Rig Veda 6.16.35: Mandala 6, Sukta 16, Mantra 35
Sukta 6.16
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja Bārhaspatya
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
गर्भे मातुः पितुष्पिता विदिद्युतानो अक्षरे । सीदन्नृतस्य योनिमा ॥
gárbhe mātuḥ pituṣ pitā vídidyutāno ákṣare | sī́dann ṛtásya yónim ā́ ||
ในครรภ์ของมารดา ผู้เป็นบิดาแห่งบิดา เปล่งประกายปรากฏตน แล้วประทับในอักษระ (akṣara) อันไม่เสื่อมสลาย; เขาตั้งมั่นในครรภ์แห่งฤตะ (ṛta) คือระเบียบสัจธรรม.
Word by Word
- गर्भे
- in the wombNounपुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचनRole अधिकारणRoot गर्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
- मातुः
- of the motherNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root मातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- पितुः
- of the fatherNounपुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- पिता
- the fatherNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- विदिद्युतानः
- shining forth / flashingParticiple (Adjective-like)वर्तमान कृदन्त (शानच्/आनच्-प्रत्यय); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन; आत्मनेपदी भावःRole कर्तृ (पिता-विशेषणम्)Root √द्युत् (दीप्तौ) / √विद् (विशेषेण/विविधं) + दिद्युत (प्रातिपदिक, तीव्र-दीप्ति)
- अक्षरे
- in the imperishable (realm/word)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचनRole अधिकारणRoot अक्षर (प्रातिपदिक)
- सीदन्
- sitting down / taking seatVerb (participle)वर्तमान कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन (नपुंसक/पुं. प्रयोगः); परस्मैपदी भावःRole कर्तृ (अग्नि/देवता-विशेषणम्)Root √सद् (आसने/उपवेशने)
- ऋतस्य
- of ṛta (cosmic order/truth)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root ऋत (प्रातिपदिक)
- योनिम्
- the womb / source / seatNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचनRole कर्मRoot योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पितुष्पिता → पितुः पिता (षष्ठी-सम्बन्धः + प्रथमा)
- अन्यत्र स्पष्ट-सन्धि-भङ्गः न आवश्यकः: गर्भे मातुः पितुः पिता विदिद्युतानः अक्षरे । सीदन् ऋतस्य योनिम् आ । (आ = अव्यय/उपसर्गवत् पदपूरण/प्रग्रह)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Agni, flashing into manifestation, is in the Mother’s womb; he is the Father of the father; he takes his seat in the imperishable and settles into the womb of Ṛta.
Inner meaning
The divine Fire is born in the ‘Mother’—the universal Nature (or the inner matrix of consciousness). He is ‘father of the father’: the origin of our originating power (mind/word/force), because will is prior to execution and even prior to formed thought. When he ‘flashes’ (vididyutānaḥ), the inner fire reveals itself as a sudden illumination and then establishes itself in the akṣara (the imperishable poise of being), and in ṛta’s yoni (the womb of truth-order): the stable seat where right action and right knowledge arise spontaneously.
Universal truth
True power is not mere activity; it is the settled flame of conscious will rooted in the imperishable truth of being. Illumination must become establishment in ṛta, not a passing flash.
Themes
Truth-Order (Ṛta), Inner birth / manifestation, Establishment of the divine Fire, Cosmogonic psychology
The seer
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja Bārhaspatya
- Lineage
- Bharadvāja
- Other hymns
- RV 6.16.36 (brahma prajāvat), RV 6.14 (Agni as knower of births), RV 2.1 (Gṛtsamada: Agni as Jātavedas—conceptual parallel)
Family tradition
Bārhaspatya emphasis on brahman (inspired word) and ṛta (truth-order), with Agni as the first awakener and establisher of the path.
Significance
The seer frames Agni as metaphysical principle: born in Nature yet seated in the imperishable—bridging manifestation and the eternal.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- Vididyutāna (flashing forth), Akṣara-niṣad (seated in the imperishable), Ṛtasya-yoni-niṣad (established in ṛta’s womb)
- Related deities
- Aditi (Mother principle of wideness), Uṣas (dawn of illumination), Bṛhaspati (word that forms ṛta in mind)
Cosmic role
First-born of the gods in manifestation; establishes ṛta in the worlds; awakens the sacrifice (evolutionary ascent).
Inner power
Lightning of awakening that becomes steady flame; power to found right order in thought, speech, and act.
In ritual
Where it is used
Agni establishment/rekindling praises; reflective stuti within Agni hymns
गर्भे॑ मा॒तुः पि॒तुष्पि॒ता वि॑दिद्युता॒नो अ॒क्षरे॑ । सीद॑न्नृ॒तस्य॒ योनि॒मा ॥
गर्भे॑ । मा॒तुः । पि॒तुः । पि॒ता । वि॒ऽदि॒द्यु॒ता॒नः । अ॒क्षरे॑ । सीद॑न् । ऋ॒तस्य॑ । योनि॑म् । आ ॥
garbhe | mātuḥ | pituḥ | pitā | vi-didyutānaḥ | akṣare | sīdan | ṛtasya | yonim | ā
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4 × ~11 (with a compact, aphoristic feel due to dense compounds)
Oracular and vertical—more ‘revealing’ than ‘driving’.
Produces a sense of depth and origin; supports contemplation of Agni’s secret birth and stable seat.
- गर्भे (garbhe)
- Literal: in the womb. Symbolic: in the secret matrix where powers are formed—subtle consciousness
- मातुः (mātuḥ)
- Literal: of the Mother. Symbolic: Prakṛti/Nature; the receptive ground of manifestation
- पितुः पिता (pituḥ pitā)
- Literal: father of the father. Symbolic: origin of our instrumental powers; the divine Will behind mind and life
- विदिद्युतानः (vi-didyutānaḥ)
- Literal: flashing forth, shining out. Symbolic: sudden revelation; lightning-like awakening of Agni in the being
- अक्षरे (akṣare)
- Literal: in the imperishable. Symbolic: unchanging consciousness (stable Self/being)
- ऋतस्य योनिम् (ṛtasya yonim)
- Literal: womb/seat of ṛta. Symbolic: source-field of right order where truth becomes law of movement
Agni-invocation in Soma-sacrifice context; establishing Agni in his yoni (altar/fire-seat) and affirming Ṛta as the right foundation of the rite.
During kindling or when affirming Agni’s cosmic status as foundation of ṛta in the rite.
Recitation accompanying oblation and mental recollection of Agni’s seat in truth.
Chant to stabilize an awakening: after a breakthrough insight, use this verse to ‘seat’ it in steady practice and ethical order (ṛta).
Key terms: (1) vi-didyutānaḥ: participle (middle) from vi-√dyut 'to shine forth, flash apart/clearly'; suggests emergence of illumination from concealment. (2) akṣara: a- (negation) + √kṣar 'to flow away, perish' → 'imperishable, stable'; in Vedic usage often the enduring plane of truth-consciousness. (3) sīdan: present participle from √sad 'sit, settle, take seat'—ritually 'to sit on the altar/seat', psychologically 'to establish the force within the being'. (4) yoni: 'womb/source' as locus of generation; here 'ṛtasya yoni' = the generative seat of right-order.
Ṛta (cosmic order/truth-law), Akṣara (imperishable foundation), Yoni (generative seat/source)
Explicit: Agni is seated in the yoni of ṛta—he is the installer of right law in movement.
Akṣara implies satya as unchanging truth; ṛta is satya expressed as order.
Gestation and manifestation: the divine Fire born in the Mother, flashing into worlds, then establishing a stable seat.
Bridging Vedic symbolism with later Upaniṣadic akṣara-brahman notions (conceptual continuity).
night-to-dawn transition (implied by flashing emergence)
Lightning = sudden awakening; womb = subconscious/causal matrix; imperishable = witnessing Self; ṛta = dharmic alignment of the psyche.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The 'hidden birth and enthronement of Agni': Agni is conceived in the Mother (the matrix of manifestation) yet is the primordial Father; he flashes into visibility and is installed in the imperishable seat, identified with the womb/source of Ṛta. Mythically this is the recurring Vedic pattern: the divine Fire is both born and eternal, both hidden and revealed; psychologically it is the awakening of the will-illumination in the human vessel and its settling into truth-order.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √dyut 'shine' has clear Indo-European cognates (cf. PIE *dyeu- 'sky/daylight, shine': Skt dyú-, div-; Lat diēs; Gk Zeus/Dios). The semantic field links shining/sky/deity, supporting the verse’s move from physical 'flash' to divine manifestation. √sad 'sit' (PIE *sed-) is widely attested (Lat sedēre, Eng. sit via Germanic *sitjan). The ritual 'sitting' maps naturally to the conceptual 'establishment' of a power within an ordered seat (yoni).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer articulates a reciprocal installation: by naming Agni’s true seat (akṣara; ṛtasya yoni), the human speech (mantra) helps 'seat' the divine power in the right inner locus; in return Agni becomes the stable mediator of Ṛta in the practitioner—turning the rite (outer) and the consciousness (inner) into a coherent order. The relationship is thus not petition-only but alignment: the rishi offers right knowledge of Agni’s origin/seat, and Agni grants the settled truth-force.
Contemplate the ‘birth’ of will from the deep Mother (Nature) and seat it in the imperishable witness; align actions with ṛta.
Muladhara-to-Manipura axis (womb/ground to fire of will)
Nadi śodhana (gentle) to stabilize ‘flashing’ insights into steady clarity.
From sudden illumination to established truth-conscious poise.
Recall a recent insight; on inhalation feel it arise from depth (garbha), on exhalation seat it in stillness (akṣara); then resolve one ṛta-aligned action to embody it.
Rigvedic three-tone; emphasize udātta on key nouns (gárbhe, mātúḥ, ákṣare, ṛtásya).
Observe internal sandhi breaks: pituṣ pitā; keep the cadence with a clear pause before sīdann.
vididyutānaḥ: articulate di-dyu (dyu as palatal glide), akṣare: kṣ as a conjunct (k+ṣ), not ‘kh’, ṛtasya: vocalic ṛ is brief and clear, yoniṃ: nasalized final ‘ṃ’ (anusvāra) before pause
Resonant, inward, with a ‘revealing’ tone; avoid force.
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