Rig Veda 3.30.17: Mandala 3, Sukta 30, Mantra 17
Sukta 3.30
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Raudra (fury)
उद्वृह रक्षः सहमूलमिन्द्र वृश्चा मध्यं प्रत्यग्रं शृणीहि । आ कीवतः सललूकं चकर्थ ब्रह्मद्विषे तपुषिं हेतिमस्य ॥
úd vṛha rákṣaḥ sahá-mūlam indra vṛścā́ mádhyaṃ práty agraṃ śṛṇīhi | ā́ kī́vataḥ salalū́kaṃ cakartha brahmadvíṣa tápuṣiṃ hetím asyá ||
اے اندر، راکشھ کو اس کی جڑ سمیت نوچ پھینکو؛ اس کا بیچ کاٹ ڈالو، اس کا اگلا حصہ توڑ دو۔ تو نے کنجوسی اور ٹیڑھے پن کو ختم کر دیا؛ مقدس کلام کے دشمن کے لیے تو نے ایک جلتا ہتھیار بنایا ہے - اس کی تباہی کے لیے تپس کی دھار۔
Word by Word
- उद्वृ॑ह
- tear up, uproot (upwards)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRoot उद्-√वृह् (वृह्) / वृह्
- रक्षः
- the demon/evil spirit (Rakṣas)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot रक्षस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- सहमूलम्
- together with its root, root-and-allAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (रक्षः इति विशेषणम्)Role कर्मRoot सह + मूल (प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- वृश्च
- cut offVerbलोट्, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRoot √व्रश्च् (व्रश्च्)
- मध्यम्
- the middle (part)Noun/Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रति
- towards, againstIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot प्रति
- अग्रम्
- the tip, the front/endNoun/Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot अग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- शृणीहि
- break, shatter, crushVerbलोट्, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRoot √शृ (शृणोति) / √शॄ? (वेद. शृणीहि)
- आ
- hither; completely (intensifier)Indeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot आ
- कीवतः
- of the miser/mean one (niggard)Adjective/Pronoun-likeपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root कीवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- सललूकम्
- the Salalūka (a hostile being/creature; vile one)Noun/Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot सललूक (प्रातिपदिक; वेद. दुष्ट/राक्षसीय-विशेषण)
- चकर्थ
- you have made/doneVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRoot √कृ (करोति)
- ब्रह्मद्विषम्
- the hater of sacred word/prayer (Brahma-hater)Noun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot ब्रह्म + द्विष् (प्रातिपदिक)
- तपुषिम्
- burning heat, scorching (power)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot तपुषि (प्रातिपदिक; वेद. ‘जलन/ताप/दाह’)
- हेतिम्
- missile/weapon, strokeNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot हेति (प्रातिपदिक)
- अस्य
- of him/itsPronounपुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root इदम् (सर्वनाम)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सन्धि-निरसन): उद्-वृह (उद्वृ॑ह)
- रक्षः (रक्ष॑:)
- सह-मूलम् (स॒हमू॑लम्)
- इन्द्र (सम्बोधन)
- वृश्च (वृ॒श्च)
- मध्यम्
- प्रति-अग्रम् → प्रत्यग्रं॑
- शृणीहि
- आ
- कीवतः
- सललूकम्
- चकर्थ
- ब्रह्म-द्विषम् → ब्रह्म॒द्विष॒म्
- तपुषिम्
- हेतिम्
- अस्य. उच्चारणचिह्न (स्वर) मूलपाठानुसार पदेषु यथास्थानं।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra is asked to tear out the Rakṣas by the root, cut its middle, strike off its front. Indra has ended the miserly and crooked; for the hater of the sacred word he has forged a burning weapon, an edge of tapas.
Inner meaning
This is a complete dismantling of a hostile formation: uproot (source), cut (continuity), strike (manifest expression). The Rakṣas symbolizes a persistent distortion in consciousness that feeds from the subconscient root and expresses through the front of the mind and speech. Indra’s remedy is not partial management but total removal. The ‘hater of brahman’ is the inner force that rejects truth-speech—cynicism, denial, or perversion of the mantra-consciousness. Against it, Indra forges a weapon of tapas: concentrated spiritual heat that sharpens discernment into an irresistible edge.
Universal truth
Lasting change requires addressing problems at root, process, and expression; and it requires disciplined inner heat (tapas) that makes truth effective against denial and distortion.
Themes
uprooting evil, brahma-dviṣ opposition, tapas weapon, radical purification
The seer
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Lineage
- Kauśika
- Other hymns
- RV 3.30.16 (smite the lower hostile powers), RV 3.26 (Agni and the inner sacrifice), RV 3.33 (crossing currents; symbolic passage)
Family tradition
Mantra-warrior tradition: conquering crookedness by straight truth-force; emphasis on brahman (inspired word) as power.
Significance
Viśvāmitra’s vision insists on radical purification: not compromise with distortion but uprooting it so the brahman-consciousness can govern.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Vṛtrahan, Vajrin, Sahasrākṣa (all-seeing, later epithet; conceptually aligned)
- Related deities
- Bṛhaspati (brahman power), Agni (tapas/fire), Soma (strengthening delight)
Cosmic role
Destroys hostile beings and releases the powers needed for the gods’ work; protects brahman and yajña.
Inner power
A master-force of illumination that can act surgically at all levels—cause, continuity, and expression—using tapas as sharpened energy.
In ritual
Where it is used
Protective/expulsive recitation against rakṣas within Soma and Indra contexts; also fits general apotropaic usage.
उद्वृ॑ह॒ रक्ष॑: स॒हमू॑लमिन्द्र वृ॒श्चा मध्यं॒ प्रत्यग्रं॑ शृणीहि । आ कीव॑तः सल॒लूकं॑ चकर्थ ब्रह्म॒द्विष्॒ तपु॑षिं हे॒तिम॑स्य ॥
उत् । वृ॒ह॒ । रक्षः॑ । स॒हऽमू॑लम् । इ॒न्द्र॒ । वृ॒श्च । मध्य॑म् । प्रति॑ । अग्र॑म् । शृ॒णी॒हि॒ । आ । कीव॑तः । स॒ल॒लूक॑म् । च॒क॒र्थ॒ । ब्र॒ह्म॒ऽद्विषे॑ । तपु॑षिम् । हे॒तिम् । अ॒स्य॒ ॥
ut | vṛha | rakṣaḥ | saha-mūlam | indra | vṛśca | madhyam | prati | agram | śṛṇīhi | ā | kīvataḥ | salalūkam | cakartha | brahma-dviṣe | tapuṣim | hetim | asya
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4×11 syllables (approx.)
Surgical and segmented—imperatives create a threefold cutting rhythm (root/middle/front).
Gives a sense of decisive purification; supports ‘no-compromise’ clarity and concentrated force.
- उद्वृह (ud vṛha)
- Literal: tear out, uproot. Symbolic: remove the subconscious seed of a distortion
- सहमूलम् (sahamūlam)
- Literal: with the root. Symbolic: including the originating cause and hidden support
- वृश्च (vṛśc)
- Literal: cut off. Symbolic: sever the continuing supply-line of the hostile habit
- मध्यम् (madhyam)
- Literal: the middle. Symbolic: the ongoing chain of reactions (process-body) that sustains the pattern
- अग्रम् (agram)
- Literal: the front, the tip. Symbolic: the manifest surface expression—thought, speech, impulse
- कीवतः (kīvataḥ)
- Literal: miserly, niggardly. Symbolic: constricted consciousness that withholds energy from the divine work
- सललूकम् (salalūkam)
- Literal: crooked, tortuous (as given by tradition). Symbolic: twisted movements of mind-vital that evade straight truth
- ब्रह्मद्विषे (brahmadviṣe)
- Literal: hater of brahman/sacred word. Symbolic: the anti-truth tendency that rejects mantra, intuition, and higher guidance
- तपुषिम् हेतिम् (tapuṣiṃ hetim)
- Literal: a burning weapon. Symbolic: tapas-sharpened power of consciousness that destroys falsehood
Strong protective formulae against rakṣas and brahma-dviṣ in sacrificial settings
When the rite or the practitioner is threatened by impurity, distortion, or obstruction; at moments requiring strong purification.
Recite as ‘expulsion’ while maintaining inner concentration; symbolically ‘cut’ the obstruction at three levels.
For breaking addictions or recurring negative loops: identify root trigger, maintenance pattern, and surface behavior; chant as a three-stage inner severing.
ud+√vṛh ‘uproot’ indicates removal at causal level (root). brahmá-dviṣ ‘hater of brahman’ frames hostility as opposition to sacred vision/word, not merely physical demonology. tapuṣ- ‘burning’ links weaponry with tapas: a purifying, truth-aligned intensity.
root-cause removal (saha-mūlam), tapas as weaponised clarity, brahman as sacred word/vision opposed by falsehood
Crookedness (salalūka) is deviation from ṛta; Indra restores straight order.
Brahmadviṣ is anti-satya; the mantra asserts truth’s right to prevail.
The forging of a ‘weapon’ suggests consciousness fashions instruments to evolve beyond hostility.
Integral Yoga hermeneutic: hostile forces as psychological entities; tapas as transformative energy.
Root = subconscious seed; trunk/middle = habitual circuitry; front/branch = surface mind and speech; burning edge = concentrated spiritual heat.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Total extirpation of rakṣas—root, middle, and front—plus the forging of a burning weapon against the ‘hater of brahman’. Innerly, it is a program of purification: remove the causal seed of falsehood, dismantle its sustaining structure, and blunt its forward attack; tapas becomes the sharpened instrument of truth.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √vṛh ‘pull up’ aligns with PIE *welH- ‘pluck/pull’ (broadly; exact mapping debated), while √vṛśc ‘cut’ has parallels in IE cutting lexemes (compare Latin verrere ‘sweep’ is different; but Indo-Iranian preserves a strong ‘cut’ verb family). The compound brahma-dviṣ shows inherited poetic compounding typical of IE diction.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi asks Indra for radical inner surgery, not temporary relief. Indra is approached as guardian of brahman (sacred vision/word); the human aligns with brahman through praise, and Indra responds by empowering tapas as a discriminating weapon against anti-truth forces.
Three-level purification: (1) feel the root impulse, (2) observe the chain, (3) stop the surface expression; invoke Indra’s tapas-edged clarity.
Mūlādhāra (root patterns) to Ājñā (cutting discernment) via Maṇipūra (force).
Three-part practice: inhale (recognize), hold briefly (concentrate), exhale (cut/release) without strain.
Intense, concentrated, truth-aligned force; inwardly silent after the cut.
Chant once slowly; then chant 3 times, each time focusing respectively on root/middle/front of the pattern; finish with silent witnessing and a resolve to speak/act only from straight truth.
Tri-svara; emphasize udātta on ud vṛha, vṛścā, śṛṇīhi; let compound accents (brahmadviṣe) remain crisp without over-stressing.
Mark the three imperatives as three ‘cuts’—slight micro-pause after each to reflect the triadic action.
ud vṛha: keep sandhi clear—final d links softly to v, sahamūlam: long ū; do not reduce to ‘sahamoolam’, praty agraṃ: articulate ty; anusvāra before g as ṅ (agraṃ), brahmadviṣe: dv conjunct; ṣ retroflex, tapuṣiṃ: ṣ retroflex; nasal ṃ at end
Focused and incisive; clear diction; end each pāda with controlled release.
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