Rig Veda 3.24.4: Mandala 3, Sukta 24, Mantra 4
Sukta 3.24
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
अग्ने विश्वेभिरग्निभिर्देवेभिर्महया गिरः । यज्ञेषु य उ चायवः ॥
agne víśvebhir agníbhir devébhir mahayā́ gíraḥ | yajñéṣu yá u cā́yavaḥ ||
โอ อัคนี ด้วยไฟทั้งปวง ด้วยเหล่าเทพทั้งหลาย จงยกย่องถ้อยคำแห่งแรงดลใจของเรา—ถ้อยคำที่ถูกรวบรวมและทำให้มั่นคงในพิธีบูชายัญทั้งหลาย
Word by Word
- अग्ने
- O AgniNoun (address)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-एकवचनRole सम्बोधन (address; outside kāraka)Root अग्नि- (प्रातिपदिक)
- विश्वेभिः
- with allAdjective (used substantively)पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया-बहुवचनRole सह/करण (instrumental of accompaniment: ‘with all’)Root विश्व- (सर्व/विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक)
- अग्निभिः
- with the fires (Agni-forms)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया-बहुवचनRole करण/सह (instrumental: ‘with the fires/Agni-forms’)Root अग्नि- (प्रातिपदिक)
- देवेभिः
- with the godsNounपुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया-बहुवचनRole करण/सह (instrumental: ‘with the gods’)Root देव- (प्रातिपदिक)
- महय
- magnify / honorVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); मध्यम-पुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रिया (मुख्य क्रियापद)Root मह् (धातु; ‘to honor, magnify’)
- गिरः
- hymns / songsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-बहुवचनRole कर्म (what is to be magnified)Root गिर्- (स्त्रीलिङ्ग प्रातिपदिक; ‘song, hymn, voice’)
- यज्ञेषु
- in the sacrificesNounपुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-बहुवचनRole अधिकरण (locative: ‘in/at the sacrifices’)Root यज्ञ- (प्रातिपदिक)
- यः
- whoPronoun (relative)पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचनRole कर्ता (of implied/elliptic clause: ‘who…’ referring to Agni)Root यद्- (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- उ
- indeed / alsoIndeclinable particleनिपात; अर्थे ‘indeed/also’ (emphatic)Role (particle)Root उ (निपात/अव्यय)
- चायवः
- the well-disposed/propitious one (epithet)Adjective/Noun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचनRole कर्ता-विशेषण / विधेय (predicate epithet of ‘यः’ = Agni)Root चायव- (प्रातिपदिक; Vedic epithet)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: अग्ने | विश्वेभिः | अग्निभिः | देवेभिः | महय | गिरः | यज्ञेषु | यः | उ | चायवः । बाह्यसन्धिः: ‘अग्ने विश्वेभिः’ (ए + व् → ए व्, विशेष परिवर्तन नहीं)
- ‘अग्निभिः देवेभिः’ (ः/इः + द् → इः द्, परिवर्तन नहीं)
- ‘महय गिरः’ (य् + ग् → य ग्)
- ‘य उ’ (यः + उ → य उ; विसर्ग-लोप पदपाठानुसार)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Agni, together with all fires and the gods, magnify our inspired words—those gathered/strengthened in the sacrifices.
Inner meaning
‘All fires’ (viśvebhir agnibhiḥ) are the multiple forms of inner flame: aspiration, discernment, courage, purification, and delight—each a modality of Agni. With ‘the gods’ (devebhiḥ), meaning the awakened divine powers in us, Agni is asked to enlarge (mahaya) our giraḥ: mantric inspirations and true expressions. ‘Cāyavaḥ’ suggests words that are heaped, collected, consolidated—i.e., inspirations that have been tested in practice (yajñeṣu) and become stable formations of truth in consciousness.
Universal truth
Speech becomes transformative when it is backed by inner fire and supported by the higher powers; true words are not mere ideas but gathered forces shaped by disciplined practice.
Themes
Empowerment of speech, Collective divine cooperation, Yajña as field of growth
The seer
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Lineage
- Viśvāmitra (Gāthina line)
- Other hymns
- RV 3.53 (collective powers and invocation; thematic), RV 3.62 (mantric illumination)
Family tradition
Known for potent mantra-vision; emphasizes the power of inspired speech when supported by inner fire and the devas.
Significance
This verse highlights the Vedic principle that mantra is effective when it is a gathered force (cāyavaḥ) supported by awakened powers, not mere recitation.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni (as leader of all Agnis, in concord with the Devas)
- Epithets
- viśvavedas (all-knowing; implied by coordination with devas), hotṛ (invoker; implicit), saha-devaiḥ (with the gods; functional epithet)
- Related deities
- Bṛhaspati (lord of the word), Sarasvatī/Iḷā (inspiration), Indra (illumined mind that makes the word victorious)
Cosmic role
Coordinator of divine powers; unifies many flames into one sacrificial action and amplifies the mantric utterance.
Inner power
Integration—bringing multiple faculties into a single flame of aspiration; empowering speech as revelation.
In ritual
Where it is used
Praise/invocation to empower the stotra (hymn) and align all sacrificial fires
अग्ने॒ विश्वे॑भिर॒ग्निभि॑र्दे॒वेभि॑र्महया॒ गिर॑: । य॒ज्ञेषु॒ य उ॑ चा॒यव॑: ॥
अग्ने॑ । विश्वे॑भिः । अ॒ग्निऽभिः॑ । दे॒वेभिः॑ । म॒ह॒य॒ । गिरः॑ । य॒ज्ञेषु॑ । ये । ऊँ॒ इति॑ । चा॒यवः॑ ॥
agne | viśvebhiḥ | agni-bhiḥ | devebhiḥ | mahaya | giraḥ | yajñeṣu | ye | oṃ iti | cāyavaḥ
24
3 × 8
Collective, assembling rhythm—invokes multiplicity (viśvebhiḥ) then expansion (mahaya).
Gives a sense of widening—bringing many energies into harmony and empowering voice/intent.
- viśvebhir agnibhiḥ
- Literal: with all the fires. Symbolic: Many inner flames/powers of will and purification acting together
- devebhiḥ
- Literal: with the gods. Symbolic: Awakened divine faculties (illumination, harmony, strength, joy)
- mahaya
- Literal: magnify, make great. Symbolic: Increase potency and reach of truth-expression and mantra-force
- giraḥ
- Literal: songs, words of inspiration. Symbolic: Mantric thought-forms carrying light and power
- yajñeṣu
- Literal: in the sacrifices. Symbolic: In disciplined inner practice and consecrated action
- cāyavaḥ
- Literal: heaped/collected/strengthened. Symbolic: Consolidated realizations; stabilized inspirations
Mantra-efficacy prayer: empowering the hymn/utterance within yajña; communal invocation of multiple fires (household, āhavanīya, etc.) as one force.
During recitation of stotras; at moments of collective invocation in a rite
Chant to strengthen the efficacy of hymns and offerings
Before speaking/teaching/important communication: chant to align energies and let speech arise from inner fire and higher support.
viśva ‘all’ (PIE *weys- ‘all, every’ debated); deva (from √div/√dyu ‘shine’); mahayā (causative of √mah ‘to grow, magnify’); gír (utterance/hymn); cāyava (from √cī ‘to gather, heap’ or related ‘accumulate’ semantics; indicates collected potency of speech through repeated sacrifice).
Mantric speech (giraḥ) as power that grows, Collective divinities acting in harmony, Accumulation of spiritual force through repeated offering (cāyavaḥ)
Many fires and devas acting together symbolize ṛta as coordinated cosmic functioning within the psyche.
Giraḥ become satya-vāk when magnified by Agni and devas.
Word + fire as creative forces: speech becomes formative when empowered by consciousness-fire.
Mantra-śakti emphasis: speech as force; psychological polytheism as multiple inner powers.
evening or morning collective rite (not explicit)
unspecified
Many fires = many faculties; magnifying words = making thought luminous and effective; sacrifice = disciplined life-practice.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is the amplification of sacred speech by divine forces: Agni, together with all fires and the gods, increases the mantra’s potency. Speech is treated as a living power that can be ‘made great’ in yajña.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- deva derives from the ‘shining’ root (PIE *dyeu-), a pan-Indo-European divine epithet (Zeus, deus). The causative ‘mahayā’ reflects inherited morphological strategies to express ‘make grow’/‘magnify’—a common IE verbal idea linked to expansion and power.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi offers utterance (giraḥ) and asks for its increase; Agni and the devas respond by intensifying the word’s force in the sacrificial field. The reciprocity is: human speech-as-offering met by divine augmentation and efficacy.
Unify scattered energies (‘many fires’) and let a single truthful intention shape speech and thought.
viśuddha (speech) supported by maṇipūra (fire/will)
Ujjāyī-light for 5 cycles, then chant once per exhale to feel speech emerging from inner fire
Collected, expansive awareness; speech becomes mantra-like rather than discursive.
Use before japa or study: sit, feel multiple impulses gather into one flame at navel/heart; then chant, allowing words to arise from silence and widen outward.
Slight lift on ‘viśvebhir’ and ‘mahaya’; keep ‘giraḥ’ crisp; end with a soft fall on ‘cāyavaḥ’.
víśvebhir agníbhir … devébhir … maháyā gíraḥ … yajñéṣu … cā́yavaḥ.
viśvebhiḥ: śv cluster clear, agnibhiḥ: hard g, not ‘ajni’, devebhiḥ: e vowels clear, not diphthong, mahaya: h audible, short a’s, giraḥ: hard g, vocalic quality in i, final ḥ
Resonant and expansive; allow a fuller chest tone on ‘mahaya’.
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