Rig Veda 3.60.6: Mandala 3, Sukta 60, Mantra 6
Sukta 3.60
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
इन्द्र ऋभुमान्वाजवान्मत्स्वेह नोऽस्मिन्त्सवने शच्या पुरुष्टुत । इमानि तुभ्यं स्वसराणि येमिरे व्रता देवानां मनुषश्च धर्मभिः ॥
índra ṛbhumā́n vājá-vān matsvéhá no ’smín sávane śácyā puru-stuta | imā́ni túbhyaṃ svásarāṇi yemire vratā́ devā́nāṃ mánuṣaś ca dhárma-bhiḥ ||
ఓ ఇంద్రా! ఋభువులతో సమృద్ధుడవై, బలసంపన్నుడవై, బహు-స్తుతుడా—నీ శక్తితో ఈ మా సోమ-ప్రసవంలో ఇక్కడే ఆనందించుము. ఈ ‘సోదరి-శక్తులు’ (స్వసారాణి) నీకోసం యోక్తమయ్యాయి—దేవుల వ్రతాలకును, మనుషుల ధర్మ-విధానాలకును అనుగుణంగా, ఋతం (సత్య-వ్యవస్థ) నిలిచేలా।
Word by Word
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन; एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- ऋभुमान्
- O possessor of the Ṛbhus / accompanied by the ṚbhusAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन; एकवचन (इन्द्रस्य विशेषणम्)Role सम्बोधनRoot ऋभुमन्त् (प्रातिपदिक; ऋभु + मन्त्)
- वाजवान्
- O possessor of strength/prize (vāja)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन; एकवचन (इन्द्रस्य विशेषणम्)Role सम्बोधनRoot वाजवत् (प्रातिपदिक; वाज + वत्)
- मत्स्व
- be exhilarated / rejoiceVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); मध्यमपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole (क्रिया) —Root मद् (धातु; ‘to be exhilarated/intoxicated’)
- इह
- hereIndeclinableअव्ययRole अधिकारण (देश)Root इह (अव्यय)
- नः
- to us / ourPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी; बहुवचन (वेदे ‘नः’ = ‘our/to us’)Role सम्प्रदान (to us) / सम्बन्ध (our)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- अस्मिन्
- in thisPronounपुं/नपुंसक; सप्तमी; एकवचनRole अधिकारणRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम)
- सवने
- at the soma-pressing / in the libationNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी; एकवचनRole अधिकारणRoot सवन (प्रातिपदिक)
- शच्या
- with power/skill (śacī)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया; एकवचनRole करणRoot शची (प्रातिपदिक)
- पुरुष्टुत
- O much-praisedAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन; एकवचन (इन्द्रस्य विशेषणम्)Role सम्बोधनRoot पुरुष्टुत् (प्रातिपदिक; पुरु- + स्तुत्)
- इमानि
- thesePronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; बहुवचनRole कर्म (of ‘येमिरे’) / (or) कर्ता depending on construalRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम)
- तुभ्यम्
- to youPronounचतुर्थी; एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- स्वसराणि
- sistersNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; बहुवचनRole कर्म (of ‘येमिरे’)Root स्वसर (प्रातिपदिक)
- येमिरे
- they have assigned/offered/arrangedVerbलिट् (परोक्ष/परफेक्ट); प्रथमपुरुष; बहुवचन; आत्मनेपदRole (क्रिया) —Root यम् (धातु; ‘to hold, restrain, direct; to offer/assign’)
- व्रता
- ordinances, sacred lawsNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; बहुवचनRole कर्म (understood: ‘they arranged the ordinances’) / appositional to ‘इमानि’Root व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
- देवानाम्
- of the godsNounपुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी; बहुवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot देव (प्रातिपदिक)
- मनुषः
- of man / of mankindNounपुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी; एकवचन (collective ‘of man/mankind’)Role सम्बन्धRoot मनुष्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- च
- andIndeclinableअव्ययRole समुच्चयRoot च (अव्यय)
- धर्मभिः
- by/with laws, established ordinancesNounपुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया; बहुवचनRole करणRoot धर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- Resolved Vedic sandhi: (1) नो॒ऽस्मिन् → नः + अस्मिन् (visarga before vowel; avagraha in saṃhitā). (2) अस्मिन्त्सवने → अस्मिन् + सवने (final -n of सप्तमी ‘अस्मिन्’ with following dental s- gives saṃhitā cluster -nts-). (3) मनु॑षश्च → मनुषः + च (visarga before palatal/affricate; written as -श्च in saṃhitā). Accent marks in the prompt are saṃhitā udātta/svarita indicators
- pada-forms given here are unaccented lexical padas
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra, possessing the Ribhus and force, is asked to rejoice in this pressing by his power, much-praised. These sister-powers have been yoked for him according to the gods’ laws and human ordinances that uphold dharma.
Inner meaning
Indra ‘ṛbhumān’ indicates the illumined mind endowed with powers of perfection—so the joy and victory are not crude but rightly formed. The ‘pressing’ is the inner extraction of bliss and essence from experience. ‘By your power’ (śacyā) is the effective divine capacity in us. The ‘sister-powers’ (svasarāṇi) are coordinated energies—often sensed as allied movements of inspiration, discernment, and right action—yoked to Indra so illumination can drive the whole nature. The closing line affirms that true inner yoking follows ṛta/dharma: cosmic law mirrored in disciplined human practice.
Universal truth
Lasting spiritual joy arises when inner energies are harnessed to illumination and guided by law—both the universal order and the ethical-psychological disciplines that support it.
Themes
alignment with cosmic law, Indra’s power (śacī), harmonised sister-forces, inner discipline and rite
The seer
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Lineage
- Viśvāmitra (Gāthina line)
- Other hymns
- RV 3.60, RV 3.62, RV 3.53 (Viśvāmitra’s political-spiritual hymns, thematic widening)
Family tradition
A tradition emphasizing tapas disciplined by law (vrata) to open higher light; hence the stress on yoking powers according to divine and human dharma.
Significance
Shows the bridge between cosmic order and human sādhanā: the same ṛta that governs the gods must be embodied as dharma in the practitioner.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Puruṣṭuta, Vājavān, Ṛbhumān
- Related deities
- Ribhus, Soma, Maruts, Varuṇa (as ṛta-guardian, by implication of vrata/dharma)
Cosmic role
Leader of the luminous host; establishes the victory of light and right order by breaking coverings.
Inner power
Illumined governance: the capacity to harness multiple inner energies into a single victorious movement under law.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing with Indra’s invocation; affirmation of vrata in the rite
इन्द्र॑ ऋभु॒मान्वाज॑वान्मत्स्वे॒ह नो॒ऽस्मिन्त्सव॑ने॒ शच्या॑ पुरुष्टुत । इ॒मानि॒ तुभ्यं॒ स्वस॑राणि येमिरे व्र॒ता दे॒वानां॒ मनु॑षश्च॒ धर्म॑भिः ॥
इन्द्र॑ । ऋ॒भु॒ऽमान् । वाज॑ऽवान् । म॒त्स्व॒ । इ॒ह । नः॒ । अ॒स्मिन् । सव॑ने । शच्या॑ । पु॒रु॒ऽस्तु॒त॒ । इ॒मानि॑ । तुभ्य॑म् । स्वस॑राणि । ये॒मि॒रे॒ । व्र॒ता । दे॒वाना॑म् । मनु॑षः । च॒ । धर्म॑ऽभिः ॥
indra | ṛbhu-mān | vāja-vān | matsva | iha | naḥ | asmin | savane | śacyā | puru-stuta | imāni | tubhyam | svasarāṇi | yemire | vratā | devānām | manuṣaḥ | ca | dharma-bhiḥ
44
4×11 (approx.)
Measured authority; the last pāda tends to sound ‘legislative’—affirming law and order.
Creates a sense of disciplined strength; helpful for centering and ethical resolve.
- ऋभुमान् (ṛbhumān)
- Literal: having the Ribhus. Symbolic: endowed with powers of perfection/refinement
- शच्या (śacyā)
- Literal: by (your) might/skill. Symbolic: effective divine capacity; power of accomplishment
- सवने (savane)
- Literal: at the pressing. Symbolic: inner extraction of essence/bliss from experience
- स्वसराणि (svasarāṇi)
- Literal: sisters. Symbolic: allied powers/faculties moving in harmony
- येमिरे (yemire)
- Literal: have been yoked/controlled. Symbolic: disciplined harnessing of energies to the illumined drive
- व्रता (vratā)
- Literal: vows/laws. Symbolic: fixed truths of right action; principles of ṛta in practice
- धर्मभिः (dharmabhiḥ)
- Literal: by dharmas/ordinances. Symbolic: supporting structures of right living that uphold consciousness
Soma pressing (savane): invitation for Indra to delight, linking rite to cosmic and human dharma
At savana recitations; also suitable where the rite emphasizes correctness (vrata) and alignment with ṛta.
Invite Indra to rejoice; declare that the powers are yoked according to divine/human law.
A mantra for self-discipline: chant before taking a vow, beginning a practice period, or when aligning habits with a higher aim.
/ (śacī) from √śak ‘to be able’ (ability/power), hence Indra’s effective capacity. (vrata-) from √vṛ ‘to choose, will; to hold fast’—a chosen fixed law or mode of working. (dharma-) from √dhṛ ‘to hold, sustain’: that which upholds order in gods and humans.
vrata as cosmic law, dharma as sustaining order, integration of divine and human order
Explicit: the yoking is according to devānām vratā—cosmic invariants of right movement.
Truth manifests as lawful coordination, not chaotic intensity.
The universe is sustained by lawful harnessing of forces; human practice mirrors this to participate in divine order.
Dharma-Ṛta continuum (Vedic to Upaniṣadic ethics of truth and discipline).
Yoking = self-mastery; pressing = extraction of essence; sisters = harmonized faculties of light.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The yoking of ‘sister’ powers for Indra under divine and human law: a motif of ordered energies serving the god. Inwardly, it is the disciplined harmonisation of multiple faculties (svasarāṇi) so that Indra’s power can act in the sacrifice according to ṛta upheld as dharma.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- dharma from √dhṛ aligns with PIE *dher- ‘to hold, support’ (cf. Greek thronos ‘seat’ via holding/support notions; English ‘firm’ in semantic neighborhood through different developments). √śak ‘to be able’ (śacī) corresponds to PIE *sekH- ‘to be able’ (broadly reflected in ability/strength roots across IE branches).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi explicitly binds the rite to a twofold order: divine vrata and human dharma. The Devatā is invited to act not as arbitrary force but as power that fulfils and confirms right law—making the sacrificer’s inner discipline a fit seat for Indra’s joy and action.
Harness ‘sister’ energies—attention, breath, and will—under the light of discernment (Indra).
Ājñā (governance) with Mūlādhāra support (discipline/structure).
Box-breath (equal inhale-hold-exhale-hold) for 4 cycles, then chant; feel ‘yoking’ as steadiness in the spine.
Ordered, quiet, law-abiding inner poise; readiness for sustained practice.
Name three ‘sisters’ to yoke today (e.g., speech, attention, action). Chant once, then commit to one concrete dharma-step.
Maintain Vedic accents; the phrase ‘imāni tubhyaṃ’ should be cleanly articulated with correct sandhi; keep triṣṭubh pulse steady.
Slight pause after ‘matsveha’; emphasize udātta on key invocatory words (इन्द्र॑, शच्या॑).
puruṣṭuta: pronounce ṭu as retroflex ‘ṭu’, not dental, svasarāṇi: keep ‘sv’ conjunct crisp, dharmabhiḥ: aspirate ‘bh’ lightly, final visarga audible before pause
Steady, even, composed; less heroic surge, more disciplined resonance.
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