Rig Veda 8.13.23: Mandala 8, Sukta 13, Mantra 23
Sukta 8.13
- Devata
- Indra
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
उत ते सुष्टुता हरी वृषणा वहतो रथम् । अजुर्यस्य मदिन्तमं यमीमहे ॥
utá te súṣṭutā hárī vṛ́ṣaṇā vahato rátham | ajúryasya madíntamaṃ yám ī́mahe ||
อีกทั้งม้าสีเหลืองน้ำตาลคู่ของท่าน ผู้ได้รับการสรรเสริญอย่างงดงาม—ผู้ทรงพลัง—ย่อมเทียมลากราชรถขององค์เจ้า ผู้ไม่เสื่อมสูญ เราทั้งหลายขอเชื้อเชิญให้พระองค์ ผู้ให้ความปีติอันเมามายยิ่งที่สุด เสด็จมาใกล้เถิด
Word by Word
- उत
- and, alsoIndeclinableनिपात (समुच्चय/अन्वर्थ)Root उत (निपात)
- ते
- for you / to youPronounषष्ठी एकवचन (enclitic) / वैदिके दत्तिवत्-प्रयोगः; ‘to/for you’ अर्थेRole SampradānaRoot त्वद् (युष्मद्-प्रातिपदिक)
- सुष्टुता
- well-uttered praiseNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot सु- + स्तु (√स्तु ‘to praise’) → सुष्टुता (स्तुतिः)
- हरी
- the two bay steeds (of Indra)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा द्विवचनRole KartāRoot हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
- वृषणा
- the two strong/virile onesAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा द्विवचन; हरी इति विशेषणम्Role KartāRoot वृषण (प्रातिपदिक)
- वहतः
- they carry / conveyVerbलट् (वर्तमाने), परस्मैपदम्, ३ पुरुष, द्विवचनRoot √वह् (वहति ‘to carry, convey’)
- रथम्
- the chariotNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचनRole KarmaRoot रथ (प्रातिपदिक)
- अजुर्यस्य
- of the unaging/unyielding oneAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी एकवचन; (इन्द्रस्य) विशेषणम्Role Sambandha (genitive)Root अजुर्य (प्रातिपदिक; a- + जुर्य ‘decaying/weakening’)
- मदिन्तमम्
- the most exhilarating / most intoxicated (one)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन; (इन्द्रम्) विशेषणम्Role KarmaRoot मदिन् (प्रातिपदिक; √मद् ‘to be exhilarated/intoxicated’) + तमप्
- यम्
- whomPronounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचनRole KarmaRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ईम
- indeed, justIndeclinableवैदिक-निपातः (emphatic/particle)Root ईम् (निपात/अव्यय)
- महे
- we worship / we honorVerbलट् (वर्तमाने), आत्मनेपदम्, १ पुरुष, बहुवचनRoot √मह् (महे ‘to honor, to worship’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: उत | ते | सुष्टुता | हरी | वृषणा | वहतः | रथम् | अजुर्यस्य | मदिन्तमम् | यम् | ईम् | महे । 1) ‘यमीमहे’ = ‘यम्’ + ‘ईम्’ + ‘महे’ (निपात ‘ईम्’ संधौ ‘यम्’ इत्यस्य अनुनासिक-समासः/संयोगः). 2) ‘ते’ एन्क्लिटिक-रूपेण ‘त्वद्/युष्मद्’ सम्बन्ध/सम्प्रदानार्थे
- वैदिके ‘ते’ बहुधा दत्तिवत् ‘to you/for you’ अर्थे प्रयुज्यते
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra’s two tawny steeds/powers (harī), strong and vigorous, draw his chariot; the worshipper seeks to bring near the unfailing Lord whose delight is most intoxicating.
Inner meaning
The seeker invokes Indra (illumined divine Mind) through his two harī—symbolic of the paired dynamic forces that carry the soul’s aspiration: (1) luminous life-force and (2) swift mental energy. These yoked powers draw the ‘ratha’ (the moving formation of the sadhana: body-life-mind as a vehicle) so that Indra’s unaging, unwearied joy-force (madintama) comes close—i.e., the mind is lifted into a state where delight and light intensify together.
Universal truth
When aspiration and disciplined energies are harmonized and yoked, higher intelligence approaches naturally; the most enduring guidance is ‘unfailing’ because it is aligned with truth and brings a stable, uplifting joy.
Themes
Indra’s harīs, invocation, delight-force
The seer
- Lineage
- Kāṇva (probable)
- Other hymns
- RV 8.13 (hymn context), Related Kāṇva Indra hymns across RV 8 (exact seer varies by hymn)
Family tradition
Many hymns of RV 8 are in the Kāṇva tradition, emphasizing dynamic invocation of Indra and the energizing powers (harī, soma, ratha) in the inner sacrifice.
Significance
The anonymous/collective seer-voice here represents a lineage-current of practical yoga: calling down illumination by yoking energies and intensifying delight, rather than mere praise as recital.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- ajurya (unfailing), vṛṣan (the strong/bull), lord of harī, somapā (Soma-drinker; implied by context)
- Related deities
- Soma, Agni, Uṣas, Bṛhaspati
Cosmic role
Breaker of the coverer; establisher of wide light (svar) and right order through victorious force.
Inner power
Illumined Mind that organizes energies, dispels obstruction, and brings a glad force (ānanda-linked) into the mental-vital being.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra-Soma offerings in Soma-yajña setting (general Indra-stotra usage)
उ॒त ते॒ सुष्टु॑ता॒ हरी॒ वृष॑णा वहतो॒ रथ॑म् । अ॒जु॒र्यस्य॑ म॒दिन्त॑मं॒ यमीम॑हे ॥
उ॒त । ते॒ । सुऽस्तु॑ता । हरी॒ इति॑ । वृष॑णा । व॒ह॒तः॒ । रथ॑म् । अ॒जु॒र्यस्य॑ । म॒दिन्ऽत॑मम् । यम् । ईम॑हे ॥
uta | te | su-stutā | harī iti | vṛṣaṇā | vahataḥ | ratham | ajuryasya | madin-tamam | yam | īmahe
Probable Jagatī (11-syllable pādas) or Triṣṭubh-family cadence; exact scansion requires full pada syllable count with Vedic phonetics
44
4 pādas (likely 11+11+11+11)
Forward-driving, expansive gait suited to ‘drawing near’ and ‘bearing the chariot’.
Builds momentum and invocation-power; supports a felt sense of being ‘carried’ upward by yoked energies.
- हरी (harī)
- Literal: the two tawny ones; Indra’s steeds. Symbolic: paired dynamic energies (mind-force and life-force) that carry consciousness toward illumination
- वृषणा (vṛṣaṇā)
- Literal: the two strong/bull-like ones. Symbolic: potent, virile powers of action and inner momentum
- रथ (ratha)
- Literal: chariot. Symbolic: the psycho-physical vehicle of sadhana; the organized movement of the being toward the Divine
- अजुर्य (ajurya)
- Literal: unfailing, not wearing out. Symbolic: the enduring, steady power of illumined consciousness that does not lapse back into obscurity
- मदिन्तम (madintama)
- Literal: most intoxicating, most gladdening. Symbolic: intensest ananda/rapture that accompanies true illumination
- ईमहे (īmahe)
- Literal: we seek, we strive to obtain/draw near. Symbolic: aspiration and invocation that magnetizes higher force
Invitation (āvāhana) motif: Indra drawn by praise; his harīs bear him to the offering.
During praise/invocation to Indra, especially in Soma-related sequences
Stotra/śastra praise; symbolic ‘yoking’ and ‘bringing near’ the deity through mantra
Use as an invocation before meditation to harmonize breath/energy and invite clarity with joyful force.
hari- 'tawny' often Indra’s steeds; symbolically twin life-mind energies yoked to divine action. vṛṣaṇa dual of vṛṣan 'bull, strong' from √vṛṣ 'to rain/impregnate, be potent'. ajurya 'not aging/failing' (a- + jurya from √jṛ/√jur 'to wear down'). madin from √mad 'to be exhilarated' indicates soma-delight and divine ecstasy.
divine dynamis (vṛṣan potency), ānanda/delight (mad), unfailing permanence (ajurya)
Indra’s approach is facilitated when energies are yoked in right order; the chariot imagery encodes alignment with R̥ta.
‘Ajurya’ indicates a truth-power that does not decay with moods or circumstances.
Ascent toward svar (luminous world) through dynamic forces; the chariot as evolving movement of consciousness.
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral-yogic reading (Aurobindo/Kashyap): deities as powers of consciousness and transformation.
The steeds are pranic-mental dynamisms; the chariot is the integrated instrument; ‘tawny’ suggests solarized energy—life-force turned luminous.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Indra’s arrival on the chariot drawn by the two harīs: mythic epiphany through speed and potency; inwardly, the twin dynamic energies carry the divine action into the seeker, bringing the highest intensities of delight-force.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √mad 'be exhilarated' has Indo-Iranian prominence in Soma poetry; while direct PIE cognates are debated, the semantic field of intoxication/ecstasy is a shared poetic inheritance. Dual forms (harī, vahatḥ) preserve archaic IE grammatical number used for paired divine attributes.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- Praise (suṣṭuti) is the yoke: by well-forming speech the Rishi effectively 'harnesses' the god’s carriers (harīs) and draws near the unfailing, delight-bringing Indra into the sacrificial/inner field.
Yoking paired energies (breath/prāṇa and attention/manas) to invite illumined guidance (Indra).
Ājñā (brow) with support from Maṇipūra (will/force)
Nadi-śodhana or balanced 4-4-6 breathing while mentally ‘yoking’ attention to breath
From energized aspiration to clear, joyful mental wideness (svar).
Begin with steady posture; feel two currents (in-breath/out-breath) as the ‘harī’; on each exhale, inwardly ‘draw near’ the unfailing light; let joy arise without excitement—bright, steady, and strengthening.
Vedic accenting with udatta/anudatta/svarita as marked in the Saṃhitā; preserve udātta peaks on accented syllables (e.g., te, suṣṭutā, rathám, madintamám per recension-specific marks)
Let the udātta syllable be slightly higher and clearer; avoid melodic singing—keep it tonal and steady.
Keep retroflex ṛ in vṛṣaṇā crisp (not ‘ri’)., Pronounce ajuryasya with clear ‘y’ glide (a-jur-ya-sya)., Maintain long vowels: te, harī, īmahe., Do not over-aspirate: vahato (soft ‘h’).
Bright, forward, invoking; not harsh—‘vira’ with clarity.
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