Rig Veda 5.83.3: Mandala 5, Sukta 83, Mantra 3
Sukta 5.83
- Devata
- Parjanya
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
रथीव कशयाश्वाँ अभिक्षिपन्नाविर्दूतान्कृणुते वर्ष्याँ अह । दूरात्सिंहस्य स्तनथा उदीरते यत्पर्जन्यः कृणुते वर्ष्यं नभः ॥
rathī́va kaśáyā́śvāṃ abhikṣipánn āvír dūtā́n kṛṇute varṣyā́ṃ̐ áha | dūrā́t siṃhásya stanáthā́ udī́rate yát parjányáḥ kṛṇuté varṣyàṃ nábhaḥ ||
రథికుడు కొరడాతో తన అశ్వాలను తోలినట్లు, అతడు వాటిని ముందుకు నడిపిస్తాడు; వర్షదూతలను స్పష్టంగా వెలికి తెస్తాడు. పరజన్యుడు వర్షభారిత మేఘాన్ని నిర్మించినప్పుడు, దూరం నుంచే సింహగర్జన వంటి గర్జనలు (స్తనథాలు) ఉప్పొంగుతాయి.
Word by Word
- रथीव
- like a charioteerIndeclinable (comparative particle with nominal base)इव = अव्यय; रथी- (पुं) आधार-शब्द (उपमान)Root रथी (प्रातिपदिक) + इव (अव्यय)
- कशयाश्वान्
- the whip-horses (horses urged with a whip)Noun (compound)पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचन (कर्मपद)Role KarmaRoot कशा (प्रातिपदिक) + अश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- अभिक्षिपन्
- hurling/urging onVerb (present participle)वर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ); पुं; प्रथमा; एकवचन; कर्तरिRole Kartā (विशेषणरूपेण कर्तुः)Root √क्षिप् (क्षेपणे) + अभि
- आविः
- openly, manifestlyIndeclinableअव्ययRoot आविस् (अव्यय)
- दूतान्
- messengersNounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot दूत (प्रातिपदिक)
- कृणुते
- makes, sets in motionVerbलट् (वर्तमान); आत्मनेपद; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचनRole Kartā (क्रियापद)Root √कृ (करणे)
- वर्ष्याः
- the rain(-storm)Adjective (used substantively)स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन (वर्ष्या = वर्षा/वृष्टि)Role Kartā (उदीरते इत्यस्य)Root वर्ष्य (प्रातिपदिक; ‘वर्ष’ से)
- अह
- indeed, ahIndeclinableनिपात/उद्गारRoot अह (निपात)
- दूरात्
- from afarIndeclinable (ablatival form)नपुंसक/अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोग; पञ्चमी; एकवचनRole ApādānaRoot दूर (प्रातिपदिक)
- सिंहस्य
- of a lionNounपुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी; एकवचनRole Sambandha (genitive)Root सिंह (प्रातिपदिक)
- स्तनथाः
- roarings, thundersNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole KartāRoot स्तनथ (प्रातिपदिक)
- उदीरते
- rise up, resoundVerbलट् (वर्तमान); आत्मनेपद; प्रथमपुरुष; बहुवचनRole Kartā (क्रियापद)Root उद् + √ईर् (प्रेरणे/उच्चारणे)
- यत्
- when/thatIndeclinable (relative particle)अव्ययवत् सम्बन्धकRoot यद् (सम्बन्ध/यत्-शब्द)
- पर्जन्यः
- Parjanya (Rain-god)Noun (deity name)पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole KartāRoot पर्जन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- कृणुते
- makesVerbलट् (वर्तमान); आत्मनेपद; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचनRole Kartā (क्रियापद)Root √कृ (करणे)
- वर्ष्यम्
- rainy, rain-bringingAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole KarmaRoot वर्ष्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- नभः
- the sky/cloud-massNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole Karma (कृणुते इत्यस्य; ‘नभः’ = आकाशं, मेघं)Root नभस् (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (सन्धिविच्छेद): रथीव (= रथी इव)
- कशयाश्वाँः (= कशया अश्वान्; समास/सन्धि-प्रयोग)
- अभिक्षिपन् (= अभि + क्षिपन्)
- आविः दूतान् (सन्धिरहित)
- कृणुते वर्ष्याः अह (वर्ष्याः = ‘वर्ष्या’ स्त्री. प्रथ. एक. वैदिक-दीर्घ/प्लुति-चिह्न सहित)
- दूरात् सिंहस्य
- स्तनथाः उदीरते
- यत् पर्जन्यः
- कृणुते वर्ष्यम् नभः. वैदिकस्वरचिह्न (उदात्त/स्वरित/अनुदात्त) मूलपाठानुसार, पदच्छेदे सामान्यीकृतः।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Parjanya is likened to a charioteer who lashes his horses and drives them forward; he sends out the rain as visible messengers. From far away the thunder roars like a lion when he forms the rain-bearing cloud.
Inner meaning
The Seer describes the Divine Force that governs the descent of higher energies. The ‘charioteer’ is the conscious Power that directs the life-forces (aśvāḥ) by the lash of tapas (kaśā). The ‘messengers’ are impulses of inspiration and dynamic movements that precede the actual descent of plenitude (rain). The lion-roar is the irresistible vibration of awakening that breaks inertia; the ‘cloud’ is the dense formation of charged consciousness in the vital-mental atmosphere from which the waters of clarity and power can pour.
Universal truth
Transformation is not random: a higher Intelligence organizes and drives the energies of life, sends precursory signals, and then condenses a field (the ‘cloud’) from which renewal descends. What feels like distant thunder is often the first audible sign of an inner change already being prepared.
Themes
storm imagery, divine direction of forces, descent of power
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 5.83 (Parjanya hymn, surrounding verses 1-10), RV 5.52-5.60 (Ātreya Marut and allied hymns, thematic resonance)
Family tradition
Maṇḍala 5 is predominantly associated with Atri and the Ātreyas
Significance
The seer-voice here is that of the rain-maker as inner yogic power: it recognizes that the descent of force requires direction (ratha), pressure (kaśā), and a prepared field (nabhaḥ).
The deity
- Devata
- Parjanya
- Epithets
- varṣya (rain-bringing), stanayitnu (thunderer), siṃhavat (lion-like in roar)
- Related deities
- Indra (breaker of obstruction, allied to thunder), Maruts (storm-powers, executors), Varuṇa (ṛta, cosmic order; waters and law)
Cosmic role
Organizer of the atmospheric waters; he compacts the cloud and releases rain, sustaining growth and order in the middle world (antarikṣa).
Inner power
The descending dynamism that condenses higher consciousness into actionable force and pours it into the embodied nature.
In ritual
Where it is used
Rain-invocation and prosperity rites; recitation within śrauta contexts seeking timely rains and fertility.
र॒थीव॒ कश॒याश्वाँ॑ अभिक्षि॒पन्ना॒विर्दू॒तान्कृ॑णुते व॒र्ष्याँ॒३॒॑ अह॑ । दू॒रात्सिं॒हस्य॑ स्त॒नथा॒ उदी॑रते॒ यत्प॒र्जन्य॑: कृणु॒ते व॒र्ष्यं१॒॑ नभ॑: ॥
र॒थीऽइ॑व । कश॑या । अश्वा॑न् । अ॒भि॒ऽक्षि॒पन् । आ॒विः । दू॒तान् । कृ॒णु॒ते॒ । व॒र्ष्या॑न् । अह॑ । दू॒रात् । सिं॒हस्य॑ । स्त॒नथाः॑ । उत् । ई॒र॒ते॒ । यत् । प॒र्जन्यः॑ । कृ॒णु॒ते । व॒र्ष्य॑म् । नभः॑ ॥
rathī-iva | kaśayā | aśvān | abhi-kṣipan | āviḥ | dūtān | kṛṇute | varṣyān | aha | dūrāt | siṃhasya | stanathāḥ | ut | īrate | yat | parjanyaḥ | kṛṇute | varṣyam | nabhaḥ
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables
Driving, forward-thrusting cadence suited to motion and release.
Builds expectation and then a sense of ‘breakthrough’—useful for invoking inner momentum before meditation or work.
- rathīva
- Literal: like a charioteer. Symbolic: the guiding conscious Power that steers inner forces toward the goal
- kaśayā
- Literal: with a whip/lash. Symbolic: tapas, disciplined pressure of will that accelerates progress
- aśvān
- Literal: horses/steeds. Symbolic: vital energies and executive life-forces put to right action
- dūtān
- Literal: messengers. Symbolic: foretokens—impulses of inspiration, signals of approaching descent
- varṣyān
- Literal: rainy, belonging to rain. Symbolic: currents of abundance, purification, and force descending into the system
- siṃhasya stanathāḥ
- Literal: lion’s roarings. Symbolic: majestic, fear-breaking vibration that shatters resistance
- nabhaḥ
- Literal: cloud/sky-vault. Symbolic: the vital-mental field where energies gather and become ready to descend
Descriptive praise supporting invocation of rains; reinforces visualization of storm formation and descent in ritual imagination.
During drought anxiety, seasonal transitions, or when invoking Parjanya/Marut powers in offerings.
Recitation with oblations (ghee/grain) while invoking cloud-forming and rain-releasing powers.
For practitioners: use as a mantra of ‘condensation and release’—to gather scattered energies and invite a clean descent of clarity and strength.
rathī ‘charioteer’ (agent noun) frames Parjanya as director of energies (aśva). kaśā ‘whip’ symbolizes compelling impetus. dūta ‘messenger’ (√dū ‘to send’/semantic of dispatch) marks storm-precursors. nabhas: cloud/sky, the atmospheric mid-region; symbolically the intermediate plane where power forms before manifestation.
divine governance of energies (charioteer metaphor), formation in the mid-region before descent, force as sound/voice (thunder) awakening nature
Parjanya’s ‘fashioning’ (kṛṇute) indicates lawful formation—rain as an act of ṛta, not chance.
Truth becomes effective when it takes form in the ‘cloud’ of the being and then descends as workable force.
Condensation (cloud) → vibration (thunder) → descent (rain): a model of manifestation from subtle to gross.
Proto-Vedāntic / Integral-Vedic reading (Aurobindo): descent of higher consciousness into mind-life-body.
monsoon / rain-season (varṣā)
Cloud = gathered potential in the vital-mental; thunder = awakening vibration; rain = descending peace-force/clarity that nourishes growth.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Parjanya as charioteer of storm-forces: he urges the steeds (energies), sends forth rain-messengers, and shapes the rain-cloud; thunder is the lion-roar of descending power. Innerly, the governing will drives life-energies and releases formative forces from the intermediate plane into manifestation.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The chariot/steed imagery is a core IE poetic inheritance. aśva ‘horse’ has clear IE cognates (Latin equus, Avestan aspa). The storm’s ‘roar’ likened to a lion reflects inherited heroic simile style. √kṛ ‘make’ is a basic Indo-Iranian verb enabling mythic ‘fashioning’ of natural events.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi’s praise is also a guided inner visualization: by naming Parjanya’s acts (driving, sending, shaping), the hymn aligns human imagination and will with the god’s process, inviting the same ordered descent of force into the practitioner’s nature.
Invite the ‘condensing cloud’ of higher consciousness and the subsequent descent of force into the nerves and breath.
viśuddha (resonant ‘roar’/vibration) and ājñā (guiding charioteer-mind)
Moderate-paced nāḍī-śodhana or 4-4-6 breathing; on exhale feel ‘rain’ descending through the front channel.
Dynamic receptivity—alert, gathered, ready for descent.
Begin with 3 slow recitations to ‘yoke the horses’ (vital energies). Pause after ‘nabhaḥ’ and feel a silent, dense peace forming above the head, then let it pour down through the body.
Use Vedic accenting per śākha tradition: honor marked udātta on accented syllables; keep anudātta low and svarita as falling glide (exact pada-svara requires śākhā-specific notation beyond provided text).
Maintain lift on key verbs: abhikṣipann, kṛṇute, ud īrate; let ‘nabhaḥ’ settle downward as cadence closure.
rathīva: clear long ī (rathī-), light ‘va’, kaśayā: pronounce ś as palatal ‘sh’; keep yā long, aśvān: aś- (not ashv-), nasalize ā̃m̐ lightly if trained, stanathāḥ: retroflex ṭh? here ‘thāḥ’ aspirated dental; keep final visarga audible, parjanyaḥ: ‘jñ’ cluster as ‘gny’/‘jnya’ depending on training; keep final ḥ
Resonant and firm, with a slight swell on the ‘lion-roar’ phrase.
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