Rig Veda 10.10.2: Mandala 10, Sukta 10, Mantra 2
Sukta 10.10
- Devata
- Dialogic
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
न ते सखा सख्यं वष्ट्येतत्सलक्ष्मा यद्विषुरूपा भवाति । महस्पुत्रासो असुरस्य वीरा दिवो धर्तार उर्विया परि ख्यन् ॥
ná te sakhā́ sakhyáṃ vaṣṭy etát salákṣmā yád víṣu-rūpā bhávāti | mahás putrā́so ásurasya vīrā́ divó dhartā́ra urviyā́ pári khyan ||
تیرا ساتھی یہ دوستی نہیں چاہتا, یہ نشان کی یکسانی, جب یہ تقسیم شدہ شکل بن جاتی ہے۔ طاقتور بیٹے، اسور کے ہیرو، آسمان کو تھامے ہوئے ہیں اور چاروں طرف وسیع نظر رکھتے ہیں۔
Word by Word
- न
- notIndeclinableनिषेध (negation)Root न
- ते
- of you / yourPronounषष्ठी एकवचन (gen. sg.)Role सम्बन्ध (possessive)Root त्वद्
- सखा
- friendNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन (nom. sg.)Role कर्तृRoot सखि-
- सख्यम्
- friendshipNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन (acc. sg.)Role कर्मRoot सख्य-
- वष्टि
- wishes / desiresVerbलट्, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot वश् (वष्टि)
- एतत्
- thisPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन (acc. sg.)Role कर्म (apposition to सख्यम्)Root एतद्
- सलक्ष्मा
- of the same sign/characterAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन (nom. sg.); ‘having the same mark/character’Role कर्तृ (predicate adjective to सखा)Root स-लक्ष्मन् / सलक्ष्मन्
- यत्
- that which / sincePronoun (relative)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (rel. pron.; here introducing clause)Root यद्
- विषुरूपा
- of different form / unlikeAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन (nom. sg.)Role कर्तृ (of भवा॑ति)Root विषु-रूप-
- भवाति
- becomes / isVerbलट्, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (Vedic form)Root भू
- महस्
- of the great one / of greatnessNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी एकवचन (gen. sg.)Role सम्बन्धRoot महत् / महस्
- पुत्रासः
- sonsNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचन (nom. pl.)Role कर्तृRoot पुत्र-
- असुरस्य
- of AsuraNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी एकवचन (gen. sg.)Role सम्बन्धRoot असुर-
- वीराः
- heroesNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचन (nom. pl.)Role कर्तृ (apposition to पुत्रासः)Root वीर-
- दिवः
- of heavenNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी एकवचन (gen. sg.)Role सम्बन्धRoot द्यौ / दिव्
- धर्तारः
- supporters / upholdersNoun (agent)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचन (nom. pl.)Role कर्तृ (apposition to पुत्रासः/वीराः)Root धर्तृ- (from √धृ)
- उर्वियाः
- of the broad earth / of the wide (one)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी एकवचन (gen. sg.)Role सम्बन्धRoot उर्वी-
- परि
- aroundIndeclinable (preverb/preposition)उपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot परि
- ख्यन्
- they proclaimed / made knownVerbलुङ् (aorist), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; injunctive/aorist form in Vedic usageRoot ख्या
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-resolution): एतत्सलक्ष्मा → एतत् + सलक्ष्मा
- यद्विषुरूपा → यत् + विषुरूपा.
- ‘भवाति’ Vedic लट्-रूप (भवति का वैदिक रूप) के रूप में ग्रहणीय।
The meaning
Outer meaning
The companion does not want this companionship when sameness becomes a divided form. The mighty sons, heroes of the Asura, uphold heaven and look widely around.
Inner meaning
The verse marks a refusal: not every sought ‘union’ is right. When ‘salakṣmā’ (same mark/sameness) turns ‘viṣurūpā’ (divided in form), companionship becomes distortion—an outer or vital imitation of true unity. The ‘mahas putrāsaḥ’—sons of the Vast—are powers of the lordly consciousness (Asura in its older sense: sovereign power). They uphold the heaven (the higher mind) and survey widely—i.e., the wide seeing that keeps desire from narrowing truth. Psychologically, higher guardians of ṛta prevent a false fusion and insist on a union consonant with the wide law.
Universal truth
Not all unions are harmonious: true unity must preserve truth of being. Higher discernment protects against relationships or impulses that mimic oneness but fracture integrity.
Themes
dialogue, ethics of union, cosmic guardians, order-maintenance
The seer
- Rishi
- Dialogic hymn tradition (Yama–Yamī complex); specific r̥ṣi not firmly fixed in the provided metadata.
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 10.10.1, Rig Veda 10.10.3
Significance
Embodies the Vedic discipline of right relation: the higher law refuses a vital shortcut and calls for wideness and truth as the basis of union.
The deity
- Devata
- Cosmic upholders (dhartāraḥ) associated in Vedic thought with Ādityas/Mitra–Varuṇa; Asura as sovereign power
- Epithets
- divo dhartāraḥ (upholders of heaven), mahas putrāsaḥ (sons of the Vast), asurasya vīrāḥ (heroes of the Asura)
- Related deities
- Mitra, Varuṇa, Ādityas, Bṛhaspati (wide seeing and right word)
Cosmic role
Guardians of cosmic order who sustain the heaven of truth and oversee the worlds with wide vision.
Inner power
Discerning wideness that prevents false identification; the law-force that keeps relationships and impulses aligned to truth.
In ritual
Where it is used
Ethical/cosmic-order reflection; supports teaching on boundaries, right relation, and the maintenance of heaven (div) through ṛta.
न ते॒ सखा॑ स॒ख्यं व॑ष्ट्ये॒तत्सल॑क्ष्मा॒ यद्विषु॑रूपा॒ भवा॑ति । म॒हस्पु॒त्रासो॒ असु॑रस्य वी॒रा दि॒वो ध॒र्तार॑ उर्वि॒या परि॑ ख्यन् ॥
न । ते॒ । सखा॑ । स॒ख्यम् । व॒ष्टि॒ । ए॒तत् । सऽल॑क्ष्मा । यत् । विषु॑ऽरूपा । भवा॑ति । म॒हः । पु॒त्रासः॑ । असु॑रस्य । वी॒राः । दि॒वः । ध॒र्तारः॑ । उ॒र्वि॒या । परि॑ । ख्य॒न् ॥
na | te | sakhā | sakhyam | vaṣti | etat | sa-lakṣmā | yat | viṣu-rūpā | bhavāti | mahaḥ | putrāsaḥ | asurasya | vīrāḥ | divaḥ | dhartāraḥ | urviyā | pari | khyan
44
4×11 (approx.)
Contrasting cadence: a restraining ‘no’ in the first half, then expansive wideness in the second.
Creates a boundary-setting clarity, followed by a widening calm and perspective.
- सऽलक्ष्मा (sa-lakṣmā)
- Literal: having the same mark/sign. Symbolic: apparent sameness; surface compatibility that may be misleading
- विषुरूपा (viṣurūpā)
- Literal: of divided/different form. Symbolic: inner divergence; incompatibility of truth-nature beneath outer similarity
- महः पुत्रासः (mahaḥ putrāsaḥ)
- Literal: sons of the Vast. Symbolic: powers born of wideness—higher faculties of expansive consciousness
- असुर (asura)
- Literal: lord, sovereign (older Vedic sense). Symbolic: master-force of consciousness that upholds order (not later ‘demon’ sense)
- दिवः धर्तारः (divo dhartāraḥ)
- Literal: upholders of heaven. Symbolic: supports of higher mind and truth-light; stabilizers of inner clarity
- परि ख्यन् (pari khyan)
- Literal: they look around, survey. Symbolic: wide seeing; comprehensive discernment guarding ṛta
Ethical/cosmic-order reflection; supports teaching on boundaries, right relation, and the maintenance of heaven (div) through ṛta.
Recited as a dharmic/discernment mantra when confronting confusing desire or forced intimacy.
Use before difficult conversations: chant to invoke wideness and truth, preventing reactive merging or splitting.
√vaś ‘wish/desire’ signals volition. viṣu-rūpa ‘separate-formed’ (viṣu ‘apart’ + rūpa ‘form’) expresses psychological divergence. Asura (ásura) in early RV can mean ‘lord, powerful being’ (connected by some to √as ‘be’ / ‘life-breath’ semantics); here paired with cosmic upholding (dhartāraḥ) suggests sovereignty of order. √dhṛ ‘hold’ (PIE *dʰer- ‘hold, support’) is transparent.
right relation vs divided nature, sovereignty (asura) as order-bearing power, support of the luminous world
The refusal is an act of ṛta—protecting right order against a false sameness that becomes division.
Wide seeing (pari khyan) is the safeguard of satya against self-deception.
Heaven upheld by powers of order; wideness as a condition for stable manifestation.
Integral-psychological ethics of the Veda: wideness and truth precede union.
Heaven = higher mind; surveying quarters = comprehensive awareness; upholding = stabilizing inner clarity.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem of ‘cosmic guardians who uphold heaven’ (dhartāraḥ diváḥ), invoked to frame a refusal: true union requires sameness in law/mark (salakṣmā) and cannot proceed under divided forms (viṣu-rūpā).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √dhṛ ‘hold’ is PIE *dʰer- (cf. Gk thronos-related holding notions; also English ‘firm’ via different developments). √khyā ‘see’ relates to a seeing/knowing semantic field; direct PIE mapping is less certain but aligns with IE cognition verbs.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The devatā-powers appear as witnesses and sustainers of order rather than grantors of boons; the dialogue situates personal desire under the surveillance of cosmic law—human relation must conform to the upholding powers of ṛta.
Invoke wideness (mahas) to dissolve compulsive fusion; rest in a sky-like awareness that can see all sides.
ājñā (discernment) with sahasrāra as wideness (supportive mapping)
Box-breath (4-4-4-4) while contemplating ‘pari khyan’—seeing around without haste.
Witness consciousness; boundary clarity without hostility.
When desire insists, expand attention to the whole field of life; ask inwardly: ‘Does this increase truth and wideness?’ Let the answer arise from quiet seeing.
Observe accentuation; the opening ‘na’ should be clear but not aggressive; broaden tone on ‘urviyā’.
Mark the contrast: crisp articulation in first half; more open vowels and sustained resonance in ‘divo dhartāra’.
‘viṣurūpā’—keep ‘ṣu’ crisp; long ‘ū’., ‘dhartāraḥ’—aspirate ‘dh’, and keep retroflex ‘ṭ’ if present in your recensional practice., ‘urviyā’—roll gently into ‘rv’ without inserting a vowel.
Calmly firm, spacious in the second half.
3
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