Rig Veda 5.68.1: Mandala 5, Sukta 68, Mantra 1
Sukta 5.68
- Rishi
- Atri
- Devata
- Mitra-Varuṇa
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
प्र वो मित्राय गायत वरुणाय विपा गिरा । महिक्षत्रावृतं बृहत् ॥
prá vo mitrā́ya gāyata váruṇāya vipā́ girā́ | máhi-kṣatrāv ṛtáṃ bृहát ||
మిత్రునికై పాడండి, వరుణునికై—విపా (వివేకమయ) వాణితో. వారు మహాక్షత్ర (మహత్తర అధిపత్యం) కలవారు; వారు ‘ఋతం బృహత్’—విస్తారమైన ఋత (సత్య-వ్యవస్థ)ను స్థాపిస్తారు.
Word by Word
- प्र
- forth, forwardIndeclinableउपसर्ग/निपात (अव्यय)Root प्र (upasarga) प्रत्यय-रहित उपसर्ग
- वः
- to you (pl.)Pronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी? बहुवचन; वैदिक प्रयोगे ‘वः’ = ‘युष्माकम्/युष्मभ्यम्’ (contextually here: dative ‘to you’)Role SampradānaRoot युष्मद् (2nd person pronoun)
- मित्राय
- to MitraNounपुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot मित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- गायत
- sing (you all)!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदRoot गै (गायति) / √gai ‘to sing’
- वरुणाय
- to VaruṇaNounपुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot वरुण (प्रातिपदिक)
- विपाः
- the inspired poets (singers)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचनRole KartāRoot विप्/विपा (प्रातिपदिक; ‘inspired poet/singer’)
- गिरा
- with (a) hymn/voiceNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot गिर् (प्रातिपदिक) ‘voice, hymn’
- महिक्षत्रौ
- the two of great sovereigntyAdjective (dual epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा द्विवचन (मित्रावरुणयोः विशेषणम्)Role KartāRoot महि-क्षत्र (समास; ‘great dominion/sovereignty’)
- वृतम्
- encompassing, coveringParticipleनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनRole KarmaRoot √वृ (वृणोति/वृणुते) → क्त (past passive participle) ‘covered/encompassed; chosen/ordained’ (context: ‘encompassing’)
- बृहत्
- great, loftyAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (वृतम् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role KarmaRoot बृहन्त् (प्रातिपदिक) ‘great, lofty’
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (वैदिक-सन्धि-विच्छेद): प्र | वः | मित्राय | गायत | वरुणाय | विपाः | गिरा | महिक्षत्रौ | वृतम् | बृहत् । 1) ‘प्र’ उपसर्ग/निपातः—आह्वानार्थं ‘प्र … गायत’ = ‘प्रगायत’ (पदपाठे पृथक्)। 2) ‘वः’ वैदिके षष्ठी/चतुर्थी-रूपयोः सामान्यं
- अत्र क्रियायाः (गायत) संबन्धे ‘युष्मभ्यम्’ (to you) इति ग्रहणम्। 3) ‘महिक्षत्रौ’ = महि + क्षत्रौ (समास-रूपं; द्विवचनं मित्रावरुणयोः)। 4) ‘वृतं बृहत्’—नपुंसक एकवचन द्वयम्
- ‘वृतम्’ (कृदन्त) विशेष्यं, ‘बृहत्’ विशेषणम्।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Sing forth to Mitra and Varuṇa with discerning speech; great in sovereignty are they; they establish the vast ṛta.
Inner meaning
The rishi calls for vipā girā—an illumined, discriminating utterance—not mechanical recitation. Such speech is itself a yogic act: it tunes the mind to the sovereignty (kṣatra) of harmony and truth. Mitra–Varuṇa are ‘great in rule’ because they govern the movements of consciousness; when invoked rightly, they establish bṛhat ṛtam—the vast truth-order—within the seeker, expanding the mental boundaries into a wide, luminous law.
Universal truth
Right speech born of discernment helps enthrone higher principles in life; when harmony and truth govern, the inner world becomes vast and ordered.
Themes
Satyam Ritam Brihat (implicit via ṛtam + bṛhat), Invocation to sing, Sovereignty of Mitra-Varuṇa
The seer
- Rishi
- Atri (Ātreya)
- Lineage
- Ātreya
- Other hymns
- RV 5.68.2, RV 5.68.3, RV 5.67.3
Family tradition
Atri hymns often begin with a call to right utterance; the seer treats speech as a vehicle of vision (mantra as inspired word).
Significance
This is a programmatic opening: the yogic requirement is vipā girā—discerning speech—so that ṛta becomes established as lived order, not mere concept.
The deity
- Devata
- Mitra–Varuṇa
- Epithets
- mahi-kṣatrau (great-sovereigned)
- Related deities
- Savitar (impeller of right movement), Sūrya (solar truth), Aryaman (noble law)
Cosmic role
Solar law-powers that maintain vast ṛta in cosmos and society; they preside over right speech and right relation.
Inner power
They confer inner kingship: the capacity to govern impulses by harmony and truth, resulting in wideness (bṛhat).
In ritual
Where it is used
Opening invocation (stuti) to Mitra–Varuṇa; suitable as a prelude in praise sequences
प्र वो॑ मि॒त्राय॑ गायत॒ वरु॑णाय वि॒पा गि॒रा । महि॑क्षत्रावृ॒तं बृ॒हत् ॥
प्र । वः॒ । मि॒त्राय॑ । गा॒य॒त॒ । वरु॑णाय । वि॒पा । गि॒रा । महि॑ऽक्षत्रौ । ऋ॒तम् । बृ॒हत् ॥
pra | vaḥ | mitrāya | gāyata | varuṇāya | vipā | girā | mahi-kṣatrau | ṛtam | bṛhat
24
3 pādas × 8 syllables (typical gāyatrī)
Compact, bright, mantra-like; suited to invocation and daily recitation.
Quickly centers attention; creates a lucid uplift and readiness for disciplined speech and action.
- pra…gāyata (प्र…गायत)
- Literal: sing forth. Symbolic: project the mantra-force outward from the heart; active invocation
- vipā girā (विपा गिरा)
- Literal: with discerning/wise speech. Symbolic: speech illumined by discrimination; mantra as conscious offering
- mahi-kṣatrau (महिक्षत्रौ)
- Literal: great in sovereignty. Symbolic: supreme governing powers in the inner polity of the being
- ṛtam bṛhat (ऋतम् बृहत्)
- Literal: the vast truth-order. Symbolic: wide, luminous law of the Real; expansive consciousness-order
Opening injunction to chant in praise; applicable as a stotra-like prompt in Soma liturgy and as a general invocation to establish ṛta-bṛhat in the sacrificer.
Morning/evening recitation; beginning of meditation or chanting session to set the tone of discerning speech and truth-order.
Singing/recitation as offering of voice; establishing intention to live by vast ṛta.
Use as a ‘speech purification’ mantra before important conversation, teaching, or creative work; cultivate vipā girā (truthful, discerning expression).
vipā: from the vip-/vipaścit semantic field (discerning, inspired) related to √vip 'to tremble/awaken' in poetic usage—here indicating luminous discrimination in speech. kṣatra: from √kṣi 'to rule, possess, dwell' → sovereign efficacy. bṛhat: from √bṛh 'to grow, expand'—psychologically, expansion of consciousness into the Vast.
Ṛtam, Bṛhat (the Vast), Kṣatra (sovereign power), Vāc/Gir (mantric speech as force)
Explicit: the deities establish the vast ṛta.
Vipā speech implies satya-guided expression; ṛta is satya in movement.
Vāc establishes order: right utterance participates in cosmic ordering.
Mantra-Vedānta/Yoga: speech as a power of consciousness that can embody truth-order.
morning (apt for beginning song and establishing order)
The inner sky widens when truth-governance is invoked; speech becomes a ray that orders the mind.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is the enthronement of divine sovereignty through inspired speech: by the right utterance (vipā girā), Mitra-Varuṇa are invoked as great rulers who found the Vast ṛta in the human and cosmic field.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- bṛhat from √bṛh corresponds to PIE *bʰerǵʰ- 'rise/high/exalted' (broad semantic overlap of height/expansion). gir (voice/song) participates in an Indo-European poetic register where voiced praise is a performative instrument of sacral action.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi instructs the collective to project speech-force forward; the gods respond by establishing sovereign order (kṣatra) and the Vast ṛta. The relationship is functional: correct mantric articulation is the means of contact and transformation.
Begin with discerning speech: feel the mantra as a ray of clarity; then sit in silence letting ‘ṛtam bṛhat’ widen awareness.
Viśuddha (speech) and Ājñā (discernment)
3 rounds: inhale on ‘pra vo mitrāya’, exhale on ‘gāyata’; inhale on ‘varuṇāya’, exhale on ‘vipā girā’; inhale-exhale slowly on ‘ṛtam bṛhat’.
Lucid uplift; readiness for truthful expression and orderly action.
Set a sankalpa: ‘Today my speech will be vipā—discerning, kind, true.’ Chant 3 or 9 times, then observe speech impulses for one hour with mindfulness.
Gāyatrī-style recitation with Rigvedic accents; keep a clear rise on deity names and on ṛtam/bṛhat.
Three short pādas; avoid dragging. Slight pause after gāyata and girā.
pra vo: keep vo short o, mitrāya: long ā, gāyata: long ā; dental t, vipā: long ā; do not say ‘vipa’ short, ṛtam: vocalic ṛ; final m, bṛhat: vocalic ṛ; aspirated h
Bright, clean, forward; like an opening call.
9
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
