Rig Veda 5.32.1: Mandala 5, Sukta 32, Mantra 1
Sukta 5.32
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Raudra (fury)
अदर्दरुत्समसृजो वि खानि त्वमर्णवान्बद्बधानाँ अरम्णाः । महान्तमिन्द्र पर्वतं वि यद्वः सृजो वि धारा अव दानवं हन् ॥
ádarda utsám asṛjo ví khā́ni tvám arṇavā́n badbadhānā́m aramṇāḥ | mahā́ntam indra párvataṃ ví yád vaḥ sṛjó ví dhārā́ áva dānaváṃ han ||
अदर्दरुत्समसृजो वि खानि त्वमर्णवान्बद्बधानाँ अरम्णाः। महान्तमिन्द्र पर्वतं वि यद्वः सृजो वि धारा अव दानवं हन्॥
Word by Word
- अदर्दः
- you split/brokeVerbलुङ् (aorist), परस्मैपद, 2nd person singularRoot दृ (दर्/दॄ) ‘to split, break’
- रुत्सम्
- Rutsa (a foe/hostile being)Nounmasculine, accusative singularRole KarmaRoot रुत्स (प्रातिपदिक)
- असृजः
- you released/sent forthVerbलुङ् (aorist), परस्मैपद, 2nd person singularRoot सृज् ‘to let go, release, send forth’
- वि
- apart, asunder, forthIndeclinablepreverb (separative/distributive)Root वि (उपसर्ग)
- खानि
- channels, openings (water-courses)Nounneuter, accusative pluralRole KarmaRoot ख (प्रातिपदिक)
- त्वम्
- youPronoun2nd person, nominative singularRole KartāRoot युष्मद्
- अर्णवान्
- flood-like, billowyAdjectivemasculine, accusative singular (agreeing with दानवम्)Role KarmaRoot अर्णवत् (प्रातिपदिक) < अर्णव ‘flood, sea’
- बद्बधानान्
- (the ones) blocking/obstructingParticiplemasculine, accusative plural (PPP/Perf. ptcp. act. sense), ‘those who had bound/blocked’Role KarmaRoot बन्ध् ‘to bind’ (reduplicated perfect participle)
- अरम्णाः
- you checked/held backVerbलुङ् (aorist), परस्मैपद, 2nd person singularRoot रम्/रम्ण् (Vedic) ‘to stop, restrain, check’
- महान्तम्
- greatAdjectivemasculine, accusative singular (agreeing with पर्वतम्)Role KarmaRoot महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNoun (vocative)masculine, vocative singularRole SambodhanaRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- पर्वतम्
- mountainNounmasculine, accusative singularRole KarmaRoot पर्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
- वि
- apartIndeclinablepreverbRoot वि (उपसर्ग)
- यत्
- when/that whichRelative pronounneuter, accusative singular (adverbial: ‘when/that which’)Role Adhikaraṇa (temporal) / Karma (relative)Root यद्
- वः
- for you / of youPronoun2nd person plural, genitive/dative encliticRole Sampradāna (beneficiary) / सम्बन्धRoot युष्मद्
- सृजः
- you releasedVerbलुङ् (aorist), परस्मैपद, 2nd person singularRoot सृज् ‘to release’
- वि
- forth, apartIndeclinablepreverbRoot वि (उपसर्ग)
- धाराः
- streamsNounfeminine, nominative pluralRole KartāRoot धारा (प्रातिपदिक) < धृ ‘to hold/flow’
- अव
- down, offIndeclinablepreverb (down, away)Root अव (उपसर्ग)
- दानवम्
- the Dānava (demon)Nounmasculine, accusative singularRole KarmaRoot दानव (प्रातिपदिक)
- हन्
- (you) slew / slayVerbलोट्/विधिलिङ्-like injunctive (Vedic), 2nd person singular, परस्मैपद (used as narrative/imperatival)Root हन् ‘to slay’
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (Vedic sandhi resolution): अदर्दः | रुत्सम् | असृजः | वि | खानि | त्वम् | अर्णवान् | बद्बधानान् | अरम्णाः || महान्तम् | इन्द्र | पर्वतम् | वि | यत् | वः | सृजः | वि | धाराः | अव | दानवम् | हन् || प्रमुख-सन्धयः: (1) रुत्स॒मसृ॑जो → रुत्सम् + असृजः (m + a sandhi)
- (2) खानि॒ त्वम् (hi + tv- no change in padapāṭha)
- (3) बद्बधा॒नाँ अ॑रम्णाः → बद्बधानान् + अरम्णाः (ān + a)
- (4) यद्वः → यत् + वः (t + v sandhi)
- (5) यद्वः सृजो → … + सृजः (o/ḥ in saṃhitā reflects Vedic sandhi/visarga behavior)
- (6) धारा॒ अव॑ → धाराः + अव (āḥ + a)
The meaning
Outer meaning
You broke open the spring and released the channels; you freed the flood-waters that were bound. When you split the great mountain, O Indra, you let the streams flow out, having struck down the Dānava who withheld them.
Inner meaning
Indra’s illumination shatters the obstruction at the source: the blocked spring of inspiration within. The ‘channels’ are the pathways of thought and perception; the ‘flood-waters’ are the vital and mental energies held in repression or confusion. The ‘great mountain’ is the massive formation of Ignorance—fixed habit, hardened ego-structure, subconscient inertia. The Dānava (hostile power) is the withholding force that hoards light and joy. When struck down, the streams of knowledge and delight begin to flow freely through the being.
Universal truth
Liberation is not mere suppression of darkness but opening the sources and pathways of consciousness so life-energy and understanding can circulate freely; obstruction collapses when truth-force strikes at the root.
Themes
Waters released from mountain, Dānava slain, Cosmic opening, Inner liberation
The seer
- Rishi
- Atri (traditional attribution for RV 5.32)
- Lineage
- Ātreya
- Other hymns
- RV 5.32 (Indra-Vṛtra/obstruction cycle), RV 5.40 (Atri and the Sun; traditional association)
Family tradition
Atri lineage in Maṇḍala 5, noted for hymns of illumination and victory over obstruction
Significance
Atri’s vision often turns cosmic battle into an inner victory: the opening of hidden light and the restoration of right flow in consciousness.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- vajrin (thunderbolt-bearer, implied by action), ugra (fierce), vṛtrahan (slayer of the coverer; thematic)
- Related deities
- Bṛhaspati (breaker of caves), Sarasvatī (flow of inspiration), Agni, Soma
Cosmic role
Opener of the waters and light; champion of the gods; restorer of cosmic circulation and fertility.
Inner power
Breakthrough intelligence—force that pierces fixed formations and releases trapped energies into ordered movement.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra hymns in Soma-yajña; celebration of Vṛtra-slaying and release of waters
अद॑र्द॒रुत्स॒मसृ॑जो॒ वि खानि॒ त्वम॑र्ण॒वान्ब॑द्बधा॒नाँ अ॑रम्णाः । म॒हान्त॑मिन्द्र॒ पर्व॑तं॒ वि यद्वः सृ॒जो वि धारा॒ अव॑ दान॒वं ह॑न् ॥
अद॑र्दः । उत्स॑म् । असृ॑जः । वि । खानि॑ । त्वम् । अ॒र्ण॒वान् । ब॒द्ब॒धा॒नान् । अर॑म्णाः । म॒हान्त॑म् । इ॒न्द्र॒ । पर्व॑तम् । वि । यत् । वरिति॒ वः । सृ॒जः । वि । धाराः॑ । अव॑ । दा॒न॒वम् । ह॒न्निति॑ हन् ॥
adardaḥ | utsam | asṛjaḥ | vi | khāni | tvam | arṇavān | badbadhānān | aramṇāḥ | mahāntam | indra | parvatam | vi | yat | varitivaḥ | sṛjaḥ | vi | dhārāḥ | ava | dānavam | hannitihan
44
4 × ~11 syllables
Hammering, percussive; suited to ‘breaking’ verbs (adardar, asṛjo)
Energizes will for inner breakthrough; evokes the sensation of pressure releasing and flow beginning.
- utsam
- Literal: spring, fountain. Symbolic: source of inspiration/inner truth and spontaneous joy
- vi khāni
- Literal: channels, outlets. Symbolic: cognitive and vital pathways through which consciousness expresses
- arṇavān
- Literal: flood-waters, oceanic waters. Symbolic: vast life-energies and mental currents, potentially overwhelming when bound
- parvata
- Literal: mountain. Symbolic: fixed mass of ignorance/inertia; hardened formations in mind and subconscient
- dhārāḥ
- Literal: streams, flows. Symbolic: currents of knowledge (go/rays) and delight (soma-tone) released into life
- dānava
- Literal: demon/son of Danu. Symbolic: withholding power—resistance that hoards, blocks, and distorts the flow
Indra heroic myth used as mantra of release: opening blocked energies/‘waters’ in the sacrifice and in the seeker
Indra-focused recitations, especially where victory and release are invoked
Praise to empower Indra; symbolic ‘opening’ of abundance and flow for the rite
For blockages (creative, emotional, mental): chant to invoke decisive clarity that opens the ‘spring’ and re-establishes healthy flow.
utsá ‘spring’ from √ut + √sā/√sad? (lexical: ‘source’); sṛj from PIE *sreigʰ- ‘let go, release’ (related streams of meaning; exact PIE debated); parvata ‘mountain’ from parvan ‘joint/knob’ (massive articulated thing). arṇava ‘flood/sea’ possibly from √ṛ ‘move’ with -nava extension (traditional). Symbolism: mountain = hardened formation; spring and channels = openings of inner source; Dānava = withholding titan; Indra’s act = liberation of consciousness-streams establishing r̥ta-flow.
liberation of the waters (release of consciousness), breaking rigidity (tamas) to restore r̥ta-flow, victory over withholding powers (Dānava)
Release of waters restores ṛta—right circulation between planes (heaven-mind and earth-life).
Truth-force splits the false solidity of ignorance (mountain) and restores transparent flow.
Cosmos as a dynamic flow periodically obstructed and re-opened by the gods’ victory; creation renews through breakthrough.
Yoga of transformation: obstruction (covering) is conquered by luminous force, not merely by moral restraint.
monsoon imagery (release of waters; symbolic)
Blocked inspiration and energy are released when rigid mental formations crack; life begins to move with renewed fertility and meaning.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘release of the waters’ myth: Indra breaks open the source, splits the mountain, and slays the withholding Dānava so streams can flow. Innerly: the illumined will-force breaks hardened subconscious formations, opens the inner fountain, and restores the free movement of consciousness and delight.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The dragon/withholder + water-release pattern is a widespread Indo-European mythic complex (cognate structures appear in Iranian and other IE traditions). The verb √han for slaying aligns with PIE *gʷhen-; core imagery (mountain, waters, release) belongs to inherited IE poetic diction.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi recounts the archetypal liberating deed as a present operative power: by naming the breaking, releasing, and slaying, the hymn invites Indra to perform the same action within the sacrificer—opening channels and removing the inner withholder.
Break the ‘mountain’ of fixation: identify one rigid belief/habit; invoke Indra to cleave it and let energy flow.
ājñā (piercing insight) and viśuddha (released channels of expression)
Kapalabhati 30–60 strokes (if suitable), then quiet observation of a ‘gushing’ inner flow on inhale
Dynamic concentration; breakthrough readiness
Concentrate at the brow; feel a pressure-point of obstruction; on exhale, imagine vajra-like clarity splitting it; then rest in the newly opened spaciousness and allow spontaneous insight to ‘stream’ without forcing.
Vedic accents with strong lifts on adardar, utsam, indra, parvatam; maintain crisp consonants in clusters
Let the breaking verbs be slightly stressed; keep breath support through long compounds
Crisp retroflex in dānavaṃ, Maintain distinction between vi (short) and vī (if present elsewhere); here vi is short, Articulate dh in dhārāḥ and avoid softening to ‘dara’
Forceful, resonant, chest-supported
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