति॒त्याज॑ सचि॒विदं॒ सखा॑यं॒ न तस्य॑ वा॒च्यपि॑ भा॒गो अ॑स्ति । यदीं॑ शृ॒णोत्यल॑कं शृणोति न॒हि प्र॒वेद॑ सुकृ॒तस्य॒ पन्था॑म् ॥
यः । ति॒त्याज॑ । स॒चि॒ऽविद॑म् । सखा॑यम् । न । तस्य॑ । वा॒चि । अपि॑ । भा॒गः । अ॒स्ति॒ । यत् । ई॒म् । शृ॒णोति॑ । अल॑कम् । शृ॒णो॒ति॒ । न॒हि । प्र॒ऽवेद॑ । सु॒ऽकृ॒तस्य॑ । पन्था॑म् ॥
yaḥ | tityāja | saci-vidam | sakhāyam | na | tasya | vāci | api | bhāgaḥ | asti | yat | īm | śṛṇoti | alakam | śṛṇoti | nahi | pra-veda | su-kṛtasya | panthām
44
4×11
Grave and judicial; each pāda tightens the consequence of abandonment.
Instills accountability; supports resolve to remain faithful to the inner guide and to disciplined practice.
- sacividam sakhāyam
- Literal: companion who knows (with one). Symbolic: inner guide, right discernment, guru-principle; the knowing ally of the soul
- tityāja
- Literal: abandons. Symbolic: betrayal of inner truth; departure from discipline
- vāci… bhāgaḥ
- Literal: share in the Word. Symbolic: participation in revelatory speech; entitlement through fitness
- alakam
- Literal: empty, vain. Symbolic: hollow sound; knowledge without substance
- sukṛtasya panthām
- Literal: path of the well-done work. Symbolic: right practice aligned with ṛta; effective sādhanā-path
Normative teaching: stresses need of a ‘sacivid’ companion (guru/inner guide/ritual skill) for mantra to bear ṛta; relevant to priestly training and initiation.
Admonitory recitation for students of mantra; suitable at the start of study (svādhyāya) or before vows of truthfulness.
Recite as a reminder of guru-sambandha and right practice; optionally followed by silent resolve (saṅkalpa).
Useful for practitioners struggling with inconsistency: chant to renew commitment to the ‘sukṛta’ path and to living guidance.
saci-vid- ‘skill-knowing’ (saci ‘power, skill’ + √vid ‘know’, PIE *weid- ‘see/know’). praveda from pra-√vid: ‘know forth, know fully’. sukṛta ‘well-done’ from su- + √kṛ ‘make’; panthā- ‘path’ (cf. Avestan pantā, PIE *pent(h)- ‘path’). alaka- ‘vain/empty’ (rare; sense: purposeless sound).
sukṛta (right action) as path, necessity of guidance/companionship, empty sound vs realized speech, Ṛta as criterion of efficacy
The ‘sukṛta panthā’ is the human alignment with ṛta; abandonment is disorder (anṛta) leading to emptiness.
Satya is participatory—one has a ‘share’ only through fidelity and practice.
The Word sustains creation/order only when embodied as right working; otherwise it collapses into noise.
Karma-yoga seed: knowledge and right action as one movement; also proto-Upaniṣadic ethics of truth.
Path = progressive inner ascent; emptiness/echo = mind repeating without realization, like sound in a hollow cave.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘loss of the Word through betrayal of the true companion’: abandoning the sacivid friend results in exclusion from Vāc’s portion—an initiatory myth of forfeiture and spiritual deafness.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √vid ‘know’ (< PIE *weid-) structures the epistemology: true knowing is ‘seeing’ the path (panthā). The inherited ‘path’ lexeme (PIE *pent(h)-) supports the recurrent IE metaphor of truth as a road.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi presents Vāc as governed by ṛta-conditions: she is shared only where right alliance and right doing persist. Devatā is not coerced by recitation; she is accessed through fidelity to the sacivid principle (skill, guidance, effective truth-working).
Re-establish inner companionship: invoke the ‘knowing friend’ (buddhi/psychic guidance) before mantra.
Ājñā (discernment)
Nadi-śodhana (gentle alternate-nostril) to clear illusion; then chant once with full attention.
From scattered listening to guided receptivity; strengthening of inner conscience.
After chanting, ask: ‘What is the next right work (sukṛta) today?’ Do it promptly; let action seal the Word.
Keep udātta prominence on ‘sacividam’, ‘vāci’, and ‘sukṛtasya’; let ‘alakam’ be voiced slightly lower to suggest emptiness without theatrics.
Pause after ‘sakhāyam’ and after ‘alakaṃ śṛṇoti’ to let the warning land; maintain triṣṭubh drive.
‘sacividam’ pronounce -vid- clearly (not ‘vee-d’ overly long)., ‘tityāja’ distinct titya- (not ‘tyāja’ alone)., ‘praveda’ roll lightly: pra-ve-da., ‘panthām’ nasalize āṃ and keep th aspirated.
Steady, resolute, slightly grave.
7
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.
