Rig Veda 10.46.1: Mandala 10, Sukta 46, Mantra 1
Sukta 10.46
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
प्र होता जातो महान्नभोविन्नृषद्वा सीददपामुपस्थे । दधिर्यो धायि स ते वयांसि यन्ता वसूनि विधते तनूपाः ॥
prá hótā jā́to mahā́n nabhó-vin nṛ-sádvā sīdad apā́m upásthe | dadhír yó dhā́yi sá te váyāṃsi yantā́ vasū́ni vidhaté tanū-pā́ḥ ||
เขาบังเกิดเป็นปุโรหิตแห่งเครื่องบูชา ยิ่งใหญ่และรู้แจ้งยอดฟ้า; เขานั่งเป็นพลังสถิตภายในท่ามกลางมนุษย์ ในตักแห่งสายน้ำทั้งหลาย. ผู้ซึ่งถูกสถาปนาให้มั่นคงเป็นรากฐานนั้น—ย่อมนำทางความเคลื่อนไหวของท่าน นำทรัพย์สมบัติมาสู่ผู้ประกอบพิธี และพิทักษ์ชีวิตผู้มีร่างกายไว้.
Word by Word
- प्र
- forth, forwardIndeclinableupasarga (preverb)Root प्र (upasarga)
- होता
- the Hotṛ-priest (invoker)Nounmasc.; nominative singularRole KartāRoot होतृ (√हु)
- जातः
- bornVerbPPP; masc. nominative singularRole Kartā (predicate to होताः)Root √जन् (jan) → जात (PPP)
- महान्
- greatAdjectivemasc. nominative singularRole Viśeṣaṇa (of होता/जातः)Root महत्
- नभो-वित्
- knower/finder of the skyNoun/Adjectivemasc. nominative singularRole Viśeṣaṇa (of होता)Root नभस् + √विद् (vid) → -वित्
- नृ-षद्
- sitting among men; man-dwellingNoun/Adjectivemasc. nominative singularRole Viśeṣaṇa (of होता)Root नृ + √सद् (sad) → -षद्
- वा
- or / indeedIndeclinableparticleRoot वा
- सीदत्
- sat down, took seatVerbimperfect (injunctive-like in Vedic usage possible); 3rd person singular; parasmaipadaRole KriyāRoot √सद् (sad)
- अपाम्
- of the watersNounfem.; genitive pluralRole Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (of उपस्थे)Root अप्
- उपस्थे
- in the lap/seat (bosom)Nounmasc.; locative singularRole AdhikaraṇaRoot उपस्थ
- दधिः
- curd, sour milkNounneut.; nominative singularRole KartāRoot दधि
- यः
- whoPronounmasc.; nominative singularRole Kartā (relative)Root यद्
- धायि
- was placed/establishedVerbaorist passive (Vedic); 3rd person singularRole KriyāRoot √धा (dhā)
- सः
- hePronounmasc.; nominative singularRole Kartā (correlative)Root तद्
- ते
- to youPronoun2nd person; dative singular (enclitic)Role SampradānaRoot त्वद्
- वयांसि
- birds; (also: vital powers/energies, depending on context)Nounneut.; nominative/accusative pluralRole Karma (of यन्ता, ‘to guide’)Root वयस्
- यन्ता
- controller, guide, restrainerNounmasc.; nominative singularRole KartāRoot √यम् (yam) → यन्तृ
- वसूनि
- goods, richesNounneut.; accusative pluralRole Karma (of implied bestowal/arranging)Root वसु
- विधते
- for the worshipper/ritual performerNounmasc.; dative singularRole SampradānaRoot √धा (dhā) with vi- → विधातृ/विधत् (ritual patron)
- तनू-पाः
- body-protectors; guardians of the personNoun/Adjectivemasc.; nominative pluralRole Kartā (appositional/collective epithet)Root तनू + √पा (pā) → -पाः
Sandhi Notes
- External sandhi resolved as: महान्नभोविन्नृषद्वा → महान् + नभो-वित् + नृ-षद् + वा
- अपामुपस्थे → अपाम् + उपस्थे
- दधिर्यो → दधिः + यः
- ते वयांसि: enclitic dative ते
- तनूपाः analyzed as compound तनू-पाः (pl.)
- Accent marks in the saṃhitā text are not reproduced in the pada forms here, but the segmentation follows Vedic padapāṭha-style resolution
The meaning
Outer meaning
The great priest (Agni), knower of the heights, is born and sits among men, in the lap of the waters. He who is set as a foundation directs your movements and brings riches to the worshipper, guarding the embodied being.
Inner meaning
Agni is born as hotā—the inner officiant who performs the sacrifice of life. He is mahān and nabhovit, knowing the ‘heights’ of consciousness, yet he sits nṛṣad—indwelling in humanity—‘in the lap of the waters’: within the flowing life-force and the deep subconscient (āpaḥ) where energies and impressions circulate. When this fire is made firm as dadhí (a stable support/foundation), it becomes the regulator of the being’s ‘movements’ (vayāṃsi: goings, flights, activities) and a bringer of true riches (vasūni) to the one who orders life rightly (vidhate). As tanūpāḥ, it protects the embodied instrument, preventing dissipation and guiding energies toward the divine aim.
Universal truth
A stable inner discipline (firm fire) within the flux of life becomes the guiding intelligence of action and a protector of embodied existence, attracting the resources needed for right living.
Themes
Agni hidden and seated, inner priesthood, vital purification and control, bestowal of powers (vasu)
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 10.46.2-6
Significance
This is a classic inner-yoga description of Agni: simultaneously transcendent (knower of heights) and immanent (seated in the waters among men), the stable guide of the embodied journey.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- hotā (priest), mahān (great), nabhovit (knower of heights), nṛṣad (indweller among men), tanūpā (protector of the embodied)
- Related deities
- Āpaḥ (waters, life-forces), Sarasvatī (inspired flow, by association with waters and speech)
Cosmic role
Axis between higher worlds and human life; establishes sacrifice as the law of transformation.
Inner power
Psychic fire that governs energies within the vital/subconscient waters and directs action toward truth.
In ritual
Where it is used
Agni hotṛ-invocation in soma and non-soma rites; opening praise for Agni as officiant
प्र होता॑ जा॒तो म॒हान्न॑भो॒विन्नृ॒षद्वा॑ सीदद॒पामु॒पस्थे॑ । दधि॒र्यो धायि॒ स ते॒ वयां॑सि य॒न्ता वसू॑नि विध॒ते त॑नू॒पाः ॥
प्र । होता॑ । जा॒तः । म॒हान् । न॒भः॒ऽवित् । नृ॒ऽसद्वा॑ । सी॒द॒त् । अ॒पाम् । उ॒पऽस्थे॑ । दधिः॑ । यः । धायि॑ । सः । ते॒ । वयां॑सि । य॒न्ता । वसू॑नि । वि॒ध॒ते । त॒नू॒ऽपाः ॥
pra | hotā | jātaḥ | mahān | nabhaḥ-vit | nṛ-sadvā | sīdat | apām | upa-stheḥdadhi ḥḥyaḥḥdhāyiḥsaḥḥteḥvayāṃsiḥyantāḥvasūniḥvidhateḥtanū-pāḥ
44
4 x ~11 syllables
majestic and foundational; strong opening ‘pra hotā jātaḥ’
Instills steadiness and a sense of inner governance; evokes the ‘pillar’ quality of Agni as foundation.
- hotā
- Literal: priest who offers. Symbolic: the inner will that consecrates thoughts, emotions, actions
- jātaḥ
- Literal: born. Symbolic: kindled/awakened in the seeker; a new beginning of aspiration
- mahān
- Literal: great. Symbolic: vast force capable of transforming the whole being
- nabhovit
- Literal: knower of the sky/heights. Symbolic: aware of higher planes of mind and truth-light
- nṛṣadvā
- Literal: sitting among men. Symbolic: indwelling presence in human nature, accessible in daily life
- apām upasthe
- Literal: in the lap of the waters. Symbolic: within life-energies and the deep subconscious flow where transformation must occur
- dadhí / dhāyi
- Literal: set, placed firm; foundation. Symbolic: stabilized inner fire—established discipline and steady aspiration
- vayāṃsi
- Literal: movements, flights. Symbolic: activities of mind-life; impulses and directions of energy
- yantā
- Literal: controller, guide. Symbolic: inner governor aligning energies to the soul’s intention
- tanūpāḥ
- Literal: protector of the body/embodied self. Symbolic: guardian of the instrument; integrative force preventing fragmentation
Invocation of Agni as Hotṛ at the opening of rites; also suited to kindling verses where Agni is seated and established as protector (tanūpā).
At the commencement of offerings or when establishing the priestly fire principle
Invocation of Agni’s presence as hotā and protector; request for guidance and boons
As a preparatory mantra before pranayama/meditation: kindle inner fire within the ‘waters’ (emotions, life-force) and ask it to guide actions for the day.
hotā from √hu ‘invoke/call’ → the calling priest, psychologically the power that calls the gods into the being. nṛ-sad ‘sitting in men’ marks interiorization. ap- ‘waters’ in Vedic often signify life-energy and subtle currents; ‘lap of waters’ suggests Agni’s hidden seat in the vital. yantā from √yam ‘guide/restrain’ (PIE *yem- ‘hold’) shows Agni as regulator of energies.
indwelling divine priest, life-waters (āpah) as vital currents, guidance/regulation of energies (yam), protection of embodiment (tanūpā)
Agni as yantā regulates movements according to ṛta—right rhythm of life.
Nabhovit indicates access to truth-planes; guidance is from higher truth into embodied action.
Fire emerging in waters: manifestation of consciousness within life-matter; the evolutionary birth of the inner priest.
Psychological Veda / Integral Yoga: immanent-transcendent divine will organizing the being.
Waters = vital/subconscient flow; sky = higher mind; fire born between them = awakened will mediating and transforming.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Agni ‘born’ as Hotṛ and ‘seated in the waters’—a classic Vedic motif of the hidden fire in the cosmic/vital waters, then established as the priest and protector. Mythically, it encodes the emergence of divine will from the life-ocean and its enthronement in the human.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- āp- ‘waters’ aligns with PIE *h₂ep- ‘water’ (cf. Lat aqua via a different formation; more direct in Av. āp-). yantā from √yam reflects PIE *yem- ‘hold, restrain’. The formula of a deity ‘seated’ (√sad) is a common IE ritual idiom for installation.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi installs Agni by naming his cosmic credentials (knower of heights) and his intimate seat (among men, in the waters). In exchange, Agni becomes yantā—organizer of the seeker’s energies—and bestower of vasu, while guarding the embodied journey (tanūpā).
Stabilize the inner fire within emotional/vital currents; invite it as the ‘hotā’ to consecrate the day’s movements.
Manipura (fire) stabilized through Svadhisthana (waters/emotions) and oriented to Ajna (guidance).
Ujjayi with attention at navel; imagine warmth steadying the lower ‘waters’; 12 slow breaths.
Steady, guided, embodied clarity
When emotions surge, recall ‘apām upasthe’: do not suppress; place awareness at the inner flame and let it regulate the current. Act only after the ‘yantā’ feeling—quiet, firm direction—appears.
Rigvedic accenting; strong opening stress contour on ‘pra hotā jātaḥ’; keep ‘apām upasthe’ flowing and softer, then firm again on ‘yantā vasūni’.
Use a pillar-like delivery: clear caesura after pāda 1; gentle liquidity in pāda 2 (waters); decisive guidance tone in pāda 4.
nabhovit: ‘nabho’ with clear ‘bh’ aspiration, nṛṣadvā: vocalic ṛ in nṛ; retroflex ṣ, upasthe: ‘sthe’ cluster clean, tanūpāḥ: long ū and final visarga ḥ
grounded, resonant, steady
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