Rig Veda 8.46.2: Mandala 8, Sukta 46, Mantra 2
Sukta 8.46
- Devata
- Indra
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
त्वां हि सत्यमद्रिवो विद्म दातारमिषाम् । विद्म दातारं रयीणाम् ॥
tvā́ṃ hí satyám adrivo vidmá dātā́ram iṣā́m | vidmá dātā́raṃ rayīṇā́m ||
त्वां हि सत्यम् अद्रिवो विद्म दातारम् इषाम्; विद्म दातारं रयीणाम्—त्वं एव सत्यः, इषां दाता, रयीणां च दाता।
Word by Word
- त्वाम्
- you (as object)Pronounद्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (पुं/स्त्री/नपुं—सर्वनाम)Role कर्मRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- हि
- indeed, forIndeclinableनिपात (अव्यय)Root हि (निपात)
- सत्यम्
- truly, in truthAdjectiveद्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन, नपुंसकलिङ्ग (क्रियाविशेषणवत्: ‘truly’)Root सत्य (प्रातिपदिक; < सत् + य)
- अद्रिवः
- O stone-bearing/pressing-stone-possessing one (Indra)Noun (epithet)सम्बोधन/प्रथमा, एकवचन, पुंलिङ्ग (इन्द्रस्य विशेषणम्)Role सम्बोधनRoot अद्रि-वस् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘stone/pressing-stone’ + -वस् ‘possessing’)
- विद्म
- we knowVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद; ‘we know’Root √विद् (विदँ ज्ञाने)
- दातारम्
- giverNoun (agent)द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन, पुंलिङ्गRole कर्मRoot दातृ (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √दा ‘to give’ + तृ)
- इषाम्
- of refreshments/nourishmentsNounषष्ठी विभक्ति, बहुवचन, स्त्रीलिङ्गRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root इष्/इषा (प्रातिपदिक; ‘refreshment, nourishment, strength’)
- विद्म
- we knowVerbलिट्, उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपदRoot √विद् (विदँ ज्ञाने)
- दातारम्
- giverNoun (agent)द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन, पुंलिङ्गRole कर्मRoot दातृ (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √दा + तृ)
- रयीणाम्
- of riches/wealthNounषष्ठी विभक्ति, बहुवचन, पुंलिङ्ग (वैदिके रयिः प्रायः पुं)Role सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root रयि (प्रातिपदिक; ‘wealth, riches’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: त्वाम् हि सत्यम् अद्रिवः विद्म दातारम् इषाम् । विद्म दातारम् रयीणाम् ॥ 1) ‘त्वां’ = त्वाम् (द्वितीया एकवचन) — अनुस्वार/अनुनासिक-लोपादि पाठभेदः। 2) ‘दातारमि॒षाम्’ = दातारम् + इषाम् (अं + इ → संधौ ‘मि’ इव दृश्यते; पदपाठे पृथक्)। 3) ‘दातारं रयीणाम्’ = दातारम् + रयीणाम् (म् + र → म्र्-प्रकारः; पदपाठे पृथक्)। उच्चारणचिह्नाः (उदात्त/स्वरित) संहितापाठानुसारं
- पदच्छेदे मूलरूपाणि दत्तानि।
The meaning
Outer meaning
You indeed are the True, O wielder of the thunderstone; we know you as the giver of nourishment/impulsions (iṣa), we know you as the giver of riches (rayi).
Inner meaning
Indra is affirmed as satyam—not merely truthful, but the truth-power that makes right becoming possible. As adrivaḥ (vajra-bearer), he breaks falsehood and releases the flow. ‘Iṣa’ becomes inner impulsion and nourishing energy for the sacrifice of life; ‘rayi’ becomes the stable riches of being—capacity, harmony, and accomplished power. The mantra is an act of recognition (vidma): knowledge that opens the channel for further descent.
Universal truth
When we recognize and align with truth-force, it becomes a giver: it nourishes our striving and consolidates lasting inner wealth.
Themes
Truth and power, Giver of riches, Indra as Satya, Inner nourishment
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 8.45.42 (knowing the abundance of what is given), RV 1.3, 1.4 (Indra as giver of iṣa/rayi motifs recur)
Significance
A mantra of ‘right knowing’ (vidma) that seals the relationship with Indra as truth-force and establishes expectation of both immediate nourishment (iṣa) and enduring wealth (rayi).
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Satyam (Truth-power), Adrivaḥ (vajra-bearer), Dātā (giver), Maghavan (bountiful)
- Related deities
- Soma (bliss that empowers giving), Agni (priest of aspiration), Bṛhaspati (truth-word)
Cosmic role
Champion of truth against the coverer; distributor of powers and plenitudes to the human striver.
Inner power
Illumined intelligence with executive force: it both reveals what is right and supplies energy and stable capacity to embody it.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra stotra affirming deity as giver; compatible with Soma offering contexts
त्वां हि स॒त्यम॑द्रिवो वि॒द्म दा॒तार॑मि॒षाम् । वि॒द्म दा॒तारं॑ रयी॒णाम् ॥
त्वाम् । हि । स॒त्यम् । अ॒द्रि॒ऽवः॒ । वि॒द्म । दा॒तार॑म् । इ॒षाम् । वि॒द्म । दा॒तार॑म् । र॒यी॒णाम् ॥
tvām | hi | satyam | adri-vaḥ | vidma | dātāram | iṣām | vidma | dātāram | rayīṇām
Parallelism: affirmation of satyam + twofold knowledge of giving (iṣa, rayi).
Mantric symmetry; repetition creates steadiness and conviction.
Stabilizes faith and receptivity; repetition engraves the sense of Indra as reliable giver of both energy and enduring wealth.
- सत्यम् (satyam)
- Literal: the true, truth. Symbolic: truth-force (satya-śakti) that both reveals and accomplishes
- अद्रिवः (adrivaḥ)
- Literal: stone/thunderstone-wielder. Symbolic: power that breaks the hard knots of ignorance; decisive illumination
- विद्म (vidma)
- Literal: we know. Symbolic: conscious recognition that creates receptivity and right relation
- इषाम् (iṣām)
- Literal: refreshment, nourishment, impulse. Symbolic: inner impetus, pranic-psychic nourishment for sadhana and works
- रयीणाम् (rayīṇām)
- Literal: of riches. Symbolic: stable riches of being: capacity, wideness, harmonious power
Indra-Soma praise emphasizing Indra as dātṛ (giver) of iṣ and rayi; suitable for invocations accompanying offerings seeking energizing force and plenitude.
During praise/confirmation after offerings; also in petitions for strength and prosperity
Recited as acknowledgment (vidma) and invocation of boons (iṣa, rayi).
Daily affirmation mantra: align with truth, ask for (1) energy and right impulse today (iṣa) and (2) stable growth in capacity and harmony (rayi).
satyam: from sat ‘being’ (present participle of √as ‘to be’) → ‘truth as being’. adrivaḥ: ‘having the stone’ (adri ‘stone, pressing-stone; also thunderbolt imagery’ + possessive). iṣ: Vedic term for ‘impulse/refreshment/nourishing power’, linked to √iṣ ‘to seek, set in motion, impel’. rayi: ‘wealth, abundance’—innerized as plenitude and wideness of being.
Satya (truth-being), bestowal of iṣ (impulsion) and rayi (plenitude), Rita as truth-force active in life
Indra’s giving supports ṛta: nourishment for right action and riches that stabilize right order in life.
Truth is personed as a deity-force that can be ‘known’ and received.
Breaking the hard to release the flow—truth releases nourishment and wealth from concealment.
Vedic truth-realism: satya as operative power; aligns with Aurobindo’s view of Indra as illumined Mind-force.
Lightning = decisive insight; storm release = liberation of blocked energies; nourishment = pranic-psychic fuel for transformation.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Indra as the ‘stone-bearer’ whose strike releases the withheld; but here the release is formulated as gifts: iṣ (impulsion/nourishment) and rayi (plenitude). The myth becomes psychological: the breaker of resistance is simultaneously the giver of sustaining and expanding powers.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- satya/sat derives from √as ‘be’ (PIE *h₁es- ‘to be’), grounding ‘truth’ in ‘being’. dātāram from √dā (PIE *deh₃- ‘give’). vidma from √vid (PIE *weid- ‘see/know’). The verse’s rhetoric is archaic: repeated vidma + dātāram creates a formulaic identification of the deity by function.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi claims experiential knowledge (‘vidma’) rather than mere request. Reciprocity is based on recognition: by knowing Indra as Satya and as giver, the human aligns to receive the corresponding truth-impulsion and plenitude.
Truth-alignment: feel a bright, clear intelligence above the mind (Indra) and let it correct distortion; then receive energy (iṣa) and stable capacity (rayi).
Ajna (truth-seeing) and Manipura (executive force)
Alternate nostril breathing (nadi shodhana) 6–12 rounds; then chant twice, pausing after each ‘vidma’.
Clear, truthful, empowered calm.
Use ‘satyam’ as the inner criterion before decisions. Ask for iṣa (right impulse) rather than restless desire; ask for rayi (stable growth) rather than short-lived excitement.
Not supplied; keep ‘tvāṃ hi satyam’ as a clear opening peak; let the two ‘vidma dātāram’ phrases be evenly balanced.
Maintain parallel emphasis: vidma dātāram iṣām / vidma dātāraṃ rayīṇām; avoid rushing the repetition.
सत्यम्: sat-yam (not sattyam), अद्रिवो: a-dri-vo (dental d + r cluster), इषाम्: i-ṣām (retroflex ṣ, long ā), रयीणाम्: ra-yī-ṇām (long ī, retroflex ṇ, long ā)
Clear, even, luminous; more ‘affirmation’ than ‘battle’.
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