Rig Veda 5.64.6: Mandala 5, Sukta 64, Mantra 6
Sukta 5.64
- Rishi
- Atri
- Devata
- Mitra–Varuṇa
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
युवं नो येषु वरुण क्षत्रं बृहच्च बिभृथः । उरु णो वाजसातये कृतं राये स्वस्तये ॥
yuváṃ no yéṣu varuṇā kṣatráṃ bṛhác ca bibhr̥tháḥ | urú no vā́jasātaye kr̥táṃ rāyé svastáye ||
تم دونوں، اے ورن، ہمارے لیے وسیع اور بلند حاکمانہ طاقت کو سنبھالے ہوئے ہو، ہمارے لیے قوت کی فراوانی حاصل کرنے، وجود کی دولت اور سچی خوش حالی کے لیے ایک وسیع میدان بناؤ۔
Word by Word
- युवम्
- you twoPronounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; द्विवचनRole कर्तृRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) अथवा युव (प्रातिपदिक)
- नः
- of us / ourPronounषष्ठी (एन्क्लिटिक); बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- येषु
- in which (among whom/which things)Pronounपुं/नपुं; सप्तमी; बहुवचनRole अधिकरणRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वरुण
- O VaruṇaNoun (proper name)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन; एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot वरुण (प्रातिपदिक)
- क्षत्रम्
- sovereign power / dominionNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot क्षत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- बृहत्
- great, vastAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन (क्षत्रम् इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role कर्म (विशेषण-रूपेण)Root बृहन्त् (प्रातिपदिक)
- च
- andIndeclinableसमुच्चय-अव्ययRoot च
- बिभृथः
- you two bear / upholdVerbलट् (वर्तमान); मध्यमपुरुष; द्विवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot भृ (धातु)
- उरु
- broad, ampleAdjective (used adverbially)नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन (कृतम् इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्; ‘विस्तीर्णम्/प्रचुरम्’)Role कर्म (विशेषण-रूपेण)Root उरु (प्रातिपदिक)
- नः
- to us / for usPronounचतुर्थी (एन्क्लिटिक); बहुवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वाजसातये
- for winning the prize/booty (for gaining strength/spoils)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी; एकवचनRole सम्प्रदान (प्रयोजन)Root वाजसाति (प्रातिपदिक; वाज + साति) अथवा वाज-साति (समास)
- कृतम्
- made, fashioned, preparedParticipleभूतकृदन्त (क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot कृ (धातु) → कृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
- राये
- for wealthNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी; एकवचनRole सम्प्रदान (प्रयोजन)Root राय्/रायि (प्रातिपदिक; ‘धन’)
- स्वस्तये
- for well-being / welfareNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी; एकवचनRole सम्प्रदान (प्रयोजन)Root स्वस्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सन्धि-निरसन): युवम् | नः | येषु | वरुण | क्षत्रम् | बृहत् | च | बिभृथः || उरु | नः | वाजसातये | कृतम् | राये | स्वस्तये || 1) ‘बृहच्च’ = ‘बृहत् + च’ (त् + च → च्च). 2) ‘उरु णः’ पदपाठानुसारम्
- संहितायां ‘उरु नः’ इति उच्चारणे नकारस्य णत्व-प्रभावः (ऋ/उ/र्-सम्बन्धेन) वैदिक-प्रयोगेषु दृश्यते
- अर्थतः ‘नः’ एव (अस्मद्-चतुर्थी)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The two gods (Mitra–Varuṇa), addressed in the dual as “varuṇā,” uphold for us a wide and lofty sovereign power; they should make for us a broad space for winning strength/food, for wealth and well-being.
Inner meaning
Mitra–Varuṇa are the paired powers of harmony (Mitra) and vast law/truth (Varuṇa) that establish an inner “kṣatra” (sovereign mastery) in the seeker. The prayer is for a spacious, high governance in consciousness—an inner authority that can organize life by ṛta. “Uru” (wide) is inner wideness: a field of awareness where the forces (vāja) can be won without distortion. “Rāyaḥ” becomes richness of being (integral prosperity of the soul-nature), and “svasti” is the settled rightness and safety that comes when the inner order is aligned with Truth.
Universal truth
True well-being is not secured by outer control but by an inner sovereignty grounded in truth and harmony. When consciousness becomes wide and lofty, the right forces gather naturally, and life moves toward plenitude and safety.
Themes
Inner-sovereignty, Vastness, Winning-of-force (vāja), Well-being (svasti)
The seer
- Rishi
- Atri (Ātreya)
- Lineage
- Ātreya
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 5.64, Rig Veda 5.65, Rig Veda 5.66
Family tradition
Atri’s lineage is known for hymns that seek luminous order, protection, and the right governance of life by ṛta; a strong emphasis on inner light and right law appears across Ātreya cycles.
Significance
Atri as seer channels a disciplined aspiration: to replace the smaller ego-rule with a vast, truth-governed sovereignty. In Sri Aurobindo’s psychological reading, this is the establishment of the divine law in the human instrument.
The deity
- Devata
- Mitra–Varuṇa
- Epithets
- varuṇā (dual address), kṣatra-bearers (upholders of sovereignty), ṛta-supporters (implicit)
- Related deities
- Aryaman, Bhaga, Aditi, Indra (as illuminator who works within ṛta)
Cosmic role
Guardians of ṛta: Mitra maintains concord, right relation, and mutuality; Varuṇa maintains vast truth, law, and the binding/unbinding of beings to the cosmic order.
Inner power
The power to widen consciousness, enforce truth in the mind and life, dissolve inner falsehood, and establish a calm, luminous governance of the nature.
In ritual
Where it is used
Invocation of Mitra–Varuṇa in Soma-related sequences and royal/ṛta-protection contexts (general usage across śrauta recitations).
यु॒वं नो॒ येषु॑ वरुण क्ष॒त्रं बृ॒हच्च॑ बिभृ॒थः । उ॒रु णो॒ वाज॑सातये कृ॒तं रा॒ये स्व॒स्तये॑ ॥
यु॒वम् । नः॒ । येषु॑ । व॒रु॒णा॒ । क्ष॒त्रम् । बृ॒हत् । च॒ । बि॒भृ॒थः । उ॒रु । नः॒ । वाज॑ऽसातये । कृ॒तम् । रा॒ये । स्व॒स्तये॑ ॥
yuvam | naḥ | yeṣu | varuṇā | kṣatram | bṛhat | ca | bibhṛthaḥ | uru | naḥ | vāja-sātaye | kṛtam | rāye | svastaye
44
4 padas × ~11 syllables (with possible Vedic resolutions)
Dignified, forward-driving, with a ‘royal’ steadiness suited to themes of sovereignty and wide order.
Builds a sense of inner elevation and spacious authority; the cadence supports resolve and calm mastery.
- युवम् (yuvam)
- Literal: you two. Symbolic: the complementary dual powers acting together (harmony + law) in the inner sacrifice
- वरुणा (varuṇā)
- Literal: O Varuṇa (dual vocative here for Mitra–Varuṇa). Symbolic: vastness and truth-law that releases the bound being into right order
- क्षत्रम् (kṣatram)
- Literal: sovereign power, dominion. Symbolic: inner mastery; the governing will aligned to ṛta rather than ego
- बृहत् (bṛhat)
- Literal: vast, lofty. Symbolic: higher wideness of consciousness; the ‘greater’ plane of being
- उरु (uru)
- Literal: broad, wide. Symbolic: spacious awareness; free field for right action and growth
- वाजसातये (vājasātaye)
- Literal: for the winning of vāja (prize, strength, nourishment). Symbolic: attainment of dynamic spiritual force and effective energy in life
- राये (rāye)
- Literal: for wealth. Symbolic: richness of being—integral abundance of the soul and nature
- स्वस्तये (svastaye)
- Literal: for well-being, welfare. Symbolic: stable harmony, inner safety, right-placedness in Truth
Prayer for kṣatra and svasti: used to fortify the sacrificer’s inner sovereignty and the rite’s stability; compatible with protective and success-oriented Soma contexts
During Soma pressing rites or hymnic recitation segments addressing Ādityas for protection, order, and success.
Offering with mantra-recitation to establish protection and right order; requesting ‘space’ and ‘kṣatra’ for the sacrificer.
Use as a daily affirmation-mantra for inner governance: before decision-making, leadership tasks, or when seeking calm authority and ethical clarity.
kṣatrá: from kṣatra- ‘dominion, power to rule/protect’; psychologically the capacity of inner governance aligned with ṛta. bṛhát: from √bṛh ‘to grow, expand’ → the Vast (Bṛhat) as a key Vedic spiritual magnitude (satyam ṛtam bṛhat). bibhr̥thaḥ: √bhṛ ‘bear’ (cf. Greek phérō), gods as sustainers of inner order. vāja-sāti: vāja ‘strength, prize, plenitude’ + sāti ‘winning’ (√san/√sā ‘to gain’); not food only but victorious fullness of force. svastí: su- ‘good’ + asti ‘being’ → ‘good-being’, stable felicity.
Satyam Ṛtam Bṛhat (implicit through bṛhat), Kṣatra as inner mastery, Rāyí as fullness of being, Svastí as stable good-being
Direct: Mitra–Varuṇa uphold order; the ‘wide field’ implies the ordered space where ṛta can act in life.
Truth as law in consciousness—inner alignment that produces svasti (true welfare).
Establishing space (uru) and vastness (bṛhat) echoes the Vedic theme of creating ‘room’ for the gods/forces to work—an inner cosmogony of widening.
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral (Aurobindonian) reading: widening of consciousness and truth-governed will as the basis of integral perfection.
The ‘sky’ becomes the wide mind and higher consciousness; ‘field’ becomes the inner space in which energies and illuminations can be gathered and organized.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem of divine kingship sustaining the world: Mitra–Varuṇa ‘bear’ (√bhṛ) the kṣatra that is bṛhat, and they ‘make wide’ (uru) the field for victory (vājāsāti). Innerly, it is the establishment of an expansive truth-governed mastery in the human being enabling the acquisition of force and well-being.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √bhṛ ‘bear’ is a classic PIE root *bʰer- (carry), showing the archaic image of gods as ‘bearers’ of order. bṛhat from √bṛh ‘grow’ parallels IE growth/expansion semantics used for cosmic magnitude. svasti (su+asti) preserves the transparent compositional morphology typical of early IE formulaic blessings (‘good-being’).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi asks for conditions of inner rule and wideness; the devatā respond by upholding kṣatra and preparing (kṛtam) a wide arena for vāja-winning, culminating in rāyí (fullness) and svasti (stable felicity).
Establish inner sovereignty: feel a wide, clear sky of awareness; invite truth and harmony to govern thought, speech, and action.
ājñā
nāḍī-śodhana (gentle) followed by a brief kumbhaka while sensing wideness (uru) in the head-space.
Widened, quiet, law-abiding clarity; a stable ‘witness-king’ consciousness.
Before chanting, recall one area where ego-rule distorts order. Chant slowly; after the final ‘svastaye,’ rest in silence and let the mind widen. Then take one concrete action aligned with truth.
Follow śākala-style Vedic accents: maintain udātta on marked syllables; treat svarita as a glide; keep anudātta subdued. (Exact svara requires a pada-svara text for precision.)
Hold udātta slightly higher and clearer; let svarita fall gently; avoid flattening the dual vocative ‘varuṇā.’
(yuvam): short ‘u’, clear ‘vam’, (kṣatram): ‘kṣ’ conjunct crisp; light ‘tra’, (bṛhacc a): watch sandhi—don’t insert extra vowel, (vājasātaye): long ā in vā-, clear ‘sā’, (svastaye): ‘sv’ cluster clean; short final ‘ye’
steady, dignified, resonant in the chest with a widened head-tone on ‘bṛhat/uru’.
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