Rig Veda 1.79.6: Mandala 1, Sukta 79, Mantra 6
Sukta 1.79
- Rishi
- Gotama Rāhūgaṇa
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Raudra (fury)
क्षपो राजन्नुत त्मनाग्ने वस्तोरुतोषसः । स तिग्मजम्भ रक्षसो दह प्रति ॥
kṣapó rā́jann utá tmánāgne vástor utóṣásaḥ | sá tígmajambha rakṣáso daha práti ||
โอ อัคนี ราชาแห่งราตรีทั้งหลาย และด้วยตนเองเป็นเจ้าแห่งเคหสถาน อีกทั้งเป็นเจ้าแห่งอุษาสทั้งปวง. โอ ผู้มีเขี้ยวคม ขอจงเผาผลาญและผลักกลับ รักษัส (rakṣas) คืออำนาจมืดอันเป็นศัตรูที่เข้ารุกราน.
Word by Word
- क्षपः
- nightsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचनRole Adhikaraṇa (काल-निर्देश: ‘रात्रिषु/रात्रयः’)Root क्षप् (प्रातिपदिक: क्षप्/क्षपा ‘रात्रि’)
- राजन्
- O kingNoun (vocative)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot राजन् (प्रातिपदिक) < √राज् ‘राजते/शोभते/शासति’
- उत
- and alsoIndeclinableअव्ययRoot उत (निपात) अव्यय
- त्मना
- by (your) own self / of yourselfNoun (instrumental)पुं/नपुं (वेदे चल); तृतीया एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot त्मन् (प्रातिपदिक ‘स्व/आत्मा’)
- अग्ने
- O AgniNoun (vocative)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
- वस्तोः
- of dusk / of the evening-timeNounनपुं/पुं (वेदे); षष्ठी एकवचनRole Adhikaraṇa (काल-सम्बन्ध: ‘वस्तोर्’ = at dusk/at the time of dwelling)Root वस्तु/वस्तर् (प्रातिपदिक ‘वास/निवास; संध्या/प्रभात-सन्धि’)
- उत
- and alsoIndeclinableअव्ययRoot उत (निपात)
- उषसः
- of dawnNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी एकवचन (वेदे: ‘उषसः’ = ‘उषसः’ gen. sg.)Role Adhikaraṇa (काल-सम्बन्ध: at dawn / of dawn)Root उषस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- सः
- he (you)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- तिग्मजम्भ
- O sharp-jawed (one)Adjective (vocative/nom. used as epithet)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन/प्रथमा एकवचन (अग्नेः विशेषणम्)Role सम्बोधन (विशेषण) / Kartṛ-विशेषणRoot तिग्म-जम्भ (समास: तिग्म ‘तीक्ष्ण’ + जम्भ ‘दन्त/जबड़ा’)
- रक्षसः
- the demons / harmful beingsNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया बहुवचन (वेदे: ‘रक्षसः’ acc. pl.)Role KarmaRoot रक्षस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- दह
- burn!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); मध्यम पुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole (क्रिया)Root √दह् (दहति) ‘दग्धुं/दहति’
- प्रति
- against / back (towards)Indeclinableअव्ययRoot प्रति (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
Sandhi Notes
- संधि-विच्छेद (पदक्रमानुसार): क्षपः | राजन् | उत | त्मना | अग्ने | वस्तोः | उत | उषसः | सः | तिग्मजम्भ | रक्षसः | दह | प्रति । मुख्य संधयः: (1) राजन् + उत → राजन्नुत (न् + उ = न्नु)
- (2) त्मना + अग्ने → त्मनाग्ने (आ + अ = आ)
- (3) वस्तोः + उत → वस्तो॑रुत (ः + उ = र् + उ)
- (4) उत + उषसः → उतोषसः (उ + उ = ओ)
The meaning
Outer meaning
O Agni, king of the nights and by thyself lord of the dwelling and of the dawns; sharp-jawed, burn back the rakṣasas.
Inner meaning
Agni is invoked as ruler of kṣapaḥ (nights): the inner fire that governs periods of obscurity and sleep-like inertia. He is also lord of the ‘dwelling’ (vastoḥ: our embodied field) and of the dawns (uṣasaḥ: illuminations). As tigmajambha (sharp-jawed), he must burn back (daha prati) the rakṣasas—hostile forces of distortion, fear, and darkness that attack the becoming, especially at transitions (night-to-dawn) and in the vulnerable subconscient.
Universal truth
Illumination must guard both darkness and dawn: transformation requires a vigilant inner fire that protects the embodied life from forces that thrive in confusion and transition.
Themes
Protection, Night-and-dawn guardianship, Inner purification, Repulsion of Rakṣas
The seer
- Rishi
- Gotama Rāhūgaṇa
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 1.79
Family tradition
Protective Agni-invocations are common in seer-families that stress the inner battle: guarding dawn-illumination from relapse into night.
Significance
The rishi frames sādhanā as rhythmic: night (obscurity), dwelling (embodiment), dawn (illumination). Agni must rule all three and repel hostile intrusions.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- Rājan (king), Tigmajambha (sharp-jawed), Lord of Vastoḥ, Companion of Uṣas
- Related deities
- Uṣas (dawn), Sūrya (light, implied), Indra (protector against hostile forces, thematic)
Cosmic role
Guardian fire through night; protector of the home/altar; opener and defender of dawn’s light.
Inner power
Vigilant psychic flame that discerns and burns hostile suggestions, especially in liminal states (sleep, early morning, transitions).
In ritual
Where it is used
Protective household rites around the hearth; night/dawn fire-tending; apotropaic (rakṣo-han) usage.
क्ष॒पो रा॑जन्नु॒त त्मनाग्ने॒ वस्तो॑रु॒तोषस॑: । स ति॑ग्मजम्भ र॒क्षसो॑ दह॒ प्रति॑ ॥
क्ष॒पः । रा॒ज॒न् । उ॒त । त्मना॑ । अग्ने॑ । वस्तोः॑ । उ॒त । उ॒षसः॑ । सः । ति॒ग्म॒ऽज॒म्भ॒ । र॒क्षसः॑ । द॒ह॒ । प्रति॑ ॥
kṣapaḥ | rājan | uta | tmanā | agne | vastoḥ | uta | uṣasaḥ | saḥ | tigma-jambha | rakṣasaḥ | daha | prati
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3 pādas of 8 syllables
Incantatory and protective; crisp imperatives suit warding off forces.
Creates a felt shield; steadies the nervous system and clears fear/mental intrusion.
- क्षपः (kṣapaḥ)
- Literal: nights. Symbolic: periods of obscuration, inertia, subconscient dominance
- राजन् (rājan)
- Literal: king. Symbolic: governing power; mastery over inner states
- त्मना (tmanā)
- Literal: by thyself, in thy own being. Symbolic: self-existent flame; inner autonomy of the psychic will
- वस्तोः (vastoḥ)
- Literal: dwelling, home. Symbolic: the embodied field—body-life habitat of consciousness
- उषसः (uṣasaḥ)
- Literal: dawns. Symbolic: arrivals of illumination, awakenings
- तिग्मजम्भ (tigmajambha)
- Literal: sharp-jawed. Symbolic: discriminating power that bites through falsehood and hostile suggestion
- रक्षसः (rakṣasaḥ)
- Literal: demons, harmful beings. Symbolic: forces of perversion, fear, inertia, and obscuration in the vital/subconscient
- दह प्रति (daha prati)
- Literal: burn back, burn away against. Symbolic: repel and transmute hostile movements by the fire of consciousness
Agni-invocation and rakṣo-han (warding of hostile forces) usage within Soma-sacrifice contexts; generally applicable to evening/morning kindling (Agnihotra-type protective recitation).
Evening and especially pre-dawn; also during illness, anxiety, or when entering new spaces.
Maintain a lamp/fire; offer ghee; recite as protection; mentally cast hostile movements into the flame.
Use before sleep and upon waking to guard dream/subconscient and stabilize dawn clarity; also as a ‘psychic protection’ chant.
(kṣap-) ‘night’ from √kṣap/√kṣi ‘to perish, to wane’ → the waning of light; psychologically the waning intervals of clarity. (rājan-) from PIE *h₃rḗǵs ‘ruler’ (Lat. rēx) → principle of inner governance. (tmanā) instr. of tman- ‘self’ related to ātman-; indicates inherent self-force. (vastu-/vastoḥ) from √vas ‘to dwell’ → the embodied station/seat of consciousness. (uṣas-) from √uṣ ‘to shine, dawn’ (PIE *h₂ews-; cf. Eng. east, Lat. aurora) → emergence of illumination. (tigma-jambha) tigma ‘sharp’ (√tij ‘to sharpen’) + jambha ‘jaw’ (√jambh ‘to crush/chew’) → power that bites through obstruction. (rakṣas-) from √rakṣ ‘to guard’ in negative/ambivalent formation: here ‘the injurers/guardians of darkness’—obstructive beings. (daha) imperative of √dah ‘to burn’ (cf. Lat. foveo?; PIE *dhegʷh- ‘to burn’). (prati) ‘against/back’ marking counter-action.
Ṛta as ordering sovereignty through Agni, tapas (purifying heat) as transformative force, transition from obscurity (kṣap) to illumination (uṣas)
The cycle night→dawn is Ṛta in time; Agni ensures the transition serves truth rather than relapse.
Dawn-illumination must be protected so Satya can establish itself in the embodied dwelling.
Light’s emergence from darkness and the ongoing defense of that emergence.
Yoga of transformation: dealing with subconscient resistance through steady inner fire.
night-to-dawn transition
Night = obscurity; dwelling = body-life field; dawn = awakening insight; fire = conscious will that protects and purifies.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Agni as rakṣo-han: the divine Fire guards the liminal passages (night and dawn) and burns back the Rakṣas—mythically hostile night-demons; psychologically the obscuring and perverting impulses that attack consciousness at transitions (sleep/waking, ignorance/illumination).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Key inheritances: rā́jan- aligns with PIE *h₃rḗǵs ‘king’ (Latin rēx), showing the Indo-European sovereignty lexeme. uṣás- continues PIE *h₂ews- ‘dawn’ (Greek Ēōs, Latin aurōra, English east). The verse pairs inherited cosmic opposites (night/dawn) under a single ordering power (Agni), a common IE poetic structure.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer addresses Agni as an inner sovereign who must actively ‘burn back’ hostile forces. The reciprocity is functional: the human offers attention, speech, and kindling (invocation); Agni returns protection, ordered dwelling (vástu), and the safe emergence of dawn-illumination—i.e., the maintenance of Ṛta within the practitioner’s life-field.
Invoke Agni as guardian through sleep and at waking; burn intrusive thoughts, fears, and compulsions.
muladhara
Slow exhale emphasis (e.g., 4-in/8-out) while repeating daha prati; grounding attention in lower body.
Protected vigilance; steady courage at thresholds (sleep/wake, change).
At dawn, before engaging the mind, chant once slowly; feel a ‘jaw of discernment’ cutting through dream-residue and negative suggestion; then sit silently in the cleared space.
Protective Gāyatrī cadence; emphasize udātta lift on agné and tigmajambha; keep the imperative daha prati clean and decisive.
Slight pause after kṣapo rājan; keep the final pāda as a single thrust (rakṣaso daha prati).
kṣ in kṣapaḥ: crisp consonant cluster, not ‘kh’., tmanā: avoid inserting a vowel—‘tma’ together., uṣasaḥ: palatal ṣ; keep both short a’s., rakṣasaḥ: articulate kṣ clearly; final visarga light.
Firm, protective, slightly forceful; avoid harsh shouting.
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