Rig Veda 10.151.5: Mandala 10, Sukta 151, Mantra 5
Sukta 10.151
- Rishi
- Śraddhā / hymn attribution as above
- Devata
- Śraddhā
- Chandas
- Jagatī
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace)
श्रद्धां प्रातर्हवामहे श्रद्धां मध्यंदिनं परि । श्रद्धां सूर्यस्य निम्रुचि श्रद्धे श्रद्धापयेह नः ॥
śraddhā́m prā́tar havāmahe śraddhā́m madhyáṃdinaṃ pári | śraddhā́m sū́ryasya nimrúci śraddhe śrát dhāpayeha naḥ ||
ప్రాతఃకాలంలో మేము ‘శ్రద్ధా’ను ఆహ్వానిస్తాము; మధ్యాహ్నాన్ని శ్రద్ధతో పరివేష్టితం చేస్తాము. సూర్యుని నిమ్రుచ్ (అస్త-వేళ)లో కూడా శ్రద్ధను పిలుస్తాము—ఓ శ్రద్ధే, ఇక్కడ మా లో సత్యానికి హృదయ సమ్మతిని స్థాపించుము.
Word by Word
- श्रद्धाम्
- faith, trust (as the invoked object)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-एकवचनRole कर्मRoot श्रद्धा- (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रातर्
- in the morningIndeclinableकालवाचक-अव्ययRole अधिकारणRoot प्रातर् (अव्यय)
- हवामहे
- we invoke, we call uponVerbलट् (वर्तमान); आत्मनेपद; उत्तमपुरुष; बहुवचनRoot √ह्वा (ह्वयति/हवते) ‘to call, invoke’
- श्रद्धाम्
- faithNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-एकवचनRole कर्मRoot श्रद्धा- (प्रातिपदिक)
- मध्यम्-दिनम्
- middayNoun (compound)नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (‘मध्यं च तत् दिनम्’)Role कर्म (कालवाच्य-उपपद)Root मध्य- (विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक) + दिन- (नाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- परि
- around; all about (also: ‘fully’)Indeclinableउपसर्गार्थे/परितः-भावेRoot परि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- श्रद्धाम्
- faithNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-एकवचनRole कर्मRoot श्रद्धा- (प्रातिपदिक)
- सूर्यस्य
- of the SunNounपुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root सूर्य- (प्रातिपदिक)
- निम्रुचि
- at the sun’s setting/decline (at dusk)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-एकवचन (वेदिक रूप: -i)Role अधिकारणRoot नि- (उपसर्ग) + म्रुच्/मृच्- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘setting, decline, disappearance’)
- श्रद्धे
- O Faith!Noun (vocative)स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot श्रद्धा- (प्रातिपदिक)
- श्रद्धा
- faithNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचनRole कर्तृ (आशीर्वाद-वाक्ये)Root श्रद्धा- (प्रातिपदिक)
- आपये
- make (us) drink; refresh; fillVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ/प्रार्थना); परस्मैपद; मध्यमपुरुष; एकवचन; कारणार्थ-प्रयोग (पायय-)Root √पा (पिबति/पाययति) ‘to drink; to cause to drink, to refresh’
- इह
- hereIndeclinableदेशवाचक-अव्ययRole अधिकारणRoot इह (अव्यय)
- नः
- us; for usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी-बहुवचन (एन्क्लिटिक ‘नः’); अत्र कर्मणि द्रष्टव्यं: ‘अस्मान्/अस्मभ्यम्’ अर्थे प्रार्थनायाम्Role सम्प्रदान (हितार्थे) / कर्म (अनुग्रहार्थे)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: श्रद्धाम् प्रातर् हवामहे | श्रद्धाम् मध्यम्-दिनम् परि | श्रद्धाम् सूर्यस्य निम्रुचि | श्रद्धे श्रद्धा आपये इह नः || 1) ‘मध्यंदिनं’ = ‘मध्यम् दिनम्’ (व्यञ्जन-सन्धि: म् + द → म्द; लेखने ‘मध्यंदिनम्’). 2) ‘निम्रुचि’ वेदिक सप्तमी-एकवचन (स्त्री.) ‘नि-म्रुच्’ ‘setting/decline’ अर्थे
- ‘सूर्यस्य’ षष्ठी-सम्बन्धः. 3) ‘श्रद्धे’ सम्बोधन-एकवचन. 4) ‘श्रद्धापयेह’ = ‘श्रद्धा आपये इह’ (स्वर-सन्धि: आ + आ → आ; तथा ‘आपये’ + ‘इह’ संहितायां ‘आपयेह’). 5) ‘नः’ एन्क्लिटिक सर्वनाम
- प्रार्थनायां ‘अस्मान्/अस्मभ्यम्’ अर्थे प्रयुज्यते
The meaning
Outer meaning
We invoke Faith in the morning; we encompass midday with Faith. We invoke Faith at the Sun’s setting. O Faith, establish here in us śrat (assent) and dhā (place)—make it firm in us.
Inner meaning
Faith is to be continuous through the whole cycle of consciousness: dawn (awakening), midday (full activity), sunset (withdrawal, review, surrender). ‘Sūryasya nimruci’ (sun’s setting) symbolizes the descent into inner night or the threshold of the subconscient—faith must remain even there. ‘śrat-dhāpaya’ is a powerful imperative: ‘place the assent’; install the consenting truth in our substance so it becomes a stable habit of the being, not a passing mood.
Universal truth
Spiritual life requires continuity: faith at beginning, in the heat of action, and in endings and transitions. When assent is established as a permanent inner posture, life becomes a steady yoga.
Themes
Daily-cycle symbolism, Invocation, Stability-in-practice, Light-to-twilight transition
The seer
- Rishi
- Śraddhā Kāmayānī / personified Śraddhā (traditional hymn attribution).
- Other hymns
- RV 10.151.1, RV 10.151.2, RV 10.151.3, RV 10.151.4
Family tradition
Maṇḍala 10 practical-spiritual hymnody integrating inner realization with daily cycles (dawn–midday–sunset).
Significance
The seer gives a daily sādhanā-map: establish śraddhā through the entire diurnal rhythm so consciousness remains linked to truth in all states—waking, acting, and withdrawing.
The deity
- Devata
- Śraddhā (Faith/Assent)
- Epithets
- Prātaḥ-sahacarī (companion of dawn, implied), Madhyāhna-sthāyinī (established at midday, implied), Nimruc-sahāyinī (support at sunset/decline, implied)
- Related deities
- Sūrya, Uṣas (dawn), Agni (daily kindling), Vāyu (breath sustaining continuity)
Cosmic role
Śraddhā is the thread of continuity through time; she preserves the link between human cycles and the solar truth (Sūrya).
Inner power
Continuity of aspiration and consent; the capacity to remain turned to truth across changing states and moods.
In ritual
Where it is used
Daily invocation (though from Ṛgveda Saṃhitā, it naturally integrates into daily agnihotra-like rhythms and sandhyā transitions in later practice).
श्र॒द्धां प्रा॒तर्ह॑वामहे श्र॒द्धां म॒ध्यंदि॑नं॒ परि॑ । श्र॒द्धां सूर्य॑स्य नि॒म्रुचि॒ श्रद्धे॒ श्रद्धा॑पये॒ह न॑: ॥
श्र॒द्धाम् । प्रा॒तः । ह॒वा॒म॒हे॒ । श्र॒द्धाम् । म॒ध्य॑न्दि॑नम् । परि॑ । श्र॒द्धाम् । सूर्य॑स्य । नि॒ऽम्रुचि॑ । श्रद्धे॑ । श्रत् । धा॒प॒य॒ । इ॒ह । नः॒ ॥
śraddhām | prātaḥ | havāmahe | śraddhām | madhyandinam | pari | śraddhām | sūryasya | ni-mruci | śraddhe | śrat | dhāpaya | iha | naḥ
48
4 × 12
Cyclical and evenly spaced; the repetition of ‘śraddhām’ marks temporal stations like bells in the day.
Creates a sense of daily rhythm sanctified; stabilizes remembrance; suitable for routine japa/recitation.
- प्रातः (prātaḥ)
- Literal: morning. Symbolic: awakening, initial illumination, beginning of practice
- मध्यन्दिनम् (madhyaṃdinam)
- Literal: midday. Symbolic: full outward activity; the testing ground of practice
- सूर्यस्य निम्रुचि (sūryasya nimruci)
- Literal: at the sun’s setting. Symbolic: transition into inner night; descent toward subconscient; endings
- हवामहे (havāmahe)
- Literal: we call/invoke. Symbolic: conscious aspiration and remembrance
- परि (pari)
- Literal: around, encompassing. Symbolic: pervasive establishment; surrounding life with faith
- श्रत्-धापय (śrat-dhāpaya)
- Literal: cause assent to be placed. Symbolic: install faith as a stable formation in the being
- इह नः (iha naḥ)
- Literal: here in us/for us. Symbolic: in the embodied life—not elsewhere; in daily nature
Mantra for sustaining śraddhā across the ‘three times’ (morning–midday–sunset) in daily rites; adaptable to sandhyā-like contemplations and to soma-day progressions (prātaḥ-savana, madhyandina-savana, tṛtīya-savana) as an inner correlate.
Morning, midday, and evening transitions; especially at dawn and sunset (sandhyā).
Invocation/recitation to establish right inner disposition before daily duties and at day’s close.
A ‘three-times’ practice: recite once at waking, once before main work, once before sleep; use as a reminder to keep faith continuous.
: √hū ‘to call, invoke’. : madhya ‘middle’ + dina ‘day’ → zenith. : ni- + mruc (Vedic ‘to set, grow dark’) indicating the sun’s descent; psychologically, a fall of light where faith must persist. : causative from √dhā ‘set, place’ with intensive nuance; paired with śrat highlights ‘placing the heart’ as operative yoga.
Continuity of consciousness across changing states, Sūrya as symbol of illumination (knowledge), Śraddhā as stabilizer against decline into tamas
By encompassing midday and invoking at transitions, one aligns personal rhythms with cosmic ṛta (daily solar order).
Faith is anchored to the Sun of truth; it must persist even when light declines (nimruci).
Maintenance of illumination: not only breakthrough, but continuity across cycles of light and shadow.
Discipline of constant remembrance (smṛti) and assent—an integral yoga principle expressed in Vedic time-symbolism.
dawn–midday–sunset cycle explicitly invoked
Dawn = awakening illumination; midday = action under full light; sunset = surrender/transition into inner silence; Sun = truth-consciousness guiding the cycle.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The solar cycle as the soul’s cycle: invocation of Faith at dawn (awakening), at midday (full power), and at sunset (descent toward obscurity). The mythic action is not narrative but cyclic: faith must be re-established at each turning of light, especially at nimruci where consciousness tends to lapse.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √hū (havāmahe) corresponds to PIE *ḱlewH-/ *ḱleu ‘call/hear’ complex in Indo-European ritual speech (invocation as efficacious utterance). √dhā (dhāpaya) continues PIE *dʰeh₁- ‘set, place’, reinforcing the formulaic Vedic idea that inner states are ‘set’ by will and word.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The speaker repeatedly ‘calls’ and ‘encompasses’ the day with Śraddhā, treating Faith as an active deity-power to be installed (dhāpaya) within the practitioner. The reciprocity is temporal: the human offers steadiness of invocation; the Devatā grants continuity of assent across fluctuating light.
Continuity practice: renew assent at waking, sustain it in action, and preserve it in transition/withdrawal.
Ājñā (solar clarity) supported by Anāhata (faith) and Sahasrāra (summit assent).
At each time-point, 12 slow breaths; on inhale ‘śraddhām’, on exhale ‘havāmahe’; at sunset add a longer exhale to encourage surrender.
Even, steady remembrance; reduced fluctuation across the day.
Morning: set intention; Midday: re-offer actions; Sunset: review without self-judgment and surrender results. End each session with ‘śraddhe śrat-dhāpayeha naḥ’ as a sealing affirmation.
Maintain Rigvedic accents; treat each ‘śraddhām’ as a clear invocation marker; the final vocative ‘śraddhe’ and imperative ‘śrat-dhāpaya’ should be articulated distinctly.
Three invocations with brief pauses: (1) prātar, (2) madhyaṃdinam pari, (3) sūryasya nimruci; then a concluding sealing line with slightly firmer tone.
madhyaṃdinam: nasal ‘ṃ’ before ‘d’; keep ‘dhya’ cluster clear, nimruci: ‘ni-mru-ci’ with short vowels; avoid inserting extra vowel, śrat-dhāpaya: pronounce as two parts ‘śrat’ + ‘dhā’ (root sense: place assent), iha naḥ: ‘naḥ’ with visarga-like ḥ sound
Morning: gentle bright; Midday: steady clear; Evening: soft inward; final line: calm firmness.
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