Rig Veda 5.22.1: Mandala 5, Sukta 22, Mantra 1
Sukta 5.22
प्र विश्वसामन्नत्रिवदर्चा पावकशोचिषे । यो अध्वरेष्वीड्यो होता मन्द्रतमो विशि ॥
prá víśvasāmann atrivád arcā pāvakáśociṣe | yó adhvaréṣv ī́ḍyo hótā mandrátamo viśí ||
จงขับขานออกไป โอเพลงสรรเสริญอันครอบคลุมทั่วทั้งปวง ดังที่อาตรี Atri ขับขาน แด่เปลวเพลิงผู้ชำระให้บริสุทธิ์. ผู้ซึ่งใน adhvara (พิธีกรรม) พึงถูกแสวงหาและสักการะ—โหตฤ Hotar ผู้ประกาศเชิญ ผู้เปี่ยมรื่นรมย์ยิ่งในหมู่ชน—ขอให้ท่านนั้นได้รับการยืนยันด้วยวาจาของเรา.
Stotra-like praise to Agni in adhvara; emphasizes Agni’s role as hotṛ within the viś (community) during major rites.
Purification (pāvaka), Integral sacrifice (adhvara as unbroken work), Collective embodiment (viś)
Universal chant (viśva-sāman) is speech aligned with ṛta; it makes action ‘unbroken’.
Inspired praise is true speech that reveals and effects reality.
Creation through sound and fire: vāc kindles agni, agni manifests order in works.
Mantra-yoga and karma-yoga synthesis (Vedic), resonant with Aurobindo’s ‘inspired speech’ and ‘consecrated action’.
dawn (implied by kindling and beginning chant)
Purifying flame = inner catharsis; universal chant = harmonized mind; dawn = awakening of higher perception.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The seer’s chant awakening the purifying Agni who becomes Hotṛ within the people: the mythic pattern of inspired speech calling the divine Fire to preside over and purify the collective work.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √arc ‘shine/praise’ preserves the IE link between radiance and laudation. The social term viś (clan/settlement) is an old IE societal category. The superlative mandratamaḥ reflects inherited morphological intensification.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi positions himself in Atri’s inspired lineage (atrivat), implying authorized speech. Agni is approached as purifier and communal priest: the seer’s word establishes Agni’s presence and joy-force (mandra) in the collective being.
Enter ‘seer-speech’: let a simple mantra arise from silence, then feel it kindle a purifying flame in the chest/solar plexus.
Viśuddha (vāc) linked to Anāhata (devotion)
Bhrāmarī (gentle) to refine voice-current, then silent repetition with felt inner flame.
Inspired, wide, harmonized; speech and will unified.
Before chanting, widen awareness to include all parts of the being (‘viśi’). Chant as offering, not display; let the sound purify and organize the day’s action as adhvara.
Triṣṭubh recitation with Vedic accents as per source; keep opening ‘pra’ energetic; maintain accent peaks without musical over-ornament.
Do not rush compound words (viśva-sāman, pāvaka-śociṣe). Pause lightly after each pāda; keep ‘hotā mandratamo’ resonant.
viśvasāman: ś palatal; long ā in sāman, atrivat: short a; flap r lightly, pāvakaśociṣe: split pāvaka-śociṣe; śociṣe with ś, adhvareṣu: dhv cluster clear; ṣ retroflex, īḍyo: long ī; retroflex ḍ
Resonant, open-throated, devotional yet strong.
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