Rig Veda 8.6.4: Mandala 8, Sukta 6, Mantra 4
Sukta 8.6
समस्य मन्यवे विशो विश्वा नमन्त कृष्टयः । समुद्रायेव सिन्धवः ॥
sám asya mányave víśo víśvā namanta kṛṣṭáyaḥ | samudrā́yeva síndhavaḥ ||
ต่อความเร่าร้อนศักดิ์สิทธิ์ของท่าน (manyu) ชนทั้งปวงย่อมนอบน้อมดุจสายน้ำทั้งหลายเอนเข้าสู่มหาสมุทร — เมื่อเจตจำนงของอินทรา (Indra) ลุกโพลงในภาวะเป็นอยู่ ความเคลื่อนไหวมากมายแห่งชีวิตย่อมยอมสยบต่อพลังอันไพศาลหนึ่งเดียว
Indra praise for sovereignty/victory; used to affirm Indra’s irresistible force in the yajña and in battle against obstruction
manyu as divine will, convergence of multiplicity into unity (integrative ṛta)
Convergence toward the ocean mirrors the return of movements into ṛta’s harmony.
Truth is the ‘sea’ that receives and orders all currents.
Integration: many streams of manifestation finding their source and unity.
Integral Vedāntic reading (Aurobindo): unity-consciousness organizing life.
rainy season imagery (suggestive, not fixed)
Rivers = prāṇic and mental currents; ocean = wide consciousness (bṛhat) into which they surrender.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The sovereignty mythologem: all peoples bow to Indra’s manyu as rivers to ocean. Psychologically, the disparate movements of the being are compelled to align when the divine will-force takes command.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √nam ‘bend/bow’ has IE parallels (Latin nēmō is unrelated, but the bending semantic field is widespread). The river/ocean convergence is a recurrent Indo-European poetic trope for inevitability and totality.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi recognises Indra’s manyu as the integrating power that can unify the sacrificer’s scattered life-forces; praise here is an act of alignment—inviting that sovereignty within.
Sense all thoughts/emotions as rivers; offer them into a vast inner ocean while invoking Indra’s ardour to maintain sincerity and direction.
anāhata (heart-vastness)
Ocean-breath: slow inhale imagining rivers; long exhale imagining merging into vastness.
Collected wideness with steady zeal.
Do not suppress movements; let them ‘bow’ by offering them to the central aim—repeat the verse until the feeling of inner convergence stabilizes.
Tri-svara with clear udātta on manyave and samudrāya; keep the iva comparison lightly connected (samudrāya-iva).
Let the second hemistich widen in tone to mirror ‘ocean’; avoid rushing sindhavaḥ.
manyave: palatal ny; short a in -ve, viśo/viśvāḥ: palatal ś; maintain vowel length in viśvāḥ, kṛṣṭayaḥ: retroflex ṣṭ; final yaḥ soft, samudrāyeva: long āy; sandhi -eva smooth
Broad, flowing, with a steady undercurrent of strength.
5
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
