Rig Veda 8.30.4: Mandala 8, Sukta 30, Mantra 4
Sukta 8.30
- Devata
- Viśve Devāḥ
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
ये देवास इह स्थन विश्वे वैश्वानरा उत । अस्मभ्यं शर्म सप्रथो गवेऽश्वाय यच्छत ॥
yé devāsa ihá sthána víśve vaiśvānarā utá | asmábhyaṃ śárma saprátho gáve ’śvā́ya yacchata ||
โอ้เหล่าเทพผู้สถิตอยู่ ณ ที่นี้—เทพทั้งปวง และอำนาจแห่งไวศวานระ (Vaiśvānara) ด้วย—ขอจงประทานที่พึ่งอันกว้างใหญ่มั่นคงแก่เรา และประทานรัศมีแห่งความเจริญงอกงาม เพื่อโคของเรา (แสงสว่าง) และเพื่อม้าของเรา (พลัง).
Word by Word
- ये
- who (those who)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole KartāRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- देवासः
- godsNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole KartāRoot देव (प्रातिपदिक)
- इह
- hereIndeclinableअव्ययRole AdhikaraṇaRoot इह (अव्यय)
- स्थन
- stand / be presentVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); मध्यमपुरुष; बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; वैदिक रूप (स्थन = स्थत/तिष्ठत)Role (क्रिया) —Root स्था (धातु)
- विश्वे
- allAdjective (used substantively)पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole KartāRoot विश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- वैश्वानराः
- Vaiśvānara-s (universal ones; epithet of the gods/Agni-type)Noun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole KartāRoot वैश्वानर (प्रातिपदिक; ‘belonging to all men/people’, epithet)
- उत
- and / alsoIndeclinableअव्ययRoot उत (अव्यय)
- अस्मभ्यम्
- to usPronounत्रिलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी; बहुवचनRole SampradānaRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- शर्म
- shelter, protection, comfortNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole KarmaRoot शर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- सप्रथः
- broad, ampleAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन (विशेषणम् ‘शर्म’ इति)Role KarmaRoot सु-प्रथ (प्रातिपदिक; ‘broad, widely-extended’)
- गवे
- for cattleNounपुं/स्त्रीलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी; एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot गो (प्रातिपदिक)
- अश्वाय
- for horsesNounपुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी; एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot अश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- यच्छत
- grant, bestowVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); मध्यमपुरुष; बहुवचन; परस्मैपदRole (क्रिया) —Root यम् (धातु; ‘to give/extend/offer’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: ये देवासः इह स्थन विश्वे वैश्वानराः उत । अस्मभ्यम् शर्म सप्रथः गवे अश्वाय यच्छत । Sandhi: (1) गवेऽश्वाय = गवे + अश्वाय (अ + अ → ’ avagraha). Accent note: Devanāgarī text marks Vedic accents (e.g., दे॑वासः, विश्वे॑, शर्म॑, अश्वा॑य)
- analysis keeps lexical forms
- accent is not re-assigned beyond the given pada-forms
The meaning
Outer meaning
Invocation to the gods present here, including the Vaiśvānara powers: grant us broad, firm shelter; give prosperity for cattle and horses.
Inner meaning
The seer calls the universal divine powers “here” (iha)—present in the field of practice—to establish a wide, stable inner refuge (śarma saprathaḥ): a spacious peace in the being. ‘Go’ and ‘aśva’ are the Vedic symbols of illumination and force: rays of knowledge (cows) and energies of action (horses). Vaiśvānara points to the universal Agni-force, the inner fire that organizes and enlarges the life into a secure wideness.
Universal truth
Spiritual life needs both inner safety (a wide peace) and effective capacities (light and energy). True shelter is not contraction but a widening foundation that supports growth.
Themes
All-gods blessing, Protection and wideness, Inner prosperity (light-force)
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 8.30.1, Rig Veda 8.30.2, Rig Veda 8.30.3
Significance
The seer emphasizes divine immanence (‘here’) and the psychology of wideness—peace as the basis for illumination and energetic action.
The deity
- Devata
- Viśve Devāḥ with Vaiśvānara (universal Agni-force)
- Epithets
- viśve, vaiśvānara
- Related deities
- Agni, Bṛhaspati (for wideness and protection, thematically), Indra (for increase of light/force)
Cosmic role
The All-Gods as the total working of cosmic powers; Vaiśvānara as the universal fire that sustains, digests, and unifies.
Inner power
Collective harmonizing help; Agni-Vaiśvānara as the inner heat that builds stable peace and releases light and force.
In ritual
Where it is used
General invocation for protection/prosperity in a soma-yajña setting (broadly applicable, not uniquely fixed)
ये दे॑वास इ॒ह स्थन॒ विश्वे॑ वैश्वान॒रा उ॒त । अ॒स्मभ्यं॒ शर्म॑ स॒प्रथो॒ गवेऽश्वा॑य यच्छत ॥
ये । दे॒वा॒सः॒ । इ॒ह । स्थन॑ । विश्वे॑ । वै॒श्वा॒न॒राः । उ॒त । अ॒स्मभ्य॑म् । शर्म॑ । स॒ऽप्रथः॑ । गवे॑ । अश्वा॑य । य॒च्छ॒त॒ ॥
ye | devāsaḥ | iha | sthana | viśve | vaiśvānarāḥ | uta | asmabhyam | śarma | sa-prathaḥ | gave | aśvāya | yacchata
Two main lines with invocatory relative clause + imperative request; cadence suited for communal recitation.
Expansive: the phrase saprathaḥ naturally opens the breath and gives a widening feel.
Elicits felt wideness and safety; energizes aspiration while keeping it grounded in peace.
- इह स्थन (iha sthana)
- Literal: be here, stand here. Symbolic: divine presence established in the practitioner’s present consciousness
- वैश्वानराः (vaiśvānarāḥ)
- Literal: universal/pertaining to all men; Vaiśvānara fires. Symbolic: Agni as universal inner fire, integrative force in all beings
- शर्म (śarma)
- Literal: shelter, comfort, peace. Symbolic: inner refuge/peace that protects and consolidates the sādhanā
- सप्रथः (saprathaḥ)
- Literal: wide-spread, broad. Symbolic: wideness of consciousness (bṛhat) rather than narrow mental stress
- गवे (gave)
- Literal: for the cow/cattle. Symbolic: for rays of light/knowledge, illuminations
- अश्वाय (aśvāya)
- Literal: for the horse. Symbolic: for vital energies, forces of action and progress
All-gods offering; also apt in Agni-centered contexts invoking Vaiśvānara for collective harmony, protection, and increase of ‘light and force’ in the sacrificer.
At the opening/transition of offerings when inviting deities to be present ‘here’.
Āvāhana (invitation) + prayer for śarma (shelter) and increase.
Before work or study: chant to establish ‘wide shelter’ (calm field), then ask for ‘go’ (clarity) and ‘aśva’ (energy).
vaiśvānara ‘belonging to all men/beings’ (viśva+nara) points to a universalized fire/force (often Agni-Vaiśvānara) that integrates the many. śarma is protective peace; prath (√prath ‘spread, widen’) underlies saprathaḥ, aligning shelter with wideness (bṛhat). go (cow) is read symbolically as light/ray/knowledge (common RV metaphor); aśva as dynamic force/energy—rooted in the horse’s function as carrier of motion and victory.
Bṛhat (wideness as protection), integration of powers (Vaiśvānara as universal force), prosperity as light and energy (go/aśva symbolism)
Divine presence ‘here’ supports the right ordering of life-force and mind-force in the human vessel.
Truth manifests as stable peace and clear light (go) supporting right action (aśva).
Sustenance and expansion: the universal fire builds the habitation of consciousness and multiplies its powers.
Integral Yoga resonance: peace-wideness as foundation, then descent of light and force.
Fire = inner will and digestive transformation; shelter = stable peace; cows = illuminations; horses = dynamic energies.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The descent/presence of the gods ‘here’ in the sacrifice and their granting of śarma (protective peace) and increase (go/aśva). Mythically it is divine patronage of the rite; psychologically it is the establishment of a wide inner safety in which illumination (cows as rays/knowledges) and dynamic force (horses as energies) can grow.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The shelter term śarma corresponds to an old Indo-European semantic of protection/refuge. The ‘cow/horse’ pair is a classic Indo-European poetic dyad for wealth and power; the RV internalizes it into knowledge (light) and energy (force), while maintaining the inherited poetic currency.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi calls the gods to presence (iha sthana) and asks for a specific inner condition: wide peace (śarma saprathaḥ). The Devata’s reciprocity is to establish protection and to increase the seeker’s light and force—making the human vessel fit for further truth-manifestation.
Establish ‘wide shelter’ (spacious peace) and invite the universal Fire to organize the being.
anāhata (peace/wideness)
Slow diaphragmatic breathing; on inhale feel ‘iha sthana’ (presence), on exhale ‘śarma saprathaḥ’ (wideness).
Widened, calm, quietly energized.
First create inner refuge (śarma), then consciously call for ‘go’ (clarity) and ‘aśva’ (effective force) to act without strain.
Follow saṃhitā accents; keep ‘viśve’ and ‘vaiśvānara’ clearly articulated with correct vowel lengths.
Slight lift on accented syllables (॑); maintain even flow through compound vaiśvānara.
vaiśvānara: pronounce ‘vaiś’ (vaiś) clearly, not ‘vesh’., śarma: palatal ś, not dental s., gave ’śvāya: maintain the avagraha pause lightly; don’t over-separate.
warm, spacious, inviting
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