Rig Veda 8.6.37: Mandala 8, Sukta 6, Mantra 37
Sukta 8.6
- Rishi
- Kaṇva
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Raudra (fury)
त्वामिद्वृत्रहन्तम जनासो वृक्तबर्हिषः । हवन्ते वाजसातये ॥
tvā́m íd vṛtrahántamam jánāso vṛktábārhiṣaḥ | hávante vājásātaye ||
แท้จริงคือพระองค์—ผู้พิชิตวฤตระ (Vṛtra) ผู้ทรงฤทธิ์ยิ่ง—ที่หมู่ชนผู้ปูที่นั่งพิธีอันดีเรียบร้อยวิงวอน เพื่อให้เราบรรลุวาชะ (vāja) คือความบริบูรณ์แห่งพลังและความสำเร็จอันมีชัย
Word by Word
- त्वाम्
- you (as object)Noun (Pronoun)द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (पुं/स्त्री/नपुं सर्वत्र)Role कर्मRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- इत्
- indeed, justIndeclinableनिपात; अव्ययRoot इत् (निपात)
- वृत्रहन्तम्
- Vṛtra-slayerNoun/Adjective (epithet)द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन, पुंलिङ्गRole कर्म (त्वाम् का विशेषण)Root वृत्रहन् (प्रातिपदिक; वृत्र + हन्)
- जनासः
- the peoples, menNounप्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन, पुंलिङ्गRole कर्तृRoot जन (प्रातिपदिक)
- वृक्तबर्हिषः
- having strewn/spread the sacred grass (barhis)Adjective (bahuvrīhi/tatpuruṣa-type epithet used adjectivally)प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन, पुंलिङ्ग (जनासः का विशेषण)Role कर्तृ (जनासः का विशेषण)Root वृक्तबर्हिस् (प्रातिपदिक; वृक्त + बर्हिस्)
- हवन्ते
- they call/invokeVerbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम पुरुष, बहुवचनRole क्रिया (कर्तृ: जनासः)Root ह्वे (धातु)
- वाजसातये
- for winning booty/prize (for gain of strength/wealth)Nounचतुर्थी विभक्ति, एकवचन, स्त्रीलिङ्गRole सम्प्रदान (उद्देश्य/प्रयोजन)Root वाजसाति (प्रातिपदिक; वाज + साति)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद: त्वाम् इत् वृत्रहन्तम् जनासः वृक्तबर्हिषः हवन्ते वाजसातये। 1) त्वाम् + इत् → त्वामिद् (अन्त्य म् + इ- आरम्भ पर संधि में ‘मिद्’ रूप).
- वृत्रहन्तम्/जनासः/वृक्तबर्हिषः/हवन्ते/वाजसातये स्वतंत्र पद। (स्वरचिह्न: वृ॑त्रहन्तम्, जना॑सः, वृ॒क्तब॑र्हिषः, हव॑न्ते, वाज॑सातये — ऋग्वैदिक उदात्त/स्वरित चिह्न पाठानुसार)
The meaning
Outer meaning
People with the well-spread ritual grass call upon Indra, the greatest slayer of Vṛtra, in order to win vāja (prize/strength).
Inner meaning
The ‘peoples’ (janāsaḥ)—the multiple parts of the being—prepare the seat (barhis) for the divine Presence: an ordered, receptive foundation in consciousness. They invoke Indra as vṛtrahantama, the most powerful breaker of the Coverer (Vṛtra), i.e., the force that smashes the inner resistance, inertia, and obscurity that block the flow of light and energy. The aim is vāja-sātaye: to win plenitude—effective force, accomplishment, and victorious becoming in the life. This is the psychology of inner battle: prepare receptivity, call the illumined power, and gain victorious capacity.
Universal truth
Lasting achievement comes by removing inner obstruction: when we prepare a stable inner ground and invoke higher clarity, resistance yields and true power becomes available.
Themes
Vṛtra-slaying, invocation, victory, prepared-seat
The seer
- Rishi
- Kaṇva
- Other hymns
- RV 1.32 (Vṛtra-slaying archetype), RV 8.6.33-36 (preparatory strengthening and invitation)
Family tradition
Kaṇvas often frame the Indra-yoga as a battle for light: invocation + prepared seat leads to vāja (plenitude).
Significance
Kaṇva emphasizes the collective psychology of sādhanā: many parts of the being must unite, prepare, and call for the decisive illumination that breaks resistance.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Vṛtrahan (slayer of Vṛtra), Vṛtrahantama (the most powerful Vṛtra-slayer)
- Related deities
- Maruts (allied forces in battle), Agni (initiator of inner sacrifice), Soma (delight that empowers Indra)
Cosmic role
Hero-god who breaks the cosmic obstruction, releases the waters/lights, and wins the plenitude for the sacrificer.
Inner power
Victorious intelligence-force that pierces subconscious resistance and establishes luminous mastery in action.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra invocation for victory and attainment of vāja in Soma rites
त्वामिद्वृ॑त्रहन्तम॒ जना॑सो वृ॒क्तब॑र्हिषः । हव॑न्ते॒ वाज॑सातये ॥
त्वाम् । इत् । वृ॒त्र॒ह॒न्ऽत॒म॒ । जना॑सः । वृ॒क्तऽब॑र्हिषः । हव॑न्ते । वाज॑ऽसातये ॥
tvām | it | vṛtrahan-tama | janāsaḥ | vṛkta-barhiṣaḥ | havante | vāja-sātaye
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4 × ~11
Martial and declarative; strong caesuras support a ‘call to arms’.
Invokes courage and decisiveness; helps cut through lethargy and doubt.
- vṛtrahantama
- Literal: most slaying of Vṛtra. Symbolic: supreme power to destroy the Coverer—subconscient resistance, darkness, inertia
- janāsaḥ
- Literal: peoples. Symbolic: the many elements of the nature (mind, life, body) united in aspiration
- vṛktabarhiṣaḥ
- Literal: having strewn/spread the barhis (sacred grass). Symbolic: prepared inner seat—ordered receptivity, quieted field for the divine
- havante
- Literal: they call, invoke. Symbolic: conscious aspiration and invocation that opens to descent
- vāja-sātaye
- Literal: for winning vāja (prize/strength). Symbolic: for attainment of plenitude: force, mastery, victorious accomplishment
Communal invocation in Soma context; barhis preparation indicates formal offering-space; inner analogue is prepared receptivity for descent of force.
When seeking Indra’s aid for overcoming obstacles and winning the ‘prize’ (strength, success) in ritual and life.
Spread barhis (seat), invoke Indra; offer Soma and praises for victory.
Use before challenging tasks or when facing inner resistance (procrastination, fear): prepare a calm seat (posture/space), invoke clarity, then act.
vṛtrahan: vṛtra ‘covering/obstruction’ + han ‘to strike/kill’ (PIE *gʷhen- ‘to slay’). -tama superlative: ‘most’. barhis: ritual grass-seat; symbolically a prepared foundation/receptacle in consciousness. vāja: from √vaj ‘to be strong, to impel’ → ‘strength, plenitude, victorious substance’; sāti from √san/√sā ‘to win, gain’.
Vṛtra as psychological obstruction/covering of light, vāja as plenitude of force (not merely material prize)
Indra’s Vṛtra-slaying restores ṛta—free flow of energies and truths.
Victory is not domination but release into truth; vāja is fullness aligned with satya.
Liberation through breaking the cover: creation advances when obstruction is shattered and waters/lights are released.
Vedic psychology of inner conflict and liberation; compatible with Integral Yoga’s ‘hostile forces’/resistance motif (without literalizing).
Barhis is the prepared, quiet foundation of consciousness; Vṛtra is the knot of inertia/obscurity; vāja is released energy and capacity.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The Vṛtra-slaying mythologem: Indra breaks the covering that holds back the waters/light. In inner terms, he shatters obstruction in consciousness so that vāja—fullness of force and victorious capacity—can be won.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- han ‘slay’ reflects PIE *gʷhen- (cf. Greek phónos ‘slaughter’ in related field; Sanskrit han- is direct). The superlative -tama is an inherited Indo-European intensification strategy. The ‘winning’ lexicon (√san/√sā) parallels Indo-European agonistic-poetic culture (prize, victory, fame).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The people prepare the barhis (outer rite / inner receptacle) and invoke Indra specifically in his obstruction-breaking aspect. The relationship is functional: the god is called not abstractly but as the operative power needed for the seeker’s victory (vāja-sāti).
Identify the ‘Coverer’ as a felt obstruction (dullness, fear, compulsive thought); invoke Indra as clear, decisive intelligence to strike through it.
maṇipūra (victory/agency)
Kapalabhāti (mild, if appropriate) or 3 rounds of strong exhale to ‘break cover’, followed by quiet breathing on a steady seat (barhis).
Heroic steadiness—calm readiness to act with clarity.
Step 1: prepare the seat (posture, straight spine, quiet field). Step 2: chant. Step 3: choose one decisive action immediately—let vāja become concrete.
Strong udatta on ‘tvā́m’, ‘vṛtrahantama’; keep cadence firm to support heroic mood. (Exact accents require śākhā svara marks.)
Punch ‘vṛtrahan-tama’ clearly; slight pause after it; end with a decisive landing on ‘vāja-sātaye’.
tvām: nasalized vā with long ā, vṛtrahan: syllabify vṛ-tra-han; retroflex ṛ, vṛktabarhiṣaḥ: cluster kta; barhiṣ with ṣ; light final ḥ, vāja: long ā; ‘j’ crisp
Firm, martial, resonant; avoid breathiness; keep consonants sharp.
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