Rig Veda 5.3.9: Mandala 5, Sukta 3, Mantra 9
Sukta 5.3
- Rishi
- Atri
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Trishtubh
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion) and Vira (heroism)
अव स्पृधि पितरं योधि विद्वान्पुत्रो यस्ते सहसः सून ऊहे । कदा चिकित्वो अभि चक्षसे नोऽग्ने कदाँ ऋतचिद्यातयासे ॥
áva spṛdhi pitáraṃ yódhi vidvā́n putró yás te sahasaḥ sū́no ūhé | kadā́ cikitvo abhí cakṣase no 'gne kadā́ṃ ṛtácid yātayāse ||
باپ کے خلاف نیچے کی طرف جدوجہد کر، جاننے والے بیٹے کی طرح جنگ کر، اے طاقت کے بیٹے، اے اگنی، پوشیدہ عمل میں۔ اے بصیرت والے، کب تو اپنی نظر سے ہماری طرف دیکھے گا؟ کب تو سچائی کے ذریعے ہمارے راستے کو آگے بڑھائے گا؟
Word by Word
- अव
- down, away; (as preverb)Indeclinableउपसर्ग/निपात (अव्यय)Root अव (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- स्पृधि
- fight!, contend!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; (Vedic injunctive/imperative use)Root स्पृध् (स्पर्धते) / स्पृध्
- पितरम्
- the fatherNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot पितृ
- योधि
- fight!, battle!Verbलोट्, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद (Vedic form)Root युध् (युध्यते/योधति) / युध्
- विद्वान्
- knowing, wiseAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (कर्तरि वर्तमानकृदन्तः ‘knowing’)Role Kartā (विशेषणरूपेण संबोधनस्य/कर्तुः)Root विद् → विद्वस् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
- पुत्रः
- sonNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot पुत्र
- यः
- whoPronounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (सम्बन्धसूचकः)Root यद् (सर्वनाम)
- ते
- of you, yourPronounषष्ठी, एकवचन (enclitic)Root त्वद् (सर्वनाम)
- सहसः
- of might, of strengthNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRoot सहस्
- सूनो
- O sonNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (Vedic vocative in -o)Root सूनु
- ऊहे
- heeds, considers; plans/undertakesVerbलट्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद (Vedic usage) अथवा परस्मैपद-प्रयोगः सन्दिग्धः; अर्थतः ‘उहते/ऊहति’Root ऊह्
- कदा
- when?Indeclinableकालवाचक-अव्ययRole Adhikaraṇa (काल)Root कदा (प्रश्नाव्यय)
- चिकित्वः
- O discerning one, O wiseAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (Vedic vocative)Root चित्/चिकित् → चिकित्वस् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
- अभि
- towards, uponIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot अभि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- चक्षसे
- you look, you beholdVerbलट्, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदRoot चक्ष् (चक्षते)
- नः
- to us / for usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी, बहुवचन (enclitic); here best as dative/benefactiveRole SampradānaRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- अग्ने
- O AgniNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRoot अग्नि
- कदान्
- when indeed?Indeclinableप्रश्नाव्यय (emphatic Vedic form)Role Adhikaraṇa (काल)Root कदा + नु/अनु (Vedic particle) → कदान्
- ऋतचित्
- even according to ṛta; trulyIndeclinableसमास/योगः; ‘ऋत’ + ‘चित्’ = ‘even in accordance with ṛta / truly’Root ऋत + चित् (अव्यय/निपात ‘even’)
- यातयासे
- you set in motion/drive; you impel (towards)Verbलट्, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदRoot यातय् (caus./denom.) + आ- (उपसर्ग)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (Vedic sandhi resolved): अव | स्पृधि | पितरम् | योधि | विद्वान् | पुत्रः | यः | ते | सहसः | सूनो | ऊहे || कदा | चिकित्वः | अभि | चक्षसे | नः | अग्ने | कदान् | ऋतचित् | यातयासे || Notes: (1) विद्वान्पुत्रो → विद्वान् + पुत्रः (final -न् + initial प्; visarga lost in saṃhitā)
- (2) ते सहसः सून ऊहे → सूनो (voc. sg. of सूनु with Vedic -o) + ऊहे
- (3) नोऽग्ने → नः + अग्ने (o/ḥ before vowel; avagraha)
- (4) क॒दाँ → कदान् (Vedic emphatic particle -न्)
- (5) ऋतचिद् is ṛta + cit ‘even/truly’
The meaning
Outer meaning
Agni is urged to strive against the Father and do battle as the knowing Son, the child of might working in secrecy. The poet asks when Agni will look upon them and when he will drive their path forward by the Truth.
Inner meaning
A profound psychological image: the ‘Father’ can be read as the fixed, preceding foundation—Nature’s established law or the inert base (the old order) that must be challenged for a new birth of consciousness. Agni, the Son of Sahas (force/tapas), fights downward into the roots (ava) to conquer resistance in the subconscient. The ‘hidden working’ (ūhe) indicates occult inner operations where transformation is decided. The seeker asks for Agni’s direct seeing (abhi cakṣase)—the illumined attention that makes the right movements visible—and for truth-driven propulsion (ṛtacid yātayāse): progress guided not by desire but by ṛta itself.
Universal truth
Transformation requires an inner force that can descend into the roots of habit and inertia, illumine the being, and propel the journey by truth rather than impulse.
Themes
prayer for guidance, truth-led movement, inner battle
The seer
- Rishi
- Atri (Ātreya)
- Lineage
- Ātreya
- Other hymns
- RV 5.3.1-11 (Agni sequence)
Family tradition
Ātreya vision often includes the descent of Agni into the lower parts to win the hidden light; this verse explicitly points to the ‘secret working’ of transformation.
Significance
Atri articulates the yogic necessity of descent (ava) and truth-led movement—anticipating later Upanishadic insistence on inner seeing and ṛta-based conduct.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni
- Epithets
- cikitvaḥ (discerning), sahasaḥ sūnuḥ (son of might)
- Related deities
- Indra (slayer of cover), Bṛhaspati (breaker of obstruction), Soma (bliss that supports the ascent)
Cosmic role
Warrior-priest who penetrates the hidden and establishes truth-movement; awakener and leader of the path.
Inner power
Descending flame of tapas that confronts inertia, illumines the being, and impels right action.
In ritual
Where it is used
Invocatory verse within Agni hymns; used to request divine attention and right leading during rite.
अव॑ स्पृधि पि॒तरं॒ योधि॑ वि॒द्वान्पु॒त्रो यस्ते॑ सहसः सून ऊ॒हे । क॒दा चि॑कित्वो अ॒भि च॑क्षसे॒ नोऽग्ने॑ क॒दाँ ऋ॑त॒चिद्या॑तयासे ॥
अव॑ । स्पृ॒धि॒ । पि॒तर॑म् । योधि॑ । वि॒द्वान् । पु॒त्रः । यः । ते॒ । स॒ह॒सः॒ । सू॒नो॒ इति॑ । ऊ॒हे । क॒दा । चि॒कि॒त्वः॒ । अ॒भि । च॒क्ष॒से॒ । नः॒ । अ॒ग्ने॒ । क॒दा । ऋ॒त॒ऽचित् । या॒त॒या॒से॒ ॥
ava | spṛdhi | pitaram | yodhi | vidvān | putraḥ | yaḥ | te | sahasaḥ | sūno iti | ūhe | kadā | cikitvaḥ | abhi | cakṣase | naḥ | agne | kadā | ṛta-cit | yātayāse
44
4 × ~11 syllables; interrogatives (‘kadā’) create rhythmic yearning.
Tense, questing, with downward thrust (‘ava’) and forward drive (‘yātayāse’).
Elicits aspiration and urgency; helps bring Agni’s ‘seeing’ into the practice.
- pitaraṃ
- Literal: father. Symbolic: the prior foundation—old nature, established formative power, or originating law that must be confronted for renewal
- putraḥ
- Literal: son. Symbolic: newly born will/aspiration arising from tapas
- sahasaḥ sūnuḥ
- Literal: son of might. Symbolic: Agni as tapas-born energy capable of decisive inner battle
- ūhe
- Literal: in the hidden working/secret operation. Symbolic: subtle inner processes beneath surface mind
- abhi cakṣase
- Literal: look upon, see toward. Symbolic: illumined attention that reveals truth of movements
- ṛtacid
- Literal: by/with the Truth indeed. Symbolic: guidance by ṛta—right law of becoming
- yātayāse
- Literal: you drive forward, set in motion. Symbolic: impulsion of the path; inner progress and right leading
Supplication for divine ‘seeing’ and forward-leading by ṛta; used as a prayer for guidance and victory over limiting powers during the rite.
When seeking clearance of obstacles and truth-guided progress in sacrificial sequence.
Recitation during kindling/offerings as a plea for Agni’s guidance and victorious descent into obstacles.
Use when stuck in repetitive patterns: chant to invoke a ‘descent of will’ into the root of the habit, asking for clear seeing and truth-led momentum.
√spṛdh ‘to strive, contest’ (spṛdhi) expresses inner struggle. pitṛ ‘father’ from PIE *ph₂tḗr (cf. Latin pater): here used symbolically as a prior determining principle that must be surpassed by the ‘son’ fire (Agni) in manifestation. √yudh (yodhi) PIE *yeudh- ‘to fight’. ṛta-cit is a Vedic compound: ṛta ‘right order/truth’ (PIE *h₂r-to- ‘fitted, ordered’) + cit ‘consciousness’ (√cit). √yā ‘go’ (yātayāse) expresses guidance/impulsion of the path.
ṛta-cit (truth-consciousness), guidance/leadership of the inner journey, struggle against limiting formations
‘ṛtacid’ explicitly anchors progress in cosmic rightness; Agni becomes the executive power of ṛta.
Agni’s seeing (cakṣas) is truth-vision that exposes inner motives.
New birth (son) contends with old foundation (father) to establish a higher order in the being.
Integral yogic reading: descent into subconscient + ascent by truth-guidance.
Fire descending = tapas entering subconscient layers; path-driving = prāṇic and mental energies aligned to truth.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘Son’ (Agni) contends with the ‘Father’—a mythic image of the manifesting fire-force overcoming a prior, constraining cosmic principle; simultaneously it is the seeker’s prayer that Agni look upon and lead them by ṛta-cit (truth-consciousness).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- pitṛ (father) and √yudh (fight) are classic Indo-European inheritances (pater/standards of heroic diction). The compound ṛta-cit is specifically Vedic but built from inherited *h₂r-to- ‘ordered’ + a Vedic development of √cit, showing how inherited roots are recomposed into specialized spiritual-psychological terms.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi presses Agni not only to protect but to ‘see’ (cakṣ-) and actively propel the journey by ṛta. The reciprocity is urgent: human aspiration questions ‘when?’—seeking tangible divine intervention in consciousness and direction.
Invite Agni to ‘look upon’ the being: practice open witnessing, then direct the will downward into the body/subconscient to meet resistance without fear.
mūlādhāra (descent into roots)
On inhale feel flame rising to the heart; on exhale feel it descending to the pelvic floor (‘ava’). Keep breath smooth; no strain.
Penetrative awareness; truth-seeking sincerity; readiness for inner battle.
After chanting, sit 3–5 minutes in silent inquiry: ‘Where is the hidden resistance?’ When seen, offer it to Agni and ask for ‘ṛtacid’ movement—one small true action immediately after practice.
Interrogatives ‘kadā’ should be clearly lifted; maintain triṣṭubh pacing with a slight rhetorical rise on each question. Exact udatta/anudatta placement requires śākhā svara text.
Punch ‘ava spṛdhi’ (downward-strive) and ‘yodhi’ (battle); soften into the questions ‘kadā…’.
‘spṛdhi’ with syllabic ṛ: spṛ-dhi., ‘vidvān’ with nasalization and clear dv cluster., ‘ṛtacid’ as ṛ-ta-cid (not ri-ta).
Intense but controlled; questioning, then firm.
7
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
