Rig Veda 4.32.4: Mandala 4, Sukta 32, Mantra 4
Sukta 4.32
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
वयमिन्द्र त्वे सचा वयं त्वाभि नोनुमः । अस्माँअस्माँ इदुदव ॥
vayám indra tvé sacā́ vayáṃ tvā́bhi nonumaḥ | asmā́m̐-asmā́m̐ íd úd ava ||
हे इन्द्र, वयं त्वया सह सखायः स्मः; वयं त्वामभि नोनुमः। अस्मान्—अस्मान् एव—पुनः पुनरुद्धर, उत्थापय च।
Word by Word
- वयम्
- wePronounपुं/स्त्री/नपुं (सर्वनाम), प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNoun (proper)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- त्वे
- in/with youPronoun(सर्वनाम), सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकारणRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सचा
- together, in companionshipIndeclinableअव्ययRole अधिकारण (सहभाव/संगति-निर्देश)Root सच्/सच (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक; ‘सह’ अर्थे)
- वयम्
- wePronounप्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- त्वा
- youPronounद्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अभि
- towards, untoIndeclinable (preverb)अव्ययRoot अभि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- नः
- of us / ourPronounषष्ठी (एन्क्लिटिक), बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (स्वामि/सम्बन्धी)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- नोनुमः
- we urge/press (you), we impelVerbलट् (वेदे प्रायः वर्तमान/आवृत्ति), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपदRole कर्तृ (वयम्) / कर्म (त्वा)Root नु (धातु; पुनरुक्त-आवृत्तिः ‘नो-’)
- अस्मान्
- usPronounद्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अस्मान्
- us (again/emphatically)Pronounद्वितीया, बहुवचन (पुनरुक्ति-बलार्थ)Role कर्मRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- इत्
- indeed, justParticleअव्ययRoot इद्/इत् (निपात; ‘एव’/‘नूनम्’ अर्थे)
- उत्
- and, also; moreoverParticleअव्ययRoot उत् (निपात/अव्यय)
- अव
- down, away; (as preverb) in aid/protectionIndeclinable (preverb)अव्ययRoot अव (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
Sandhi Notes
- पाठे ‘व॒यमि॑न्द्र॒’ = वयम् + इन्द्र (अन्त्य ‘म्’ + स्वरारम्भ; संहितायां ‘वयमिन्द्र’)
- ‘त्वे सचा’ अव्यय ‘सचा’ ‘सह/साकम्’ अर्थे
- ‘त्वा॒भि’ = त्वा + अभि (स्वर-सन्धिः)
- ‘नो॑नुमः’ धातु √नु ‘प्रेरणे’ का पुनरुक्त-प्रयोग (नो-नु-), लट् 1pl. ‘अ॒स्माँअ॑स्माँ॒’ = अस्मान् + अस्मान् (पुनरुक्ति)
- ‘इदुद॑व’ = इत् + उत् + अव (निपात-समुच्चयः; संहितायां ‘इदुदव’)
The meaning
Outer meaning
We, O Indra, are with thee; we press toward thee and urge thee. Lift up and deliver us—us indeed, again and again.
Inner meaning
The seekers declare conscious alliance (sacā) with Indra: repeated aspiration and insistence (nonumaḥ) call the illumined Mind to act. ‘Lift us up’ is the inner raising from lower nature—habit, depression, obscurity—into a higher poise. The repetition ‘asmān-asmān’ signals persistence: liberation is not a single event but a continual rescue and elevation at each recurrence of difficulty.
Universal truth
Spiritual progress is sustained by repeated turning to the higher power; sincere insistence invites an ongoing uplift from limitation into greater freedom.
Themes
Companionship with Indra, Urgency of invocation, Ascent and deliverance, Repeated plea
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 4.32
Family tradition
Gautama association is indicated later in the hymn; this verse is voiced as a collective aspiration.
Significance
A mantra of surrender-with-insistence: companionship with the divine Mind and repeated uplift from the lower nature.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- sakhā (companion; implied), utthāpaka (uplifter; functional epithet)
- Related deities
- Agni (leader of inner sacrifice), Soma (bliss that supports ascent), Uṣas (illumination that begins the uplift)
Cosmic role
Protector and uplifter of the Aryan (striving) consciousness; establishes victory and higher station.
Inner power
Power of ascent—raises mental-vital being into luminous confidence and right action.
In ritual
Where it is used
General Indra invocation for protection and uplift; suitable in Soma liturgy
व॒यमि॑न्द्र॒ त्वे सचा॑ व॒यं त्वा॒भि नो॑नुमः । अ॒स्माँअ॑स्माँ॒ इदुद॑व ॥
व॒यम् । इ॒न्द्र॒ । त्वे इति॑ । सचा॑ । व॒यम् । त्वा॒ । अ॒भि । नो॒नु॒मः॒ । अ॒स्मान्ऽअ॑स्मान् । इत् । उत् । अ॒व॒ ॥
vayam | indra | tve iti | sacā | vayam | tvā | abhi | nonumaḥ | asmān-asmān | it | ut | ava
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4 × ~11 syllables
Insistent and exhortative; repeated phrases create a climbing momentum.
Creates a felt upward pull; strengthens devotional will and persistence.
- सचा (sacā)
- Literal: together with. Symbolic: yogic companionship; alignment of human will with divine will
- अभि नोनुमः (abhi nonumaḥ)
- Literal: we press toward/urge. Symbolic: intense aspiration; active invocation that calls down force
- उत् अव (ut ava)
- Literal: lift up, help up. Symbolic: elevation of consciousness; rescue from lower formations
- अस्मान्-अस्मान् (asmān-asmān)
- Literal: us, us (again and again). Symbolic: repeated need across layers of being; perseverance in sādhanā
A climactic insistence in invocation: the worshippers align with Indra and demand uplift/rescue—typical of Indra-focused Soma praise-prayers.
At moments of calling Indra’s aid—before/after offerings, or in protective sequences (general).
Invocatory recitation; reinforces the sacrificer’s alliance with Indra.
A daily ‘uplift’ mantra: chant when beginning practice or when slipping into old patterns; use as a reset.
nonumaḥ: from √nu ‘urge, drive’ (with reduplication/intensification); sacā: from √sac ‘accompany’; ut: upward particle indicating elevation; ava: preverb with protective sense (aid/rescue). The repeated asmān-asmān is a rhetorical intensifier marking persistence and totality of the claim.
Aspiration and alignment (sacā), Ascent (ut) from lower nature toward higher truth-force, Grace as rescue (ava)
To be ‘with Indra’ is to choose ṛta’s side and rise out of anṛta.
Truth is approached by insistence and sincerity; repeated turning stabilizes satya in life.
Ascent as a recurring act: consciousness is progressively lifted through repeated divine-human alliance.
Yoga of aspiration and grace (Aurobindonian): call, descent, and uplift repeated across layers.
The ‘lifting’ mirrors sunrise-like elevation of awareness from heaviness to clarity (even if Uṣas is not named).
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem of uplift/rescue: the god raises the human out of lower conditions. It is the inner ‘crossing’ motif—Indra as the power that lifts consciousness beyond limitation.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Directional particles (abhi, ut, ava) orchestrate a spatial grammar for spiritual movement—an IE poetic habit of mapping inner change onto motion. Reduplication/intensification in the verb (nonumaḥ) matches common IE strategies for emphasis.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The relationship is explicitly reciprocal and intimate: ‘we are with thee’ (sacā), yet the human still needs Indra’s decisive act (‘lift up, save’). The repeated ‘us, us’ signals a sustained dependence across repeated struggles, while maintaining active aspiration (‘we urge thee’).
Cultivate inner companionship with the higher Intelligence; repeat the call until a palpable upward shift occurs.
anāhata (devotional alliance)
Slow-meditative breathing: inhale ‘vayam indra’, exhale ‘ut ava’; 6–12 rounds.
From contraction to supported openness; a gentle ascent.
After chanting, sit 2 minutes in silence; notice where you feel ‘lifted’ (head, chest, posture). Act from that lifted poise.
Keep a clear udātta on ‘índra’ and the imperative-like ‘út’; allow natural svarita falls at pāda ends.
Do not rush ‘asmān-asmān’; give it a deliberate, repeated emphasis to convey persistence.
nonumaḥ: dental n; ‘o’ long-ish; final ḥ light, asmān: long ā; nasal n clear, indra: roll lightly; keep short a at end if present in sandhi
Warm, steady, prayerful but confident.
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