Rig Veda 5.35.3: Mandala 5, Sukta 35, Mantra 3
Sukta 5.35
- Rishi
- Atri
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Trishtubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
आ तेऽवो वरेण्यं वृषन्तमस्य हूमहे । वृषजूतिर्हि जज्ञिष आभूभिरिन्द्र तुर्वणिः ॥
ā́ te ’vo varéṇyaṁ vṛ́ṣantam asya hūmahe | vṛ́ṣajūtir hí jajñiṣá ābhū́bhir indra turváṇiḥ ||
ہم تیری مدد کو پکارتے ہیں، اے اندر، وہ مدد جو چنی جانے والی ہے، تیری طاقت کا سب سے زور آور اظہار۔ کیونکہ تو بہہ جانے والی طاقتوں کا چلانے والا ہے، اپنی طاقتور صورتوں کے ساتھ، اے اندر، تو تیز فتح پانے والا ہے۔
Word by Word
- आ
- towards, hitherIndeclinableउपसर्ग/निपातRoot आ (upasarga) अथवा अव्यय
- ते
- to/for youPronounषष्ठी एकवचन (enclitic) / or चतुर्थी एकवचन (contextually ‘to/for you’)Role SampradānaRoot त्वद् (युष्मद्-प्रातिपदिक)
- अवः
- help, aidNounद्वितीया एकवचन (Vedic: अवः = अवसम्) / also used as acc. sg. ‘aid’Role KarmaRoot अवस् (नपुंसक/पुं. प्रातिपदिक) अवस् ‘help, aid’
- वरेण्यम्
- choice-worthy, excellentAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग द्वितीया एकवचन (agreeing with अवः) / or adjectival acc. sg.Role KarmaRoot वरेण्य (√वृ ‘to choose’ → ‘worthy to be chosen’)
- वृषन्तम्
- the mighty/bull-like (one)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग द्वितीया एकवचन (agreeing with implied ‘इन्द्रम्’)Role KarmaRoot वृषन् (प्रातिपदिक) ‘bull-like, mighty’
- अस्य
- of this (one), of himPronounषष्ठी एकवचनRole Adhikaraṇa (genitival relation) / SambandhaRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- हूमहे
- we invoke/callVerbलट् (वर्तमाने) आत्मनेपद, उत्तमपुरुष बहुवचनRole Kartā (we) + main predicateRoot √हू (जुहोत्यादि) ‘to call, invoke’
- वृषजूतिḥ
- the one of mighty impulse/succourNoun (compound epithet)पुंलिङ्ग प्रथमा एकवचनRole Kartā (of following verb ‘जज्ञिष’)Root वृष-जूति (समास: वृष ‘mighty’ + जूति ‘impulse/speed/aid’)
- हि
- for, indeedIndeclinableअव्ययRoot हि (निपात)
- जज्ञिषे
- you have been born/come forthVerbलिट् (परोक्शे/परफेक्ट), आत्मनेपद, मध्यमपुरुष एकवचन (Vedic: ‘you have been born/come into being’)Role Predicate (addressed to Indra) / Kartā implicit ‘त्वम्’Root √जन् (जज्ञे-type perfect) ‘to be born, arise’
- आभूभिः
- with (your) aids/powersNounतृतीया बहुवचनRole KaraṇaRoot आभू (प्रातिपदिक; Vedic instr. pl. of a stem meaning ‘helps/powers/means’; often taken as ‘with aids/with powers’)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNoun (proper)सम्बोधन एकवचनRole SambodhanaRoot इन्द्र (देवनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- तुर्वणिः
- the overpowering/impetuous oneNoun/Adjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग प्रथमा एकवचन (apposition to वृषजूतिḥ) / or vocative-like epithetRole Kartā (appositional subject) / SambandhaRoot तुर्वणि (प्रातिपदिक; epithet: ‘overpowering, rushing, victorious’)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution: तेऽवो → ते अवः (enclitic ते + अवः). Other words are already in padapāṭha-like separation. Accent marks retained as in saṃhitā
- analysis is morphological (case/number/tense) independent of accent
The meaning
Outer meaning
The worshippers call for Indra’s chosen help, the most forceful. Indra is said to be born as the impeller of overflowing energies, and with his mighty becomings he is the swift overcomer.
Inner meaning
The seeker calls not for any aid, but the ‘to-be-chosen’ (vareṇya) help—what truly serves the ascent. Indra’s power is vṛṣantama: the most abundant outpouring of force. “Impeller of overflowing energies” (vṛṣajūtiḥ) indicates the divine mind that can mobilize dormant capacities and make them flow rightly, not chaotically. “Mighty becomings” (ābhūbhiḥ) are successive inner formations—new states of consciousness—through which Indra’s force acts. Turvaṇi (swift overcomer) is the rapid crossing of obstacles when illumination leads.
Universal truth
When we choose the highest help and allow illumination to mobilize our energies, transformation accelerates: new states arise, and obstacles are crossed with surprising swiftness.
Themes
Indra-power, Invocation for aid, Overcoming obstacles, Inner ascent through force
The seer
- Rishi
- Atri Ātreya
- Lineage
- Ātreya
- Other hymns
- RV 5.35.1, RV 5.35.2, RV 5.35.4
Family tradition
Atri’s Indra-hymns emphasize dynamic transformation—help as a force that creates new becomings (ābhū) rather than merely preserving the old.
Significance
Atri here teaches discernment (vareṇya) and dynamism: the divine aid is meant to generate new formations of consciousness, enabling swift conquest.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- vareṇya-avaḥ giver (chosen help), vṛṣantama (most forceful), vṛṣajūti (impeller of overflowing energies), turvaṇi (swift overcomer)
- Related deities
- Maruts (storm-forces that accompany Indra’s dynamism), Sarasvatī (flow of inspiration that guides force), Agni (will that sustains the movement)
Cosmic role
Releases and directs energies of the worlds; leads the gods in the conquest of obstructions.
Inner power
Illumined dynamism—clarity that also accelerates, turning potential into effective movement.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra stotra/śastra contexts in soma ritual cycles; invocation for victorious force.
आ तेऽवो॒ वरे॑ण्यं॒ वृष॑न्तमस्य हूमहे । वृष॑जूति॒र्हि ज॑ज्ञि॒ष आ॒भूभि॑रिन्द्र तु॒र्वणि॑: ॥
आ । ते॒ । अवः॑ । वरे॑ण्यम् । वृष॑न्ऽतमस्य । हू॒म॒हे॒ । वृष॑ऽजूतिः । हि । ज॒ज्ञि॒षे । आ॒ऽभूभिः॑ । इ॒न्द्र॒ । तु॒र्वणिः॑ ॥
ā | te | avaḥ | vareṇyam | vṛṣan-tamasya | hūmahe | vṛṣa-jūtiḥ | hi | jajñiṣe | ābhūbhiḥ | indra | turvaṇiḥ
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4 pādas of ~11 syllables
Surging and expansive; suitable for describing overflowing force and swift overcoming.
Energizes and lifts; gives a felt sense of ‘pressure of power’ moving upward and forward.
- वरेण्यम् (vareṇyam)
- Literal: to be chosen, excellent. Symbolic: discriminating selection of the highest movement over mixed impulses
- वृषन्तमस्य (vṛṣantamasya)
- Literal: of the most forceful/abundant (bull-like). Symbolic: maximum outpouring of effective power
- वृषजूतिḥ (vṛṣajūtiḥ)
- Literal: having a forceful/abundant impulse. Symbolic: impulsion that makes energies pour in right channels
- आभूभिः (ābhūbhiḥ)
- Literal: with becomings, manifestations. Symbolic: successive inner realizations/states that embody the power
- तुर्वणिः (turvaṇiḥ)
- Literal: swift overcomer. Symbolic: rapid passage beyond resistance once the light leads
Indra-invocation within Soma ritual milieu (general Indra stotra usage; precise śrauta assignment varies by śākhā and prayoga)
At moments of intensification—seeking a surge of power to break through obstacles in rite or endeavor.
Recitation with soma offering; calling Indra’s most forceful help.
Use when stuck: chant 3 times, then do one decisive action aligned with your highest choice (vareṇya).
Key terms: avaḥ (noun ‘help/protection’, from √av ‘protect, favor’); vareṇya (gerundive ‘to be chosen’, √vṛ ‘choose’); vṛṣan-tama (vṛṣan ‘bull; strong; raining’, from √vṛṣ ‘rain, pour; be potent’ + -tama superlative); hūmahe (1pl middle, √hū ‘invoke’); vṛṣa-jūtiḥ (tatpuruṣa: ‘having strong impulsion’; jūti from √ju ‘impel, speed’); jajñiṣe (2sg perfect middle, √jan ‘be born’ → ‘manifested’); ā-bhū-bhiḥ (instr. pl. of ābhū ‘becoming’, √bhū ‘be’ with preverb ā ‘towards, forth’); turvaṇi (agent noun ‘overcomer’, linked to √tṛ/√turv/√tvar semantic field ‘hasten, overpower’). Symbolic justification: √vṛṣ ‘to rain/pour’ supports reading vṛṣan as a pouring of force/energy, not merely animal imagery.
Rita (right action/order implied by ‘worthy to be chosen’ help that supports true movement), Tapas/inner force (vṛṣan-tama as intensification of power), Becoming (ābhū as transformative manifestation in the seeker)
Overflowing energies must be directed by ṛta; Indra’s illumination provides right direction.
‘Chosen help’ implies truth-discernment; satya selects and supports what leads upward.
Becoming (ābhū) as the way divine power manifests in time—new forms of consciousness created in the human.
Yoga of transformation: divine mind-force creates progressive becomings.
monsoon imagery (implicit through vṛṣa outpouring)
Storm/rain = release and flow of energies; swiftness = accelerated progress under illumination.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The Indra-mythologem of irresistible force that breaks through resistance: Indra as turvaṇi (‘swift overcomer’) and vṛṣajūti (‘strong impeller’) is invoked not for external battle but as the inner champion whose ‘becomings’ (ābhū) manifest as powers that overrun obstruction (the Vṛtra-principle implicitly).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Several lexemes align with inherited Indo-European patterns: √jan ‘be born’ (PIE *ǵenh₁- ‘beget, produce’), √bhū ‘become’ (PIE *bʰuH- ‘become, grow’), and the semantic field of impulsion/haste in jūti (from √ju) and turvaṇi (from a ‘hasten/overpower’ root cluster) reflect a common poetic grammar of ‘arrival + manifestation + victorious drive’ seen across Indo-European hymnody.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi’s stance is elective and reciprocal: he ‘chooses’ (vareṇyam) Indra’s help and invokes it (hūmahe), while Indra is acknowledged as already ‘born/manifest’ (jajñiṣe) through ‘becomings’ (ābhūbhiḥ). The exchange is thus: aspiration and call from the human vessel, answered by the descent/activation of a pre-existent cosmic power into effective inner action.
Choose the highest impulse (vareṇya) and invite a clean surge of energy to act on it.
manipura (mobilization) leading to ajna (direction)
Kapalabhati light (30–60 strokes) if suitable, then calm breathing and chant once slowly.
Energized, uplifted, forward-moving.
After chanting, visualize a blocked channel opening and energy flowing upward; then maintain discipline so the overflow stays in right direction (ṛta).
Rigvedic three-tone; keep the surge by maintaining clear syllabic articulation in Triṣṭubh pace.
Slightly emphasize ‘vareṇyam’ and ‘vṛṣajūtiḥ’ as semantic peaks; end with a confident fall on ‘turvaṇiḥ’.
vareṇyaṃ: retroflex ṇ; clear ‘yaṃ’ nasalization, vṛṣantamasya: retroflex ṣ; keep ṛ short and tapped, jajñiṣe: pronounce ‘jñ’ as palatal cluster (gya/nya-like) depending on tradition, ābhūbhir: long ū; separate ā-bhū-bhiḥ
Full and resonant, like calling across distance; avoid strain.
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