Rig Veda 3.6.2: Mandala 3, Sukta 6, Mantra 2
Sukta 3.6
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
आ रोदसी अपृणा जायमान उत प्र रिक्था अध नु प्रयज्यो । दिवश्चिदग्ने महिना पृथिव्या वच्यन्तां ते वह्नयः सप्तजिह्वाः ॥
ā́ rodasī apṛṇā jā́yamāna utá prá rikthā ádha nú prayajyo | diváś cid agne mahinā́ pṛthivyā́ vacyántāṃ te váhnayaḥ saptájihvāḥ ||
اے اگنی! تیری پیدائش پر تو نے دونوں جہانوں کو بھر دیا، اور تو اپنی وراثت کی طرف بڑھا - اب بطور ہدایت کار قربانی کے۔ اے اگنی! تیری عظمت سے آسمان اور زمین سے بھی آگے، تیرے ساتھ زبانوں والے حامل طاقتیں عمل میں آئیں۔
Word by Word
- आ
- forth, up; (preverb)Indeclinableउपसर्ग/निपातRoot आ (उपसर्ग) / ā (preverb)
- रोदसी
- the two worlds (heaven and earth)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्विवचन, प्रथमा/द्वितीयाRole KarmaRoot रोदसी (प्रातिपदिक; द्वन्द्व-युग्म ‘द्यावापृथिवी’)
- अपृणाः
- you filledVerbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपद, 2 पुरुष, एकवचनRoot पॄ (पॄणाति ‘to fill, satisfy’)
- जायमानः
- being bornParticipleपुंलिङ्ग, एकवचन, प्रथमा; वर्तमानकालिक कर्मणि/आत्मनेपदीय भाव (being born)Role KartāRoot जन् (to be born) → जायमान (वर्तमान कृदन्त)
- उत
- and alsoIndeclinableसमुच्चयार्थ निपातRoot उत (निपात)
- प्र
- forth, forwardIndeclinableउपसर्गRoot प्र (उपसर्ग)
- रिक्थाः
- you emptied/cleared outVerbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपद, 2 पुरुष, एकवचनRoot रिच् (to empty, leave) / √ric
- अध
- then, thereafterIndeclinableकाल/अनन्तरार्थ निपातRoot अध (निपात)
- नु
- now, indeedIndeclinableप्रत्यवस्थान/निश्चयार्थ निपातRoot नु (निपात)
- प्रयज्यः
- to be worshipped; worthy of offeringAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, एकवचन, प्रथमा; यत्-प्रत्ययार्थ ‘-ya’ (fit to be worshipped)Role KartāRoot यज् (to worship, sacrifice) + प्र (उपसर्ग) → प्रयज्य (कृदन्त)
- दिवः
- from heaven / of heavenNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग (द्यौः), एकवचन, षष्ठी/पञ्चमी (Vedic overlap)Role ApādānaRoot दिव्/द्यौः (प्रातिपदिक: दिव्/द्यौ)
- चित्
- evenIndeclinableअवधारणार्थ/अपि-अर्थRoot चित् (निपात)
- अग्ने
- O AgniNounपुंलिङ्ग, एकवचन, सम्बोधनRole SampradānaRoot अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
- महिना
- by (your) greatness/mightNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, एकवचन, तृतीयाRole KaraṇaRoot महि (प्रातिपदिक ‘greatness, might’)
- पृथिव्याः
- from earth / of earthNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, एकवचन, षष्ठी/पञ्चमी (Vedic overlap)Role ApādānaRoot पृथिवी (प्रातिपदिक)
- वच्यन्ताम्
- let (them) be spoken/proclaimedVerbलोट् (imperative), कर्मणि (passive), 3 पुरुष, बहुवचनRoot वच् (to speak, proclaim) → वच्य (passive stem)
- ते
- yourPronounषष्ठी, एकवचन (enclitic)Role SampradānaRoot त्वद् (सर्वनाम)
- वह्नयः
- the bearers/flames (Agni’s carriers)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, बहुवचन, प्रथमाRole KartāRoot वह्नि (प्रातिपदिक; ‘carrier’, esp. fire-priest/flame)
- सप्तजिह्वाः
- seven-tonguedAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, बहुवचन, प्रथमा (वह्नयः इति विशेषणम्)Role KartāRoot सप्त + जिह्वा (समास: कर्मधारय/बहुव्रीहि-प्राय ‘seven-tongued’)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (pada-style): आ | रोदसी | अपृणाः | जायमानः | उत | प्र | रिक्थाः | अध | नु | प्रयज्यः | दिवः | चित् | अग्ने | महिना | पृथिव्याः | वच्यन्ताम् | ते | वह्नयः | सप्तजिह्वाः । Notable: दिवश्चित् = दिवः + चित्
- (accent marks in Saṃhitā are not retained in pada forms here)
The meaning
Outer meaning
At Agni’s birth he fills Heaven and Earth, advances to his rightful portion, and now leads the offering-work; by his greatness surpassing even heaven and earth, may his seven-tongued bearers be voiced into action.
Inner meaning
When the flame of the divine Will awakens in the seeker, it at once widens the inner consciousness (the ‘two worlds’ of mind and life/body) and claims its rightful field of action (riktha, the inherited portion of the soul). As the true leader of the inner yajña, Agni calls forth and organizes the manifold powers of expression and transformation—the ‘seven tongues’—so that the whole nature begins to speak and act in harmony with the higher Truth.
Universal truth
True spiritual progress begins when the awakened will-to-transform becomes all-pervading, claims its destined work, and coordinates the many faculties of the being into a single consecrated movement.
Themes
Agni cosmic vastness, seven tongues, birth of fire, speech-activation
The seer
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Lineage
- Gāthin / Kauśika tradition (commonly associated)
- Other hymns
- RV 3.1, RV 3.2, RV 3.3, RV 3.4, RV 3.5, RV 3.6, RV 3.7, RV 3.8, RV 3.9
Family tradition
Royal-turned-brahmarṣi; hymns emphasize inner conquest, wideness, and the victorious emergence of light through tapas.
Significance
Viśvāmitra’s vision often marks the passage from mental effort to a larger spiritual sovereignty; here Agni is the initiator who makes the being vast and fit for the descent of higher powers.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- Jātavedas (implied in the hymn context), Prayajya (leader of offering-work), Vahni (bearer/carrier, by association with vahnayaḥ)
- Related deities
- Uṣas, Indra, Soma, Bṛhaspati, Maruts, Dyāvā-Pṛthivī
Cosmic role
Mediator between worlds; establishes the sacrificial link and the right movement of energies between earth and heaven.
Inner power
The awakened divine Will and discerning flame that purifies, widens, and coordinates the faculties into a single consecrated aspiration.
In ritual
Where it is used
Agnihotra / Darśa-Pūrṇamāsa contexts (general Agni invocation in śrauta usage)
आ रोद॑सी अपृणा॒ जाय॑मान उ॒त प्र रि॑क्था॒ अध॒ नु प्र॑यज्यो । दि॒वश्चि॑दग्ने महि॒ना पृ॑थि॒व्या व॒च्यन्तां॑ ते॒ वह्न॑यः स॒प्तजि॑ह्वाः ॥
आ । रोद॑सी॒ इति॑ । अ॒पृ॒णाः॒ । जाय॑मानः । उ॒त । प्र । रि॒क्थाः॒ । अध॑ । नु । प्र॒य॒ज्यो॒ इति॑ प्रऽयज्यो । दे॒वः । चि॒त् । अ॒ग्ने॒ । म॒हि॒ना । पृ॒थि॒व्याः । व॒च्यन्ता॑म् । ते॒ । वह्न॑यः । स॒प्तऽजि॑ह्वाः ॥
ā | rodasī iti | apṛṇāḥ | jāyamānaḥ | uta | pra | rikthāḥ | adha | nu | prayajyo itipra-yajyo | devaḥ | cit | agne | mahinā | pṛthivyāḥ | vacyantām | te | vahnayaḥ | sapta-jihvāḥ
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables
Strong, forward-driving, suited to proclamation and command.
Builds expansive energy and executive clarity; supports a sense of ‘widening’ and mobilization of inner powers.
- रोदसी (rodasī)
- Literal: the two worlds (Heaven and Earth). Symbolic: the widened field of consciousness—higher mind/heaven and embodied nature/earth; also mind and life as two domains to be filled by the flame
- जायमान (jāyamāna)
- Literal: being born. Symbolic: the ignition of aspiration and divine will in the seeker
- रिक्थ (riktha)
- Literal: inheritance, allotted portion. Symbolic: the soul’s destined share—its true work and field of realization
- प्रयज्य (prayajya)
- Literal: leading the sacrifice/fore-offering work. Symbolic: the executive guidance of inner consecration; right ordering of sadhana
- महिना (mahinā)
- Literal: by greatness. Symbolic: the expansive power of Agni that exceeds ordinary mental-vital limits
- वह्नयः (vahnayaḥ)
- Literal: bearers, carriers (of offering/fire). Symbolic: the dynamic powers/faculties that carry aspiration and oblation upward and bring force downward
- सप्तजिह्वाः (saptajihvāḥ)
- Literal: seven-tongued. Symbolic: the seven modes of the inner fire—multiple energies of discernment, aspiration, purification, delight, etc., expressing the integral action of Agni
- वच्यन्ताम् (vacyantām)
- Literal: let them be spoken/voiced. Symbolic: let the powers become articulate and operative—mantric speech as effective force
Invocation of Agni’s seven tongues/flames in the offering; supports the idea of multiple operative fires in the rite and multiple functions in the inner yajña (speech, will, discernment, etc.)
At kindling/invocation of Agni as Hotṛ and leader of the rite.
Kindling, offering of ghee, calling Agni to preside and activate the rite.
Use at the start of meditation or breath-led sankalpa to ‘ignite’ will, widen the mind, and align faculties for practice.
apṛṇāḥ from √pṝ ‘fill’ (PIE *pleh₁- ‘fill’ cf. English full). rikthá- ‘inheritance’ from √ric ‘leave, be empty’ in later Sanskrit differs; Vedic riktha is ‘heritage/portion’ (semantic development). saptá-jihvāḥ: jihvā ‘tongue’ from PIE *dn̥ǵʰwéh₂? (cognation uncertain); but ‘seven tongues’ is a fixed Agni-doctrine: multiple functional flames/powers.
vastness (mahinā), many-powered expression (seven tongues), inheritance/domain of the divine will (riktha)
Agni’s birth establishes right movement between the two worlds and sets the powers into ordered action.
The ‘voicing’ of the seven tongues hints at truth-speech becoming effective force in the being.
The inner fire as first awakener that fills and organizes the worlds of experience.
Proto-Vedāntic / integral-psychological reading (Aurobindo/Kashyap line): sacrifice as inner transformation.
Fire = will and aspiration; Heaven/Earth = higher mind and embodied nature to be filled with awakened force.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Agni at birth fills the two worlds and assumes his ‘inheritance’ as the leader of sacrifice, expressed as the seven-tongued fire. Innerly, the awakening will fills mind and life, then takes up its rightful domain—organizing the offering-work—and articulates itself through multiple powers of expression (seven tongues).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √pṝ ‘fill’ corresponds to PIE *pleh₁- (full/plenus family). The dual rodasī as ‘two worlds’ is an Indo-Iranian poetic structure reflecting archaic IE binary cosmology (sky/earth).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi calls for activation: ‘may your bearers be voiced’—a request that Agni’s multiple operative powers become articulate in the sacrificer’s speech and action. The reciprocity is that human utterance invites divine functions to manifest as effective forces in the work.
Ignite the inner fire of will; feel it expand through mind and body; invite the ‘seven faculties’ to align and act from truth.
Maṇipūra (fire/will) with ascent toward Ājñā (truth-directed command).
Moderate nāḍī-śodhana (6–6) for balance, then 7 slow exhalations with silent ‘Agni’ intention to ‘voice’ the powers.
Widened, vigilant, executive—ready for concentrated work.
Begin practice by inwardly offering scattered impulses into one flame; ask that speech, thought, and action become instruments of the soul’s work (riktha).
Vedic accents as marked in saṃhitā: observe udatta on accented syllables (e.g.,, ), svarita where indicated; keep anudatta low and steady.
Let udatta rise cleanly without force; maintain continuous flow across sandhi; slight emphasis on key vocatives (अग्ने).
Hold long vowels: ā, ī, ū., Retroflex clarity: ṛ in rikthā; ṣ/ś not prominent here but keep saptajihvāḥ with clear ‘jh’., Cluster care: vacyantāṃ with palatal ‘cy’ glide; saptajihvāḥ with aspirated jh.
Bright, steady, slightly ascending on udatta; end with a firm cadence on saptajihvāḥ.
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