Rig Veda 3.59.7: Mandala 3, Sukta 59, Mantra 7
Sukta 3.59
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Devata
- Mitra
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
अभि यो महिना दिवं मित्रो बभूव सप्रथाः । अभि श्रवोभिः पृथिवीम् ॥
abhí yó mahinā́ dívaṃ mitró babhū́va sapráthāḥ | abhí śrávobhiḥ pṛthivī́m ||
ผู้นั้นด้วยมหิมาแห่งตน ได้เป็นมิตระ (Mitra) แผ่กว้างไปทั่วฟ้า; และด้วยพลังแห่งศฺรวัส (śravas) คือการได้ยินอันดลใจ ก็แผ่กว้างไปทั่วแผ่นดิน.
Word by Word
- अभि
- towards; overIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्यय; governs accusative; sense: ‘towards, over, upon’Role Adhikaraṇa (directional/locative sense with motion/extension)Root अभि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- यः
- whoPronounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole KartāRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- महिना
- by (his) might; by greatnessNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया; एकवचन (instrumental: ‘by greatness/might’)Role KaraṇaRoot महि (प्रातिपदिक; ‘महिमन्/महिमा’)
- दिवम्
- heaven; the skyNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole KarmaRoot दिव्/द्यौ (प्रातिपदिक: द्यौ/दिव्)
- मित्रः
- MitraNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole KartāRoot मित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- बभूव
- became; has becomeVerbलिट् (परोक्षभूत/परफेक्ट); प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदRoot भू (धातु)
- सप्रथाः
- wide-spreading; far-extendedAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन (वेदिक रूप: -आः as nom. sg. m.)Role Kartā (as predicate adjective to ‘मित्रः’)Root स-प्रथा (प्रातिपदिक; ‘विस्तारयुक्त/विस्तीर्ण’)
- अभि
- towards; overIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्यय; governs accusative; ‘towards/over’Role Adhikaraṇa (directional)Root अभि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- श्रवोभिः
- with glories/fames; with renownNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया; बहुवचनRole KaraṇaRoot श्रवस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- पृथिवीम्
- the earthNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole KarmaRoot पृथिवी (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- External sandhi is minimal here
- Segmenting into padas: अभि | यः | महिना | दिवम् | मित्रः | बभूव | सप्रथाः || अभि | श्रवोभिः | पृथिवीम्
- Notable: ‘सप्रथा:’ is Vedic nominative singular masculine in -आः (later classical often -ः with different stem handling)
- ‘अभि’ functions as preverb/indeclinable governing the accusatives ‘दिवम्’ and ‘पृथिवीम्’
The meaning
Outer meaning
He who by greatness became Mitra, wide-spread over heaven, and wide-spread by his powers of inspired hearing over the Earth.
Inner meaning
Mitra is described as a vast pervading harmony: by his greatness (mahinā) he becomes ‘saprathāḥ’—widely extended—over the higher mind (dyu = heaven) and over the foundation-consciousness (pṛthivī = earth). ‘Śravaḥ’ here is not mere fame but inspired hearing—receptive intuition and revelatory audition. Psychologically, harmony expands through the whole being when the mind becomes open to higher inspiration and the life is grounded in stable receptivity; then the entire field of consciousness is unified under Mitra’s spread.
Universal truth
Harmony is expansive and all-pervading when founded on greatness of consciousness: openness to inspiration above and stability below allows unity to fill the whole life.
Themes
Cosmic pervasion, Heaven-Earth integration, Greatness and expansion
The seer
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Lineage
- Kauśika (traditional)
- Other hymns
- RV 3.59.6, RV 3.59.3
Family tradition
Uses cosmic geography (heaven/earth) as inner map: higher mind and foundational being unified by a solar harmonizer.
Significance
The rishi’s vision universalizes Mitra: not a local god but a consciousness-power that can pervade the whole inner cosmos.
The deity
- Devata
- Mitra
- Epithets
- saprathāḥ (wide-spread), mahīmān (greatness, implied)
- Related deities
- Varuṇa, Sūrya, Savitar
Cosmic role
Pervades heaven and earth as the principle of concord; connects the higher and lower worlds in one order.
Inner power
All-pervading harmonizing awareness; receptive intuition (‘śravaḥ’) that spreads unity through mind and life.
In ritual
Where it is used
Praise-verse within Mitra hymn; used to affirm Mitra’s pervasiveness (general)
अ॒भि यो म॑हि॒ना दिवं॑ मि॒त्रो ब॒भूव॑ स॒प्रथा॑: । अ॒भि श्रवो॑भिः पृथि॒वीम् ॥
अ॒भि । यः । म॒हि॒ना । दिव॑म् । मि॒त्रः । ब॒भूव॑ । स॒ऽप्रथाः॑ । अ॒भि । श्रवः॑ऽभिः । पृ॒थि॒वीम् ॥
abhi | yaḥ | mahinā | divam | mitraḥ | babhūva | sa-prathāḥ | abhi | śravaḥ-bhiḥ | pṛthivīm
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3 × ~8 syllables
Swift, expansive in imagery despite brevity; ‘abhi’ repetition gives spreading motion.
Creates a felt sense of pervasion and widening; mind imagines upward and downward expansion simultaneously.
- महिना (mahinā)
- Literal: by greatness. Symbolic: greatness of consciousness; capacity for wideness and inclusiveness
- दिवम् (divam)
- Literal: heaven. Symbolic: higher mind, luminous mental plane
- सप्रथाः (sa-prathāḥ)
- Literal: widely spread. Symbolic: pervasion of harmony through all levels of being
- श्रवोभिः (śravobhiḥ)
- Literal: by hearings/fames. Symbolic: inspired hearing—intuitive receptivity, revelatory perception
- पृथिवीम् (pṛthivīm)
- Literal: earth. Symbolic: foundation of the being; stable life-plane and embodied consciousness
Praise of Mitra’s cosmic pervasion; used to invoke universal harmony across domains (dyu/pṛthivī).
As an invocation for harmony to ‘cover’ one’s whole day—above (thought) and below (action).
Recite facing the sun or open sky; optionally sprinkle water as symbol of spread.
Morning ‘field-setting’ chant: establish harmony across mind (heaven) and body-life (earth) before engaging the world.
mahinā́: instrumental of mahimán (from mah- 'great'); sapráthāḥ: from pra-√prath 'spread, extend'—pervasion. dyauḥ/pṛthivī polarity: heaven/earth as upper luminous consciousness and lower embodied base; Mitra pervades both.
Pervasion (vyāpti) of harmony, Linking of upper and lower worlds
Mitra’s spread is ṛta’s pervasion through all planes.
Śravaḥ as receptivity to truth from above.
Worlds linked by a pervading consciousness-power; unity as the hidden fabric of manifestation.
sunrise-to-morning (expansion of light)
Heaven = higher mind; earth = embodied foundation; spreading = integration; hearing = intuition.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is cosmic pervasion: Mitra spreads over heaven and earth, establishing a unifying order. In inner terms, harmony expands from the luminous mind to the embodied nature.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The heaven-earth formula is a standard IE poetic pair (Dyēus + earth). śrávas again aligns with PIE *ḱléwos ('fame, that which is heard'), central to IE praise-poetry.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi does not bargain but contemplates and affirms Mitra’s vastness; this affirmation functions as alignment—by recognizing pervasion, the seeker widens to receive it.
Expand awareness vertically: crown/sky (divam) and base/earth (pṛthivī) unified by a single harmonizing presence.
sahasrara (heaven) and muladhara (earth) linked through sushumna (as an inner ‘spread’)
vertical breathing visualization: inhale from base to crown, exhale crown to base, 7 rounds
widened, integrated, receptive
On ‘divam’ feel openness above the head; on ‘pṛthivīm’ feel grounded stability; let ‘abhi’ be the spreading of one calm harmony through the whole axis.
Keep the repeated ‘abhi’ as a rhythmic cue; maintain Vedic accents lightly; avoid heavy stress.
Pause briefly after each pāda; let ‘saprathāḥ’ be elongated slightly to convey wideness.
abhi: short ‘a’, light ‘bh’ aspiration, mahinā: clear ‘hi’, long ‘nā’, babhūva: long ‘ū’, avoid ‘baboova’ heaviness, śravobhiḥ: ś as palatal ‘sh’; keep ‘bhiḥ’ crisp
open-throated, spacious, clear
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