Rig Veda 8.40.4: Mandala 8, Sukta 40, Mantra 4
Sukta 8.40
- Rishi
- Nabhāka
- Devata
- Indrāgnī
- Chandas
- Jagatī
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
अभ्यर्च नभाकवदिन्द्राग्नी यजसा गिरा । ययोर्विश्वमिदं जगदियं द्यौः पृथिवी मह्युपस्थे बिभृतो वसु नभन्तामन्यके समे ॥
abhyàrcha nabhā́kavad indrā́gnī yájasā girā́ | yáyor víśvam idáṃ jágad iyáṃ dyáuḥ pṛthivī́ mahy ùpásthe bibhṛtó vásu nábhantām anyaké samé ||
Awitin para kay Indra at Agni sa paraan ni Nabhaka, gamit ang salitang pagsamba. Sapagkat sa kanilang dalawa ay hawak ang buong gumagalaw na sanlibutan, itong langit at itong malawak na lupa, sa kanilang kandungan ay tinataglay nila ang kayamanan ng pagiging, at nawa ang iba ay kalat-kalat sa parehong larangan.
Word by Word
- अभि
- towards, uponIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot अभि (उपसर्ग) / प्रातिपदिक
- अर्च
- worship!, praise!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole (कर्तृ-आह्वान) —Root अर्च्
- नभाकवद्
- like Nabhāka (in Nabhāka’s manner)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (क्रियाविशेषणवत्: ‘नभाकवत्-रीत्या’)Root नभाकवत् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘नभाक’ + -वत्)
- इन्द्राग्नी
- O Indra and AgniNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्विवचन, सम्बोधन/प्रथमा (देवद्वय-आह्वान)Role सम्प्रदान (स्तुत्य-देवता) / सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र + अग्नि (समास: द्वन्द्व)
- यजसा
- with worship, by sacrificeNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole करणRoot यजस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- गिरा
- with a hymn/voiceNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole करणRoot गिर् (प्रातिपदिक)
- ययोः
- of whom (of the two)Pronounषष्ठी, द्विवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root यद् (सर्वनाम)
- विश्वम्
- all, the wholeAdjective (substantive)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (बिभ्रतः इत्यस्य) / विषयRoot विश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- इदम्
- thisPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole विशेषण (विश्वम्) / कर्मRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम)
- जगत्
- the world, creationNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (बिभ्रतः) / विषयRoot जगत् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘moving world’)
- इयम्
- this (f.)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्ता (अस्ति-लोपे) / निर्देशRoot इयम्/इदम् (सर्वनाम)
- द्यौः
- HeavenNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्ता (अस्ति-लोपे) / निर्देशRoot द्यौ (प्रातिपदिक)
- पृथिवी
- EarthNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्ता (अस्ति-लोपे) / निर्देशRoot पृथिवी (प्रातिपदिक)
- महि
- greatly; greatIndeclinableअव्यय (विशेषणार्थे) अथवा नपुंसक-प्रातिपदिक ‘महि’Root महि (अव्यय/विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक)
- उपस्थे
- in the lap/bosomNounपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot उपस्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
- बिभ्रतः
- bearing, supportingVerb (participle)वर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ), प्रथमा, द्विवचन, पुंलिङ्गRole कर्ता (इन्द्राग्नी) सह-सम्बन्धRoot भृ
- वसु
- wealth, good (treasure)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (बिभ्रतः) / धेयRoot वसु (प्रातिपदिक)
- नभन्ताम्
- let the two shine; let them be radiantVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), तृतीयपुरुष, द्विवचन; आत्मनेपदRole कर्ता (इन्द्राग्नी)Root नभ्
- अन्यके
- elsewhere, in another (place)Adjective (substantive)पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (वेदिक-रूप: अन्यके = अन्यस्मिन्/अन्यत्र)Role अधिकरणRoot अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- समे
- in the same (place/level); togetherNoun/Adjective (substantive)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot सम (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (pada-splitting): अ॒भ्य॑र्च → अभि + अर्च (उपसर्ग + लोट्)
- नभाक॒वदि॑न्द्रा॒ग्नी → नभाकवद् + इन्द्राग्नी (द् + इ → दि)
- य॒जसा॑ गि॒रा (no change)
- ययो॒र्विश्व॑मि॒दं जग॑त् → ययोः + विश्वम् + इदम् + जगत् (ः + व → र्; final -म् before vowel kept in saṃhitā)
- म॒ह्यु१॒॑पस्थे॑ → महि + उपस्थे (इ + उ → यु)
- बिभृ॒तो वसु॒ (no change)
- नभ॑न्तामन्य॒के स॑मे → नभन्ताम् + अन्यके + समे (म् + अ → म)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Sing to Indra and Agni in the manner of Nabhāka with a worshipping word. In them is held all this moving world—heaven and vast earth—in whose lap they bear the treasure; may the others be scattered.
Inner meaning
The mantra asks for a specific mantric attitude: ‘nabhākavat’—with the seer’s own mode of inspired offering, i.e., speech that is both worship (yajasā) and revelation (girā). Indra-Agni are not merely helpers in struggle but cosmic supports: in them the whole moving world (jagat) is upheld—dyauḥ (the luminous mind/heaven principle) and pṛthivī (the wide foundation/earth principle). Their ‘lap’ (upasthe) is the supporting consciousness in which the treasure (vasu) of being—powers, delights, truths—is carried and made available to the seeker. The refrain expels competing forces so this cosmic support can be felt inwardly as stability and abundance.
Universal truth
The highest aid is to align speech and aspiration with inspired truth; then the seeker experiences the divine as the very support of existence, holding mind and life in a greater consciousness and releasing the treasure of being.
Themes
cosmic totality, praise as illumination, world-bearing deities
The seer
- Rishi
- Nabhāka (explicitly invoked)
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 8.40.1-4
Family tradition
Self-referential seer tradition: the hymn teaches its own method—chant ‘as Nabhāka’ i.e., with inspired, worshipping speech.
Significance
By naming the seer, the mantra emphasizes transmission of a mantric ‘style’: the efficacy lies not only in words but in the consciousness-mode of utterance.
The deity
- Devata
- Indrāgnī
- Epithets
- world-bearers (implicit), treasure-bearers (vasu-bibhṛt)
- Related deities
- Viśve Devāḥ, Ādityas, Savitṛ (supporting order)
Cosmic role
Upholders of heaven and earth; joint sovereignty over the moving world; bearers of the ‘vasu’ (essential riches).
Inner power
Provide cosmic stability within the practitioner: wideness (pṛthivī) and luminosity (dyauḥ) held together, releasing inner treasure.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indrāgnī stotra within soma rites; praise emphasizing cosmic support and plenitude
अ॒भ्य॑र्च नभाक॒वदि॑न्द्रा॒ग्नी य॒जसा॑ गि॒रा । ययो॒र्विश्व॑मि॒दं जग॑दि॒यं द्यौः पृ॑थि॒वी म॒ह्यु१॒॑पस्थे॑ बिभृ॒तो वसु॒ नभ॑न्तामन्य॒के स॑मे ॥
अ॒भि । अ॒र्च॒ । न॒भा॒क॒ऽवत् । इ॒न्द्रा॒ग्नी इति॑ । य॒जसा॑ । गि॒रा । ययोः॑ । विश्व॑म् । इ॒दम् । जग॑त् । इ॒यम् । द्यौः । पृ॒थि॒वी । म॒ही । उ॒पऽस्थे॑ । बि॒भृ॒तः । वसु॑ । नभ॑न्ताम् । अ॒न्य॒के । स॒मे॒ ॥
abhi | arca | nabhāka-vat | indrāgnī iti | yajasā | girā | yayoḥ | viśvam | idam | jagat | iyam | dyauḥ | pṛthivī | mahī | upa-sthe | bibhṛtaḥ | vasu | nabhantām | anyake | same
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4 pādas ~12 syllables; expansive descriptive middle supports cosmological vision.
Grand, spacious; suited to ‘world-holding’ imagery.
Creates wideness and reverence; stabilizes the listener in a larger supporting consciousness.
- अभ्यर्च (abhy arca)
- Literal: sing forth, praise. Symbolic: active invocation; upward movement of consciousness through mantra
- नभाकवत् (nabhākavat)
- Literal: like Nabhāka. Symbolic: in the seer’s inspired manner; authentic mantric attitude
- यजसा गिरा (yajasā girā)
- Literal: with worshipping word. Symbolic: speech as offering and revelation
- विश्वम् इदं जगत् (viśvam idaṃ jagat)
- Literal: all this moving world. Symbolic: the field of becoming within consciousness
- द्यौः (dyauḥ)
- Literal: heaven. Symbolic: luminous mind-plane
- पृथिवी मही (pṛthivī mahī)
- Literal: vast earth. Symbolic: wide foundational consciousness / embodied base
- उपस्थे (upasthe)
- Literal: lap, support. Symbolic: holding ground of the Divine where energies rest
- वसु (vasu)
- Literal: treasure, wealth. Symbolic: essential powers and delights of being
Stotra-like praise used to magnify Indrāgnī as world-supporting powers; suitable in Soma contexts where cosmic affirmation accompanies offering.
When invoking stability, world-order, and abundance; could accompany offerings to dual deities
Recitation with oblation; praise as ‘worshipping word’
Chant to cultivate wideness and support in meditation; use when feeling ungrounded—invoke ‘heaven and earth held in the Divine’.
arca from √arc ‘to shine, praise’ (praise as making luminous). jagat from √gam ‘to go’ → ‘that which moves’. vasu ‘good/wealth’ from √vas ‘to dwell, be excellent’ → ‘essential good, treasure of being’.
cosmic support (dyāvāpṛthivī), vasu as essential good, speech-as-offering (vāc/yajña)
Heaven and earth held together indicates the ordered harmony of cosmic principles.
The ‘treasure’ is the truth-substance (vasu) carried in the divine support.
World is upheld by conscious powers; stability precedes fruitful manifestation.
Integral/Upanishadic bridge: dyauḥ-pṛthivī as higher and lower hemispheres unified in a greater consciousness.
Heaven = luminous mind; Earth = wide embodied foundation; Lap = holding presence of the Divine; Treasure = latent spiritual riches.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Cosmic support: Indra–Agni as bearers/holders of heaven-and-earth and the moving world, a mythic elevation of the invoked powers from battle-aid to world-sustaining principles.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- dyauḥ (PIE *dyēws ‘sky’) and pṛthivī (broad/extended earth) preserve archaic Indo-European cosmological dyad. jagat from √gam reflects PIE *gʷem- (‘go’), forming a participial noun ‘the moving’.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi authorizes his speech by lineage/style (nabhāka-vat), offering vāc as yajña; the devatā reciprocates by revealing itself as cosmic foundation and by ‘bearing vasu’—the inner treasure the seeker aims to receive.
Enter wideness and support: feel heaven (clarity) and earth (stability) held in Indra-Agni; receive inner ‘vasu’.
Sahasrāra/Ājñā (dyauḥ clarity) grounded into Mūlādhāra (pṛthivī stability) through a central channel.
Slow breathing with awareness of vertical axis: inhale to the crown (dyauḥ), exhale to the base (pṛthivī), resting in the ‘lap’ at the heart-center.
Vast, stable, devotional wonder.
Chant softly, then sit imagining the whole body-mind resting in a luminous lap; invite one ‘treasure’ quality (peace, strength, clarity) to surface without strain.
Three-tone Vedic; exact accents require RV 8.40 svara-pāṭha.
Open the vowels in ‘viśvam idaṃ jagat’ to convey wideness; keep ‘dyauḥ pṛthivī mahī’ stately and even.
In (nabhākavat), keep long ā; final t crisp, In (mahy upasthe), split as mahī-upasthe in articulation; keep sth cluster clear, In (bibhṛto), keep ṛ vowel distinct (bibh-ṛ-to)
Reverent, spacious, sustained; gentle emphasis on cosmological phrases.
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