Rig Veda 7.32.27: Mandala 7, Sukta 32, Mantra 27
Sukta 7.32
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Bhayankara and Vira (heroism)
मा नो अज्ञाता वृजना दुराध्यो माशिवासो अव क्रमुः । त्वया वयं प्रवतः शश्वतीरपोऽति शूर तरामसि ॥
mā́ no ajñā́tā vṛ́janā durādhyò mā́śivāso áva kramuḥ | tváyā vayaṃ pravátaḥ śáśvatīr apó ati śūra tarāmasi ||
తెలియని, ఆలోచించటానికి కఠినమైన విపత్తులు మమ్మల్ని ముట్టుకోనివ్వకు; అశివమైన (అనుకూలంకాని) శక్తులు మమ్మల్ని తొక్కివేయనివ్వకు. ఓ శూరా! నీతో కలిసి మేము శాశ్వతమైన దిగువల్ని దాటి, ఆపః (జలప్రవాహాలు) అవతలికి ఈదిపోతాము—పరిమితి ప్రవాహాలకూ అవతల.
Word by Word
- मा
- do notIndeclinableनिषेधार्थक अव्यय (prohibitive particle)Root मा (निषेध) / mā́
- नः
- to us / for usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी, बहुवचन (enclitic ‘us/our’)Role SampradānaRoot अस्मद्
- अज्ञाताः
- unknown (ones)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot अ-ज्ञात (√ज्ञा ‘to know’ + नकार)
- वृजनाः
- hostile men / foesNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot वृजन
- दुराध्यः
- hard to deal with / difficult to overcomeAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (collective/qualifying the hostile group)Role KartāRoot दुराध्य (दुर्- + आध्य/आध्य ‘to be approached/managed’)
- मा
- do notIndeclinableनिषेधार्थक अव्ययRoot मा (निषेध) / mā́
- अशिवासः
- inauspicious / harmful (ones)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot अ-शिव (√शिव ‘auspicious’ + नकार)
- अव
- down / awayIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्यय (down, away)Root अव
- क्रमुः
- may they step / advanceVerbलुङ् (aorist), परस्मैपद, 3 पुरुष, बहुवचनRole KriyāRoot √क्रम् (क्रमु) ‘to step, stride’
- त्वया
- by you / with youPronounतृतीया, एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot युष्मद्
- वयम्
- wePronounप्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot अस्मद्
- प्रवतः
- downward slopes / descentsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot प्रवत्
- शश्वतीः
- everlasting / continualAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot शश्वत्
- अपः
- watersNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot अप् (अपः)
- अति
- over / beyondIndeclinableअव्यय/उपसर्ग (over, beyond)Root अति
- शूर
- O hero (Indra)Noun (vocative used as epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole SambodhanaRoot शूर
- तरामसि
- we cross / we shall passVerbलट् (present), परस्मैपद, 1 पुरुष, बहुवचनRole KriyāRoot √तॄ (तरति) ‘to cross’
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi resolution): मा | नः | अज्ञाताः | वृजनाः | दुराध्यः | मा | अशिवासः | अव | क्रमुः || त्वया | वयम् | प्रवतः | शश्वतीः | अपः | अति | शूर | तरामसि । मुख्य संधि: (1) माशिवासः = मा + अशिवासः (आ + अ → आ)
- (2) अपोऽति = अपः + अति (ः + अ → ’/अवग्रह)
The meaning
Outer meaning
A prayer that unknown dangers and unkind powers may not assail or trample the worshippers; with Indra they cross enduring slopes and pass beyond the waters.
Inner meaning
The path includes ajñātā vṛjanā—unknown inner perils arising from subconscient habits and unexamined motives; and durādhyaḥ—difficult-to-handle knots of thought. ‘Unkind powers’ are negative formations that press consciousness downward (ava kramuḥ). With Indra’s heroic illumination, the seeker crosses pravataḥ—steep descents/ascents of the being (transitional crises) and passes beyond āpaḥ—waters as the streaming currents of life-energy and emotion that can bind; here they are ‘currents of limitation’ to be overpassed into freer wideness.
Universal truth
The greatest obstacles are often unseen; protection and progress come from a higher clarity that helps one traverse crises and rise beyond emotional and vital currents into freedom.
Themes
Protection, Crossing the waters, Overcoming unknown dangers, Indra as guide through peril
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Other hymns
- RV 7.32.25, RV 7.32.26, RV 7.18, RV 7.23
Family tradition
Vasiṣṭha’s voice often combines realism about obstacles with confidence in Indra’s victorious aid.
Significance
The seer maps the yogic terrain: hidden dangers, downward pulls, and the need for Indra’s luminous heroism to cross the ‘waters’ of vital nature.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Śūra
- Related deities
- Varuṇa (guardianship/order), Agni (inner fire leading), Maruts (forces of dynamic ascent)
Cosmic role
Guardian and victor who enables crossing beyond obstructing currents and terrains; champion through crises.
Inner power
Courageous illumination that detects unseen threats and prevents descent into inertia; the power to ‘cross beyond’ emotional/vital bondage.
In ritual
Where it is used
Protective Indra prayer within Soma liturgy; also used in contexts seeking safe passage and overcoming dangers.
मा नो॒ अज्ञा॑ता वृ॒जना॑ दुरा॒ध्यो॒३॒॑ माशि॑वासो॒ अव॑ क्रमुः । त्वया॑ व॒यं प्र॒वत॒: शश्व॑तीर॒पोऽति॑ शूर तरामसि ॥
मा । नः॒ । अज्ञा॑ताः । वृ॒जनाः॑ । दुः॒ऽआ॒ध्यः॑ । मा । अशि॑वासः । अव॑ । क्र॒मुः॒ । त्वया॑ । व॒यम् । प्र॒ऽवतः॑ शश्व॑तीः । अ॒पः । अति॑ । शू॒र॒ । त॒रा॒म॒सि॒ ॥
mā | naḥ | ajñātāḥ | vṛjanāḥ | duḥ-ādhyaḥ | mā | aśivāsaḥ | ava | kramuḥ | tvayā | vayam | pra-vataḥ śaśvatīḥ | apaḥ | ati | śūra | tarāmasi
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4 × ~11 syllables
Protective and urgent in the first half, then expansive and crossing-like in the second.
Creates a felt shield against anxiety; then opens a sense of traversing beyond inner turbulence.
- अज्ञाताः (ajñātāḥ)
- subconscient, unrecognized impulses and hidden dangers
- वृजनाः (vṛjanāḥ)
- Literal: dangers, harms, pitfalls. Symbolic: inner pitfalls: false turns, temptations, sudden depressions
- दुराध्यः (durādhyaḥ)
- Literal: hard to think/meditate through. Symbolic: complex knots of mind that resist clarity; obsessive or confused patterns
- अशिवासः (aśivāsaḥ)
- Literal: unkind, inauspicious. Symbolic: hostile formations that deny harmony and beneficence
- अव क्रमुः (ava kramuḥ)
- Literal: step down upon, trample. Symbolic: forces that press consciousness downward into tamas
- प्रवत: शश्वतीः (pravataḥ śaśvatīḥ)
- Literal: enduring slopes/declivities. Symbolic: recurrent crises and steep transitions in growth
- अपः (apo)
- Literal: waters. Symbolic: life-currents, emotions, energies; also the flowing powers to be mastered
- अति तरामसि (ati tarāmasi)
- Literal: we cross beyond. Symbolic: transcend limitation; move to a freer plane of being
Protective prayer within Indra hymn; also used as a passage-mantra for safe ‘crossing’ (inner and outer) under Indra’s guardianship
When invoking protection from unseen harms; before travel or major undertakings (by extension).
Recitation with offerings, asking Indra to avert harms and grant victorious passage.
As a mantra for anxiety, fear of the unknown, or during transitions; helpful before sleep to prevent subconscious disturbance.
vṛjana denotes ‘straits, pitfalls, harmful entanglements’ (possibly from √vṛj ‘to twist/turn’ → crookedness). duḥ-ādhya ‘hard to place in thought’ (ādhya from √dhā/√dhyai semantic field of placing/meditating) → oppressive mental obscurity. √kram ‘step’ with ava suggests trampling down. √tṛ (tarāmasi) is a central crossing root (PIE *terh₂ ‘cross over’; cf. Latin trans). apas ‘waters’ symbolically become currents to be crossed—psychological floods or limiting flows.
subconscient dangers (ajñāta), crossing beyond limitation (ati apas), divine companionship as means of passage (tvayā)
Protection is the maintenance of ṛta against chaotic forces that ‘trample down’.
Crossing beyond waters suggests moving from mixed currents to clearer truth-guided consciousness.
Mastery and traversal of the waters is a recurrent Vedic motif of releasing and directing energies for higher life.
Psychological Vedism: overcoming subconscient and vital-emotional currents through illumined mind.
Waters = emotional/vital currents; slopes = difficult transitions; crossing = transcendence to a freer, wider consciousness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘crossing’ mythologem: with Indra the hero, the seekers pass beyond waters and perilous terrains—outwardly rivers/obstacles, inwardly the currents of obscurity and the unknown dangers of the subconscient.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √tṛ ‘cross’ (PIE *terh₂; trans- set) provides the inherited ‘crossing’ idiom. The prohibitive mā + injunctive is a characteristic archaic Indo-Iranian modality for apotropaic prayer.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- Indra is not only invoked for conquest but as companion-power (tvayā) enabling safe passage. The ṛṣi entrusts the collective to Indra’s heroism to avoid hidden harms and to cross beyond limiting currents.
Bring awareness to hidden fears and subconscious pulls; invoke Indra to illuminate and protect; practice ‘crossing’ beyond emotional waves.
Maṇipūra (courage) and Anāhata (security/trust)
4–6 exhale emphasis to calm fear; on exhale mentally ‘mā no…’, on inhale ‘tvayā vayam…’.
From anxious vigilance to protected steadiness and widening beyond emotional currents.
Name the ‘unknown peril’ as a felt sensation (not a story). Chant once slowly; then 7 times moderate. After chanting, visualize crossing a river: each exhale releases a wave; each inhale steps onto firmer ground of clarity.
Chant with clear pāda breaks; preserve udātta where marked in a full accent text; keep the prohibitive ‘mā’ crisp and slightly elevated in emphasis (not pitch).
Emphasize the two ‘mā’ prohibitions; then broaden tone on ‘tvayā vayam…’ and ‘apo ’ti tarāmasi’.
ajñātāḥ: ‘jñ’ cluster clean, vṛjanā: retroflex ṛ and ṇ, durādhyo: long ā; careful with ‘dh’, aśivāso: ‘śi’ clear, pravataḥ: dental t, apo ’ti: sandhi—slight pause before ’ti if needed for clarity
Protective, grounded; broaden and brighten in the final pāda.
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