Rig Veda 6.64.6: Mandala 6, Sukta 64, Mantra 6
Sukta 6.64
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja tradition
- Devata
- Uṣas
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
उत्ते वयश्चिद्वसतेरपप्तन्नरश्च ये पितुभाजो व्युष्टौ । अमा सते वहसि भूरि वाममुषो देवि दाशुषे मर्त्याय ॥
útte váyaś cid vasatér apaptan nárāś ca yé pitubhā́jo vyùṣṭau | amā́ saté vahasi bhū́ri vāmám uṣo devi dāśúṣe mártyāya ||
నీ ఉదయంతోనే, తమ నివాసాల నుంచి పక్షులూ ఎగిరి బయలుదేరుతాయి; పితృ-భాజులు (జీవనాహార భాగస్వాములు) అయిన మనుష్యులు కూడా ఉషస్సులో కదలిపోతారు. ఓ దేవి ఉషా! ఇక్కడ సమీపంగా ఉండి, నీకు దానం చేసే మర్త్యునికి విస్తారమైన ప్రియమైన మంగళమూ ఆనందమూ నీవు మోసుకొస్తావు.
Word by Word
- उत्
- and/also; moreoverIndeclinableनिपात (समुच्चय/उत्कर्षार्थ)Root उत् (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- ते
- of you/yourPronounषष्ठी एकवचन (स्त्री/पुं/नपुं—सर्वनाम)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वयः
- bird; (lit.) winged creatureNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole कर्तृ (with अपप्तन्)Root वयस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- चित्
- evenIndeclinableअवधारण/अपि-अर्थRoot चित् (निपात)
- वसतेः
- from the dwelling/place of restNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी एकवचनRole अपादानRoot वसति (प्रातिपदिक; from √वस् ‘to dwell’)
- अपप्तन्
- flew away; took flightVerbलुङ् (अorist), प्रथमा बहुवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot √पत्
- नरः
- menNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (with अपप्तन्)Root नर (प्रातिपदिक)
- च
- andIndeclinableसमुच्चयRoot च (निपात)
- ये
- whoPronounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (relative; with अपप्तन्)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- पितुभाजः
- sharing in food; partaking of nourishmentAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचनRole विशेषण (of नरः/ये)Root पितुभाज् (प्रातिपदिक; पितु + √भज् ‘to share/partake’)
- व्यूष्टौ
- at dawn; in the dawningNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot व्यूष्टि (प्रातिपदिक; from vi-√वस्/√उष् ‘to dawn, become light’)
- अमा
- at home; near; in one’s presenceIndeclinableअव्यय (सह/निकट-अर्थ)Root अमा (अव्यय)
- सते
- when you are present/being thereAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन (locative)Role अधिकरणRoot सत् (प्रातिपदिक; pres. ptc. of √अस् ‘to be’)
- वहसि
- you carry; you conveyVerbलट् (present), मध्यम पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot √वह्
- भूरि
- much; abundantAdjectiveनपुंसक/अव्ययवत्; here adverbial accusative ‘much’Role कर्म (measure/object of carrying)Root भूरि (अव्यय/विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक)
- वामम्
- good thing; boon; desirable wealthNoun/Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचनRole कर्मRoot वाम (प्रातिपदिक)
- उषः
- O DawnNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot उषस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- देवि
- O goddessNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
- दाशुषे
- to the worshipper/giverNoun (participle used substantively)पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot दाश्वस्/दाशुष् (प्रातिपदिक; perf. ptc. of √दाश् ‘to give, worship’)
- मर्त्याय
- to the mortalNounपुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी एकवचनRole सम्प्रदान (apposition to दाशुषे)Root मर्त्य (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (padapāṭha-style): उत्ते → उत् + ते
- वयश्चित् → वयः + चित्
- वसतेरपप्तन् → वसतेः + अपप्तन् (visarga before vowel)
- नरश्च → नरः + च
- पितुभाजो व्युष्टौ → पितुभाजः + व्युष्टौ (final -o from -aḥ before voiced consonant in saṃhitā)
- अमासते → अमा + सते
- वा॒ममुषो → वामम् + उषः (anusvāra/visarga adjustments in saṃhitā)
- देवि दाशुषे → no sandhi
- दाशुषे मर्त्याय → no sandhi
The meaning
Outer meaning
At Dawn’s rising, birds fly out from their nests and men who share food begin their day. Dawn, present here, brings abundant pleasant gifts to the mortal who offers to her.
Inner meaning
When the inner Dawn (Uṣas) breaks, the life-forces (vayaḥ, ‘birds’) and human faculties awaken and move out of inertia. The ‘sharers of food’ are the parts of the being that live by the common energies of Prāṇa; they begin to stir when illumination touches the subconscient. To the seeker who ‘gives’ (dāśuṣ) — offers aspiration, attention, and works into the inner sacrifice — Dawn brings ‘bhūri vāmam’: plentiful delight, harmony, and right conditions for progress.
Universal truth
Illumination is not merely an idea; it is a power that reorganizes life. When consciousness rises even a little, dormant energies take wing, and the one who consciously offers to the higher Light receives increased joy and right movement.
Themes
Awakening, Gift to the offerer, Immanent goddess
The seer
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja (Bārhaspatya)
- Lineage
- Bharadvāja gotra (Āṅgirasa/Bārhaspatya lineage)
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 6.64 (Uṣas hymn set), Rig Veda 6.65 (Uṣas hymn set), Rig Veda 6.66 (often adjacent dawn/related invocations in Bharadvāja maṇḍala context)
Family tradition
Bārhaspatya seer-tradition: emphasis on inspired speech (Bṛhaspati), right thought, and the victorious emergence of Light through mantra and inner sacrifice.
Significance
Bharadvāja’s Dawn-visions frequently portray illumination as an active, beneficent Power that awakens energies and establishes right movement (ṛta) in the human instrument.
The deity
- Devata
- Uṣas
- Epithets
- देवि (devī), दिवोजाः (divojāḥ, heaven-born—seen explicitly in 6.65.1 context), रुशती (ruśatī, shining—theme across the hymn)
- Related deities
- Sūrya, Agni, Indra, Aśvins, Soma
Cosmic role
Bringer of day; opener of the paths; revealer of forms; disperser of night; initiator of the daily yajña.
Inner power
The awakening illumination that stirs the inert parts, aligns life with truth, and brings joy and right conditions for growth.
In ritual
Where it is used
Morning pressing / dawn praise within Soma-related sequences; also general prātaḥ-savana laud (Uṣas-stuti).
उत्ते॒ वय॑श्चिद्वस॒तेर॑पप्त॒न्नर॑श्च॒ ये पि॑तु॒भाजो॒ व्यु॑ष्टौ । अ॒मा स॒ते व॑हसि॒ भूरि॑ वा॒ममुषो॑ देवि दा॒शुषे॒ मर्त्या॑य ॥
उत् । ते॒ । वयः॑ । चि॒त् । व॒स॒तेः । अ॒प॒प्त॒न् । नरः॑ । च॒ । ये । पि॒तु॒ऽभाजः॑ । विऽउ॑ष्टौ । अ॒मा । स॒ते । व॒ह॒सि॒ । भूरि॑ । वा॒मम् । उषः॑ । दे॒वि॒ । दा॒शुषे॑ । मर्त्या॑य ॥
ut | te | vayaḥ | cit | vasateḥ | apaptan | naraḥ | ca | ye | pitu-bhājaḥ | vi-uṣṭau | amā | sate | vahasi | bhūri | vāmam | uṣaḥ | devi | dāśuṣe | martyāya
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4 pādas × ~11 syllables (Triṣṭubh cadence)
Forward-driving, declarative; suited to ‘rising’ and ‘setting in motion’ imagery.
Creates a steady lift and expansion in the listener, mirroring the upward surge of dawn and the mobilization of inner energies.
- उषः (uṣaḥ) / उषो देवि (uṣo devi)
- Literal: Dawn, goddess Dawn. Symbolic: Spiritual illumination; the awakening power that opens the day of consciousness
- उत् (ut)
- Literal: up, upward, arising. Symbolic: Ascent of awareness; emergence from tamas/inertia
- वयः (vayaḥ)
- Literal: birds. Symbolic: Life-energies and thought-forces that move freely when awakened
- वसतेः (vasateḥ)
- Literal: dwelling, resting-place. Symbolic: Inward nest of habitual consciousness; subconscient/ordinary state
- पितुभाजः (pitubhājaḥ)
- Literal: sharers of food. Symbolic: Parts of the being sharing common prāṇic ‘nourishment’; coordinated faculties
- व्युष्टौ (vyuṣṭau)
- Literal: at dawnbreak. Symbolic: Moment of inner opening; first light after obscurity
- अमा (amā)
- Literal: here, at home, near. Symbolic: Immediacy of the Presence; the Light made intimate in the being
- भूरि वामम् (bhūri vāmam)
- Literal: much pleasant good, abundant delight. Symbolic: Increase of ānanda, harmony, auspicious conditions for sādhanā
- दाशुषे (dāśuṣe)
- Literal: to the giver/offerer. Symbolic: The aspirant who offers works, gratitude, attention, and surrender into the inner yajña
- मर्त्याय (martyāya)
- Literal: to the mortal. Symbolic: The embodied seeker in the mixed human nature being transformed
Dawn verse emphasizing awakening of beings and reward to the dāśuṣ (offerer); suited to morning recitation
At daybreak; opening of morning recitations; before/with kindling of Agni and commencement of offerings.
Recitation to invite Uṣas, awaken the rite, and ‘bring’ auspicious gifts to the yajamāna.
Morning meditation/chant to transition from inertia to clarity; set intention for the day as an ‘inner sacrifice’ of works and attention.
√uṣ ‘dawn’ → vyuṣṭau (‘at the dawning’). √pat ‘fly’ → apaptan. vāma ‘desirable’ connects to the value-field of choosing the good. dāśuṣ from √dāś ‘to offer, worship by giving’ indicates inner sacrifice (self-offering) as receptivity to dawn’s gifts.
awakening from enclosure, sacrifice as inner giving (dāśuṣ), immanence (amā)
Uṣas restores ṛta by re-establishing luminous order after the disorder of night/tamas.
Truth becomes ‘present’ (amā) as an experiential clarity, not mere concept.
Daily re-creation: emergence of forms and movements from the hidden night; manifestation through light.
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral (Aurobindonian) reading: cosmic powers as psychological functions in evolution of consciousness.
Dawn (vyuṣṭi)
The first descent of illumination into the waking mind that releases life-force into right activity and offers ananda to the aspirant.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The universal awakening at Dawn—birds and humans stirred—and the goddess as giver of boons to the sacrificer. Mythically dawn reanimates the world; psychologically it releases movements of thought and life from the night’s enclosure and rewards the inner act of offering.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √pat ‘fly’ is broadly IE (cf. Latin petō ‘seek/aim’ is semantically adjacent though not identical; the ‘flight’ root is well-attested in Indo-Iranian). The dawn-root √uṣ has Indo-Iranian parallels (Avestan ušah-).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi presents a law of exchange: the one who ‘gives’ (dāśuṣ) receives abundance (bhūri vāma). The relationship is ethical-psychological: self-offering opens the being to dawn’s inflow.
Invite the ‘inner dawn’—a clear, kind, widening light in the mind that awakens prāṇa and organizes the day’s movements.
Ājñā (clarity/illumination) with support to Anāhata (gentle joy)
4-4-6 breathing (inhale-hold-exhale) for 7 rounds, then natural breath with silent repetition of ‘uṣo devi’.
From tamasic inertia to sāttvic clarity and quiet joy.
Chant once slowly; then sit and feel energies ‘take wing’ from habitual nests. Offer the coming actions inwardly (dāśuṣ) and receive ‘bhūri vāmam’ as calm delight and right arrangement.
Vedic accents as in Śākala tradition: observe marked udatta/anudatta/svarita; maintain the rise on udatta syllables (e.g., utté, váyaś).
Keep each pāda as a single breath-unit if possible; slight pause at |; do not flatten svarita—let it glide down after the udatta peak.
(uṣo): retroflex ṣ, long-ish ‘o’, (vayaḥ): final visarga softly aspirated, (pitubhājaḥ): bh = voiced aspirate; ā long, (martyāya): clear ‘ty’ cluster, not ‘ch’
Clear, bright, gently ascending; avoid heaviness—let it ‘rise’.
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