Rig Veda 1.178.2: Mandala 1, Sukta 178, Mantra 2
Sukta 1.178
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Trishtubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
न घा राजेन्द्र आ दभन्नो या नु स्वसारा कृणवन्त योनौ । आपश्चिदस्मै सुतुका अवेषन्गमन्न इन्द्रः सख्या वयश्च ॥
ná ghā rājéndra ā́ dabhannó yā́ nú svásārā kṛ́ṇavanta yónau | ā́paś cid asmai sutúkā aveṣan gámann a índraḥ sakhyā́ váyaś ca ||
พระอินทระผู้เป็นราชา ย่อมไม่ลวงเราเลย—พระองค์ทรงทำให้พลังอันเป็นดุจพี่น้องสตรีรวมเป็นหนึ่งในครรภ์ (yoni) ของตน แม้แต่น้ำทั้งหลาย (Āpas) ก็ได้พบความรื่นรมย์และความพักสงบเพื่อพระองค์ ขอพระอินทระเสด็จมาหาเราพร้อมมิตรภาพและพลังแห่งชีวิตเถิด
Word by Word
- न
- notIndeclinableनिषेध (negation)Root न
- घ
- indeed / at allIndeclinableनिपात (emphatic particle)Root घ
- राजा
- kingNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्रः
- IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (apposition to राजा)Root इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- आ
- towards; completelyIndeclinableउपसर्ग/क्रियाविशेषणRoot आ
- दभत्
- deceived / harmedVerbलङ् (इम्पर्फेक्ट), परस्मैपद, 3 पुरुष, एकवचनRole KriyāRoot दभ्
- नः
- of us / ourPronounषष्ठी (genitive), बहुवचन (enclitic)Role Sampradāna (beneficiary/possessor in sense: 'us')Root अस्मद्
- या
- who (fem. pl.)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (relative)Role KartāRoot यद्
- नु
- now; indeedIndeclinableनिपात (enclitic)Root नु
- स्वसारः
- sistersNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole Kartā (in relative clause)Root स्वसृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- कृणवन्त
- made; fashionedVerbलङ् (इम्पर्फेक्ट), परस्मैपद, 3 पुरुष, बहुवचनRole KriyāRoot कृ
- योनौ
- in the womb / in the sourceNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
- आपः
- watersNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot अप् (प्रातिपदिक)
- चित्
- evenIndeclinableनिपात (emphatic)Root चित्
- अस्मै
- to himPronounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot इदम्
- सुतुकाः
- well-pleasing / kindly-disposedAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (agreeing with आपः)Role Kartā (as qualifier of waters)Root सुतुका (प्रातिपदिक)
- अवेषन्
- favored; helpedVerbलङ् (इम्पर्फेक्ट), परस्मैपद, 3 पुरुष, बहुवचनRole KriyāRoot अव्/अवेष् (Vedic: ‘to help, favor, be gracious’)
- गमन्
- went; cameVerbलङ् (इम्पर्फेक्ट), परस्मैपद, 3 पुरुष, बहुवचन (Vedic injunctive-like short form)Role KriyāRoot गम्
- इन्द्रः
- IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- सख्ये
- in friendship; in allianceNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot सख्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- वयः
- vigor; strength; vital powerNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (here: object with gam- ‘to attain’)Role KarmaRoot वयस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- च
- andIndeclinableसमुच्चय (conjunction)Root च
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (Vedic sandhi resolution): न घा | राजा इन्द्रः | आ दभत् नः | या नु स्वसारः कृणवन्त योनौ | आपः चित् अस्मै सुतुकाः अवेषन् | गमन् इन्द्रः सख्ये वयः च || प्रमुख-सन्धयः: (1) राजेन्द्रः = राजा + इन्द्रः (स्वर-सन्धि/संयोग)
- (2) दभन्नोः = दभत् + नः (त् + न → न्न; Vedic assimilation)
- (3) आपश्चित् = आपः + चित् (विसर्ग-लोप/परसवर्ण)
- (4) अवेषन्गमन् = अवेषन् + गमन् (न् + ग → ङ्ग)
- (5) सख्या = सख्ये (पाठभेद/संहिता-रूप; यहाँ सप्तमी एकवचन ‘सख्ये’ अर्थतः)
The meaning
Outer meaning
King Indra does not deceive us—he who makes the sister-powers one in their womb. Even the Waters have found glad ease for him. May Indra come to us with friendship and with the strength of life.
Inner meaning
Indra is invoked as reliable sovereign of illumination: he does not ‘betray’ the seeker when the call is true. He unites ‘sister-powers’ (svasārāḥ)—divided energies or faculties of the being—into a single harmonious source (yonau), restoring integral functioning. The Waters (āpaḥ) symbolize flowing clarity, purification, and the currents of consciousness; they become sutukāḥ—glad, at ease—when Indra’s light governs, meaning the emotional-vital nature relaxes into a happy flow under higher guidance. The prayer for sakhyā (friendship) asks for an intimate, abiding alliance with illumination, and for vayaḥ (vital strength) indicates a robust, life-capable spirituality.
Universal truth
True illumination integrates what is split in us—mind, life, and emotion—back into a single womb of harmony. Under that governance, the inner waters become clear and glad, and spiritual life gains strength without strain.
Themes
Indra’s reliability, Waters as allied powers, Unity and source, Friendship with the divine
The seer
Significance
A seer of integration: not only asking for victory but for unification of inner powers and a joyful flow of the waters—an Aurobindonian hallmark of integral transformation.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Rājā (King)
- Related deities
- Āpas (Waters), Varuṇa (cosmic order and waters, by association), Soma
Cosmic role
Unifier and ruler who harmonizes powers and governs the Waters; brings friendship and vigor to the human journey.
Inner power
Integrative illumination: makes the divided movements of mind-life one, and pacifies/clarifies the emotional currents.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra praise in Soma context with ancillary water symbolism; general petition for aid
न घा॒ राजेन्द्र॒ आ द॑भन्नो॒ या नु स्वसा॑रा कृ॒णव॑न्त॒ योनौ॑ । आप॑श्चिदस्मै सु॒तुका॑ अवेष॒न्गम॑न्न॒ इन्द्र॑: स॒ख्या वय॑श्च ॥
न । घ॒ । राजा॑ । इन्द्रः॑ । आ । द॒भ॒त् । नः॒ । या । नु । स्वसा॑रा । कृ॒णव॑न्त । योनौ॑ । आपः॑ । चि॒त् । अ॒स्मै॒ । सु॒ऽतुकाः॑ । अ॒वे॒ष॒न् । गम॑त् । नः॒ । इन्द्रः॑ । स॒ख्या । वयः॑ । च॒ ॥
na | gha | rājā | indraḥ | ā | dabhat | naḥ | yā | nu | svasārā | kṛṇavanta | yonau | āpaḥ | cit | asmai | su-tukāḥ | aveṣan | gamat | naḥ | indraḥ | sakhyā | vayaḥ | ca
44
4 × ~11 syllables
Assured and stabilizing; strong negation ‘na’ sets confidence; imagery then softens into flowing waters and friendship.
Instills trust and coherence; often felt as a ‘settling’ in the emotional body.
- राजा (rājā)
- Literal: king. Symbolic: sovereign organizing power of illumination
- आ दभत् (ā dabhat)
- Literal: deceive, injure, fail. Symbolic: spiritual power that does not abandon sincere aspiration
- स्वसारा (svasārā)
- Literal: sisters. Symbolic: kindred faculties/energies (powers of consciousness) that must be unified
- योनौ (yonau)
- Literal: womb, source. Symbolic: origin-point of consciousness where powers are harmonized
- आपः (āpaḥ)
- Literal: waters. Symbolic: currents of clarity, purification, emotional flow
- सुतुकाः (sutukāḥ)
- Literal: glad, at ease. Symbolic: vital-emotional nature becoming happily compliant under light
- सख्या (sakhyā)
- Literal: friendship. Symbolic: intimate alliance with the illumined Power
- वयः (vayaḥ)
- Literal: vigor, vital strength. Symbolic: robust life-force uplifted by illumination
Assurance and invitation: used to confirm Indra’s reliability and to request his friendly advent with vitality
When affirming Indra’s reliability and asking for his friendly presence and life-strength
Recitation alongside offerings; may accompany water-related purifications in broader rite symbolism
For emotional regulation: chant to unify conflicting impulses and invite a calm, glad inner flow.
√dabh ‘injure/deceive’ marks the negation of divine betrayal. yoni is ‘source/womb’, a cosmological image: sister-powers (svásārāḥ) unify in one origin—psychologically, divided energies are harmonized in a single matrix of consciousness. √gam (gamat) is PIE *gʷem- ‘go/come’ (Latin venīre via different development; English ‘come’ from *gʷem-). sakhyā ‘friendship’ from sakhi ‘friend’ indicates intimate alliance between human and god.
unity of powers in a single source, trust in divine kingship (rājā), friendship (sakhyā) as spiritual alliance
Indra’s kingship maintains right order by harmonizing powers in their source.
Reliability (non-deception) is a mark of satya in the divine working—truth that supports the seeker.
Return to the womb/source where powers are one; re-creation of the being through integration.
Integral/psychological Veda: ‘sisters in the womb’ as synthesis of faculties.
Waters = emotional and vital currents; their ‘glad ease’ indicates purification without repression, flow without turbulence.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Indra the King as non-deceiver, the harmonizer who makes ‘sister’ powers cohere in one womb/source; even the Waters settle gladly with him. Psychologically, it is the assurance that the sovereign force integrates divided energies into a unified origin, producing ease and flow, and thus can be trusted as an ally.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- rājā from PIE *h₃rēǵ-. √gam from PIE *gʷem-. ‘sister’ (svasṛ-) corresponds to PIE *swésōr (Latin soror, English sister), a strong Indo-European cognate set, highlighting inherited kinship metaphors for cosmic powers.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi asserts faith (Indra does not deceive us) and requests a relationship of sakhyā—friendship rather than mere transaction. The devatā is asked to come with vayaḥ, i.e., the strengthening of life-energy, indicating the rishi seeks an enduring inner alliance and harmonization.
Unify divided parts of the psyche at their source; invite a friendly governing light.
Maṇipūra (Indra’s force/organization) harmonized with Svādhiṣṭhāna (waters/emotions)
Slow exhale emphasis (inhale 4, exhale 8) to calm the ‘waters’; then normal breathing while resting in a unified center.
Integrated, emotionally clear, quietly strong.
Bring two conflicting impulses (‘sisters’) to awareness. On ‘yonau’, imagine them returning to one center in the navel/heart region. Let emotions flow like clear water under a sun of quiet power; conclude by feeling Indra as an inner friend rather than a distant force.
Rigvedic tri-svara; exact accents require svara-marked text.
Give firm clarity to ‘na ghā rājendra’ (confidence), then soften and flow on ‘āpaś cid…’ to mirror waters.
rājendra (rā-jendra; long ā), svasārā (long ā; retroflex not used here), kṛṇavanta (ṛ vowel; clear ṇ), yonau (yo-nau; diphthong au), āpaś (ś palatal; final ‘ś’ clear), sutukāḥ (tu-kāḥ; long ā; visarga ḥ)
Steady, reassuring; slightly more fluid on the water phrase.
11
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.
