Rig Veda 2.7.4: Mandala 2, Sukta 7, Mantra 4
Sukta 2.7
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
शुचिः पावक वन्द्योऽग्ने बृहद्वि रोचसे । त्वं घृतेभिराहुतः ॥
śúciḥ pāvaka vándyo ’gne bṛhád ví rocase | tváṃ ghṛtébhir ā́hutaḥ ||
शुचिः पावकः वन्द्यः, अग्ने, बृहति रोचसे; त्वं घृतेभिः आहुतः प्रज्वलसि वर्धसे च।
Word by Word
- शुचिः
- pure, brightAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole सम्बोधन/विशेषण (अग्नेः)Root शुचि- (प्रातिपदिक; √शुच् ‘दीप्तौ/शौचे’ से)
- पावक
- purifyingAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधन (अग्नेः)Root पावक- (प्रातिपदिक; √पू ‘पवने/शोधने’ से)
- वन्द्यः
- worthy of praiseAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole विशेषण (अग्नेः)Root वन्द्य- (कृदन्त; √वन्द् ‘स्तुतौ’ + यत्)
- अग्ने
- O AgniNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot अग्नि- (प्रातिपदिक)
- बृहत्
- greatly, vast (splendour)Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (क्रियाविशेषणवत्)Role कर्म (रोचसे इति क्रियायाः)Root बृहत्- (प्रातिपदिक; √बृह् ‘वर्धने’ से)
- वि
- apart, forth, widelyIndeclinableउपसर्गRoot वि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- रोचसे
- you shineVerbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रिया (कर्तृ = त्वम्/अग्निः)Root √रुच् (दीप्तौ)
- त्वम्
- youPronounउत्तम/मध्यम-प्रयोगे सर्वनाम; प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot युष्मद्- (सर्वनाम)
- घृतेभिः
- with ghee (clarified butter)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचनRole करणRoot घृत- (प्रातिपदिक)
- आहुतः
- having been offered/invokedParticipleपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि (passive sense)Role विशेषण (अग्नेः); ‘हुत’ = ‘offered’Root आ-√हु (जुहोति; ‘आह्वाने/होमने’), क्त (भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: शुचिः | पावक | वन्द्यः | अग्ने | बृहत् | वि | रोचसे | त्वम् | घृतेभिः | आहुतः । सन्धिः: वन्द्यः + अग्ने → वन्द्योऽग्ने (अः + अ → ओऽ)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Agni, pure and purifying, worthy of worship, shines widely in the Vast; he is kindled by offerings of ghee.
Inner meaning
The inner Fire is intrinsically pure (śuciḥ) and a purifier (pāvaka): it clarifies mind and life by burning confusion and desire. In the bṛhat (the Vast—wide consciousness), Agni’s light spreads; ghee (ghṛta) is the clarified essence—symbol of luminous understanding and heart-substance offered to the flame, increasing its power.
Universal truth
What is fed with our most clarified sincerity and understanding grows into a vast illumination; purity is not repression but a luminous refinement that expands consciousness.
Themes
Agni as purifier, inner offering, manifestation of the Vast, luminous clarity
The seer
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada (Bhārgava)
- Lineage
- Bhārgava
- Other hymns
- RV 2.1, RV 2.3, RV 2.4, RV 2.5, RV 2.6, RV 2.7, RV 2.8, RV 2.9
Family tradition
Bhṛgu-Aṅgiras heritage: emphasis on Agni as the knower of the path (kavi) and purifier of the human instrument.
Significance
The seer’s stress on purity and vastness aligns with an inner yajña: offering the clarified essence of one’s being to widen into bṛhat consciousness.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- śuciḥ, pāvaka, vandyaḥ, hotā (contextual in the maṇḍala)
- Related deities
- Bṛhaspati (lord of the Vast Word), Savitṛ (impeller into the wide), Uṣas (awakening light)
Cosmic role
Solar-fire on earth; the luminous principle that bridges worlds and spreads light in the ‘Vast’.
Inner power
Purification leading to wideness: a fire that does not merely burn but illumines and liberates the mind into spacious awareness.
In ritual
Where it is used
Ājyabhāga / ghee-offering sequences in Agni rites (general)
शुचि॑: पावक॒ वन्द्योऽग्ने॑ बृ॒हद्वि रो॑चसे । त्वं घृ॒तेभि॒राहु॑तः ॥
शुचिः॑ । पा॒व॒क॒ । वन्द्यः॑ । अग्ने॑ । बृ॒हत् । वि । रो॒च॒से॒ । त्वम् । घृ॒तेभिः॑ । आऽहु॑तः ॥
śuciḥ | pāvaka | vandyaḥ | agne | bṛhat | vi | rocase | tvam | ghṛtebhiḥ | āhutaḥ
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3×8 (approx.)
Bright, crisp, ‘flaring’ rhythm; the second pāda opens with bṛhat—felt as expansion.
Promotes clarity and uplift; a sense of inner cleansing followed by widening radiance.
- शुचिः (śuciḥ)
- Literal: pure, bright. Symbolic: intrinsic clarity of the soul-fire; stainless discernment
- पावक (pāvaka)
- Literal: purifier. Symbolic: transformative power that cleanses thought, emotion, and impulse
- वन्द्यः (vandyaḥ)
- Literal: worthy of adoration. Symbolic: that which the being can safely trust and align with
- बृहत् (bṛhat)
- Literal: the Vast. Symbolic: wide consciousness (bṛhat-cit), freedom from narrow ego
- वि रोचसे (vi rocase)
- Literal: you shine forth widely. Symbolic: diffusion of illumination through all parts of the nature
- घृतेभिः (ghṛtebhiḥ)
- Literal: with ghee. Symbolic: with clarified light-essence: lucid understanding, devotion’s sweetness, sattvic substance
- आहुतः (āhutaḥ)
- Literal: offered/kindled by oblation. Symbolic: the inner fire grows by conscious offering (yajña)
Ghee-offerings (āhuti) to Agni; mantra supports the inner sense of ‘feeding’ Agni with clarified essence during household and Śrauta fires
When offering ghee to kindle and sustain the fire; praise of Agni’s purity before/after oblations.
Offer ghṛta with invocation; contemplate inner purification.
Use as a purification mantra before japa/meditation; pair with a small ‘inner offering’—release a mental impurity into the flame of awareness.
शुचि from √शुच् ‘to shine, be bright, be pure’ => purity as luminosity. पावक from √पू ‘to purify/cleanse’ (causative nuance in agent noun) => ‘purifier’. रोचसे from √रुच् ‘to shine, be pleasing/bright’ with vi- indicating wide manifestation. घृत from √घृ ‘to shine/sprinkle; bright unctuous substance’—in Vedic symbolism, ‘clarified’ essence of offering, hence inner clarified delight/force.
Bṛhat (the Vast), purification (pavana) as inner yoga, ṛta as luminous order
Agni’s right shining (rocana) is the manifestation of ṛta in consciousness.
Śuciḥ indicates truth-clarity; impurity is mixture and falsehood in movement.
Fire expands into the Vast—microcosm to macrocosm: the inner flame reflecting the cosmic Fire.
Integral/psychological Vedism: ghṛta as ‘clarified mind-substance’ offered to widen into bṛhat.
dawn
Fire = will and illumination; ghee = clarified understanding/devotion; Vast = open, ego-free awareness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘feeding/kindling of the divine fire’: Agni grows by ghṛta and radiates in bṛhat. Mythically, the god is strengthened by oblation; psychologically, the will-to-truth is intensified by clarified inner substance (collected delight/attention).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √रुच (shine) belongs to a widespread IE poetic lexicon of brightness/appearance; the vi- preverb marks expansive manifestation (a common archaic device). Agent nouns like pāvaka (purifier) reflect inherited derivational morphology used for divine epithets.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- Reciprocity through offering: the rishi supplies ‘ghṛta’ (clarified essence) and praise; Agni reciprocates by shining widely in the Vast and purifying the sacrificer’s being.
Contemplate a pure flame in the heart; on inhalation feel it brighten, on exhalation offer ‘ghṛta’—a clarified intention or insight—into it.
anahata
4-4 or 6-6 sama-vṛtti; mentally place śuciḥ on inhale, pāvaka on exhale.
Sattvic clarity moving into wideness (bṛhat).
Before practice, write/think one ‘clarified truth’ you can live today; offer it inwardly as ghṛta to strengthen Agni’s steady radiance.
Follow Saṃhitā accents: śuci॑:, pāvaka, vandyó’gne॑, bṛhadví rocase; keep udatta crisp on marked syllables; avoid sing-song.
Break at caesura after agne; let bṛhat open with a slightly broader breath to embody ‘Vast’.
śuciḥ: ‘śu’ clear; final ḥ lightly aspirated, pāvaka: long ā; ‘v’ not ‘w’, vandyo ’gne: maintain sandhi: vandyó’gne (do not insert hard pause), bṛhat: vocalic ṛ (bṛ-) short and precise, ghṛtebhiḥ: ghṛ- with vocalic ṛ; bh is aspirated, āhutaḥ: long ā; ‘h’ audible
Clear, pure, slightly luminous; keep throat relaxed for ś/ṣ contrasts.
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