Rig Veda 1.41.5: Mandala 1, Sukta 41, Mantra 5
Sukta 1.41
- Devata
- Ādityas
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
यं यज्ञं नयथा नर आदित्या ऋजुना पथा । प्र वः स धीतये नशत् ॥
yáṁ yajñáṁ náyathā nara ādityā ṛjúnā pathā́ | prá vaḥ sá dhītáye naśat ||
وہ قربانی جسے تم سیدھے راستے سے لے جاتے ہو، اے آدتیہ، وہ تمہارے پاس ہمارے خیال کی بیداری کے لیے آگے آئے۔
Word by Word
- यम्
- whom / whichPronounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- यज्ञम्
- sacrifice, riteNounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक) < √यज्
- नयथ
- you (pl.) leadVerbलट् (वर्तमान); मध्यमपुरुष; बहुवचनRole (क्रिया)Root √नी (नयति)
- नरः
- men; heroesNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot नर (प्रातिपदिक)
- आदित्याः
- Ādityas (sons of Aditi)Noun (deity-name) / Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (सम्बोधनार्थे अपि)Root आदित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- ऋजुना
- by the straight (one)Adjectiveपुं/नपुं; तृतीया; एकवचनRole करणRoot ऋजु (प्रातिपदिक)
- पथा
- by/with the pathNounपुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया; एकवचनRole करणRoot पथ (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्र
- forth, forwardIndeclinableनिपातRole (क्रियाविशेषण)Root प्र (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- वः
- of you / to youPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी; बहुवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role सम्प्रदान (हितार्थे) / सम्बन्धRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सः
- hePronounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- धीतये
- for (your) thought/insight; for devotionNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी; एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot धीति (प्रातिपदिक) < √धी (ध्यान/बुद्धि)
- नशत्
- let him reach / may he attainVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ/विधिलिङ्-प्राय); तृतीयपुरुष; एकवचनRole (क्रिया)Root √नश् (नशति)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: यम् | यज्ञम् | नयथ | नरः | आदित्याः | ऋजुना | पथा | प्र | वः | सः | धीतये | नशत् । (वः सः इति संहितायां ‘वः स’—एन्क्लिटिक सर्वनाम + तद्; अन्यत्र विशेष-सन्धि-परिवर्तनं न आवश्यकम्।)
The meaning
Outer meaning
That sacrifice which you lead, O Ādityas, by the straight path—may it come forward to you for the awakening of our thought.
Inner meaning
The true yajña is the inner offering: works, breath, feelings, and thoughts given to the Divine. The Ādityas ‘lead’ this sacrifice when the movement is ṛjuna pathā—straight, without distortion or mixed motives. Then the offering reaches the gods as dhītaye: it awakens inspired thought (dhī), right discernment, and luminous understanding.
Universal truth
When action is offered in sincerity and straightness, it becomes a means of awakening intelligence and truth-perception; right intention is the channel through which higher guidance acts.
Themes
Guided sacrifice, Straight path, Inspired thought, Offering
The seer
- Rishi
- Gautama Rāhūgaṇa (traditional attribution for RV 1.41)
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 1.41.4, RV 1.41.6, RV 1.62 (dhī/illumination themes, broader resonance)
Family tradition
The Gautama vision often links Ṛta with dhī: right order is not mechanical but awakens higher intelligence.
Significance
This verse states the Aurobindonian key: yajña is inner self-offering; the gods are powers that lead it; its fruit is awakened consciousness (dhī).
The deity
- Devata
- Ādityas
- Epithets
- nētāraḥ (leaders, implied), ṛju-patha-nayāḥ (leaders by the straight path, implied), ṛta-vrata (keepers of the law, common epithet in Āditya context)
- Related deities
- Agni (yajña-leader), Savitar (impeller of right action), Bṛhaspati (lord of inspired speech/thought)
Cosmic role
They guide the lawful movement of sacrifice between human and divine worlds, ensuring the ‘exchange’ is true and effective.
Inner power
Guiding discernment and ethical-psychological straightness that makes offering pure and thought luminous.
In ritual
Where it is used
Yajña-prayers to ensure correct leading of the rite and right intention of the sacrificer
यं य॒ज्ञं नय॑था नर॒ आदि॑त्या ऋ॒जुना॑ प॒था । प्र व॒: स धी॒तये॑ नशत् ॥
यम् । य॒ज्ञम् । नय॑थ । न॒रः॒ । आदि॑त्याः । ऋ॒जुना॑ । प॒था । प्र । वः॒ । सः । धी॒तये॑ । न॒श॒त् ॥
yam | yajñam | nayatha | naraḥ | ādityāḥ | ṛjunā | pathā | pra | vaḥ | saḥ | dhītaye | naśat
44
4 x ~11
Processional and directive; feels like being ‘led’ step by step.
Encourages sincerity and alignment; produces a sense of orderly ascent and mental awakening.
- yajñam
- Literal: sacrifice, offering. Symbolic: the inner yoga of self-giving—consecrated action and aspiration
- nayathā
- Literal: you lead. Symbolic: divine guidance that organizes the practice and keeps it true
- ādityāḥ
- Literal: solar powers. Symbolic: truth-forces that govern right relation and right movement
- ṛjunā pathā
- Literal: by the straight path. Symbolic: undivided sincerity; alignment of thought, will, and act with truth
- dhītaye
- Literal: for thought/inspiration. Symbolic: awakening of dhī: illumined intelligence, mantra-seeing mind
- pra ... naśat
- Literal: may it come forward, may it reach. Symbolic: effective offering: the inner act truly ‘arrives’ and bears fruit
Guiding the yajña ‘by the straight path’: used to affirm correct performance and inner rightness of offering; applicable in soma and iṣṭi contexts as a prayer for right leading and inspired dhī.
At the commencement/continuation of offerings; also as a general invocation for right performance.
Consecration (saṃkalpa-like): offering one’s works on the ‘straight path’ and asking for dhī (illumined thought).
Before work/study: recite to consecrate action and invite clarity—turning daily tasks into yajña.
√yaj frames yajña as a transformative act of offering; √nī again signals divine guidance of the process. ṛju ‘straight’ is both moral and cognitive—non-deviating alignment with ṛta. dhī (from √dhī/√dhā in the sense of ‘thought/vision’ in Vedic usage) marks the inner fruit: inspired understanding.
Ṛta as straightness (ṛju) in action and thought, yajña as inner integration, dhī as illumined intelligence
Sacrifice succeeds when it moves in Ṛta; crookedness (inner falsehood) breaks the channel.
Straightness (ṛju) is Satya in action—truth embodied as method.
Evolution by offering: consciousness grows by self-giving guided by truth-powers.
Integral Yoga reading: yajña as consecrated action; gods as powers of consciousness responding to right offering.
The straight path is the unobstructed channel (nāḍī-like) of sincere will; the offering is the upward flame of aspiration meeting solar truth.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem of the ‘divinely led yajña’: sacrifice is not merely human action but a movement conducted by cosmic powers along the straight line of Ṛta, culminating in dhī—illumined cognition.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √yaj is Indo-Iranian (Avestan yaz-) from PIE *yeh₁ǵ- ‘to worship/revere’. √nī ‘lead’ aligns with PIE *h₁neh₁-. √naś ‘reach’ is Indo-Iranian (Avestan nas-) from PIE *nes- ‘to return home/approach’ in extended semantics of reaching/attaining.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi entrusts the entire inner offering to the Ādityas’ governance: they lead it rightly (ṛjunā pathā). In return, the seeker asks that the act reach the gods and generate dhī—an awakened intelligence capable of living Ṛta.
Consecration: offer the next action (speech, work, practice) to the truth-powers; ask for dhī (clear seeing).
vishuddha
Ujjayi (soft) for 7 breaths, mentally placing ‘ṛjunā pathā’ on the exhale to straighten intention.
Sincere, aligned, inspired; mind becomes a channel rather than a driver.
Before beginning any practice, state one straight intention (no mixed motive). Chant once, then do the action as an offering; watch for ‘crookedness’ (self-justification) and return to ṛju.
Maintain clear accents on ‘yajñám’, ‘nāyathā’, ‘ṛjúnā’, ‘dhītáye’.
Let ‘ṛjunā pathā’ be slightly elongated to embody straightness; keep the final cadence soft but firm.
ṛjunā: vocalic ṛ, not ‘ri’., dhītaye: long ī; dental t., naśat: ś as palatal; light final t.
Clear, sincere, slightly upward-moving tone.
12
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.
