Rig Veda 1.30.3: Mandala 1, Sukta 30, Mantra 3
Sukta 1.30
- Rishi
- Kakṣīvān Dairghatamasa
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
सं यन्मदाय शुष्मिण एना ह्यस्योदरे । समुद्रो न व्यचो दधे ॥
saṃ yán madā́ya śuṣmíṇa enā́ hí asyodáre | samudró ná vyáco dadhe ||
బలవంతుడు (ఇంద్రుడు) యొక్క మద/పరవశత కోసం ఈ శక్తులు సమీకృతమవుతాయి; ఎందుకంటే అవి అతని ఉదరంలో ధారితమై ఉంటాయి. అతడు సముద్రంలా అపార విస్తారాన్ని తనలోనే కలిగి ఉంటాడు.
Word by Word
- सम्
- together, completelyIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण)Root सम् (उपसर्ग) / सम् (अव्यय)
- यत्
- which, thatPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (सम्बन्धवाचक)Role Karma (यत् = ‘which/that’ as object of दधे) / सम्बन्धRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- मदाय
- for exhilaration, for intoxicationNounपुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole Sampradāna (उद्देश्य/प्रयोजन; ‘for exhilaration/intoxication’)Root मद (प्रातिपदिक)
- शुष्मिणे
- to/for the mighty (one)Adjective (substantivized)पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole Sampradāna (दत्तव्य-लक्ष्य; ‘to the mighty one’)Root शुष्मिन् (प्रातिपदिक; शुष्म ‘बल’ + इन्)
- एना
- with these (things/means)Pronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन (वेदिक रूप)Role Karaṇa (instrumental: ‘with these’)Root एना (सर्वनाम/अव्यय-प्रयोग; ‘एतद्’ से)
- हि
- for, indeedIndeclinableनिपात (हेतु/बलार्थ)Root हि (निपात)
- अस्य
- of him, of thisPronounपुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive: ‘of him/its’)Root इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- उदरे
- in the bellyNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole Adhikaraṇa (locus: ‘in the belly’)Root उदर (प्रातिपदिक)
- समुद्रः
- the oceanNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (subject of दधे)Root समुद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- न
- like, asIndeclinableउपमार्थक निपातRoot न (उपमा-निपात)
- व्यचः
- expanse, breadth, wide extentNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (object of दधे)Root व्यचस् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘विस्तार/व्याप्ति’)
- दधे
- has placed/put; has set (forth)Verbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपदRole (क्रिया)Root धा (धातु)
Sandhi Notes
- सं यन्मदा॑य → सम् + यत् + मदाय (यत् का न्-आगम/अनुस्वार-संधि: यत् के पूर्व सम्; पाठ में ‘यन्’)
- शु॒ष्मिण॑ ए॒ना → शुष्मिणे + एना (ए-आ संधि नहीं; पद-सीमा)
- ह्य॑स्यो॒दरे॑ → हि + अस्य + उदरे (इ + अ → य्: हि अस्य → ह्यस्य; तथा अस्य उदरे में अ + उ → ओ: अस्योदरे)
- स॒मु॒द्रो न → समुद्रः + न (विसर्ग लोप/रूपांतर पद-संहिता में)
- व्यचो॑ द॒धे → व्यचः + दधे (ः + द → ओ/रूप-परिवर्तन संहिता में: व्यचो दधे)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The powers (supports/energies) are gathered for the exhilaration of the strong one (Indra); they are held in his belly; like the ocean he contains vast expansiveness.
Inner meaning
When the seeker’s forces (thought, will, life-energies) are collected and offered for the divine ecstasy (mada) of the illumined Mind (Indra), they are absorbed and harmonized in the vast inner being. Indra’s ‘belly’ is the capacious consciousness that can hold and assimilate all movements without fragmentation—an oceanic wideness that supports the descent of illumination.
Universal truth
True power is not dispersion but gathered energy offered to a higher consciousness; the greater Mind can contain multiplicity in wideness, transforming many impulses into a single luminous force.
Themes
Indra-power, inner rapture (mada), wideness-consciousness, containment of energies
The seer
- Rishi
- Kakṣīvān Dairghatamasa
- Other hymns
- RV 1.18, RV 1.19, RV 1.20, RV 1.30
Significance
Kakṣīvān is a seer of dynamic aspiration toward Indra’s illuminating power. In the Aurobindonian line, his vision often emphasizes gathering the energies of the being and opening into wideness so the higher Mind-force can act decisively against inner obstruction.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- śuṣmin (the puissant), maghavan (lord of plenitudes), vajrin (wielder of the thunderbolt), śatakratu (of a hundred powers/works)
- Related deities
- Agni, Soma, Bṛhaspati, Uṣas, Maruts
Cosmic role
Breaker of the Coverer (Vṛtra), releaser of the waters/cows (currents and rays), establisher of luminous order in the human journey.
Inner power
The illumined divine Mind that gathers scattered faculties, strikes the knot of ignorance, and opens vastness (bṛhat) in consciousness.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra-stotra in Soma-related praise sequences (general Indra invocation)
सं यन्मदा॑य शु॒ष्मिण॑ ए॒ना ह्य॑स्यो॒दरे॑ । स॒मु॒द्रो न व्यचो॑ द॒धे ॥
सम् । यत् । मदा॑य । शु॒ष्मिणे॑ । ए॒ना । हि । अ॒स्य॒ । उ॒दरे॑ । स॒मु॒द्रः । न । व्यचः॑ । द॒धे ॥
sam | yat | madāya | śuṣmiṇe | enā | hi | asya | udare | samudraḥ | na | vyacaḥ | dadhe
32
4 pādas × 8 syllables (likely)
Compact, driving, aphoristic; suited to concentration and forceful statement.
Creates a gathered pressure in the listener—supporting inner collection (sam) and a felt sense of widening at the close image of the ocean.
- सम् (sam)
- Literal: together, completely. Symbolic: integration, concentration of the being
- मदा॑य (madāya)
- Literal: for intoxication/ecstasy. Symbolic: divine rapture, uplift of consciousness that intensifies power
- शु॒ष्मिणे॑ (śuṣmiṇe)
- Literal: to the strong/impetuous one. Symbolic: the forceful divine Mind-power that breaks resistance
- उ॒दरे॑ (udare)
- Literal: in the belly. Symbolic: the inner vastness that receives, digests, and transforms energies
- स॒मु॒द्रो (samudraḥ)
- Literal: ocean. Symbolic: limitless consciousness, wideness holding all waves
- व्यचः (vyacaḥ)
- Literal: wide expanse. Symbolic: infinite extension of awareness; freedom from narrowness
Indra-stotra in Soma context; adaptable to Soma offerings (e.g., common Indra-invocations within Soma-yajña sequences rather than a single exclusive rite)
During Indra invocations in Soma pressing/offerings; also as a general hymn of strength before contests (vāja)
Recitation/chant to invite Indra’s force and wideness; offering of soma/oblations in the background tradition
Use before challenging work or meditation: gather energies, offer them inwardly to the higher Mind; end with a brief contemplation of oceanic wideness.
madā́ya: dat. sg. of máda (m.), from √mad 'to be exhilarated, intoxicated' → inner rapture/ecstasy of inspired force. śuṣmíṇe: dat. sg. of śuṣmín 'mighty, vigorous', related to śúṣma 'force, vehemence' (often Indraic). udáre: loc. sg. of udára 'belly, interior' (container/womb-symbol). vyácaḥ: acc. sg. n. of vyácas 'wide expanse, pervasion', from vi-√añc/√vac? (Vedic formation indicating spreading/widening). dadhe: 3rd sg. perfect/middle of √dhā 'to place, hold, establish'—sense: 'he contains/has set within himself'.
integration of forces (saṃ-), plenitude and wideness (vyacas) as condition for effective power, inner containment as mastery of energies
The ‘gathering’ of powers into Indra’s vastness images the ordering of many movements into a single right rhythm (ṛta) in consciousness.
Truth as wideness that can hold multiplicity without distortion.
From concentration (sam/tapas) arises wideness (vyacaḥ/bṛhat) that can contain and manifest powers.
Proto-Vedantic/Integral (Aurobindonian): ascent to wideness and descent of illumined Mind-force.
Ocean = vast consciousness; ‘belly’ = assimilative inner space where energies are digested into strength and clarity.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Not an outer battle-scene but the archetype of Indra as the 'container of wideness': the power that can hold the gathered impulses (enā) and transmute them into inspired ecstasy (mada). The ocean-image signals an inner infinity capable of bearing and ordering the movements of life-force—an implicit prerequisite for Indra’s later acts of victory (release of light/waters).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √mad 'be exhilarated' has Indo-Iranian parallels (Av. mad- 'be intoxicated/exult'), reflecting a shared PIE semantic field of inspired excitation. √dhā 'place/put' is a classic PIE root *dʰeh₁- (cf. Gk. τίθημι, Lat. faciō?—more distant; but Indo-Aryan dhā is direct), here used for 'holding/establishing' the expanse (vyacas) within the divine subject.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer presents Indra not merely as an external storm-god but as an inner capacity: when the practitioner’s forces are 'made one' (saṃ) and offered toward inspired uplift (madāya), Indra bears them within (udare) and becomes oceanic wideness. The reciprocity is implicit: the human gathers and offers energies; the divine power responds by containing, enlarging, and stabilizing consciousness.
Concentration into wideness: gather scattered thoughts and impulses, offer them upward to the illumined Mind (Indra), then rest in oceanic awareness.
ājñā (illumination) with expansion into sahasrāra-like wideness
4-4-6 breathing: inhale gather (sam), hold offer (madāya), exhale widen (samudraḥ na vyacaḥ)
From focused intensity to open, panoramic awareness.
Begin by naming the main energies active today; on each inhale collect them, on exhale place them into a vast inner ‘belly’ of awareness. End by sensing a stable, ocean-like mind that can contain waves without being thrown.
Mixed udatta/anudatta/svarita per Ṛgvedic accent; key lifts likely on content words (madāya, śuṣmiṇe, samudraḥ, vyacaḥ) depending on śākhā tradition.
Keep ‘sam’ lightly joined to the following word; let the cadence open on ‘samudro na vyaco dadhe’ with a widening tone.
śuṣmiṇe: retroflex ṣ; short i in -mi-, udare: clear dental d, samudraḥ: final ḥ audible but light, vyacaḥ: palatal c (not k)
Firm, contained, then spacious on the ocean phrase.
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