Rig Veda 1.5.9: Mandala 1, Sukta 5, Mantra 9
Sukta 1.5
- Rishi
- Madhucchandas Vaiśvāmitra
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
अक्षितोतिः सनेदिमं वाजमिन्द्रः सहस्रिणम् । यस्मिन्विश्वानि पौंस्या ॥
ákṣitotiḥ saned imáṃ vā́jam índraḥ sahasríṇam | yásmin víśvāni paúṃsyā ||
โอ้พระอินทระ ผู้มีพลังคุ้มครองอันไม่เสื่อมสลาย ขอพระองค์ทรงชนะเพื่อเราซึ่งความบริบูรณ์แห่งพลังนี้—อุดมด้วยพลังนับพัน—ซึ่งในนั้นบรรดากำลังอันองอาจทั้งปวงได้ถูกรวบรวมไว้.
Word by Word
- अक्षि॑त-ऊतिः
- (he) of unfailing help / unfailing aidNoun (compound)स्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा एकवचनम् (बहुव्रीहिः/कर्मधारय-समासः: ‘अक्षिता ऊतिः’)Role कर्तृ (स्तुत्य/वर्ण्य-विषयः; इन्द्रस्य विशेषणरूपेण)Root अक्षि॑त (√क्षि ‘क्षय’ + निपातित/नञ्-प्रत्यय ‘अ-’), ऊतिः (√अव्/ऊ ‘रक्षणे, सहाय्ये’ → ऊति-)
- सनेद्
- may he win / may he obtainVerbविधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपदम्, 3 एकवचनम्Role क्रिया (मुख्यक्रिया)Root √सन् (सम्भजने/लाभे ‘to win, obtain’)
- इमम्
- thisPronounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वाजम्
- prize / strength / bootyNounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role कर्म (इमम् वाजम्)Root वाज (प्रातिपदिक: ‘प्राइज, strength, food, victory’)
- इन्द्रः
- IndraNoun (proper)पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot इन्द्र (देवनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सहस्रिणम्
- thousandfold / possessing a thousandAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया एकवचनम् (वाजम् इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role कर्म (वाजस्य विशेषणम्)Root सहस्रिन् (सहस्र + इन्-प्रत्यय ‘possessing a thousand’)
- यस्मिन्
- in whom / in whichPronounपुंलिङ्गः/नपुंसकलिङ्गः, सप्तमी एकवचनम्Role अधिकरणRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- विश्वानि
- allAdjective (substantivized)नपुंसकलिङ्गः, प्रथमा/द्वितीया बहुवचनम्Role कर्तृ (अन्तर्भूत-क्रियायाः: ‘(are)’) / समासार्थे विषयःRoot विश्व (प्रातिपदिक ‘all’)
- पौंस्या
- manly powers / strengthsNoun (abstract)नपुंसकलिङ्गः, प्रथमा/द्वितीया बहुवचनम्Role कर्तृ (विश्वानि पौंस्या = ‘all manly powers’)Root पौंस्य (पुंस् ‘man’ → पौंस्य ‘manly power/virility’)
Sandhi Notes
- अक्षि॑तोतिः = अक्षि॑त-ऊतिः (स्वर-सन्धिः: अ + ऊ → ओ; पदे ‘अक्षि॑तोतिः’)
- सनेदि॒मं = सनेद् + इमम् (व्यञ्जन-सन्धिः: द् + इ → दि)
- यस्मि॒न्विश्वा॑नि = यस्मिन् + विश्वानि (नकार-सन्धिः/अनुस्वार-प्रवृत्तिः: -न् + व- → -न्व-)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra of undecaying protection may win for us this abundant prize/power rich in a thousand, in which all strengths are present.
Inner meaning
Indra’s guardianship (akṣitotiḥ) is the un-wasting protection of awakened intelligence. The sought vāja is not mere food or victory but plenitude of soul-power—an integrated energetic capacity ‘thousandfold’ (sahasriṇam) where all paumsyā—virile strengths of the being (courage, initiative, endurance, right aggression against darkness)—are gathered and harmonized.
Universal truth
True protection is the growth of integrated inner power; when intelligence is awake and steadfast, energy becomes abundant and coherent.
Themes
Indra-boon, victorious force (vāja), imperishable protection, integration of powers
The seer
- Rishi
- Madhucchandas Vaiśvāmitra
- Lineage
- Vaiśvāmitra
- Other hymns
- RV 1.5.6, RV 1.5.7, RV 1.5.8, RV 1.5.10
Family tradition
Early Indra hymns often ask for vāja (power/prize) as the spiritual gain of the sacrifice.
Significance
The seer frames ‘winning’ as inner acquisition—power gathered into a single plenitude rather than scattered impulses.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Indra, Akṣitoti (imperishable protector—by attribute), Sahasrī (thousand-powered—by gift)
- Related deities
- Maruts (energies), Agni, Soma
Cosmic role
Protector and winner of the prize; gathers powers for the gods’ order.
Inner power
Unfailing discernment that protects the being and collects energies into a victorious fullness.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra invocation for vāja in Soma and other śrauta offerings.
अक्षि॑तोतिः सनेदि॒मं वाज॒मिन्द्र॑: सह॒स्रिण॑म् । यस्मि॒न्विश्वा॑नि॒ पौंस्या॑ ॥
अक्षि॑तऽऊतिः । स॒ने॒त् । इ॒मम् । वाज॑म् । इन्द्रः॑ । स॒ह॒स्रिण॑म् । यस्मि॑न् । विश्वा॑नि । पौंस्या॑ ॥
akṣita-ūtiḥ | sanet | imam | vājam | indraḥ | sahasriṇam | yasmin | viśvāni | paiṃsyā
24
3 pādas × 8 syllables
Forward-driving petition; the second pāda expands with ‘sahasriṇam’ giving a sense of largeness.
Builds confidence and a sense of guarded strength; good for energizing without agitation.
- akṣita-ūtiḥ
- Literal: of imperishable help/protection. Symbolic: Steady safeguarding presence of higher intelligence; protection that does not diminish
- sanet
- Literal: may win/obtain. Symbolic: Achievement through inner conquest and right effort
- vājam
- Literal: prize, strength, plenitude. Symbolic: Substance of power—effective capacity for realization
- sahasriṇam
- Literal: thousandfold, rich in a thousand. Symbolic: Vast multiplicity of energies; inexhaustible force
- pauṃsyā
- Literal: manly powers/virilities. Symbolic: Soul-virility: courage, initiative, heroic force against resistance
Indra-invocation in Soma contexts (general Śrauta usage: Indra as principal drinker of Soma; employed in offerings/recitations associated with Soma pressing such as Agniṣṭoma sequences)
When seeking victory, strength, and protection; often adjacent to Soma praise and Indra calls.
Recitation with intent of ‘winning’ the vāja; may accompany offering and communal stotra.
For resilience: chant before challenging tasks to invoke imperishable protection and integrated strength.
akṣita-ūtiḥ: akṣita ‘not wasted, undecaying’ (a- + √kṣi ‘to diminish, perish’) + ūti ‘help, aid, protection’ (from √av/√ū ‘to help, favor’ in Vedic usage). sanet: optative/precative sense from √san ‘to gain, win, obtain’, expressing a wish (‘may he win’). vāja: Vedic polyvalent term—‘prize’ and ‘food’ outwardly, but also ‘strength, vigor, plenitude of effective force’; linked to the semantic field of impulsion and victorious energizing. sahasriṇam: sahasra ‘thousand’ + -in possessive, ‘having a thousand (powers)’. paúṃsyā: from puṃs ‘man’ → ‘manliness, virile/heroic power’; in inner sense, the soul’s capacities for courageous action and steadfast force under Indra.
Rita (right order sustained by victorious divine force), Satyam/Ritam/Bṛhat (truth-order and largeness implied by ‘all powers’ gathered in vāja), inner conquest over obstruction (Indra as remover of limits)
Indra’s protection preserves Ṛta against decay and disorder; vāja is power aligned to right action.
Imperishable protection implies truth-based stability rather than egoic defense.
Gathering of dispersed powers into a single plenitude (integration).
Integral-yogic psychology: collect energies under illumined governance.
A stable protective field of awareness within which energies multiply and unify.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘winning of vāja’ by Indra: a recurrent Indra-mythologem where the god secures the prize/force that enables victory and fullness. In inner terms, it is the acquisition of a concentrated, thousand-powered energy-state in which the human being’s dispersed capacities (‘all paúṃsyā’) are gathered and made effective under the imperishable protection (akṣita-ūti).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Key lexemes sit in inherited Indo-European semantic domains: √san ‘to gain/attain’ aligns with the archaic poetic theme of ‘winning’ boons/prizes by divine favor; vāja belongs to an old Indo-Iranian register of ‘prize/strength’ (cf. Vedic vāja-, Avestan vāza-/vājah- related notions of strength/impulsion in the broader tradition). Indra’s profile parallels the PIE storm/warrior complex (cognate mythic function rather than direct lexical cognacy): a victorious power who secures life-force and releases capacities.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi’s speech positions Indra as an active mediator of attainment: not merely praised, but requested to ‘win’ (sanet) on behalf of the human seeker. The reciprocity is implicit—invocation and offering align the human will with Indra’s imperishable protection, and Indra responds by consolidating and amplifying the seeker’s faculties (‘all manly powers’) into a unified victorious energy (vāja).
Invoke a protective clarity and ask for integrated strength (vāja) rather than scattered motivation.
maṇipūra (power integration) under guidance of ājñā (Indra)
Inhale on ‘akṣitotiḥ’, feel a protective sheath; exhale on ‘saned imaṃ vājam’, feel strength consolidate at navel; rest on ‘yasmin…’ sensing totality.
Steady, protected dynamism.
After chanting, visualize energies gathering into one calm force; commit to one right action (Ṛta-aligned) immediately.
Keep the first compound ‘akṣitotiḥ’ clean and steady; avoid rushing the compound accents.
Slight emphasis on ‘indraḥ’ and ‘sahasriṇam’; let the final pāda broaden gently.
akṣita: ‘kṣ’ cluster crisp, ūtiḥ: long ū; final ḥ light, sanet: dental n; short e, vājam: long ā, sahasriṇam: retroflex ṇ; keep syllables even, pauṃsyā: nasalized ‘auṃ’; palatal ‘sy’
Steady, protective, resonant in chest.
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