Rig Veda 4.52.4: Mandala 4, Sukta 52, Mantra 4
Sukta 4.52
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Uṣas
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Karuna (compassion)
यावयद्द्वेषसं त्वा चिकित्वित्सूनृतावरि । प्रति स्तोमैरभुत्स्महि ॥
yāvayád-dvéṣasaṃ tvā cikitvít sūnṛtāvari | práti stómair abhutsmahi ||
ఓ జ్ఞానవతీ, ఓ సూనృతావరీ—ప్రకాశమయ సత్యాన్ని ధరించువాడవు—ద్వేషం, విభజన అనే బలాన్ని మా నుండి దూరం చేయుము. మా స్తోత్రాలతో నీ సమక్షానికి వస్తున్నాము; మమ్మల్ని స్వీకరించుము.
Word by Word
- यावयत्
- drove away, repelledVerbलङ् (imperfect), परस्मैपद, 3rd person, singularRole Kriyā (finite verb of the clause)Root यावय (यु/यौ-प्रेरणे; caus.)
- द्वेषसम्
- hatred; the hating (hostile) one/thingNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot द्वेषस् (प्रातिपदिक) < √द्विष् (द्वेषे)
- त्वा
- youPronounद्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot युष्मद् (अस्मद्-युष्मद् सर्वनाम)
- चिकित्वित्
- the wise one; the discerningAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचनRole Kartā (as an epithet of the subject addressed)Root चिकित्वस्/चिकित्वत् (प्रातिपदिक) < √चित् (अवबोधने) (intensive/perfect-based adj.)
- सूनृतावरि
- O best in true speech (truth-speaking one)Noun (vocative compound address)सम्बोधन (vocative), एकवचनRole Sambodhana (address)Root सूनृता (प्रातिपदिक) + वरि (voc. of वरिन्/वरि ‘best/choice’ used as address)
- प्रति
- towards; in return; in responseIndeclinableउपसर्ग/निपात (directional preverb)Role (modifies the verb/act of responding)Root प्रति
- स्तोमैः
- with praises; with hymnsNounपुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole KaraṇaRoot स्तोम (प्रातिपदिक) < √स्तु (स्तुतौ)
- अभूत्
- became; wasVerbलङ् (imperfect), परस्मैपद, 3rd person, singularRole Kriyā (finite verb)Root √भू (सत्तायाम्)
- स्महि
- wePronounप्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन (enclitic)Role KartāRoot अस्मद् (enclitic pronoun form)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution: यावयद्द्वेषसं → यावयत् + द्वेषसम् (final -t before voiced dental d becomes -d in saṃhitā)
- other words are already in pada-like form. Accent marks in the input are preserved as Vedic udātta/svarita indicators but do not change the morphological segmentation
The meaning
Outer meaning
O wise Dawn, bearer of truthful speech, drive away hatred; with hymns we approach you to be accepted.
Inner meaning
Uṣas is invoked not only to reveal light but to expel divisive forces (dveṣas)—inner hostility, self-contradiction, and the separative movements that fracture the being. As cikitvit (wise, discerning) and sūnṛtāvarī (bearer of luminous truth/true speech), she establishes a clarity that reconciles and unifies. The stoma (hymn/affirmation) is the soul’s consenting call: by sincere affirmation we place ourselves before the Dawn-force so it may take up our nature and transform it.
Universal truth
Illumination is inherently harmonizing: when truth-light enters, hatred and division lose ground. Affirmation aligned with truth becomes a real power that invites transformation.
Themes
Speech purification, Removal of hostility, Dawn as wisdom, Mantric approach (stoma)
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 4.52 (Uṣas), RV 4.24–4.25 (victory motifs—conceptual kinship)
Family tradition
The Gautama-Vāmadeva current often emphasizes purification through light and the victory over hostile movements (inner ‘enemies’) by right knowledge and right word.
Significance
Here the seer uses Uṣas as a psychological purifier: dawn-light as force that dissolves hatred and establishes sūnṛtā—truthful, healing speech and thought.
The deity
- Devata
- Uṣas
- Epithets
- cikitvit, sūnṛtāvarī
- Related deities
- Varuṇa (ṛta, moral order), Mitra (harmony), Agni (purifying will)
Cosmic role
She dispels night and makes the paths visible; she also brings auspicious harmony by her revealing power.
Inner power
Purifying discernment and truth-vibration that removes divisive impulses and makes the being receptive to higher guidance.
In ritual
Where it is used
Dawn invocation for protection from hostile forces; general apotropaic (warding) usage within daily rite.
या॒व॒यद्द्वे॑षसं त्वा चिकि॒त्वित्सू॑नृतावरि । प्रति॒ स्तोमै॑रभुत्स्महि ॥
या॒व॒यत्ऽद्वे॑षसम् । त्वा॒ । चि॒कि॒त्वित् । सू॒नृ॒ता॒ऽव॒रि॒ । प्रति॑ । स्तोमैः॑ । अ॒भु॒त्स्म॒हि॒ ॥
yāvayat-dveṣasam | tvā | cikitvit | sūnṛtāvari | prati | stomaiḥ | abhutsmahi
24
3 x 8
Petitionary and cleansing; the first pāda pushes away, the latter two turn toward approach and acceptance.
Creates a sense of inner clearing and moral-psychic alignment; good for removing agitation and resentment.
- द्वेषसम् (dveṣasam)
- Literal: hatred, enmity. Symbolic: separative force; inner division, hostility, resistance to unity
- यावयत् (yāvayat)
- Literal: drive away, repel. Symbolic: active purification by the light-force
- चिकित्वित् (cikitvit)
- Literal: wise, perceptive. Symbolic: discriminating illumination that sees truly
- सूनृतावरि (sūnṛtāvari)
- Literal: she who bears sūnṛtā (true/lovely speech). Symbolic: luminous truth-expression; right vibration of consciousness
- स्तोमैः (stomaiḥ)
- Literal: with hymns/praises. Symbolic: affirmations that align mind and heart with the divine light
- प्रति अभुत्स्महि (prati abhutsmahi)
- Literal: may we come before / be received. Symbolic: aspiration for receptivity; consenting approach to transformation
Apotropaic dawn-prayer: removal of dveṣas (enmity) and establishment of sūnṛtā (true speech) before recitation/chanting; aligns the sacrificer’s speech with ṛta.
Early morning, or before communal activity where harmony is needed.
Recitation with intention to remove dveṣa; offering of praise (stoma) as alignment.
Use before difficult conversations or teamwork to dissolve reactivity and restore truthful speech.
dveṣas from √dviṣ ‘hate’ (PIE *dweyḱ-?; Sanskrit has clear √dviṣ) indicates forces of division in consciousness. yāvayat is causative of √yā ‘go’ → ‘cause to go away’. cikitvit from √cit ‘notice, know’ (PIE *ḱeyt- ‘notice’; cf. English ‘cite’ is Latin citare unrelated; but ‘heed’ conceptually) marks Dawn as cognitive power. sūnṛtā (su- + nṛtā) is ‘good/true speech’, a Vedic ideal where utterance aligns with satya/ṛta; Dawn is invoked as its bearer, hence remover of hostile vibrations.
Sūnṛtā (truthful/luminous speech), Citi/Cit (knowing perception), Purification from dveṣas (division)
Dveṣa is a distortion of ṛta; Uṣas restores the right relation among parts of the being.
Truth manifests as sūnṛtā—speech/thought that carries light and harmony.
Unveiling also means purification: what is hostile is pushed out so the new day can be built.
Ethico-psychological Vedic spirituality: truth and harmony as powers of consciousness.
dawn
The inner dawn that clears resentment and restores truthful, luminous speech and perception.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The dawn-dispelling myth is internalised: as Dawn drives away night, she is asked to drive away dveṣas—hostile division in the being. The positive counterpart is sūnṛtā, the right luminous speech that dawn awakens.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √dviṣ ‘hate’ has Indo-Iranian continuity (cf. Avestan dviša- ‘hostility’). √cit ‘perceive/know’ is part of an inherited cognitive lexicon central to IE poetics where ‘seeing/knowing’ equals ‘illumination’.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi seeks ethical-psychological purification as prerequisite for effective mantra: Dawn, the knowing power (cikitvit), is invoked to remove divisive forces and to establish sūnṛtā so that the stoma can truly ‘reach’ and be received.
Bring to mind a person/situation that triggers dveṣa; chant and visualize dawn-light washing through the heart and throat, converting reaction into sūnṛtā (truthful, kind clarity).
Anāhata (reconciliation) and Viśuddha (truthful speech)
Exhale-lengthening (inhale 4, exhale 8) while softly repeating the first pāda as a cleansing wave.
Purified calm; receptive sincerity.
After chanting, maintain silence for a minute; then speak one sentence of ‘sūnṛtā’—true and kind—internally or aloud.
Keep the petition (yāvayat…) clearly articulated; allow natural udatta rise on invocatory vocatives (tvā, uṣaḥ implied) per tradition; avoid monotone.
First pāda slightly stronger (driving away), second and third softer (approach/acceptance).
yāvayat: ‘yā-va-yat’ with long ā, dveṣasam: retroflex ṣ; ‘dve’ as one syllable cluster, cikitvit: pronounce ‘ci-kit-vit’ (not ‘chikit’), sūnṛtāvari: long ū, ṛ as vocalic; ‘vā’ long ā
Soft but firm; cleansing, prayerful.
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