Rig Veda 5.61.3: Mandala 5, Sukta 61, Mantra 3
Sukta 5.61
- Rishi
- Śyāvāśva Ātreya
- Devata
- Maruts
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
जघने चोद एषां वि सक्थानि नरो यमुः । पुत्रकृथे न जनयः ॥
jaghane coda eṣāṃ vi sakthāni naro yamuḥ | putrakṛthe na janayaḥ ||
ان کے پیچھے دھکیل ہے؛ شریف مرد اپنی رانیں پھیلا دیتے ہیں - بیٹا پیدا کرنے والوں کی طرح۔
Word by Word
- जघने
- in/at the rump, at the hind-partNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचनRole अधिकारणRoot जघन (प्रातिपदिक) < √हन् (हनन) / ‘जघन’ = नितम्ब/पृष्ठभाग
- चोदः
- the impeller, the goad/impulseNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole कर्तृ (प्रेरक-कर्तृ) / विशेषणरूपेणRoot चोद (प्रातिपदिक) < √चुद् (प्रेरणे) ‘प्रेरक/प्रेरणा’
- एषाम्
- of these (of them)Pronounषष्ठी बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive) / षष्ठी-सम्बन्धRoot एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वि
- apart, asunder, forthIndeclinableउपसर्गः (क्रियाविशेषक)Root वि (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- सक्थानि
- the thighs/legsNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot सक्थि/सक्थन् (प्रातिपदिक) ‘जङ्घा/ऊरु-सन्धि/पादभाग’
- नरः
- the men, heroesNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot नर (प्रातिपदिक)
- यमुः
- they held/checked/restrainedVerbलिट् (परस्मैपद), प्रथमपुरुष बहुवचनRoot √यम् (यमे/यच्छने/नियमे)
- पुत्रकृथे
- for begetting sons (for son-making)Noun (purpose-locative) / Adverbialस्त्रीलिङ्ग (प्रायः), सप्तमी एकवचन (हेतौ/अर्थे)Role अधिकारण (हेतौ) / प्रयोजनRoot पुत्रकृथि (प्रातिपदिक) < पुत्र + √कृ (करणे) (तद्धित/समास-निर्मित; ‘पुत्र-करण’ हेतु)
- न
- notIndeclinableनिषेधRoot न (निपात)
- जनयः
- begetters, progenitorsNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot जनय (प्रातिपदिक) < √जन् (जनने) causative-base जनय- ‘जनयिता/जननी’
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: जघने | चोदः | एषाम् | वि | सक्थानि | नरः | यमुः | पुत्रकृथे | न | जनयः । 1) ‘जघने चोदः’ इत्यत्र विसर्ग-सन्धिः: चोदः + (अघोष/घोष) → चोद॑ (पाठे विसर्गलोप/स्वर-चिह्न सहित). 2) ‘चोदः एषाम्’ इत्यत्र विसर्गः स्वरपूर्वे लुप्यते/रूपान्तरं (संहितायां चोद॑ एषाम्). 3) ‘वि सक्थानि’ उपसर्ग-योगः
- पृथक् पदत्वेन ‘वि’ अव्ययम्। 4) ‘पुत्रकृथे न’—निपात ‘न’ पृथक्।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Their impulse is at the rear; the heroes spread their thighs apart—like begetters for producing a son.
Inner meaning
The verse uses vigorous bodily imagery to indicate the Maruts’ generative dynamism. ‘Impulse at the rear’ (jaghane codaḥ) suggests the driving push from the subconscient/physical base that, when seized by higher forces, becomes propulsion for transformation. ‘Spreading the thighs’ signals release of blocked energies and readiness for creative manifestation. ‘Son’ (putra) is the new birth in consciousness—the luminous formation (new power, new realization) generated by the union of force and truth in the inner sacrifice.
Universal truth
Transformation requires converting raw drive into conscious creative power; when higher energies take hold of the physical-vital base, a new birth of consciousness becomes possible.
Themes
virility and generation imagery, impulsion and stance, creative potency
The seer
- Rishi
- Śyāvāśva Ātreya
- Lineage
- Ātreya
- Other hymns
- RV 5.61
Family tradition
Atri line often employs bold, concrete imagery to point to subtle inner processes—turning physical symbols into yogic indications.
Significance
The seer emphasizes that spiritual creation is not abstract: it involves the conversion of bodily-vital energies into instruments of a higher birth.
The deity
- Devata
- Maruts
- Epithets
- naraḥ (heroes), generators (implied: janayaḥ)
- Related deities
- Rudra, Indra, Agni
Cosmic role
They stir the atmosphere, release rains, and generate fertility; they are forces of production and expansion.
Inner power
Awakening and redirecting the base energies; breaking constriction; generating new formations of strength and clarity.
In ritual
Where it is used
Vigour-imagery praise: energizing the rite with generative force; supports prayers for progeny/creative power
ज॒घने॒ चोद॑ एषां॒ वि स॒क्थानि॒ नरो॑ यमुः । पु॒त्र॒कृ॒थे न जन॑यः ॥
ज॒घने॑ । चोदः॑ । ए॒षा॒म् । वि । स॒क्थानि॑ । नरः॑ । य॒मुः॒ । पु॒त्र॒ऽकृ॒थे । न । जन॑यः ॥
jaghane | codaḥ | eṣām | vi | sakthāni | naraḥ | yamuḥ | putra-kṛthe | na | janayaḥ
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4 × ~8
Strong, muscular cadence; consonant clusters emphasize force.
Stimulates prāṇic activation; helps break lethargy while keeping the mind aligned to a creative aim.
- codaḥ
- Literal: impulse, incitement. Symbolic: driving force of tapas; energizing push for progress
- jaghana
- Literal: hind part, rear. Symbolic: physical/subconscient base where inertia resides and from which force must be released
- sakthāni
- Literal: thighs. Symbolic: supports of movement—channels of vital force enabling advance
- putra
- Literal: son. Symbolic: new birth/formation of higher consciousness in the being
- janayaḥ
- Literal: begetters, generators. Symbolic: creative powers that manifest the new state
Vigour-imagery praise: energizing the rite with generative force; supports prayers for progeny/creative power
Marut praises connected to fertility/strength motifs; invoked for forceful progress of the rite and increase of ‘offspring’ (symbolic and literal).
Recitation to intensify the sacrifice’s driving energy (codaḥ) and generative outcome.
Use when stuck in inertia: as a mantra to awaken drive and channel it toward a ‘new birth’ (new habit, insight, or capacity).
codaḥ from √cud ‘impel, urge’. √jan ‘beget, generate’ (PIE *ǵenh₁- ‘beget’) in janayaḥ. The embodied imagery (thighs/haunch) is a typical RV concretization of force: physical terms encode energetic postures. yamuḥ is best linked to √yam ‘to hold, restrain, direct’ though exact parsing should be checked against a verbal index; semantically it indicates controlled extension/stance.
generation (jan) as manifestation of new power, controlled impulsion (codaḥ) rather than chaotic force
Generativity becomes fruitful only when the impulse follows right order (R̥ta).
Creation as ‘begetting’: higher force acting upon the base to produce a new formation.
Integral-yogic psychology: transformation includes subconscient/physical; new birth is a real re-formation of nature.
Fertility = creative manifestation; bodily posture = release of blocked channels; impulse from ‘rear’ = awakening of the physical base.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The gods’ virile stance as a sign of creative power: the Marut-heroes as generators. Inwardly, it indicates that true spiritual force includes a controlled generativity—capacity to bring forth a ‘son,’ i.e., a new formation of consciousness or effective work.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √jan ‘beget’ is a central IE root (PIE *ǵenh₁-), here used not only biologically but as a power-metaphor. The coupling with √cud (impel) and √yam (govern) shows an IE pattern: creation requires both drive and control.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi evokes the Maruts’ controlled generative potency to mirror and awaken it in the sacrificer: the rite aims not at outer fertility alone but at the birth of a new inner capability—an effective ‘son’ of works and insight.
Convert raw drive into conscious tapas aimed at a new inner birth.
Svādhiṣṭhāna–Maṇipūra (generative force and will)
Bhastrikā (mild, 20–30 strokes) followed by long exhale and stillness; then mantra mentally to ‘seal’ the energy upward.
Dynamic concentration—energy gathered and offered.
When desire or restlessness rises from the base, do not suppress; offer it upward to Agni (inner will) with the intention of birthing a higher capacity (putra) such as courage, clarity, or steadiness.
Keep the force without harshness; allow svarita rises on key force-words like ‘codaḥ’.
Pause slightly after ‘eṣām’ to mark ‘their’; keep ‘putrakṛthe’ as a single unit with clear retroflex ṛ.
‘jaghane’: gh is voiced aspirate; do not harden to kh, ‘sakthāni’: k + th aspiration; keep long ā, ‘putrakṛthe’: ṛ is vocalic; avoid ‘ri’
Firm, grounded, resonant (from chest), but controlled.
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