Rig Veda 3.30.4: Mandala 3, Sukta 30, Mantra 4
Sukta 3.30
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
त्वं हि ष्मा च्यावयन्नच्युतान्येको वृत्रा चरसि जिघ्नमानः । तव द्यावापृथिवी पर्वतासोऽनु व्रताय निमितेव तस्थुः ॥
tváṃ hí ṣmā cyāváyann ácyutāny éko vṛtrā́ cárasi jíghnamānaḥ | táva dyā́vā-pṛthivī́ párvatāso ’nú vratā́ya nímitā iva tasthuḥ ||
کیونکہ تم ہی ناقابل ہلانے والوں کو ہلا کر، اکیلے ورتر قوتوں کے خلاف چلتے ہو، انہیں گراتے ہوئے۔ تمہارے لیے آسمان اور زمین اور پہاڑ کھڑے ہیں، گویا ناپے ہوئے، تمہاری سچائی کے قانون کی اطاعت میں۔
Word by Word
- त्वम्
- youPronounपुं/स्त्री/नपुं; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- हि
- indeed, forIndeclinableनिपातRoot हि (निपात)
- ष्मा
- (emphatic particle)Indeclinableवैदिक-प्रयोगे बलवर्धक/अनुस्मारक निपातRoot ष्मा (वैदिक निपात)
- च्यावयन्
- causing to move/shake, dislodgingVerbलट्; परस्मैपद; प्रथमा; एकवचन; वर्तमानकाल; (णिच्) कारणेRole कर्तृ (क्रिया)Root च्यव् (धातु) → च्यावयति (णिच्-प्रयोग, causative)
- अच्युतानि
- the unshaken/immovable (things/ones)Adjective (used substantively)नपुंसक; द्वितीया; बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot अच्युत (कृदन्त/विशेषण; a- + च्युत, √च्यव्)
- एकः
- alone, singleAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृ (त्वम् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Root एक (संख्यावाचक/विशेषण)
- वृत्रा
- Vṛtras (obstacles/foes)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचन (वैदिक रूप: -आन् > -आ)Role कर्मRoot वृत्र (नाम; दैत्य/शत्रु)
- चरसि
- you move/go aboutVerbलट्; परस्मैपद; मध्यम; एकवचनRole कर्तृ (क्रिया)Root चर् (धातु)
- जिघ्नमानः
- striking, slayingParticipleवर्तमान कृदन्त (शानच्); आत्मनेपद-भाव; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृ (त्वम् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Root हन् (धातु) → जिघ्न (प्रेसेंट-स्टेम) + शानच्
- तव
- of you, yourPronounषष्ठी; एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- द्यावापृथिवी
- Heaven-and-EarthNoun (compound)स्त्रीलिङ्ग (द्वन्द्व एकवद्भाव); प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृ (तस्थुः इत्यस्य)Root द्यावापृथिवी (द्वन्द्व-समास: द्यौ/दिव् + पृथिवी)
- पर्वतासः
- mountainsNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (तस्थुः इत्यस्य)Root पर्वत (नाम)
- अनु
- according to, followingIndeclinableअव्यय; ‘अनुगमन/अनुरूपता’ अर्थेRoot अनु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- व्रताय
- to/for the ordinance, commandNounनपुंसक; चतुर्थी; एकवचनRole सम्प्रदान (उद्देश्य/अनुगमन-लक्ष्य)Root व्रत (नाम)
- निमितेव
- as if on a fixed mark/measureAdjective + Indeclinableनिमिते: नपुंसक/पुं; सप्तमी; एकवचन (तस्थुः इत्यस्य उपमान-प्रयोगः); इव: अव्ययRole अधिकरण (उपमान-आधारः)Root निमित (कृदन्त; नि-√मा ‘measure/mark’ → ‘appointed/marked’) + इव
- तस्थुः
- stood, remained in placeVerbलिट् (परफेक्ट); परस्मैपद; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (क्रिया)Root स्था (धातु) → तस्थौ/तस्थुः (परफेक्ट)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: त्वम् | हि | ष्मा | च्यावयन् | अच्युतानि | एकः | वृत्रा | चरसि | जिघ्नमानः || तव | द्यावापृथिवी | पर्वतासः | अनु | व्रताय | निमिते | इव | तस्थुः || विशेषः: (1) ‘वृत्रा’ इति वैदिक-रूपं द्वितीया-बहुवचनस्य (वृत्रान् > वृत्रा) । (2) ‘निमितेव’ = ‘निमिते इव’ (इव-निपातेन संधिः) । (3) ‘द्यावापृथिवी’ द्वन्द्वः एकवद्भावेन प्रथमा-एकवचनम् ।
The meaning
Outer meaning
You alone, shaking the unshakable, move against the Vṛtras and strike them down. For you, Heaven and Earth and the mountains stand in obedience to your ordinance, as if measured out.
Inner meaning
Indra is the solitary decisive power in consciousness that can dislodge what seems fixed (‘acyutāni’)—habit, inertia, subconscient knots. He moves against the Vṛtra-forces: the coverers that obstruct light and freedom, and he strikes them down. When this truth-force acts, the whole inner cosmos—higher mind (Dyaus), embodied nature (Pṛthivī), and the ‘mountains’ of formed structure and difficulty—rearranges itself according to the divine law (vrata) of right working. The being becomes ‘measured out’ (nimita) into harmonious order.
Universal truth
Real liberation requires a power that can break entrenched patterns and reorganize life according to truth. When truth-force leads, even the most rigid structures become obedient to a higher order.
Themes
Vṛtra-slaying, Cosmic sovereignty, Law of truth (vrata), Stability of worlds
The seer
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Lineage
- Kauśika
- Other hymns
- RV 3.30.4 (victory and cosmic obedience), RV 3.33 (waters and opening ways)
Family tradition
A visionary of victorious order: the divine law (vrata) is not abstract but a force that compels the whole cosmos of the being to align.
Significance
This is a classic inner-Veda statement: Indra’s victory over Vṛtra is psychological liberation; the result is a remeasured, re-ordered inner world under Ṛta.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Ekaḥ (the one/alone), Vṛtrahan (slayer of Vṛtra, implied), Truth-worker (vrata-holder, implied)
- Related deities
- Varuṇa (ṛta/vrata), Mitra (harmony), Agni (will), Maruts (impulsion)
Cosmic role
Breaker of the Coverer; establisher of cosmic order; supporter of heaven-earth harmony.
Inner power
Single-pointed force of illumination that can overturn inertia and impose truth-order on the whole nature.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra victory invocation in Soma rite; also used as protective/overcoming formula
त्वं हि ष्मा॑ च्या॒वय॒न्नच्यु॑ता॒न्येको॑ वृ॒त्रा चर॑सि॒ जिघ्न॑मानः । तव॒ द्यावा॑पृथि॒वी पर्व॑ता॒सोऽनु॑ व्र॒ताय॒ निमि॑तेव तस्थुः ॥
त्वम् । हि । स्म॒ । च्या॒वय॑न् । अच्यु॑तानि । एकः॑ । वृ॒त्रा । चर॑सि । जिघ्न॑मानः । तव॑ । द्यावा॑पृथि॒वी इति॑ । पर्व॑ता॒सः । अनु॑ । व्र॒ताय॑ । निमि॑ताऽइव । त॒स्थुः॒ ॥
tvam | hi | sma | cyāvayan | acyutāni | ekaḥ | vṛtrā | carasi | jighnamānaḥ | tava | dyāvāpṛthivī iti | parvatāsaḥ | anu | vratāya | nimitāiva | tasthuḥ
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4×11
Forceful and architectural; the second half has a stately ‘cosmic order’ cadence.
Creates a sense of power that reorders; evokes stability after breakthrough—victory leading to law and measure.
- अच्युतानि (acyutāni)
- Literal: unshakable things. Symbolic: fixed habits, rigid formations, deep-seated inertia
- च्यावयन् (cyāvayan)
- Literal: shaking, dislodging. Symbolic: transformative upheaval that frees blocked energies
- वृत्रा (vṛtrā)
- Literal: Vṛtras/obstructors. Symbolic: covering forces of ignorance, subconscient resistance
- जिघ्नमानः (jighnamānaḥ)
- Literal: striking down. Symbolic: decisive removal of obstruction; victorious action
- द्यावापृथिवी (dyāvāpṛthivī)
- Literal: Heaven and Earth. Symbolic: higher mind/vision and embodied nature in integration
- पर्वतासः (parvatāsaḥ)
- Literal: mountains. Symbolic: massive formations: difficulties, entrenched structures, fixed beliefs
- व्रत (vrata)
- Literal: law, ordinance, vow. Symbolic: truth-working order (Ṛta) governing transformation
- निमिताइव (nimita-iva)
- Literal: as if measured out. Symbolic: harmonized proportion; right arrangement of forces
Vṛtra-slaying remembrance in Soma praise; establishes Indra’s cosmic sovereignty and right to be invoked.
When calling for removal of obstacles and establishment of right order in the rite and its fruit.
Offer Soma/oblations; recite to secure Indra’s vṛtrahan power and ṛta-alignment.
For breaking addictions/habits: recite as a vow-strengthener (vrata) and visualization of inner reordering.
acyuta ‘unfallen, unmoved’ (a- + cyuta from √cyu). vṛtra from √vṛ ‘cover, obstruct’ → the archetypal Coverer. vrata ‘law, ordinance’ from √vṛ ‘choose/will’ or related semantic of ‘set rule’; in RV, ‘divine working’ aligned with r̥ta. nimita from ni-√mā ‘measure out’ (PIE *meh₁-).
Vrata (divine law/working), R̥ta (cosmic order implied), Overcoming obstruction (Vṛtra)
Explicit: ‘anu vratāya’—all stands in obedience to the ordinance; Ṛta as compelling harmony.
Truth is not only known but enforced as right arrangement (nimita).
Mountains and heaven-earth standing ‘measured’ evokes the original cosmic setting of order after the defeat of obstruction.
Ṛta-centric Vedic worldview with psychological correspondence: cosmic order mirrors inner order.
Mountains = fixed formations; heaven-earth = mind-body; shaking = transformative breakthrough; ordinance = inner law of truth.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Vṛtra-slaying framed as inner and cosmic: Indra ‘shakes the unshakable’ and strikes the obstructors; as a result the cosmic order (Heaven-Earth-mountains) stands ‘measured’ under his vrata—truth-law made stable.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- nimita (√mā ‘measure’) and tasthuḥ (√sthā ‘stand’) are core PIE roots (*meh₁-, *steh₂-). The verse uses the archaic IE idea that cosmos is ‘measured out’ and ‘set standing’ by divine action.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi affirms Indra’s solitary sufficiency (ekaḥ) against obstruction and grounds the invocation in cosmic legitimacy: Indra’s inner victory is identical with the maintenance of the world-order the sacrificer seeks to embody.
Invoke Indra as the single decisive clarity that can dislodge ‘unshakables’; visualize the breaking of a knot and the re-measuring of the inner space into harmony.
Maṇipūra (breakthrough force) + Sahasrāra/Ājñā (truth-order)
Bhastrikā mild (3 rounds of 10) to ‘shake’ inertia, then long exhale and stillness to let ‘vrata’ settle as calm order.
Breakthrough followed by wide stability; ordered silence.
Choose one entrenched pattern to offer. Summon concentrated force for a brief decisive inner act (refusal/realignment). Then consciously establish a new rule of truth (vrata): a simple daily alignment practice that ‘measures out’ the day.
Rigvedic three-tone; keep ‘tvaṃ hi ṣmā’ grounded, then intensify through ‘jighnamānaḥ’; let the final pāda broaden and settle.
Mark a strong caesura after each pāda; the last pāda should sound ‘measured’—even and stately.
(acyutāni): ‘cyu’ cluster clean, short ‘a’, (vṛtrā): vocalic ‘ṛ’ and retroflex ‘ṭr’ cluster, (dyāvāpṛthivī): keep the compound flowing, clear long vowels, (nimita-iva): separate lightly ‘nimita-iva’ to preserve sense
Commanding in first half, then broad and steady in the second.
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