Rig Veda 1.51.5: Mandala 1, Sukta 51, Mantra 5
Sukta 1.51
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Raudra (fury)
त्वं मायाभिरप मायिनोऽधमः स्वधाभिर्ये अधि शुप्तावजुह्वत । त्वं पिप्रोर्नृमणः प्रारुजः पुरः प्र ऋजिश्वानं दस्युहत्येष्वाविथ ॥
tvaṃ māyābhir apa māyino ’dhamaḥ svadhābhir ye adhi śuptāv ajuhvata | tvaṃ pipror nṛmaṇaḥ prārujaḥ puraḥ pra ṛjiśvānaṃ dasyu-hatyeṣv āvitha ||
ด้วยฤทธิ์เดชแห่งมายา (māyā) ของพระองค์ พระองค์ทรงเหวี่ยงล้มพวกหลอกลวง—ผู้ต่ำต้อยที่สุด ผู้ซึ่งด้วยสวธา (svadhā) อันตามใจตน เรียกหา “นิทรา” (Nidrā) และบูชายัญ. โอ้ผู้ทรงพลังแห่งความเป็นบุรุษ พระองค์ทรงผ่าเปิดป้อมปราการอันแข็งกล้าของปิปรุ (Pipru); และในการสังหารพวกดัสยุ (dasyu) พระองค์ทรงเกื้อหนุนฤชิศวานะ (Ṛjiśvāna) ให้ฝ่าความมืดทึบ เปิดทางออกมา.
Word by Word
- त्वम्
- youPronounपुंलिङ्ग/स्त्रीलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- मायाभिः
- by (your) powers/artsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया; बहुवचनRole करणRoot माया (प्रातिपदिक)
- अप
- away, offIndeclinableअव्ययRoot अप (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- मायिनः
- the crafty/possessors of magicAdjective (substantivized)पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot मायिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- अधमः
- lowest (one)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृ (विशेषणम्) / संबोधन-भावःRoot अधम (प्रातिपदिक)
- स्वधाभिः
- by their own powers/impulses (svadhā)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया; बहुवचनRole करणRoot स्वधा (प्रातिपदिक)
- ये
- whoRelative pronounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अधि
- upon, overIndeclinableअव्ययRole अधिकरण (सूचक) / उपसर्गRoot अधि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- शुप्तौ
- in concealment/cover (in hiding)Noun (locative) / Adjectival nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी; एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot शुप्ति/शुप्त (प्रातिपदिक; ‘शुप्त’ = hidden/covered; loc. sg.)
- अजुह्वत
- they offered/sacrificedVerbलङ् (इम्पर्फेक्ट); परस्मैपद; 3 पुरुष; बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot हु (धातु)
- त्वम्
- youPronounप्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- पिप्रोः
- of Pipru (a foe/dasyu)Proper nounपुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी; एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root पिप्रु (प्रातिपदिक; दस्यु-नाम)
- नृमणः
- manly might/strengthNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot नृमण (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्र
- forth, forwardIndeclinableअव्ययRoot प्र (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- अरुजः
- you broke/shatteredVerbलङ् (इम्पर्फेक्ट); परस्मैपद; 2 पुरुष; एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot रुज् (धातु)
- पुरः
- fortressesNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot पुर्/पुर (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्र
- forthIndeclinableअव्ययRoot प्र (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- ऋजिश्वानम्
- R̥jiśvan (a foe)Proper nounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot ऋजिश्वान् (प्रातिपदिक; दस्यु-नाम)
- दस्युहत्येषु
- in the slayings of the DasyusNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी; बहुवचनRole अधिकरणRoot दस्युहत्य (प्रातिपदिक; ‘slaying of Dasyus’)
- आविथ
- you have helped/protectedVerbलिट् (परफेक्ट; वैदिक-रूप); परस्मैपद; 2 पुरुष; एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot अव् (धातु; ‘to help/protect’) + आ (उपसर्ग)
Sandhi Notes
- पाठ-समाधान (sandhi resolution): मायिनोऽधमः = मायिनः + अधमः (ओऽ = अः + अ-)
- शुप्ता॒वजुह्वत = शुप्तौ + अजुह्वत (औ + अ → आव्)
- दस्युहत्ये॑ष्वाविथ = दस्युहत्येषु + आविथ (उ + आ → वा). अन्यत्र ‘प्र’ उपसर्ग/अव्यय रूपेण पृथक् गृहीतम्।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra, by his powers, cast down the deceivers who by their own will invoke Sleep. He broke the strongholds of Pipru and aided Ṛjiśvāna in the slaying of the dasyus.
Inner meaning
Indra uses his māyāḥ—not illusion but divine capacities of effective formation—to overthrow the māyins (deceptive forces) who, by self-will (svadhā), call in Sleep (śupti): the tamasic pull into unconsciousness and avoidance. He breaks open the fortified patterns (puraḥ) of Pipru—an inner figure of obstructive, self-enclosed ego-formation. He supports Ṛjiśvāna (the straight-moving will) in dasyu-hatya: the destruction of dark, disorderly impulses that steal the light. The verse is a psychology of vigilance: refusing the trance of inertia, smashing entrenched habits, and aligning will with luminous movement.
Universal truth
Spiritual life demands discernment against self-deception and the seduction of inertia. When truth-will is supported, entrenched formations of ignorance can be broken and the obscuring forces lose their hold.
Themes
Breaking forts, Defeating deceivers, Aid in inner battle, Anti-dasyu motif
The seer
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Lineage
- Viśvāmitra (Gāthina lineage)
- Other hymns
- RV 1.33 (Indra and the forts), RV 1.52 (battle imagery for inner victory)
Family tradition
A seer of disciplined force: his Indra hymns repeatedly target deception, inertia, and entrenched ‘forts’ in the path of illumination.
Significance
Represents the kṣatriya-yogi temperament: relentless conquest of tamas and falsehood so truth-force can act.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- purandara (fort-breaker; explicit in sense), vṛtrahan (type of act), nṛmaṇaḥ (force of manhood)
- Related deities
- Agni (wakeful flame), Soma (delight that prevents tamasic fall), Maruts (storm-force)
Cosmic role
Champion of the gods against forces of darkness and deception; breaker of forts; protector of the seers’ progress.
Inner power
Awakening force that dispels tamas and pierces self-deception; supports straight will.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra protection/victory recitations; Soma context where Indra is strengthened against ‘enemies’
त्वं मा॒याभि॒रप॑ मा॒यिनो॑ऽधमः स्व॒धाभि॒र्ये अधि॒ शुप्ता॒वजु॑ह्वत । त्वं पिप्रो॑र्नृमण॒: प्रारु॑ज॒: पुर॒: प्र ऋ॒जिश्वा॑नं दस्यु॒हत्ये॑ष्वाविथ ॥
त्वम् । मा॒याभिः॑ । अप॑ । मा॒यिनः॑ । अ॒ध॒मः॒ । स्व॒धाभिः॑ । ये । अधि॑ । शुप्तौ॑ । अजु॑ह्वत । त्वम् । पिप्रोः॑ । नृ॒ऽम॒नः॒ । प्र । अ॒रु॒जः॒ । पुरः॑ । प्र । ऋ॒जिश्चा॑नम् । द॒स्यु॒ऽहत्ये॑षु । आ॒वि॒थ॒ ॥
tvam | māyābhiḥ | apa | māyinaḥ | adhamaḥ | svadhābhiḥ | ye | adhi | śuptau | ajuhvata | tvam | piproḥ | nṛ-manaḥ | pra | arujaḥ | puraḥ | pra | ṛjiścānam | dasyu-hatyeṣu | āvitha
44
4 × ~11
Hard-hitting, percussive; many dental/retroflex clusters echo the breaking of forts.
Energizes vigilance; cuts through dullness; useful when mind is drifting into passivity.
- māyābhīḥ
- Literal: by powers/māyās. Symbolic: divine formative capacities; skill in effective action of consciousness
- māyinaḥ
- Literal: deceivers, illusionists. Symbolic: forces of falsehood, rationalization, and egoic distortion
- svadhā
- Literal: own law, self-power. Symbolic: self-will of the lower nature; automatic habit-energy
- śupti/śuptau
- Literal: sleep. Symbolic: tamas, unconsciousness, avoidance of inner work
- puraḥ
- Literal: forts, strongholds. Symbolic: fixed defensive formations of ego and ignorance
- Pipru
- Literal: name of an enemy. Symbolic: a concentrated obstructive formation; hardened knot of habit/falsehood
- Ṛjiśvāna
- Literal: straight-moving one. Symbolic: the will that moves in straight line of ṛta; rectitude of effort
- dasyu-hatya
- Literal: slaying of dasyus. Symbolic: overcoming chaotic, light-stealing impulses and obscurities
Indra invoked as destroyer of hostile powers and breaker of forts; suitable for Soma praise seeking victory over inner/outer adversities
Before or during offerings seeking protection from hostile forces; also in royal/warrior contexts historically
Invoking Indra to remove hostile influences and secure the rite’s success
Chant as an ‘anti-procrastination/anti-tamas’ mantra; use before meditation when sleepy or mentally evasive.
māyā from √mā ‘measure, form’ → ‘power of formation’; in RV it can be divine skill or demonic deception depending on agent. svadhā (sva- ‘self’ + √dhā ‘place’) ‘self-law/one’s own placing’; contrasted with ṛta. śupta from √svap ‘sleep’ (PIE *swep-; cf. Latin sopor, English sleep). puraḥ ‘forts’ (possibly from √pṛ ‘fill/fortify’; lexical RV ‘stronghold’). dasyu ‘hostile/robber’; in inner reading: forces that deny the law (avratāḥ).
Māyā as formative power (true vs. false formation), Tamas/sleep as obscuration (śupta), Alignment vs. misalignment with ṛta (svadhā vs. ṛta)
Ṛjiśvāna symbolizes straight ṛta-movement supported by Indra against anṛta forces.
Victory over māyins restores truthful perception and intention.
Right formation (māyā as power) replaces false formation (deception).
Aurobindonian: māyā here is power of consciousness, not cosmic illusion; battle is psychological transformation.
night (symbolically)
Night/sleep = lapse into unconsciousness; forts = hardened structures in the nature; breaking = awakening and liberation.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Indra as breaker of forts and overthrower of māyinaḥ (deceptive formers), aiding the heroic ally Ṛjiśvāna against dasyu powers—mythic grammar of ‘victory over false formation and inertia’.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- śupta ‘sleep’ from √svap reflects PIE *swep- (sleep), preserving an ancient metaphor where ‘sleep’ equals obscuration. The root √mā ‘measure/form’ underlies māyā, showing a shared Indo-European tendency to derive ‘art/skill’ and ‘illusion’ from ‘measuring/forming’.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi seeks Indra’s intervention against inner ‘sleep-invoking’ tendencies: misdirected self-will (svadhā) that offers to inertia. Indra’s gift is the breaking of fixed structures (puraḥ) and the strengthening of straight-forward striving (Ṛjiśvāna).
Detect the ‘call to sleep’ (avoidance) and invoke Indra’s wakeful force to break it.
maṇipūra (will/fire)
Brisk, energizing breathing for 1–2 minutes (or simple fast walking breaths), then chant once slowly to seal the shift into wakefulness.
From tamasic drift to alert, decisive will.
Before chanting, name (silently) one self-deception. Chant with firm clarity; after, take one concrete truthful action immediately (a small ‘fort’ broken today).
Vedic three-tone accents; keep crisp articulation on consonant clusters to preserve meter and force.
Punch the negatives: ‘apa māyinaḥ’; pause slightly after ‘śuptāv’ to mark the turning from sleep to action.
māyābhir: long ā; bhir not ‘beer’, svadhābhir: aspirated dh; long ā, śuptāv: retroflex ṣ; long āv (sandhi), dasyuhatyeṣu: keep y-h cluster clean; do not drop ‘h’
Crisp, wakeful, slightly stern; avoid languor.
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