Rig Veda 5.28.5: Mandala 5, Sukta 28, Mantra 5
Sukta 5.28
- Devata
- Agni
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
समिद्धो अग्न आहुत देवान्यक्षि स्वध्वर । त्वं हि हव्यवाळसि ॥
sámiddho agna ā́huta devā́ny ákṣi svadhvara | tváṃ hí havya-vā́ḷ asi ||
హే అగ్నీ! నీవు సమిద్ధుడై ఆహుతి పొందినప్పుడు, హే స్వధ్వరా, యజ్ఞమార్గంలో దేవులను చేరవేయుము; ఎందుకంటే నీవే నిజంగా హవ్యవాహుడు (హవిష్యాన్ని మోసేవాడు).
Word by Word
- समिद्धः
- kindled, well-litAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (अग्नेः विशेषणम्)Root सम्-इध् (धातु) → समिद्ध (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
- अग्ने
- O AgniNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधन (आह्वान)Root अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
- आहुत
- invoked, offered-to (by oblation)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (वैदिकः; प्रायः ‘आहुतः’)Role Kartā (अग्नेः विशेषणम्)Root आ-हु (धातु) → आहुत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
- देवान्
- the godsNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot देव (प्रातिपदिक)
- यक्षि
- worship / sacrifice to / convey (them)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole (क्रिया) —Root यज् (धातु; वैदिक प्रयोगे ‘यक्षि’)
- स्वध्वर
- O good-ritual / of good sacrificeAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधन (अग्नेः विशेषणम्)Root सु- + अध्वर (प्रातिपदिक; बहुव्रीहि/कर्मधारय-समास)
- त्वम्
- youPronounउत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- हि
- indeed, forIndeclinableनिपात (अविकारी)Root हि (निपात)
- हव्यवाट्
- carrier/conveyor of oblationsNoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā-समानााधिकरण (त्वम् … असि)Root हव्य + वाट् (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
- असि
- areVerbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole (क्रिया) —Root अस् (धातु)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: समिद्धः | अग्ने | आहुत | देवान् | यक्षि | स्वध्वर | त्वम् | हि | हव्यवाट् | असि । विशेषः: ‘अग्न’ + ‘ए’ → ‘अग्ने’ (सम्बोधन-एकवचन). ‘आहुत’ वैदिकरूपम्
- शास्त्रीये प्रायः ‘आहुतः’. ‘हव्यवाट्’ इति ट्-प्रत्ययान्त-प्रातिपदिकम् (वैदिक), ‘हव्यवाह’ इत्यर्थसमः।
The meaning
Outer meaning
O Agni, kindled and offered to, sacrifice to the gods in the well-ordered rite; for you are indeed the carrier of the oblation.
Inner meaning
When the inner Fire is kindled and consciously fed (samiddha, āhuta), it can ‘yaj’—offer our energies to the higher powers (devāḥ) through a well-ordered path (su-adhvara), i.e., a disciplined integral practice that does not injure the being. Agni is havyavāṭ: the force that carries our offering upward and brings back the response—illumination, strength, and joy—into life. Psychologically, this is the conversion of ordinary impulses into consecrated action.
Universal truth
Right spiritual practice is an exchange: sincere offering, rightly ordered, allows a mediating power to connect human effort with higher grace and transformation.
Themes
Agni as messenger, effective sacrifice, divine mediation
The seer
- Rishi
- Atri (Atri-family attribution)
- Lineage
- Atri
- Other hymns
- RV 5.1, RV 5.28
Family tradition
Atri Agni hymns frequently crystallize into concise operative formulas—practical mantras for doing the inner sacrifice.
Significance
A compact ‘method’ verse: kindle aspiration, feed it by offering, keep the practice well-ordered, and let the divine Will mediate the exchange with higher powers.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- samiddha (kindled), āhuta (invoked by offering), suadhvara (leader of the well-ordered path, implied), havyavāṭ (oblation-bearer)
- Related deities
- All Devāḥ collectively, Indra (receiver of offerings, giver of force), Soma (receiver/giver of bliss)
Cosmic role
Priest and messenger; conveys offerings to the gods and brings their boons; maintains the sacrificial order.
Inner power
The capacity to consecrate action and make life a channel between human aspiration and divine response.
In ritual
Where it is used
Homa/Agnihotra offering verse; direct instruction to Agni as yajña-performer.
समि॑द्धो अग्न आहुत दे॒वान्य॑क्षि स्वध्वर । त्वं हि ह॑व्य॒वाळसि॑ ॥
सम्ऽइ॑द्धः । अ॒ग्ने॒ । आ॒ऽहु॒त॒ । दे॒वान् । य॒क्षि॒ । सु॒ऽअ॒ध्व॒र॒ । त्वम् । हि । ह॒व्य॒ऽवाट् । असि॑ ॥
sam-iddhaḥ | agne | āhuta | devān | yakṣi | su-adhvara | tvam | hi | havya-vāṭ | asi
24
3×8 (approx.)
Crisp, practical, mantra-like; suited for repeated recitation during offering.
Creates focused intentionality; supports a ritual/meditative cadence of offering and return.
- समिद्ध (samiddha)
- Literal: kindled. Symbolic: awakened aspiration; active divine will in the system
- आहुत (āhuta)
- Literal: offered to, invoked with oblation. Symbolic: consciously nourished by attention and surrender
- यक्षि (yakṣi)
- Literal: sacrifice to, worship by offering. Symbolic: consecrate actions/energies to the higher consciousness
- देव (devāḥ)
- Literal: gods. Symbolic: higher faculties/powers of consciousness (illumination, harmony, force, bliss)
- स्वध्वर (svadhvara / su-adhvara)
- Literal: well-ordered sacrifice. Symbolic: right method and rhythm of sādhanā; integral, non-violent to the being
- हव्यवाट् (havyavāṭ)
- Literal: carrier/conveyor of the oblation. Symbolic: mediating will that transmits offering to higher planes and returns their gifts
Standard injunction to Agni as hotṛ/mediator: carry offerings to the gods; inner application: awakened will must translate aspiration into effective offering—linking human effort to divine response.
At the moment of offering (āhuti) into the fire; also as a general invocation before any consecrated action.
Make āhuti while reciting; mentally ‘hand over’ the action to Agni to carry to the devāḥ.
Before starting work, study, or service: treat the activity as haviṣ and ask the inner Fire to carry it to the highest aim.
yakṣi from √yaj 'sacrifice' (PIE *yeh₁g- 'worship/sacrifice' proposed). āhuta from √hu 'invoke/offer' with ā- (toward). havya from √hū/√hu 'call, invoke' (offering as 'that which is called/invoked'). vāṭ (in havya-vāṭ) from √vah 'to carry' is also common as havya-vāhana; the form here reflects an agent noun meaning 'conveyor'.
yajña as mediation, right order in offering (su-adhvara)
Su-adhvara is the psychological form of ṛta: right method, right measure, right sequence.
True offering aligns intention with truth; the mediator ensures the exchange is not distorted by ego.
World-process as sacrifice: energies circulate between planes through Agni as link.
Karma-yoga archetype in Vedic form: consecrated action mediated by divine will.
Fire = will; offering = transformed desire/action; gods = higher capacities; ordered rite = disciplined life-rhythm.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Agni as the mediator-priest who 'sacrifices to the gods' on behalf of humans. Inner myth: the awakened will converts human offering into a form receivable by higher powers.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √yaj is an Indo-Iranian ritual root with proposed PIE ancestry in worship/sacrifice semantics. √vah 'carry' (implicit in vāṭ/vāhana) is securely IE (cf. Latin vehō).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- Functional reciprocity: the rishi kindles/offers to Agni; Agni, in turn, performs the divine-facing action (yakṣi devān) as carrier of the offering—Agni is the indispensable bridge.
Consecration: offer breath, thought, and action into the inner fire; invite higher faculties to take up the work.
maṇipūra (offering-fire)
On inhale: ‘samiddho’; on exhale: ‘devān yakṣi’; then a silent pause as ‘havyavāṭ’—feel the offering carried upward.
Consecrated action-state: quiet, intentional, ego-light.
Choose one daily act as yajña. Before it, recite once; during it, keep a thread of offering; after it, sit 1 minute to receive the ‘return’ (clarity/peace).
Rigvedic accents as marked; keep a clear lift on samíddho and on key verbs (yákṣi).
Deliver as an operative command: (1) kindle, (2) offer, (3) affirm carrier role. Slight pause after ‘svadhvara’.
āhuta: long ā; h lightly aspirated., yakṣi: kṣ as conjunct; do not simplify to ‘kshi’., svadhvara: cluster dhv; keep v audible., havyavāṭ: vār/ vāṭ with long ā; final ṭ is retroflex.
Clear, directive, steady; like giving a precise inner instruction.
3
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