Rig Veda 1.17.4: Mandala 1, Sukta 17, Mantra 4
Sukta 1.17
- Rishi
- Kakṣīvant Dairghatamasa
- Devata
- Indra-Varuṇa
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
युवाकु हि शचीनां युवाकु सुमतीनाम् । भूयाम वाजदाव्नाम् ॥
yuvā́ku hi śacī́nāṃ yuvā́ku su-matī́nām | bhū́yāma vāja-dā́vnām ||
เพราะท่านทั้งสองคือพลังหนุ่มแห่งฤทธิ์เดช (śacī) และคือพลังหนุ่มแห่งความดำริอันงาม (sumatī); ขอให้เรายิ่งทวีเป็นผู้ได้รับความอุดมแห่งกำลัง (vāja) เถิด.
Word by Word
- युवाकुः
- the youthful one (epithet)Noun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (स्तुत्य-विशेषण रूपेण) / संबोधनार्थक-प्रयोगRoot युवाकु- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘युवा/युवन्’ से) + -कु (वैदिक प्रत्यय)
- हि
- indeed, forIndeclinableनिपात (अव्यय)Root हि (निपात)
- शचीनाम्
- of the powers/energies (śacīs)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive: ‘of…’)Root शची- (प्रातिपदिक)
- युवाकुः
- the youthful oneNoun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (स्तुत्य-विशेषण रूपेण) / संबोधनार्थक-प्रयोगRoot युवाकु- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘युवा/युवन्’ से) + -कु (वैदिक प्रत्यय)
- सुमतीनाम्
- of good thoughts/favoursNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive: ‘of…’)Root सुमति- (सु- + मति-)
- भूयाम
- may we be / may we becomeVerbविधिलिङ् (optative), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचनRole Kartā (अस्मदर्थे ‘we’)Root भू (धातु)
- वाजदाव्नाम्
- of the prize-givers / of those who bestow strengthNoun/Adjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive: ‘of…’)Root वाजदावन्- (प्रातिपदिक; वाज ‘prize/strength’ + दावन् ‘giver’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-resolved): युवाकुः | हि | शचीनाम् | युवाकुः | सुमतीनाम् | भूयाम | वाजदाव्नाम् ।
- पदरूप ‘वाजदाव्नाम्’ (षष्ठी बहु.) ही रहता है।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra–Varuṇa are praised as youthful powers behind śacī (effective powers) and sumatī (good/right-minded thoughts); the singer aspires to become a receiver of vāja (strength/plenitude).
Inner meaning
The dual godhead is invoked as a fresh, ever-renewing force in the sadhaka: Indra as the young luminous Intelligence that breaks limits, Varuṇa as the young vast Law of truth that purifies and widens. Their ‘youth’ (yuvāku) signifies the perennial newness of the soul’s progress—each illumination and each right ordering is not old habit but living revelation. When these powers are active, the practitioner grows into vājadāvnām—one who can hold and receive the descending plenitudes of force and accomplishment.
Universal truth
True progress is a perpetual renewal: when effective power (śacī) and right discernment (sumatī) are kept young and plastic, life naturally becomes capable of receiving greater force, abundance, and victorious energy (vāja).
Themes
dual-deity invocation, inner empowerment, right order and victorious force, boon: vāja (plenitude)
The seer
- Rishi
- Kakṣīvant Dairghatamasa
- Lineage
- Dīrghatamas/Aṅgirasa lineage (traditional association)
- Other hymns
- RV 1.17.1, RV 1.17.2, RV 1.17.3, RV 1.18 (traditional association in some recensions)
Family tradition
A seer-poet linked with the Aṅgiras current of inner ‘finding of the Light’—hymns that emphasize victory, wideness, and right inspiration.
Significance
Kakṣīvant’s voice often carries the dynamic psychology of conquest: the seeker is shaped into one who receives plenitude by aligning inspired thought (dhī) with luminous power and truth-law.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra–Varuṇa (dual)
- Epithets
- yuvāku (youthful power), śacīnām (of efficacies), sumatīnām (of right-mindedness)
- Related deities
- Mitra, Agni, Bṛhaspati, Soma
Cosmic role
Indra releases the hidden light and waters (illumination and energies) by breaking obstruction; Varuṇa sustains ṛta, the vast truth-order that holds the worlds together.
Inner power
Indra: illumined mind-force that conquers inertia and falsehood; Varuṇa: vast purity, ethical-spiritual law, and inward wideness that makes the illumination stable.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra–Varuṇa stotra/śastra recitation in Soma-related praise cycles (general RV usage; specific assignment varies by śrauta tradition)
यु॒वाकु॒ हि शची॑नां यु॒वाकु॑ सुमती॒नाम् । भू॒याम॑ वाज॒दाव्ना॑म् ॥
यु॒वाकु॑ । हि । शची॑नाम् । यु॒वाकु॑ । सु॒ऽम॒ती॒नाम् । भू॒याम॑ । वा॒ज॒दाव्ना॑म् ॥
yuvāku | hi | śacīnām | yuvāku | su-matīnām | bhūyāma | vājadāvnām
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables (with Vedic resolutions/caesura)
Forward-driving, heroic cadence; balanced but dynamic.
Builds inner momentum and confidence; supports an upward surge of aspiration while keeping a measured clarity (Varuṇic steadiness).
- युवाकु (yuvāku)
- Literal: youthful, young in power. Symbolic: perennial freshness of spiritual force; ever-renewing illumination and order
- शची (śacī)
- Literal: efficacy, power of accomplishment. Symbolic: effective spiritual energy—capacity to make truth operative in life
- सुमति (sumatī)
- Literal: good mind, right-mindedness. Symbolic: luminous right understanding; consenting intelligence aligned to ṛta
- वाज (vāja)
- Literal: strength, prize, plenitude. Symbolic: plenitudes of force and achievement; victorious energy in the being
- दावन् (dāvan) in vājadāvnām
- Literal: giver/receiver in relation to bestowal. Symbolic: one who can receive and carry the god-given plenitudes
Invocatory usage in Soma rites: paired praise of Indra (force) and Varuṇa (order) for protection, right action, and winning plenitude (general Soma-yajña context)
During laud sequences invoking dual deities for harmony of power (Indra) and law (Varuṇa).
Recited as praise to invite the deities’ presence and bestowal of vāja (strength/prize).
Use as a morning invocation before work/creative effort: align will-to-act (Indra) with truth and ethical wideness (Varuṇa), asking to become a fit vessel for ‘plenitudes of force’.
yuvāku: from yuvan- ‘young’ (PIE *h₂yuH-no- ‘young, vital’), used as an epithet of ever-fresh divine force. śacī: ‘efficacy, skill-power’, often Indra’s effective might; connected with √śak ‘to be able’ (semantic field of capability/accomplishment). su-matí: su- ‘good’ + matí ‘thought, intention’ from √man ‘to think’ (PIE *men-). bhūyāma: optative of √bhū ‘to be, become’ (PIE *bʰuH-). vāja: ‘vigour, prize, plenitude of force/nourishment’ (linked with strength/fullness; not merely ‘food’). dāvnām: from √dā ‘to give’ (PIE *deh₃-), here in a compound indicating bestowal/attainment of vāja.
Ṛta (right order upheld by Varuṇa), śacī (effective power of accomplishment), sumatī (right-minded luminous discernment)
Sumatī is the consenting intelligence that follows ṛta; śacī is ṛta made effective in life.
Youthful power implies satya as living, not dogma—truth continually re-manifests as fresh guidance.
Sustaining and increasing the powers that uphold the worlds: force (Indra) and law-vastness (Varuṇa) as twin supports of manifestation.
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral-Vedic psychology (Aurobindo/Kashyap style): gods as powers of consciousness rather than merely nature-deities.
dawn-to-morning transition (suggested by ‘youth’ and awakening powers)
spring (symbolic)
A fresh influx of light into mind (sumatī) and effective energy into will (śacī), enabling the being to receive greater spiritual ‘nourishment’ (vāja).
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is the conjunction of Indra’s śacī (effective victorious power) with Varuṇa’s ordering intelligence (sumatī aligned to ṛta). The ‘youthful’ (ever-renewing) divine energy is invoked as the means by which the seeker becomes a fit vessel for vāja—plenitude of force and fulfilled capacity.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Key lexemes map to deep PIE strata: √bhū (become) < PIE *bʰuH-; √man (think) < PIE *men-; √dā (give) < PIE *deh₃-. The verse’s genitive plurals (śacīnām, sumatīnām, vājadāvnām) encode a typologically old Indo-European strategy: qualifying the invoked power through ‘domains’ or ‘fields’ of possession/association.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The ṛṣi’s stance is aspirational reciprocity: by recognizing the gods as the ever-fresh source of effective power and right-minded illumination, the poet requests an inner transformation (‘may we become…’) rather than an external gift alone. Praise functions as alignment; alignment enables the descent of vāja into human capacity.
Unite dynamic will (Indra) with vast truth-discipline (Varuṇa) so that action becomes luminous and effective.
Maṇipūra (will/fire of accomplishment) harmonized with Viśuddha (truth, purity, right expression)
Moderate nāḍī-śodhana 6–6 or 6–6–6 (inhale–exhale–pause) to balance force and calm law.
Uplifted, clear, forward-moving concentration with inner wideness.
Before chanting, hold the intention: ‘Let my mind become right (sumatī) and my will become effective (śacī). Make me a vessel of vāja.’ After chanting, sit 2–3 minutes feeling a fresh, youthful energy descending into the chest and navel.
Vedic tri-svara (udātta/anudātta/svarita) as marked in Saṃhitā; preserve udātta on highlighted syllables (e.g., śacī́nām, sutinutī́nām, vājadā́vnām).
Keep udātta as a clear lift; svarita as a controlled fall; avoid flattening accents—Triṣṭubh needs the rise to carry momentum.
yuvāku: keep ‘yu’ short, ‘vā’ long (yuvāku), śacīnām: palatal ś, long ī; nasalize ‘nām’ lightly, sumatīnām: articulate su-ma-tī; long ī, vājadāvnām: vāja with long ā; cluster dāvnām with soft ‘v’ glide
Bright, steady, slightly projecting (Indra) but rounded and restrained (Varuṇa).
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