Rig Veda 4.28.3: Mandala 4, Sukta 28, Mantra 3
Sukta 4.28
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Indra-Agni
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Raudra (fury)
अहन्निन्द्रो अदहदग्निरिन्दो पुरा दस्यून्मध्यंदिनादभीके । दुर्गे दुरोणे क्रत्वा न यातां पुरू सहस्रा शर्वा नि बर्हीत् ॥
áhann índro ádahad agnír índo purā́ dásyūn madhyándinād abhī́ke | dúrge duróṇe kratvā́ ná yātā́ṃ purū́ sahásrā śárvā ní barhīt ||
โอ อินทุ (Indu) อินทราทรงประหาร อัคนีทรงเผา เหล่าทัสยุ (Dasyu) แห่งกาลก่อน—ตั้งแต่ยามเที่ยง ในศึกที่ประชิดใกล้ ในช่องเขาอันยาก ในเรือนอันยาก ผู้ที่ไม่ก้าวไปด้วยเจตจำนงอันเที่ยง (kratu) ถูกฟาดให้ล้ม และศรศัตรูเป็นพัน ๆ ถูกทำให้ร่วงหล่น—เพื่อให้หนทางแห่งอาตมันถูกชำระให้โล่ง สำหรับการเดินทางอันชอบธรรม
Word by Word
- अहन्
- slew, struck downVerbलुङ् (aorist), परस्मैपद, 3rd person singularRole (क्रिया)Root हन् (√हन्)
- इन्द्रः
- IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- अदहत्
- burnedVerbलुङ् (aorist), परस्मैपद, 3rd person singularRole (क्रिया)Root दह् (√दह्)
- अग्निः
- Agni (Fire)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्दो
- O Indu (Soma)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्दु (प्रातिपदिक)
- पुरा
- formerly, beforeIndeclinableकालवाचक अव्ययRole अधिकरण (काल)Root पुरा (अव्यय)
- दस्यून्
- Dasyus, hostile foesNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot दस्यु (प्रातिपदिक)
- मध्यम्
- mid-, middle (i.e., mid-)Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (अव्ययीभाव/विशेषणरूपेण)Role अधिकरण (काल-विशेषण)Root मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- दिनात्
- from the day (i.e., from daytime)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचनRole अपादान (काल-सीमा: ‘from’)Root दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
- अभीके
- in nearness, at close quartersNoun/Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरण (स्थान/अवस्था)Root अभीक (प्रातिपदिक)
- दुर्गे
- in a stronghold, in a hard placeNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot दुर्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
- दुरोणे
- in the house/dwelling (enclosure)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot दुरोण (प्रातिपदिक)
- क्रत्वा
- by (his) resolve/power, with mightNounपुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole करणRoot क्रतु (प्रातिपदिक)
- न
- like, asIndeclinableउपमा/निषेधार्थक कण (यहाँ उपमार्थे ‘as/like’)Role (सम्बन्धक)Root न (अव्यय)
- याताम्
- let the two go/advanceVerbलोट् (imperative), 3rd person dual, परस्मैपदRole (क्रिया)Root या (√या)
- पुरू
- manyAdjectiveअव्ययवत् (indeclinable adjective), ‘many/much’Role विशेषणRoot पुरु (प्रातिपदिक)
- सहस्रा
- thousandsNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (संख्यावाचक)Role कर्म (अभिप्रेत-समूह)Root सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- शर्वा
- Śarva (Rudra/archer)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot शर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- नि
- down, forth (as preverb)Indeclinableउपसर्ग (अवरोह/न्यक्करण)Role (क्रियाविशेषक)Root नि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- बर्हीत्
- struck down, smoteVerbलुङ् (aorist), परस्मैपद, 3rd person singularRole (क्रिया)Root बर्ह् (√बर्ह्/√बृंह् ‘to smite/strike down’ — Vedic form)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (pada-wise): अहन्निन्द्रो → अहन् + इन्द्रः
- अदहदग्निरिन्दो → अदहत् + अग्निः + इन्दो
- दस्यून्मध्यम् → दस्यून् + मध्यम्
- दिनादभीके → दिनात् + अभीके
- दुर्गे दु॑रो॒णे (no sandhi across)
- क्रत्वा न (no sandhi)
- न यातां (no sandhi)
- सहस्रा शर्वा (no sandhi)
- शर्वा नि बर्हीत् → शर्वा + नि + बर्हीत्. Accent marks in the prompt are preserved in the Saṃhitā text but not repeated in pada forms here
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra slew and Agni burned, O Soma, the Dasyus of old in close battle; in hard passes and difficult dwellings, those who did not move by kratu were struck down; many thousands of hostile shafts were made to fall.
Inner meaning
The illumined Mind (Indra) and the divine Will/Fire (Agni), supported by Soma’s Ananda, destroy the dark, dividing powers (Dasyus) that infest the inner terrain. Even at ‘midday’—the height of waking activity—this battle occurs in proximity (abhīke), meaning the struggle is immediate in daily life. In the difficult inner passages and entrenched habits, those movements that refuse true intention (kratu) are cut down; the countless hostile impulses/thought-arrows (śarvā) are neutralized, clearing the path for right advance.
Universal truth
Spiritual progress requires a twofold power—illumination and will—fortified by joy, to burn out entrenched false movements and disarm the multitude of hostile reactions.
Themes
battle against Dasyus, Indra-Agni cooperation, clearing the path, Soma-supported victory
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 4.1 (Agni), RV 4.16-17 (Indra), RV 4.23 (Agni/inner sacrifice themes)
Family tradition
Vāmadeva frequently pairs Indra’s victory with Agni’s purifying action—illumination plus transformative will—describing an inner sādhanā rather than external warfare.
Significance
The seer shows that enlightenment must be accompanied by burning purification; otherwise the ‘difficult dwelling’ of habit remains unconquered.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra-Agni (Soma as supporting force)
- Epithets
- Vṛtrahan (for Indra, implied), Jātavedas (for Agni, implied), Indu (Soma, addressed)
- Related deities
- Soma, Maruts, Bṛhaspati
Cosmic role
Indra removes obstruction; Agni consumes impurity; together they secure the path through dangerous inner passages.
Inner power
Decisive discrimination (Indra) + catalytic purification and right action (Agni), sustained by delight (Soma).
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra-Agni praise in Soma-related liturgies; also Agni invocations for purification (general)
अह॒न्निन्द्रो॒ अद॑हद॒ग्निरि॑न्दो पु॒रा दस्यू॑न्म॒ध्यंदि॑नाद॒भीके॑ । दु॒र्गे दु॑रो॒णे क्रत्वा॒ न या॒तां पु॒रू स॒हस्रा॒ शर्वा॒ नि ब॑र्हीत् ॥
अह॑न् । इन्द्रः॑ । अद॑हत् । अ॒ग्निः । इ॒न्दो॒ इति॑ । पु॒रा । दम्यू॑न् । म॒ध्यन्दि॑नात् । अ॒भीके॑ । दुः॒ऽगे । दु॒रो॒णे । क्रत्वा॑ । न । या॒ताम् । पु॒रु । स॒हस्रा॑ । शर्वा॑ । नि । ब॒र्ही॒त् ॥
ahan | indraḥ | adahat | agniḥ | indo iti | purā | damyūn | madhyandināt | abhīke | duḥ-ge | duroṇe | kratvā | na | yātām | puru | sahasrā | śarvā | ni | barhīt
44
4 × ~11 syllables
Martial, clipped verbs (ahann, adahat) create rapid impact; later pādas broaden into the image of clearing a passage.
Energizes courage and purification; supports ‘cutting through’ resistance during practice.
- इन्द्र (indra)
- Literal: Indra. Symbolic: illumined mind-force that discriminates and conquers
- अग्नि (agni)
- Literal: fire. Symbolic: divine will, purifier, leader of inner sacrifice
- इन्दो/सोम (indo/soma)
- Literal: Soma. Symbolic: bliss-power sustaining endurance and victory
- दस्यून् (dasyūn)
- Literal: Dasyus, hostile tribes. Symbolic: powers of obscurity, division, inertia in the being
- मध्यंदिनात् (madhyaṃdināt)
- Literal: from midday. Symbolic: in full waking consciousness; in the peak of life-activity
- क्रत्वा (kratvā)
- Literal: by will/intelligence. Symbolic: true intention, right resolve aligned with ṛta
- शर्वा (śarvā)
- Literal: shafts/arrows. Symbolic: hostile thought-forms, impulses, attacks from the lower nature
- दुर्गे/दुरोणे (durge/duroṇe)
- Literal: hard pass; difficult dwelling. Symbolic: knotty inner formations; entrenched subconscient habitations
Warrior-protective invocation within Soma praise: calls Indra’s slaying and Agni’s burning to remove obstructive forces; applicable to rites seeking protection and victory (general Śrauta protective usage).
Soma offerings and battle-victory motifs in śastra recitations; personally, before disciplined work or tapasya.
Offerings into fire with praise of burning the hostile and securing safe passage.
Recite when facing entrenched habits/addictions or hostile inner thought-attacks; pair with a brief fire-gazing (candle) as symbolic Agni.
dasyu as ‘enemy/obstructor’ (Vedic social term, but here symbolically the dark powers); √dah ‘burn’ (adahat) for Agni’s purifying action; krátu ‘will, effective intelligence’ from √kṛ ‘do/make’ (power of formation and decision); śarva ‘arrow/shaft’ (projected hostile force); ni-√bṛh/√barh ‘strike down’ (barhīt).
kratu (effective will) versus inertia, purification by fire, victory of light over darkness
Kratu aligned with ṛta is the criterion: what ‘does not move by kratu’ is rejected and destroyed.
Truth manifests as right movement and purified intent, not merely belief.
Clearing the path through the ‘hard pass’—making room for higher formation in the being.
Yoga of works and knowledge in Vedic seed-form: illumination + will + delight.
midday (explicit)
Fire = purifying will; midday = full waking engagement; pass/dwelling = difficult inner knots; arrows = hostile impulses/thoughts.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The joint victory myth: Indra slays and Agni burns the Dasyus; hostile ‘shafts’ fall in the difficult pass. Innerly, it is the coordinated action of luminous force (Indra) and purifying will (Agni), supported by Soma-delight, to destroy inert or hostile movements that refuse the right journey (na yātām).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √dah ‘burn’ is Indo-Iranian (Avestan daz- ‘burn’), reflecting shared fire-ritual vocabulary. √kṛ (in kratu’s derivational field) connects to PIE *kwer-/*ker- ‘do/make’ (broadly), a common IE productivity base. The coordinated ‘slay/burn’ pairing is a typical IE poetic parallelism of warrior + fire.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The ṛṣi seeks an inner clearing: the Devata are invoked as active powers that remove what blocks progress in the ‘hard pass’ of life. Soma is addressed as the sustaining delight that allows the battle to be endured and completed, so the soul can move by kratu (conscious will) along the path of R̥ta.
Invoke Indra-Agni to cut and burn hostile formations; establish kratu (right resolve).
Maṇipūra (fire/will) supporting Ājñā (discernment)
Kapalabhāti (gentle, if appropriate) or brisk exhale emphasis to kindle Agni; then steady chanting.
Fighting clarity leading to purified steadiness.
Name one entrenched habit as a ‘dasyu’; on ‘adahad agniḥ’ feel it burn; on ‘kratvā na yātām’ reaffirm right intention; end by sitting quietly to sense the cleared ‘pass’ within.
Rigvedic accents with emphatic udātta on ‘índro’ and clear articulation of paired verbs ‘ahann… adahat’.
Keep the two opening actions distinct: ‘ahann indro | adahat agniḥ’; do not merge ‘madhyaṃdinād abhīke’.
(adahat): short ‘a’, dental ‘t’ end, (agnir): roll into following vowel smoothly, (madhyaṃdināt): nasal ‘ṃ’ before ‘d’, (durge): soft ‘g’, not ‘j’, (śarvā): ‘ś’ palatal, long ā
Bright, forceful, clean consonants; avoid shouting—keep controlled heat.
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