Rig Veda 8.68.10: Mandala 8, Sukta 68, Mantra 10
Sukta 8.68
तं त्वा यज्ञेभिरीमहे तं गीर्भिर्गिर्वणस्तम । इन्द्र यथा चिदाविथ वाजेषु पुरुमाय्यम् ॥
táṃ tvā yájñebhir īmahe táṃ gīrbhír girvaṇastama | índra yáthā cid ā́vitha vā́jeṣu puru-mā́yyam ||
నిన్నే మేము యజ్ఞాల ద్వారా ప్రార్థిస్తున్నాము; నిన్నే గీర్లు/గిరా (ప్రేరిత స్తోత్రవాక్యాలు) ద్వారా—హే గిర్వణస్తమ ఇంద్రా! నీవు ముందుగా సహాయపడినట్లే ఇప్పుడూ—వాజాల సమృద్ధిలో—పురుమాయ్య (బహువిధ ప్రభావశక్తులు గలవాడా)గా మాకు తోడ్పడు.
Core refrain-like invocation in Indra praise: approach by yajña and gīr; used in Soma rites to recall Indra’s past help and request renewed aid in contests (vāja).
Mantra efficacy (girvaṇas), Māyā as divine formative power (puru-māyyam), Continuity of grace (as helped before, help now)
Indra’s help in ‘vājas’ is the right distribution of force according to R̥ta—energy placed where it serves truth.
Gīr becomes effective when aligned with Satya; then Indra is ‘most responsive’.
Speech and offering as creative acts: they shape inner worlds and call down higher formations of force.
Mantra-yoga and karma-yoga in Vedic form: consecrated action + inspired word = descent of higher Mind.
Fire = will; sound = vibration of consciousness; plenty = increased capacity and effective energy in life.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is 'Indra comes to the call of yajña and gīr and repeats his ancient help': the god is drawn by the Word and offering, then grants vāja (victorious plenitude). The inner action is the reactivation of a previous realization—memory of past help becomes a lever for present ascent.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- yaj- (sacrifice) belongs to Indo-Iranian ritual vocabulary with no simple single PIE cognate but parallels IE sacral action verbs. √av 'help' is Indo-Iranian; vāja as 'prize/strength' fits the IE heroic-agonistic lexicon (contest and prize). puru 'many' is a common IE quantifier type (cf. Greek πολύ-).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi offers two channels—act (yajña) and speech (gīr)—to meet Indra’s nature as girvaṇas (responsive to mantra). The reciprocity is explicit: because Indra has helped before (ā́vitha), he is asked to help again in vājas—moments where force must become plenitude through divine formative power (puru-māyā).
Turn practice into yajña: offer thoughts and emotions into the inner fire; let chant become inspired speech calling Indra’s illumined mind.
viśuddha (mantric speech)
ujjāyī (soft) synchronized with pādas; inhale before each pāda, exhale through the line
invocatory concentration with devotional confidence
Begin with a brief inner offering (‘I give this mind and life to the Truth’). Chant with clear articulation; after 9 or 27 repetitions, sit quietly and notice where force (vāja) increases—clarity, courage, or calm power.
Rigvedic accents with strong opening emphasis on repeated ‘taṃ tvā’; maintain svarita glides without exaggeration.
Mark the repetition: ‘taṃ tvā’ as a clear anacrusis; keep ‘girvaṇastama’ flowing as one unit; pause lightly at pāda ends.
īmahe: long ī, do not shorten, gīrbhir: keep ‘gīr’ long; ‘bh’ aspirated, purumāyyam: articulate ‘yy’ as a light double glide, not ‘j’
clear, resonant, prayerful with rising confidence
27
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.
