Rig Veda 4.30.6: Mandala 4, Sukta 30, Mantra 6
Sukta 4.30
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
यत्रोत मर्त्याय कमरिणा इन्द्र सूर्यम् । प्रावः शचीभिरेतशम् ॥
yatróta mártyāya kám áriṇā índra sū́ryam | prā́vaḥ śácībhir étaśam ||
ณ ที่นั้น เพื่อมนุษย์ผู้ต้องตาย โอ้อินทระ ท่านได้ชนะและตั้งดวงอาทิตย์ให้เป็นสมบัติอันมั่นคง; ด้วยฤทธิ์แห่งความชำนาญ ท่านได้คุ้มครองและนำเอทศะ (Etaśa) ก้าวไปข้างหน้า.
Word by Word
- यत्र
- whereIndeclinableस्थानवाचक अव्यय (relative adverb: ‘where’)Role अधिकरण (स्थान-संबन्ध)Root यत्र (प्रश्न/सम्बन्ध-अव्यय)
- उत
- and; alsoIndeclinableसमुच्चय/अवधारण निपात (‘and/also/indeed’)Root उत (निपात)
- मर्त्याय
- for the mortal (man)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी एकवचनRole सम्प्रदान (हित/लाभार्थ)Root मर्त्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- कम्
- whom? / which (one)Pronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन (enclitic/acc.)Role कर्मRoot क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अरिणा
- with an enemy; by means of a foeNounपुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया एकवचनRole करण (सहायक/उपाय)Root अरि (प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- सूर्यम्
- the SunNounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचनRole कर्मRoot सूर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रावः
- you protected; you helped forthVerbलुङ् (aorist), परस्मैपद; मध्यमपुरुष एकवचनRole क्रिया (मुख्य क्रियापद)Root √अव् (रक्षण/पालन) + प्र-
- शचीभिः
- with (your) powers/skillsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया बहुवचनRole करणRoot शची (प्रातिपदिक)
- एतशम्
- Etaśa (the Sun’s steed / a name of a horse)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचनRole कर्मRoot एतश (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- संहिता-पाठ: यत्रो॒त = यत्र + उत (स्वर-संहिता सहित)
- मर्त्या॑य = मर्त्याय (चतुर्थी एकवचन)
- कमरि॑णा = कम् + अरिणा (म् + अ → म + अ; संहिता में ‘कमरि-’)
- इन्द्र॒ = इन्द्र (सम्बोधन)
- प्राव॒: = प्र + अवः (लुङ् मध्यम एकवचन; visarga संहिता-चिह्न)
- शची॑भि॒रेत॑शम् = शचीभिः + एतशम् (ः + ए → रे; विसर्ग-सन्धि)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra wins and establishes the Sun as a secure possession for the mortal; by his skillful powers he protects and leads forward Etaśa.
Inner meaning
The illumined Mind (Indra) secures the inner Sun—clarity of truth-consciousness—for the human seeker, and by subtle capacities (śacī) guides the swift life-force (Etaśa) so it can carry the awakening forward without falling back into obscurity.
Universal truth
Awakening is stabilized when higher illumination is made one’s own; then the energies of action are safely led by discernment rather than by impulse.
Themes
gift of light, divine protection, guidance of energies
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 4.18, RV 4.26, RV 4.27, RV 4.30
Family tradition
Gautama line of seers; hymns often show a dramatic inner battle where illumination must be won and stabilized.
Significance
Vāmadeva is famed for visionary reversals—turning outer myth into inner realization; his Indra-hymns frequently encode the psychology of breaking resistance and establishing the light.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Vṛtrahan (slayer of the Coverer), Maghavan (bounteous), Śatakratu (of a hundred powers/works)
- Related deities
- Agni, Sūrya, Uṣas, Soma, Bṛhaspati
Cosmic role
Releaser of the solar light and the waters; champion of ṛta by defeating forces of concealment.
Inner power
Decisive illumination: the mind-force that cuts through confusion, secures truth, and directs the life-energy rightly.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra śastra / Indra-stotra recitation in Soma-related rites (general Indra praise)
यत्रो॒त मर्त्या॑य॒ कमरि॑णा इन्द्र॒ सूर्य॑म् । प्राव॒: शची॑भि॒रेत॑शम् ॥
यत्र॑ । उ॒त । मर्त्या॑य । कम् । अरि॑णाः । इ॒न्द्र॒ । सूर्य॑म् । प्र । आ॒वः॒ । शची॑भिः । एत॑शम् ॥
yatra | uta | martyāya | kam | ariṇāḥ | indra | sūryam | pra | āvaḥ | śacībhiḥ | etaśam
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables
Firm, forward-driving cadence suited to conquest and establishment.
Builds confidence and ‘ascending’ momentum; good for affirming stable inner clarity.
- इन्द्र (indra)
- Literal: Indra, lord of power. Symbolic: Divine Mind; illuminative force that conquers obscurity
- सूर्य (sūrya)
- Literal: Sun. Symbolic: Inner Sun of truth, illumination, supramental clarity (in Aurobindonian sense: higher light)
- मर्त्य (martya)
- Literal: mortal human. Symbolic: The embodied seeker in mixed consciousness
- शचीभिः (śacībhiḥ)
- Literal: with powers/skills. Symbolic: Effective discernments, luminous capacities of the awakened mind
- एतश (etaśa)
- Literal: Etaśa (a swift one; also name linked with the sun’s horse). Symbolic: Swift vital energy / forward-driving force that must be guided by light
- प्रावः (prāvaḥ)
- Literal: you protected/advanced. Symbolic: Grace that both guards and propels the sadhana
Indra praise emphasizing protection and securing of ‘Sun’ for the sacrificer; supports rites seeking victory and right guidance of energies
When invoking Indra for victory, strength, and the release of light; also in general praise sequences.
Stotra/śastra praise to draw Indra’s force and protection.
Use as a contemplation on stabilizing insight and guiding one’s energy; recite before focused work or meditation to ‘set the inner Sun’.
from √av ‘protect, aid’ → inner safeguarding of the luminous movement. (pl. instr. śacībhiḥ) denotes Indra’s effective powers/skills—intelligence-force that accomplishes. Etaśa is a mythic figure associated with solar motion; psychologically the swift energetic carrier of dawn/illumination in the being. is a difficult form; taken as perfect/preterite of a verb meaning ‘to win/secure/assign’ (interpretation depends on recension and grammatical tradition).
illumination granted to the mortal, śacī as effective intelligence-force
Indra’s act ‘sets’ the Sun—symbol of restoring right order in consciousness.
Truth becomes a ‘sure possession’ when illumination is established, not merely glimpsed.
Re-establishing the solar principle in the human field—bringing higher light into embodied life.
Proto-Vedāntic / integral-psychological reading (Aurobindo/Kashyap): ascent from mixed mind to luminous mind.
daybreak to full day (movement from dawn to established sun)
From first illumination to stable daylight of understanding; the ‘steed’ is the mobilized prāṇic force carrying realization into action.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Indra ‘wins’ or secures the Sun for the mortal and protects Etaśa: mythically the establishment of solar light and its swift course; psychologically the fixing of illumination in human consciousness and the safeguarding of the swift life-energy that carries it forward.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √av ‘protect’ has Indo-Iranian continuity (Av av- ‘help, protect’) and fits a widespread IE semantic of support/aid. The solar lexeme sūrya is Indo-Iranian (Av hvar- is different lexeme; the solar concept is shared though terms vary).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi presents Indra as the mediator who makes the supernal light a ‘human possession’ and then stabilizes its movement through śacī—invocation seeks not only a flash of insight but sustained, protected progress.
‘Establish the inner Sun’: rest attention in the forehead/inner sky and affirm clear seeing guiding action.
Ājñā (brow)
Gentle nāḍī-śodhana or 4-4-6 breathing to steady mind and direct prāṇa.
Luminous, steady mental clarity with forward-moving will.
Recall a recent insight; on each recitation, imagine it becoming a stable ‘possession’ and let the life-force (Etaśa) align with it—one practical step forward after chanting.
Default Rigvedic accenting: preserve udātta on marked syllables; treat enclitics as anudātta with following svarita where applicable (exact śākha svara requires pada-svara notation).
Keep clear lift on accented syllables (udātta); avoid flattening ‘indra sūryam’—let the cadence rise on the deity-name and the solar term.
yatra: ‘tra’ crisp, martyāya: long ā in -tyā-, ariṇāḥ: retroflex ṇ, śacībhir: śa- (palatal ś), long ī, etaśam: palatal ś, short a in -śam
Bright, steady, forward-moving; not aggressive.
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