Rig Veda 4.22.5: Mandala 4, Sukta 22, Mantra 5
Sukta 4.22
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism)
ता तू त इन्द्र महतो महानि विश्वेष्वित्सवनेषु प्रवाच्या । यच्छूर धृष्णो धृषता दधृष्वानहिं वज्रेण शवसाविवेषीः ॥
tā́ tū́ te indra maható mahā́ni víśveṣv ít sávanēṣu pra-vā́cyā | yác chū́ra dhṛṣṇó dhṛṣátā dadhṛṣvā́n áhīṃ vájreṇa śávasā́viveṣīḥ ||
اے اندر، یہ واقعی تیرے عظیم کام ہیں، ہر پریسنگ میں بیان کرنے کے لئے۔ اے ہیرو، تو نے دلیری سے، بہادر قوت کے ساتھ، اپنی طاقت سے وجر سے سانپ کو مارا۔
Word by Word
- ताः
- those (deeds/acts)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- तु
- but/indeedIndeclinableअव्ययRoot तु (निपात)
- ते
- of you/yourPronounषष्ठी एकवचन (एन्क्लिटिक रूप) / वैदिके संबन्धार्थेRoot त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग; संबोधन एकवचनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- महतः
- of the great (one)Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी एकवचन (महतो) — ‘महान्’ इत्यस्यRoot महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- महानि
- great (deeds/things)Adjective (substantivized)नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- विश्वेषु
- in allAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी बहुवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot विश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- इत्
- indeed/justIndeclinableअव्यय (बलार्थक/निश्चयार्थक)Root इत् (निपात)
- सवनेषु
- at the pressings (Soma-rites)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी बहुवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot सवन (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रवाच्याः
- to be proclaimed/celebratedVerbal adjective (gerundive)स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचनRoot प्र + वच् (धातु) → प्रवाच्य (कृत्-प्रातिपदिक, -य)
- यत्
- which (deed)Pronoun (relative)नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचनRole KarmaRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- शूर
- O heroNounपुंलिङ्ग; संबोधन एकवचनRoot शूर (प्रातिपदिक)
- धृष्णो
- O bold oneAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; संबोधन एकवचन (वैदिक रूप: -ो)Root धृष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
- धृषता
- with (your) bold (might)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot धृषत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- दधृष्वान्
- having grown bold; emboldenedParticiple (perfect active)पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot धृष् (धातु) → दधृष्वांस् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट-भागवत्)
- अहिम्
- the serpent (Ahi/Vṛtra)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचनRole KarmaRoot अहि (प्रातिपदिक)
- वज्रेण
- with the thunderboltNounपुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot वज्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- शवसा
- with strengthNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot शवस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- अविवेषीः
- you did enter/you did penetrateVerbलिट् (परफेक्ट); मध्यमपुरुष एकवचन; परस्मैपदRoot वि + विश् (धातु) → अवि-वे-षि (परफेक्ट)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (pada-wise): ता + तू → ताः तु (आः + तु)
- त॑ इन्द्र → ते इन्द्र (एन्क्लिटिक ‘ते’)
- मह॒तो म॒हानि॒ → महतः महानि
- विश्वे॒ष्वित्सव॑नेषु → विश्वेषु इत् सवनेषु
- प्र॒वाच्या॑ → प्रवाच्याः (स्त्री. बहु.)
- यच्छू॑र → यत् शूर
- धृष्णो (संबोधन-रूप)
- धृष॒ता द॑धृ॒ष्वान् → धृषता दधृष्वान्
- दधृ॒ष्वानहिं॒ → दधृष्वान् अहिम्
- वज्रे॑ण॒ शव॒सा → वज्रेण शवसा
- शव॒सावि॑वेषीः → शवसा अविवेषीः
The meaning
Outer meaning
These are your great deeds, O Indra, to be proclaimed at every Soma pressing: you, the daring hero, struck the serpent with the thunderbolt by your might.
Inner meaning
The seeker is urged to repeatedly affirm (in every ‘pressing’—every concentrated practice) the decisive victories of the illumined Mind. Indra’s slaying of the serpent (ahi) is the piercing of the coiled resistance that hoards the currents of consciousness—Vṛtra-like obstruction in the subconscient—by the vajra of luminous force.
Universal truth
Spiritual progress requires continual recollection and re-enactment of the victory of light over inner resistance; each deep practice ‘presses’ out a new measure of power and demands renewed courage.
Themes
Ahi/Vṛtra slaying, victory over ignorance, mantric proclamation
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 4.16, RV 4.17, RV 4.22
Family tradition
The Gautamas frequently emphasize Indra’s archetypal victory as a repeatable inner event, not a one-time myth.
Significance
Vāmadeva frames Indra’s deed as something to be ‘spoken’ again and again—suggesting mantra as a tool for making the victory present in consciousness.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- mahān (Great One), śūra, dhṛṣṇu
- Related deities
- Soma, Agni, Bṛhaspati
Cosmic role
Vṛtra-slayer; liberator of waters/lights; champion of the gods’ order.
Inner power
Courageous, incisive intelligence that attacks the root of obstruction in the subconscient and frees the flow of consciousness.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma-yajña Indra śastra/stotra context (every savana)
ता तू त॑ इन्द्र मह॒तो म॒हानि॒ विश्वे॒ष्वित्सव॑नेषु प्र॒वाच्या॑ । यच्छू॑र धृष्णो धृष॒ता द॑धृ॒ष्वानहिं॒ वज्रे॑ण॒ शव॒सावि॑वेषीः ॥
ता । तु । ते॒ । इ॒न्द्र॒ । म॒ह॒तः । म॒हानि॑ । विश्वे॑षु । इत् । सव॑नेषु । प्र॒ऽवाच्या॑ । यत् । शू॒र॒ । धृ॒ष्णो॒ इति॑ । धृ॒ष॒ता । द॒धृ॒ष्वान् । अहि॑म् । वज्रे॑ण । शव॑सा । अवि॑वेषीः ॥
tā | tu | te | indra | mahataḥ | mahāni | viśveṣu | it | savaneṣu | pra-vācyā | yat | śūra | dhṛṣṇo iti | dhṛṣatā | dadhṛṣvān | ahim | vajreṇa | śavasā | aviveṣīḥ
44
4×11 (approx.)
Oratorical and emphatic; designed for proclamation of heroic deeds.
Builds confidence and assertive clarity; supports ‘cutting through’ mental doubt during japa.
- सवन (savana)
- Literal: pressing (Soma). Symbolic: repeated inner concentration that extracts essence (bliss/force)
- प्रवाच्या (pravācyā)
- Literal: to be proclaimed. Symbolic: mantric affirmation; conscious recognition that stabilizes realization
- शूर (śūra)
- Literal: hero. Symbolic: courageous luminous will in the mind
- धृष्णु / धृषता (dhṛṣṇu/dhṛṣatā)
- Literal: daring / with daring force. Symbolic: fearless tapas that confronts the subconscient
- अहिम् (ahim)
- Literal: serpent. Symbolic: coiled obstruction; inertia and dark habit-force
- वज्रेण (vajreṇa)
- Literal: with the thunderbolt. Symbolic: truth-discrimination and irresistible illumination
- शवसा (śavasā)
- Literal: by might. Symbolic: spiritual strength (inner śakti)
Core Vṛtra/Ahi slaying remembrance recited at Soma pressings; energizes the rite’s victorious intention
At morning/midday/evening pressings where Indra is invoked for victory and release.
Praise-recitation; energizing the offering with remembrance of Indra’s conquest.
Use as a daily ‘victory recollection’ mantra when facing recurring patterns—repeat before meditation or difficult conversations.
dhṛṣ (daring) intensification shows stylistic stacking: dhṛṣṇu, dhṛṣatā, dadhṛṣvān. ahi ‘serpent’ is the coiling cover (often linked with Vṛtra complex). śavas ‘might’ is raw strength; vajra is the shaped decisive force. savana ‘pressing’ is both ritual and inner ‘extraction’ of soma-delight.
courage of consciousness (dhṛṣ), removal of obstruction (ahi), repetition of realization (every savana)
Slaying the serpent restores the right flow (ṛta) of waters/lights through the worlds.
Vajra embodies satya-force—truth that cannot be resisted when fully gathered.
Release of blocked energies renews creation; the world becomes capable of forward evolution.
Aurobindonian: Vṛtra as subconscient resistance; Indra as illumined mind-force enabling transformation.
Serpent = coiled inertia at the base of nature; thunderbolt = sudden descending illumination that breaks the knot.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The serpent-slaying (Ahi) by vajra: the archetypal victory of luminous force over coiled obstruction. Its repetition ‘in every savana’ makes it a perennial inner event, not a one-time myth.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The storm-hero vs serpent/dragon complex is a well-attested Indo-European mythic pattern. The poetic intensification via repeated derivations from √dhṛṣ mirrors inherited IE stylistics of epithets and crescendo-formulas in heroic praise.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi’s proclamation (pra-vācyā) sustains Indra’s victorious presence at each pressing; Indra’s daring act becomes the model and enabling power for the sacrificer’s own battle against inner obstruction.
Re-enact the ‘vajra-strike’: identify one core resistance and apply steady luminous attention until it yields.
maṇipūra (will-fire)
Brisk-energetic but controlled: 3 rounds of kapalabhāti (mild), then mantra repetition on natural breath.
Courageous concentration; battle-like clarity without aggression.
Before japa, name the ‘ahi’ (habit/fear). During repetition, feel a concentrated beam of light cutting the coil; end in quiet gratitude as flow returns.
Maintain Vedic accent peaks on indrā́, vajréṇa, śávasā; triṣṭubh cadence with firm pāda endings.
Let the second hemistich intensify; slight emphasis on dhṛṣ- roots (dhṛṣṇo, dhṛṣatā, dadhṛṣvān).
(pravācyā): cy cluster clean, long ā, (dhṛṣṇo): retroflex ṛ and ṣ; avoid ‘dhrishno’ flattening, (dadhṛṣvān): clear reduplication da-dhṛṣ, (ahim): short a, soft h, (aviveṣīḥ): long īḥ at end, ṣ retroflex
Commanding, clear, rhythmic—like a proclamation.
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