Rig Veda 1.41.8: Mandala 1, Sukta 41, Mantra 8
Sukta 1.41
- Devata
- Ādityas
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Karuna (compassion)
मा वो घ्नन्तं मा शपन्तं प्रति वोचे देवयन्तम् । सुम्नैरिद्व आ विवासे ॥
mā́ vo ghnántaṁ mā́ śápantaṁ práti voce devayántaṁ | sumnáir íd va ā́ vivāse ||
మీ పట్ల హతమార్చే మాటతో నేను ప్రతివచనం చెప్పకూడదు; శపించే మాటతోనూ కాదు. దేవుని కోరువాడనై, మీ ‘సుమ్న’—అనుగ్రహం, మంగళం, సౌహార్దం—తోనే మీ సమీపానికి వస్తాను.
Word by Word
- मा
- do notIndeclinableनिषेधार्थक अव्यय (prohibitive particle)Root मा (निषेध) / mā́
- वः
- for you / of youPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी बहुवचन (enclitic) = ‘of you/for you’Role Sampradāna (intended beneficiary) / PossessorRoot युष्मद्
- घ्नन्तम्
- (one) striking/killingVerb-participleवर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ) कर्मणि/परस्मैपद-प्रयोगः; पुंलिङ्ग एकवचन द्वितीया (object-form)Role Karma (object of ‘say/speak’)Root हन् (घ्ना-आदेश) / han
- मा
- do notIndeclinableनिषेधार्थक अव्ययRoot मा (निषेध) / mā́
- शपन्तम्
- (one) cursingVerb-participleवर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ); पुंलिङ्ग एकवचन द्वितीयाRole Karma (object of ‘say/speak’)Root शप् / śap
- प्रति
- towards / in replyIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्यय; ‘towards, in reply/against’Root प्रति
- वोचे
- may I speak / let me utterVerbलोट् (विधिलिङ्/आज्ञार्थे) १पुरुष एकवचन आत्मनेपद (वेदिक रूप) ‘let me speak’Role Kriyā (main verb)Root वच् / vac
- देवयन्तम्
- (one) seeking the gods / piousAdjective/Participleवर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ); पुंलिङ्ग एकवचन द्वितीयाRole Karma (object: the one being spoken of/for)Root देवय् (देव + य) / devay
- सुम्नैः
- with favors / with benevolencesNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग तृतीया बहुवचनRole Karaṇa (means)Root सुम्न (सु + मन्) / sumná
- इद्
- indeedIndeclinableनिपात; emphatic ‘indeed/just’Root इद्
- वः
- for you / of youPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी बहुवचन (enclitic)Role Sampradāna / PossessorRoot युष्मद्
- आ
- hither / towardsIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्यय; ‘towards, hither’Root आ
- विवासे
- I would win/obtainVerbलट् १पुरुष एकवचन आत्मनेपद (वेदिक) ‘I seek to win/obtain; I would gain’Role Kriyā (main verb)Root वस् (विवासयति/विवास) / vas
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (RV pada-style): मा | वः | घ्नन्तम् | मा | शपन्तम् | प्रति | वोचे | देवयन्तम् || सुम्नैः | इद् | वः | आ | विवासे || 1) ‘वो॒’ = वः (युष्मद्-प्रत्यय, एन्क्लिटिक)
- 2) ‘सुम्नैरिद्व’ = सुम्नैः + इद् + वः (विसर्ग-सन्धि: सुम्नैः इद् → सुम्नैरिद्; ततः इद् + वः → इद्वः)
- 3) ‘वोचे’ वेदिक लोट्-रूप (vac धातु) ‘let me speak’
- 4) ‘घ्नन्तम्’ = हन् धातोः घ्ना-आदेशयुक्त शतृ-कृदन्त (present participle)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The speaker prays not to respond with a slaying or cursing word, but to approach the gods seeking the Divine with their blessings and harmonies.
Inner meaning
A discipline of speech: the seeker refuses the violent vibration (ghnantam) and the corrosive vibration (śapantam). ‘Devayantam’—moving toward the Divine—he approaches the Ādityas only through their ‘sumna’ (grace, benevolent harmony). Psychologically, it is a shift from reactive speech to truth-governed speech, letting the higher law (Ādityas/ṛta) reform the tongue and mind.
Universal truth
Spiritual progress depends on the quality of our response. Words can kill, curse, or heal; the Divine is approached most surely through harmony, goodwill, and grace-filled sincerity.
Themes
Right speech, Self-restraint, Grace-invocation, Devotion
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 1.41 (Ādityas), RV 1.24 (Varuṇa)
Family tradition
Āditya-centered ethical-spiritual hymnody; emphasis on ṛta in speech and conduct.
Significance
Embodies a key yogic turning: purification of vāṇī (speech) as a gate to higher consciousness.
The deity
- Devata
- Ādityas (addressed as ‘you’)
- Epithets
- Guardians of ṛta, Bestowers of sumna (grace)
- Related deities
- Mitra, Varuṇa, Aryaman, Bhaga
Cosmic role
They maintain moral-cosmic order and harmonize human speech and action with truth.
Inner power
Purifying discernment that restrains harmful impulses and replaces them with benevolence and clarity.
In ritual
Where it is used
Purificatory speech-ethic mantra: used to guard against hostile or impure utterance in ritual; aligns recitation with benevolence (sumná) and deva-seeking intention.
मा वो॒ घ्नन्तं॒ मा शप॑न्तं॒ प्रति॑ वोचे देव॒यन्त॑म् । सु॒म्नैरिद्व॒ आ वि॑वासे ॥
मा । वः॒ । घ्नन्त॑म् । मा । शप॑न्तम् । प्रति॑ । वो॒चे॒ । दे॒व॒ऽयन्त॑म् । सु॒म्नैः । इत् । वः॒ । आ । वि॒वा॒से॒ ॥
mā | vaḥ | ghnantam | mā | śapantam | prati | voce | deva-yantam | sumnaiḥ | it | vaḥ | ā | vivāse
44
4 pādas of ~11 syllables (approx.)
Firm prohibitive openings (‘mā… mā…’) followed by a softening cadence into ‘sumna’.
Creates immediate inner restraint, then a release into harmony—useful for anger-transformation.
- मा (mā)
- Literal: do not. Symbolic: a vow/inner restraint (niyama) placed on speech-energy
- घ्नन्तम् (ghnantam)
- Literal: slaying, killing. Symbolic: speech that strikes, injures, breaks another’s being or one’s own peace
- शपन्तम् (śapantam)
- Literal: cursing. Symbolic: speech that poisons the field of consciousness; resentment crystallized as word
- प्रति वोचे (prati voce)
- Literal: I may answer back. Symbolic: the reflex reply of ego; here consciously purified
- देवयन्तम् (devayantam)
- Literal: seeking/going toward the gods. Symbolic: the aspiration-movement toward higher consciousness
- सुम्नैः (sumnaiḥ)
- Literal: with graces, favors. Symbolic: harmonizing forces that make the inner life luminous and right
- आ विवासे (ā vivāse)
- Literal: I would approach/serve/seek to win. Symbolic: to draw near inwardly, to enter relationship with the higher law through reverence
Purificatory speech-ethic mantra: used to guard against hostile or impure utterance in ritual; aligns recitation with benevolence (sumná) and deva-seeking intention.
Before debate, confession, apology, or any speech-act with consequences; also before japa/meditation as purification.
Mental offering of restraint; recitation as a vow of non-harm in speech.
Use as a ‘speech-saṃskāra’ mantra: repeat before sending messages, entering meetings, or responding under stress.
√vac governs the ethics of speech; the verse rejects destructive speech-acts (√han, √śap) and insists on sumná as the proper medium of relation with ṛta-powers. devayant indicates the will’s orientation to the divine. vivāse (vi-√vas) carries the sense of attentive approach/hosting—making inner room for the gods.
vā́c (speech) as formative power, non-violence in utterance as ṛta-alignment, grace (sumná) as harmonizing influence
Speech aligned to ṛta becomes non-violent and grace-bearing; misaligned speech becomes killing/cursing.
Truth is not only factuality but a vibration that does not harm.
Transformation of the human instrument (speech) into a channel for divine harmony.
Yoga of purification (Aurobindo: transformation of nature; Kashyap: inner yajña).
From heated reactive fire of the tongue to solar clarity and calm benevolence.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem of speech as a weapon or a grace: words can ‘slay’ or ‘curse’ (destructive forces), or they can carry sumná (harmonizing divine favour). The seer chooses the ṛta-consistent mode of invocation.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √vac ‘speak’ continues PIE *wekʷ- ‘to speak’ (cf. Latin vox ‘voice’, English voice via Latin). √han ‘strike/kill’ aligns with PIE *gʷhen- (as above). The prohibitive mā is Indo-Iranian and reflects inherited imperative negation strategies.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi disciplines his approach: he will not meet the divine powers with reactive violence or malediction, but with sumná—thus establishing a relationship founded on harmony, receptivity, and the will that seeks the gods (devayant).
Vāk-śuddhi: observe the impulse to ‘answer back’; choose sumna—graceful response.
viśuddha
Exhale-lengthening (1:2 breathing) for 5 minutes; repeat mantra mentally on exhale.
Quiet, benevolent clarity; non-reactive awareness.
When agitation arises, repeat ‘mā… mā…’ to stop the wave; then dwell on ‘sumnair’ as a felt blessing filling the throat and heart.
Rigvedic udatta emphasis on the prohibitives ‘mā’; maintain clear svarita falls after accented peaks; exact accents depend on śākhā notation.
Let ‘mā’ be firm but not harsh; soften and brighten on ‘devayantam’ and ‘sumnair’.
ghnantam: cluster ‘ghn’—keep voiced ‘gh’ then nasal ‘n’ (not ‘gan’), śapantam: palatal ś, not dental s, devayantam: split as deva-yantam; clear y, sumnair: ‘mn’ cluster—keep m then n without inserting a vowel
Gentle, steady, slightly cooling; avoid aggressive volume.
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