Rig Veda 1.70.4: Mandala 1, Sukta 70, Mantra 4
Sukta 1.70
- Rishi
- Madhucchandas Vaiśvāmitra
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
अद्रौ चिदस्मा अन्तर्दुरोणे विशां न विश्वो अमृतः स्वाधीः ॥
ádrau cid asmai antár duroṇé viśā́ṃ na víśvo amṛ́taḥ svādhī́ḥ ॥
แม้ในศิลาก็ยังมีเขาอยู่ภายในเรือน; ดุจผู้หนึ่งอันเป็นสากลท่ามกลางหมู่ชน—ผู้ไม่ตาย ผู้มีความมุ่งตรงอันสมบูรณ์ (svādhī́) สถิตและกระทำการ.
Word by Word
- अद्रौ
- in/at the rock, on the mountainNounपुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचन (वैदिक रूप: अद्रौ = अद्रौ/अद्रौ ‘अद्रौ’)Role अधिकारणRoot अद्रि- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘पर्वत/शिला’)
- चित्
- even, indeedIndeclinableअव्ययRoot चित् (अव्यय; emphatic particle)
- अस्मै
- to himPronounचतुर्थी एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अन्तः
- within, insideIndeclinableअव्ययRoot अन्तः (अव्यय/उपसर्गार्थक; ‘भीतर’)
- दुरोणे
- in the house/dwellingNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचनRole अधिकारणRoot दुरोण- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘गृह/आवास/गृहान्तः’)
- विशाम्
- of the clans/peoplesNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी बहुवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot विश्- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘जन/कुल/प्रजा’)
- न
- like, asIndeclinableअव्ययRoot न (अव्यय; उपमा/सदृशार्थ)
- विश्वः
- all, universalAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनRole कर्तृ (वर्ण्य/विशेष्य-सम्बन्ध) अथवा विशेषणRoot विश्व- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘सर्व’)
- अमृतः
- the immortal (one)Noun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनRole कर्तृ (निहित क्रियापदस्य) / विधेयRoot अमृत- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘अमर/अमृतस्वरूप’)
- स्वाधीः
- self-empowered, of good masteryAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन (वैदिक दीर्घ-ईः अंत)Role कर्तृ (अमृतः इत्यस्य विशेषण) / विधेयRoot स्वाधी- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘स्वाधि/स्वाधीन; self-empowered, of good governance/skill’)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution: चिदस्मा → चित् + अस्मै (final -t before vowel; Vedic orthography)
- अन्तर्दुरोणे → अन्तः + दुरोणे (visarga before voiced dental d- becomes r: अन्तः + द- → अन्तर्-)
- विश्वो अमृतः → विश्वः + अमृतः (final -ḥ before vowel often written -o in saṃhitā: visarga sandhi)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Even in the stone he is within the dwelling; universal among the peoples, the immortal, of perfect self-disposition, he dwells and acts.
Inner meaning
Agni is present even in the hardest inconscience (‘stone’): within the closed house of the being (antar duroṇe) he is concealed. As the universal fire in all communities of our inner powers (viśāṃ na viśvaḥ), he is immortal consciousness with right self-guidance (svādhīḥ). This declares the possibility of awakening in the densest parts of nature.
Universal truth
No condition is too inert for transformation: the divine consciousness is already involved in the hardest materiality, awaiting discovery and right governance from within.
Themes
hidden fire, universality, immortality, awakening in matter
The seer
- Rishi
- Madhucchandas Vaiśvāmitra
- Lineage
- Vaiśvāmitra
- Other hymns
- RV 1.70, RV 1.65, RV 3.1
Family tradition
Vision of Agni as hidden in matter and universal in humanity—key Vaiśvāmitra theme of inner conquest over inertia.
Significance
The seer insists on Agni’s immanence even in ‘stone’: a foundation for integral yoga—spirit not fleeing matter but awakening within it.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- amṛta (immortal), viśva (universal), svādhī/suādhī (right-guided), gṛhapati (lord of the house—implied by ‘duroṇa’)
- Related deities
- Pṛthivī (earth), Indra (breaker of obstruction), Bṛhaspati (opener of the closed)
Cosmic role
Indwelling fire in earth and beings; universal mediator who maintains continuity of consciousness through change.
Inner power
Power of awakening in inertia; inner governance that replaces mechanical habit with conscious right action.
In ritual
Where it is used
General Agni praise in household and śrauta settings; supports the idea of Agni as gṛhapati and as present in fuel/stone.
अद्रौ॑ चिदस्मा अ॒न्तर्दु॑रो॒णे वि॒शां न विश्वो॑ अ॒मृत॑: स्वा॒धीः ॥
अद्रौ॑ । चित् । अ॒स्मै॒ । अ॒न्तः । दु॒रो॒णे । वि॒शाम् । न । विश्वः॑ । अ॒मृतः॑ । सु॒ऽआ॒धीः ॥
adrau | cit | asmai | antaḥ | duroṇe | viśām | na | viśvaḥ | amṛtaḥ | su-ādhīḥ
44
4×~11; compact, with strong caesura-like pauses around ‘antar duroṇe’.
Firm and weighty; suited to the theme of stone/inertia yet carrying an inner lift toward immortality.
Gives grounding and courage: the rhythm ‘presses’ into the dense parts, then releases upward into ‘amṛta’.
- अद्रौ (adrau)
- Literal: in the stone/rock. Symbolic: inconscience, inertia, hardened habits, material fixation
- अन्तर्दुरोणे (antar duroṇe)
- Literal: inside the house/dwelling. Symbolic: within the embodied being; the inner chamber of consciousness
- विशां न विश्वः (viśāṃ na viśvaḥ)
- Literal: like a universal one among the clans/peoples. Symbolic: one flame present in all parts of the nature and in all humans
- अमृतः (amṛtaḥ)
- Literal: immortal. Symbolic: deathless consciousness-force not limited by bodily change
- स्वाधीः (svādhīḥ / su-ādhīḥ)
- Literal: of good/right disposition; self-governed. Symbolic: the power that knows its own law and guides the being from within toward ṛta
Supports the rite’s doctrine that Agni is latent even in inert matter (fuel/stone) and must be brought forth; inwardly, a mantra for awakening will in tamasic inertia.
At household fire tending; also in larger rites when affirming Agni’s immanence before offerings.
Kindling from wood/stone associations; maintaining the hearth fire; recitation while placing fuel (samidh).
Use when facing heaviness, depression, or rigid patterns: affirm the hidden flame even in ‘stone’ states.
adri ‘stone’ often marks the obstructing/covered state; Agni ‘in stone’ recalls fire latent in fuel—psychologically the divine will hidden in inertia. amṛta ‘deathless’ (a- + mṛ ‘die’). svādhīḥ: su- ‘good’ + ādhī ‘ordering/intelligence’ (from √dhā ‘place/establish’) → right-founded disposition/wise placing.
immanence in inertia, amṛta (deathless consciousness), right ordering (svādhī)
svādhīḥ implies intrinsic right-guidance—ṛta acting from within rather than imposed from outside.
The immortal truth is present in matter; Satya is concealed but not absent.
Spirit involved in earth (‘stone’) and dwelling in forms; universality across ‘peoples’ (parts of being).
Integral/Immanentist reading; anticipates Upaniṣadic indwelling Self and tejas.
Stone = tamas/inertia; house = body-psyche as vessel; hearth-fire = inner will; universality = one consciousness in all faculties.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘hidden fire in the stone/house’: Agni as the immortal universal present even in what seems inert or dark, awaiting manifestation—mythically the concealed god, psychologically the will hidden in the subconscient.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- amṛta employs the privative a- (PIE *n̥-/ *ne-) + √mṛ ‘die’ (cf. Latin mors). √dhā in svādhī- is a major IE root (cf. Greek títhēmi ‘place’), supporting the idea of ‘right placing/ordering’.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi’s vision universalizes the deity: Agni is not confined to altar or tribe but is viśva among viś—one immortal power within all houses/bodies; the human task is to uncover and align with this svādhī order.
Enter the ‘stone’ area in you (numbness, rigidity) and locate a subtle warmth of intention; nurture it without force.
mūlādhāra (earth/stone) with ascent to maṇipūra (fire)
Long exhale into the pelvic floor (grounding), gentle inhale imagining a spark in the ‘inner house’.
Steady immanence; tamas transmuted into stable strength.
When stuck, repeat the mantra slowly, then do one small right action (svādhīḥ) as an offering to Agni.
Maintain clear contrast: low anudatta on heavier ‘adrau’ context, rising udatta where marked; keep svarita falls crisp to avoid monotone heaviness.
Pause slightly after ‘adrau cit’ and after ‘antar duroṇe’ to let the image land; then broaden on ‘viśvo amṛtaḥ’.
: ‘dr’ cluster clean; ‘au’ diphthong, : link ‘antar’ to ‘duroṇe’ smoothly; retroflex ‘ṇ’ in ‘roṇe’, : ‘ṛ’ vocalic—short, clear, /: keep the compound clear; long ‘ī’ sustained
Low, grounded, then gently luminous on ‘amṛtaḥ’.
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