Rig Veda 3.37.9: Mandala 3, Sukta 37, Mantra 9
Sukta 3.37
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism)
इन्द्रियाणि शतक्रतो या ते जनेषु पञ्चसु । इन्द्र तानि त आ वृणे ॥
indriyā́ṇi śatakrato yā́ te jáneṣu páñcasu | índra tā́ni ta ā́ vṛṇe ||
اے سو ارادوں والے، وہ اندری طاقتیں جو پانچ لوگوں میں تیری ہیں - اے اندر، وہی طاقتیں میں چنتا ہوں اور اپنی طرف کھینچتا ہوں روح کی بڑھوتری کے لیے۔
Word by Word
- इन्द्रियाणि
- powers, mights, facultiesNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole कर्म (वृणे ‘चुनता/वरणे’ का विषय) / वाक्य-प्रस्ताव (यद्-सम्बन्ध)Root इन्द्रिय (प्रातिपदिक; इन्द्र + इय/इयन्-प्रत्यय) अथवा इन्द्रिय-
- शतक्रतो
- O hundred-powered (Indra)Noun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन विभक्ति, एकवचनRole सम्बोधन (आह्वान)Root शतक्रतु (प्रातिपदिक; शत + क्रतु)
- या
- which (those)Pronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध/विशेषण (इन्द्रियाणि का यद्-सम्बन्ध)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ते
- of you, yourPronounषष्ठी विभक्ति, एकवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive: ‘thy/your’)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- जनेषु
- among the peoplesNounपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole अधिकरण (locus: ‘among/in the peoples’)Root जन (प्रातिपदिक)
- पञ्चसु
- in the fiveNumeral (adjectival)(सामान्यतः) सप्तमी विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole अधिकरण-विशेषण (जनेषु का विशेषण)Root पञ्चन् (संख्यावाचक-प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन विभक्ति, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- तानि
- thosePronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्म (वृणे का प्रत्यक्ष कर्म; इन्द्रियाणि का पुनरुक्त-सूचक)Root तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- त
- for youPronounचतुर्थी विभक्ति, एकवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role सम्प्रदान (for you)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- आ
- towards, unto; (as preverb) whollyIndeclinableउपसर्गः (वृणे के साथ ‘आ-वृ’ = ‘अपने पक्ष में चुनना/स्वीकार करना’)Root आ (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- वृणे
- I choose, I acceptVerbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रिया (कर्तृ = अहम् ‘मैं’ निहित)Root √वृ (वरणे ‘to choose’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सन्धि-निरसन): इन्द्रियाणि | शतक्रतो | या | ते | जनेषु | पञ्चसु | इन्द्र | तानि | त | आ | वृणे || 1) ‘शतक्रतो॒’ = शतक्रतो (सम्बोधन एकवचन; मूल प्रातिपदिक शतक्रतु).
- ‘ते’ षष्ठी एकवचन एन्क्लिटिक. 3) ‘पञ्चसु’ ‘जनेषु’ का विशेषण (सप्तमी बहुवचन). 4) ‘त॒ आ वृ॑णे’ = त (चतुर्थी एकवचन) + आ (उपसर्ग) + वृणे (लट् आत्मनेपद 1sg)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The speaker chooses and invokes Indra’s powers that operate among the five peoples.
Inner meaning
The seeker selects (ā vṛṇe) the Indra-force—capacities of illumined mind and victorious will—present in all ‘fivefold’ human nature, to be gathered and unified for inner increase and mastery.
Universal truth
Human nature contains dispersed powers; conscious choice and aspiration can draw higher faculties together into a unified, effective consciousness.
Themes
choosing divine powers, fivefold humanity, Indra-force, inner empowerment
The seer
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Lineage
- Gāthin (Viśvāmitra lineage)
- Other hymns
- RV 3.37, RV 3.38
Family tradition
A tradition of mantric selection and concentration—choosing the divine force needed for victory and expansion.
Significance
This is a classic Viśvāmitra gesture: deliberate ‘choosing’ of the divine power to reorganize the human composite into a higher order.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Śatakratu, Indra (lord of luminous power)
- Related deities
- Agni, Soma, Bṛhaspati
Cosmic role
Distributor of might and illumination among beings; establishes victory of light in the human field.
Inner power
Integration of scattered faculties into a single victorious consciousness; empowerment of discernment and action.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra-stotra in Soma rites; general invocation for strength among the clans
इ॒न्द्रि॒याणि॑ शतक्रतो॒ या ते॒ जने॑षु प॒ञ्चसु॑ । इन्द्र॒ तानि॑ त॒ आ वृ॑णे ॥
इ॒न्द्रि॒याणि॑ । श॒त॒क्र॒तो॒ इति॑ शतऽक्रतो । या । ते॒ । जने॑षु । प॒ञ्चऽसु॑ । इन्द्र॑ । तानि॑ । ते॒ । आ । वृ॒णे॒ ॥
indriyāṇi | śatakrato itiśata-krato | yā | te | janeṣu | pañca-su | indra | tāni | te | ā | vṛṇe
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4 × ~11
Declarative and gathering; the cadence supports ‘selection’ and ‘drawing-in’.
Creates a sense of summoning and consolidation—calling powers from all parts of life into the center.
- indriyāṇi
- Literal: powers of Indra; also ‘faculties’. Symbolic: luminous capacities of perception, courage, decision, and effective will
- śatakrato
- Literal: hundred-powered. Symbolic: many-sided executive intelligence
- janeṣu pañcasu
- Literal: among the five peoples. Symbolic: the fivefold formation (body, life, mind, higher mind/intuition, bliss-seed) or the five sense-mind domains to be transformed
- ā vṛṇe
- Literal: I choose, I select, I draw near. Symbolic: act of aspiration and self-consecration—calling down and integrating higher power
Appropriation formula in Indra-Soma liturgy: the sacrificer ‘chooses’ Indra’s powers for communal and inner victory
When invoking Indra’s might for collective welfare or victory; adaptable to many offerings
Recitation as an invitation and appropriation of Indra’s śakti
Before demanding work or sadhana: recite to ‘choose’ clarity, courage, and right force across all life-areas.
indriyá- ‘belonging to Indra; power of Indra’ from Indra + -iya; later Sanskrit ‘sense-faculty’ but here ‘Indra-force capacities’. pañca ‘five’ PIE *pénkʷe (Lat quinque, Gk pente). √vṛ ‘choose’ PIE *wel- ‘choose/wish’ (cf. Eng. will, Lat volo). The ‘five peoples’ can be read both as traditional tribal totality and as symbolic fivefold constitution (body-life-mind etc. in later interpretive frames).
appropriation of divine power (ā-vṛṇe as inward taking), fivefold human nature (symbolic reading of pañca), R̥ta as right selection and alignment with divine force
Choosing Indra’s powers is choosing Ṛta-driven faculties—right seeing and right force.
True power is aligned with truth; the mantra implies discernment in what powers one ‘chooses’.
The divine distributes powers into multiplicity; the seeker recollects them into unity.
Integral Yoga-compatible: transformation of the ‘fivefold’ nature by descent of higher power.
Indra’s ‘storm-light’ becomes psychological energy that clears and organizes the fivefold life.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘taking of the god’s powers’: rather than asking only for external gifts, the speaker chooses (vṛṇe) Indra’s indriyāṇi—capacities of mastery—present across the whole human field (five peoples). The mythic act is assimilation: divine force becomes operative within the aspirant.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- pañca continues PIE *pénkʷe. √vṛ ‘choose’ aligns with PIE *wel- ‘wish/choose’ (clear in the Indo-European ‘will’ family). Such inherited roots show how Vedic prayer encodes volition as a central sacred act: choosing is itself creative.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The relationship is intimate and appropriative: the seer does not remain a distant petitioner but selects and draws Indra’s powers into himself (ā vṛṇe). Indra is thus treated as a set of living capacities available for embodiment in the human vessel.
Consciously ‘choose’ the higher faculty in each part of nature; gather attention from senses to the inner ruler (Indra).
manipura
box-breath 4-4-4-4 with mental japa on ‘ā vṛṇe’ during retention
dynamic concentration (dhāraṇā with force)
Name internally the ‘five domains’ where you need Indra-power; on each repetition, draw that power into the navel-center and then up to the brow for clear action.
Triṣṭubh with udatta prominence on vocatives and key nouns (índra, śatákṛto, indriyā́ṇi) per śākhā.
Keep ‘indriyāṇi’ flowing (no harsh break between -yā-); emphasize ‘ā vṛṇe’ as a single intent.
indriyāṇi: dental n; clear ry cluster, pañcasu: nasal ñ; short a’s, śatakrato: do not insert vowel between k and r
firm, gathering, aspirational
11
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