Rig Veda 1.65.5: Mandala 1, Sukta 65, Mantra 5
Sukta 1.65
- Rishi
- Gautama Rāhūgaṇa
- Devata
- Agni, though the verse is a chain of similes applicable to the praised divine power
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
पुष्टिर्न रण्वा क्षितिर्न पृथ्वी गिरिर्न भुज्म क्षोदो न शम्भु ॥
puṣṭír na raṇvā́ kṣitír na pṛthvī́ girír na bhújma kṣódo na śambhú ||
เขาเป็นดุจโภชนาการที่ชื่นใจ ดุจฐานรากกว้างใหญ่ประหนึ่งแผ่นดิน; ดุจมวลภูผา และดุจกระแสน้ำเชี่ยวที่นำความเกื้อกูล—ดังนี้พลังทิพย์ตั้งมั่น ค้ำจุนและอำนวยพร.
Word by Word
- पुष्टिः
- nourishment; prosperityNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (उपमान-रूपेण) / विशेष्यस्य विधेयRoot पुष्टि- (√पुष् ‘to thrive, nourish’)
- न
- like; asIndeclinableनिपात (उपमा-सूचक ‘like/as’)Root न
- रण्वा
- delightful; gladdeningAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (विशेषण-रूपेण)Role कर्तृ (उपमान) / विशेषणRoot रण्व-
- क्षितिḥ
- dwelling-place; earth; abodeNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (उपमान-रूपेण) / विशेष्यस्य विधेयRoot क्षिति-
- न
- like; asIndeclinableनिपात (उपमा-सूचक)Root न
- पृथ्वी
- the broad earthNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (उपमान) / विशेष्यस्य विधेयRoot पृथ्वी-
- गिरिः
- mountainNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (उपमान-रूपेण) / विशेष्यस्य विधेयRoot गिरि-
- न
- like; asIndeclinableनिपात (उपमा-सूचक)Root न
- भुज्म
- strength; mightNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग (वैदिक), प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (उपमान) / विशेष्यस्य विधेयRoot भुज्मन्-/भुज्म- (प्रा. ‘strength, might’; cf. √भुज् ‘to bend/enjoy/possess’)
- क्षोदः
- impulse; driving force; crushing powerNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (उपमान-रूपेण) / विशेष्यस्य विधेयRoot क्षोद- (√क्षुद्/क्षोद् ‘to pound, crush, impel’)
- न
- like; asIndeclinableनिपात (उपमा-सूचक)Root न
- शम्भुः
- benefactor; bringer of welfareNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (उपमान) / विशेष्यस्य विधेयRoot शम्भु- (शम् ‘welfare’ + भू ‘to be’)
Sandhi Notes
- ‘न’ सर्वत्र उपमा-निपातः (न = ‘इव’)
The meaning
Outer meaning
He is like delightful nourishment, like broad earth as a foundation, like a mountain’s mass, like a rushing stream that brings well-being.
Inner meaning
Agni, the divine will in us, becomes the very substance of support: he feeds the nature (puṣṭi), gives a wide base (kṣiti/pṛthvī), stands as steadfast strength (giri), and moves as a forceful current that heals and benefits (kṣodaḥ śambhu). The verse maps the mature psychic fire: at once stable and dynamic—grounded power and forward flow.
Universal truth
True spiritual force is not merely intense; it is nourishing, stable, strong, and beneficent—supporting life while transforming it.
Themes
Simile chain, Support and nourishment, Wideness, Peaceful beneficence
The seer
- Rishi
- Gautama Rāhūgaṇa
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 1.65, RV 1.66, RV 1.67, RV 1.68, RV 1.69, RV 1.70, RV 1.71, RV 1.72, RV 1.73
Family tradition
Agni hymns presenting the inner fire as both support (earth/mountain) and movement (stream), integrating stability with power.
Significance
The seer describes the balanced siddhi of Agni: not only aspiration but a beneficent foundation for the whole being.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- raṇva (delightful, implied via simile), śambhu (beneficent, implied), dhṛtavrata (firm in law, implied by stability images)
- Related deities
- Pṛthivī (earth principle), Parvata (mountain principle), Sarasvatī/Sindhu (flowing power, thematic)
Cosmic role
Sustainer and transformer: supports worlds like earth/mountain and moves energies like a stream.
Inner power
Integrated force: nourishing warmth, wide stability, condensed strength, and dynamic purification.
In ritual
Where it is used
Agni praise describing qualities of the fire as support of the rite
पु॒ष्टिर्न र॒ण्वा क्षि॒तिर्न पृ॒थ्वी गि॒रिर्न भुज्म॒ क्षोदो॒ न श॒म्भु ॥
पु॒ष्टिः । न । र॒ण्वा । क्षि॒तिः । न । पृ॒थ्वी । गि॒रिः । न । भुज्म॑ । क्षोदः॑ । न । श॒म्ऽभु ॥
puṣṭiḥ | na | raṇvā | kṣitiḥ | na | pṛthvī | giriḥ | na | bhujma | kṣodaḥ | na | śam-bhu
44
4 pādas; compact simile-chain typical of triṣṭubh praise
Stacked, weighty comparisons; builds solidity, then releases into flow at the end.
Grounds the listener; evokes confidence and benevolence—good for stabilizing practice.
- पुष्टिः (puṣṭiḥ)
- Literal: nourishment, thriving. Symbolic: inner sustenance; growth-force that enriches the being
- रण्वा (raṇvā)
- Literal: delightful, charming. Symbolic: joyful energy of progress; sweetness of right force
- क्षितिः / पृथ्वी (kṣitiḥ / pṛthvī)
- Literal: foundation / earth, broadness. Symbolic: stable base of consciousness; wideness needed for descent of power
- गिरिः (giriḥ)
- Literal: mountain. Symbolic: steadfast concentration; unshakable inner strength
- भुज्म (bhujma)
- Literal: massive, strong, compact. Symbolic: condensed potency; gathered force not dissipated
- क्षोदः (kṣodaḥ)
- Literal: rush, surge, impetuous flow. Symbolic: dynamic transformative current in life-energy
- शम्भु (śambhu)
- Literal: well-being, beneficent. Symbolic: healing auspiciousness of the divine will when purified
Eulogistic characterization used in praise to stabilize the invoked power in the rite; in inner practice, establishes the deity as nourishment, wideness, strength, and beneficence within the practitioner.
During stotra to affirm Agni’s sustaining and auspicious power for the sacrificer.
Offerings with prayers for prosperity, stability, and well-being; establishing the ‘earth’ of the rite.
Recite when seeking steadiness and vitality—before work, service, or long-term discipline; cultivate ‘stable power’ rather than strain.
puṣṭi- from √puṣ ‘to thrive, prosper’ → growth/nourishment. pṛthvī ‘the wide’ from √pṛth ‘to broaden’ grounds wideness symbolism. śam-bhu ‘well-being-producing’ from śam ‘peace, welfare’ + √bhū ‘become’ → ‘that which becomes welfare’. bhujma is philologically difficult (rare Vedic); often taken as ‘strong/compact’ in context; inner reading keeps the semantic field ‘supportive mass/strength’ without over-specifying.
puṣṭi (growth), śam (peace/welfare), support and wideness as conditions for ṛta-life
Agni’s stability mirrors ṛta’s supporting order; beneficence is the fruit of right alignment.
Strength that is śambhu suggests satya’s healing—truth-force that does not harm but integrates.
The divine force becomes the world’s supports (earth/mountain) and its currents (stream).
Vedic integralism—spirit as both foundation and dynamic power in life.
Earth/mountain = grounded concentration and endurance; stream = living force of transformation; nourishment = inner increase and joy.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The deity as cosmic support: compared to nourishment, earth, mountain, and rushing beneficent force. Psychologically it maps the divine presence as the inner conditions of growth—joyful increase, wide foundation, steadfast strength, and a cleansing surge that yields peace.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The ‘earth as the wide one’ (pṛthvī) reflects an inherited epithet-type found across IE traditions where earth is defined by breadth/expanse. The use of stacked similes is also a shared archaic poetic technique in IE praise diction.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi builds a many-sided identification so the invoked power can be recognized in multiple registers of experience—growth, stability, wideness, and welfare. This is reciprocal cognition: by naming these qualities, the seeker can host them inwardly as realizable states.
Stabilize in the heart-flame and feel it as support (earth/mountain) and as beneficent flow (stream) through the nerves and actions.
Mūlādhāra (stability) and Anāhata (warmth/beneficence)
Grounding breath: slow inhale to navel, exhale to pelvic floor awareness; then feel warmth rising to heart.
Stable, embodied serenity with quiet strength.
If practice becomes restless, invoke ‘kṣiti/pṛthvī’ (widen the base). If it becomes inert, invoke ‘kṣodaḥ’ (let the current move)—always under śambhu (harmless beneficence).
Precise svara requires notation; chant with a steady, grounded contour, giving each simile clear separation.
Mark the simile pivots with small pauses: puṣṭir na… kṣitir na… girir na… kṣodo na…; let śambhu conclude softly but firmly.
puṣṭiḥ: retroflex ṣṭ cluster; crisp iḥ, raṇvā: retroflex ṇ; long ā, kṣitiḥ: kṣ cluster clean (not ‘kiti’), pṛthvī: vocalic ṛ; aspirated th; long ī, giriḥ: short i; visarga ḥ, kṣodaḥ: long ō; dental d, śambhu: ś palatal; mbh aspirated
Low, stable, resonant; like a mantra for grounding.
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