Rig Veda 1.75.5: Mandala 1, Sukta 75, Mantra 5
Sukta 1.75
- Rishi
- Gotama Rāhūgaṇa
- Devata
- Agni, with Mitra-Varuṇa and the Viśve Devāḥ invoked through him
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
यजा नो मित्रावरुणा यजा देवाँ ऋतं बृहत् । अग्ने यक्षि स्वं दमम् ॥
yájā no mitrā́varuṇā yájā devā́m̐ ṛtáṃ bṛhát | agne yákṣi sváṃ dámam ||
మా కొరకు మిత్ర-వరుణులను యజించు; దేవులను ‘ఋతం బృహత్’—మహత్తర ఋత—కొరకు యజించు. హే అగ్నీ! నీ స్వధామం (దమ) లో వారికి యజించి, వారిని తీసుకొని రా.
Word by Word
- यजा
- sacrifice/worship (you should offer)VerbLoṭ (imperative), 2nd person singular, parasmaipadaRoot यज् (dhātu)
- नः
- for us / ourPronounGenitive, plural (enclitic) = ‘of us/our’Role Sampradāna (beneficiary) / PossessorRoot अस्मद् (pronoun)
- मित्रावरुणा
- O Mitra and VaruṇaNoun (dual deity-name compound)Vocative, dual, masculineRole Sambodhana (addressed) / intended recipients of offeringRoot मित्र + वरुण (prātipadika; dvandva)
- यजा
- worship/offerVerbLoṭ (imperative), 2nd person singular, parasmaipadaRoot यज् (dhātu)
- देवान्
- the godsNounAccusative, plural, masculineRole Karma (object of ‘yaj’)Root देव (prātipadika)
- ऋतम्
- ṛta: cosmic order/truthNounAccusative, singular, neuterRole Karma / internal object (what is to be established/served) or adverbial accusativeRoot ऋत (prātipadika)
- बृहत्
- great, loftyAdjectiveAccusative, singular, neuter (agreeing with ऋतम्)Role Viśeṣaṇa (qualifier of object)Root बृहन्त् (prātipadika)
- अग्ने
- O AgniNounVocative, singular, masculineRole Sambodhana (addressed) / agent invokedRoot अग्नि (prātipadika)
- यक्षि
- worship/offer (perform the sacrifice)VerbLoṭ (imperative), 2nd person singular, parasmaipada (Vedic form ‘yakṣi’)Root यज् (dhātu; Vedic present stem yakṣ-)
- स्वम्
- your ownAdjective/PronounAccusative, singular, masculine (agreeing with दमम्)Role Viśeṣaṇa (qualifier) / possessiveRoot स्व (prātipadika)
- दमम्
- house, home, abodeNounAccusative, singular, masculineRole Karma (object; ‘house/home’ as goal of bringing/leading the rite) / adverbial accusative of goalRoot दम (prātipadika)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution is minimal in this pāda-text
- ‘मित्रावरुणा’ is a dvandva compound (मित्र + वरुण) in vocative dual
- ‘देवाँ’ is the Vedic accusative plural form of देव (classical देवान्)
- ‘यक्षि’ is a Vedic imperative from यज् with the yakṣ- stem (not a separate dhātu)
- Accent marks (यजा॑, मि॒त्रावरु॑णा॒, दे॒वाँ, ऋ॒तं, बृ॒हत्, अग्ने॒, यक्षि॒, दम॑म्) indicate Vedic udātta/svarita patterns but do not change segmentation
The meaning
Outer meaning
Agni, sacrifice for us to Mitra and Varuṇa; sacrifice to the gods the Vast Truth (ṛtam bṛhat). Bring them, O Agni, to your own home.
Inner meaning
The inner Fire is asked to mediate and establish in us the powers of harmony (Mitra) and vast law/truth (Varuṇa), and indeed all divine powers, by offering into the Vast Truth-consciousness (ṛtam bṛhat). ‘Your own home’ is the purified inner dwelling—heart and mind made fit—where the gods can descend as living forces.
Universal truth
Transformation requires a central flame of aspiration that can call and seat higher principles—harmony, truth, wideness—within the human system.
Themes
Rita-centered invocation, Mitra-Varuṇa, Agni as yajamāna’s mediator, Descent into the inner dwelling
The seer
- Rishi
- Gotama Rāhūgaṇa (Gautama tradition; attribution traditional)
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 1.75.4, RV 1.76.1
Family tradition
Gautama hymns often culminate in practical inner-ritual instructions: let Agni call the other powers and establish them within.
Significance
The seer presents Agni as the integrator: through the inner sacrifice, multiple divine principles are harmonized and made resident in the being.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni (as yajamāna’s priest and summoner)
- Epithets
- Hotṛ (implied), Yajña-vāhana (carrier of sacrifice, implied), Dūta (messenger, implied)
- Related deities
- Mitra, Varuṇa, Viśve Devāḥ, Indra
Cosmic role
Summons the gods and seats them in the sacrificial space; establishes ṛta in the worlds.
Inner power
Operative will that invokes harmony (Mitra), vast law (Varuṇa), and the whole divine host into the inner home; power of consecration.
In ritual
Where it is used
Śrauta yajña sequences where Agni is asked to invite specific deities; general offering formula
यजा॑ नो मि॒त्रावरु॑णा॒ यजा॑ दे॒वाँ ऋ॒तं बृ॒हत् । अग्ने॒ यक्षि॒ स्वं दम॑म् ॥
यज॑ । नः॒ । मि॒त्रावरु॑णा । यज॑ । दे॒वान् । ऋ॒तम् । बृ॒हत् । अग्ने॑ । यक्षि॑ । स्वम् । दम॑म् ॥
yaja | naḥ | mitrāvaruṇā | yaja | devān | ṛtam | bṛhat | agne | yakṣi | svam | damam
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3 pādas of ~8 syllables; imperative verbs (yajā, yajā, yakṣi) create a ritual-driving beat.
Commanding yet luminous; rhythmic insistence supports action and invocation.
Energizes the will to offer; produces a feeling of wideness when voicing ‘ṛtam bṛhat’.
- मित्रावरुणा (mitrāvaruṇā)
- Literal: Mitra and Varuṇa. Symbolic: harmony and vast truth/law; relational concord plus ethical-spiritual wideness
- ऋतम् बृहत् (ṛtam bṛhat)
- Literal: the vast ṛta. Symbolic: truth-consciousness, wide order of being; the supramental/greater rightness (Aurobindonian ‘Truth’)
- देवान् (devān)
- Literal: the gods. Symbolic: divine powers/functional principles of consciousness
- स्वं दमम् (svaṃ damam)
- Literal: your own house/home. Symbolic: the inner dwelling of Agni—purified heart-mind where divine forces can rest and work
- यक्षि (yakṣi)
- Literal: worship/offer/bring by sacrifice. Symbolic: effectuate inner union by conscious offering and invocation
Agni as officiant who performs the offering to Mitra-Varuṇa and the gods; suitable for sequences emphasizing ṛtam bṛhat (Truth-Vast) as the aim and measure of the rite.
During deity-invitation and offering portions; especially when invoking Mitra-Varuṇa for order and rightness.
Offer ghee and call Mitra-Varuṇa and other gods; establish them at the altar/home of Agni.
For inner alignment before ethical decisions or conflict resolution: invoke harmony (Mitra) and truth-law (Varuṇa) into the ‘home’ of the heart.
√yaj ‘to sacrifice, worship’ (PIE *h₁yeh₁g- ‘worship’ proposed; securely Indo-Iranian *yaj-). mitra/varuṇa: Indo-Iranian theonyms (Av. Miθra, Ahura/Varuṇa complex of law). ṛta: from √ar/ṛ ‘fit, join, order’ (semantic of rightness). bṛhat: √bṛh ‘expand’. dama: ‘house’ from √dam ‘to tame, build/settle’ (cf. Greek domos ‘house’), supporting the inner meaning ‘settled habitation of the being’.
Ṛtam Bṛhat (Truth and Vastness), Mitra (harmony) + Varuṇa (law, vast truth), Inner home (dama) as stable consciousness
Explicit: the sacrifice is offered into the Vast ṛta; Agni becomes the agent of cosmic order within the human.
Varuṇa’s vastness safeguards truth; Mitra’s harmony ensures truth is lived relationally.
Descent of divine powers into the prepared ‘home’—a microcosmic establishment of the cosmic order.
Vedic truth-consciousness (ṛtam) as a higher plane; anticipates Upaniṣadic inner altar and later yogic ‘descent’ language.
evening (home-coming of gods; psychologically: inward settling)
Home = inner being; vast sky/ocean = wideness of consciousness; fire = will that invites and seats higher principles.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is the establishment of ṛtam bṛhat through Agni’s offering: Mitra-Varuṇa represent the harmonizing and law-bearing truth that must be invoked. Innerly, Agni is asked to install the Truth-Vast in the ‘home’ of the being, making the psyche a fit dwelling for the gods.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- dama ‘house’ aligns with the PIE ‘house’ lexicon (cf. Greek domos), showing inherited domestic-sacral symbolism. The Mitra/Varuṇa pair reflects Indo-Iranian shared mythic structures of covenant and cosmic law.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi commands (yaja, yakṣi) because Agni is the executive Will within the rite and the soul. The reciprocity is practical: the seeker offers through Agni; Agni, in response, brings the gods and establishes ṛtam bṛhat in the seeker’s settled dwelling (svam damam).
Invoke harmony and truth-wideness into the heart-home; feel the inner flame calling down higher qualities and seating them as stable presences.
anāhata (home) and sahasrāra (vast truth/wideness)
On inhale feel wideness (‘bṛhat’); on exhale offer into the flame (‘yajā/yakṣi’).
Active consecration (karma-yoga) moving into wideness (bṛhat).
After chanting, sit quietly and sense which divine quality is most needed now—harmony, truth, wideness—and invite it to ‘take a seat’ in your inner home.
Imperatives carry clear udātta lift; keep ‘ṛtam bṛhat’ voiced with breadth—slightly lengthen vowels without distorting meter.
Mark the three commands (yajā… yajā… yakṣi) as rhythmic pillars; slight pause after ‘ṛtam bṛhat’.
mitrāvaruṇā: long ‘ā’ in -rā- and -ṇā; retroflex ṇ, ṛtam: vocalic ‘ṛ’ clean, not ‘ri’, bṛhat: vocalic ‘ṛ’ again; aspirate ‘h’ lightly, damam: dental ‘d’, short vowels
Bright, directive, expansive on ‘bṛhat’.
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