Rig Veda 7.98.3: Mandala 7, Sukta 98, Mantra 3
Sukta 7.98
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
जज्ञानः सोमं सहसे पपाथ प्र ते माता महिमानमुवाच । एन्द्र पप्राथोर्वन्तरिक्षं युधा देवेभ्यो वरिवश्चकर्थ ॥
jajñānáḥ sómaṃ sáhase papātha prá te mātā́ mahimā́nam uvāca | ā́ indra paprātha urv àntárikṣaṃ yudhā́ devébhyo vári-vaś cakartha ||
تیری طاقت میں پیدا ہو کر تو نے زور کے لیے سوما پیا ہے، تیری ماں نے تیری عظمت کا اعلان کیا ہے۔ اے اندر، تو نے وسیع درمیانی دنیا کو پھیلا دیا، جنگ کے ذریعے تو نے دیوتاؤں کے لیے آزاد جگہ اور خوشگوار گنجائش بنائی ہے۔
Word by Word
- जज्ञानः
- having been born; newly bornVerb-derived adjective (participle)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; परस्मैपदी परिपूर्ण (perfect) कर्तरि कृदन्त ‘having been born/being born’Role कर्तृ (इन्द्रः) विशेषणRoot √जन् (जनि) → जज्ञा- (परिपूर्ण/अभ्यास) + -न (क्तिन्/क्तवत्-सम) = जज्ञान-
- सोमम्
- Soma (the pressed drink)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (पपाथ का)Root सोम- (प्रातिपदिक)
- सहसे
- for strength; for mightNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole सम्प्रदान/प्रयोजन (पपाथ—‘बलाय/शक्त्यर्थम्’)Root सहस्- (प्रातिपदिक)
- पपाथ
- drankVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √पा (पिबति) ‘to drink’
- प्र
- forth; openlyIndeclinableउपसर्ग/निपातRole क्रियाविशेषणRoot प्र (उपसर्ग)
- ते
- yourPronounषष्ठी, एकवचन (एन्क्लिटिक) ‘of you/your’Role सम्बन्ध (माता—‘ते माता’)Root त्वद् (युष्मद्) सर्वनाम
- माता
- motherNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (उवाच का)Root मातृ- (प्रातिपदिक)
- महिमानम्
- greatness; majestyNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (उवाच—‘महिमानम् उवाच’ = proclaimed greatness)Root महिमन्- (प्रातिपदिक)
- उवाच
- spoke; proclaimedVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √वच् (वक्ति) ‘to speak’
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNoun (vocative)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र- (प्रातिपदिक)
- पप्राथः
- you spread out; you filledVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/perfect), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √प्रथ्/√प्रा (प्रथते/प्राथयति) ‘to extend, spread, fill’
- उरु
- wide; vastAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः) — ‘wide(ly)’Role क्रियाविशेषण/कर्मविशेषणRoot उरु- (प्रातिपदिक)
- अन्तरिक्षम्
- midspace; atmosphereNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (पप्राथः का)Root अन्तरिक्ष- (प्रातिपदिक)
- युधा
- by battle; through fightingIndeclinableकरणवाचक अव्यय ‘by fighting/in battle’Role करणRoot युध्/युधा (अव्यय) < युध् ‘fight’
- देवेभ्यः
- for the godsNounपुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी/चतुर्थी, बहुवचन (यहाँ चतुर्थी—हितार्थे)Role सम्प्रदान (चकार्थ—देवहिताय)Root देव- (प्रातिपदिक)
- वरिवः
- free space; room; aid/favorNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (चकर्थ का)Root वरिवस्- (प्रातिपदिक)
- चकर्थ
- you made; you didVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/perfect), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √कृ (करोति) ‘to make, do’
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सन्धिविच्छेद): जज्ञानः | सोमम् | सहसे | पपाथ | प्र | ते | माता | महिमानम् | उवाच || इन्द्र | पप्राथः | उरु | अन्तरिक्षम् | युधा | देवेभ्यः | वरिवः | चकर्थ || विशेष: ‘एन्द्र’ = ‘इन्द्र’ (सम्बोधन) वैदिक उच्चारण/पदपाठ-परम्परा में
- ‘पप्राथोर्वन्तरिक्षम्’ का संधि-विच्छेद ‘पप्राथः उरु अन्तरिक्षम्’
- ‘देवेभ्यो वरिवः’ = ‘देवेभ्यः वरिवः’ (विसर्ग-लोप/परिवर्तन)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra, born into power, drinks Soma for strength; his Mother proclaims his greatness. He widens the mid-world (antarikṣa) and by battle makes free space for the gods.
Inner meaning
The illumined Mind (Indra) awakens in its own native force and takes in Ananda (Soma) to increase spiritual puissance. The ‘Mother’ is the divine matrix of consciousness (often read as Aditi / Mahī / the creative Prakṛti) that affirms the soul’s destined greatness. Indra widens the ‘mid-world’—the inner life-plane between pure spirit and gross matter—so the gods (higher powers: light, truth, harmony) can move and work freely. ‘Battle’ is the yogic struggle against obstruction and inertia that constrict the inner space.
Universal truth
Spiritual growth requires a descent of joy/essence (Soma) into the striving will-mind, and an active removal of inner constrictions so higher qualities can operate with freedom and scope.
Themes
Indra-birth, Soma-strength, cosmic expansion, battle against obstruction
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Lineage
- Vasiṣṭha gotra (Āditya/solar affiliation in later tradition)
- Other hymns
- RV 7.18, RV 7.19, RV 7.23, RV 7.33, RV 7.86
Family tradition
Vasiṣṭha family of seers in Maṇḍala 7; hymns often stress ṛta (right order), protection, and the kingly power of Indra allied with truth.
Significance
Vasiṣṭha’s vision frequently frames Indra as the enlarger of being and the victorious force that clears inner space for ṛta; his poetry is a disciplined, steady illumination rather than ecstatic excess.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Maghavā (bountiful), Vṛtrahan (slayer of the Coverer), Śatakratu (of a hundred powers/works), Purandara (breaker of forts)
- Related deities
- Soma, Sūrya, Aditi, Bṛhaspati
Cosmic role
Champion of the gods who releases the waters/lights, establishes wide space, and restores movement of ṛta in the worlds.
Inner power
Illumined Mind and dynamic will that breaks inner obstruction, expands consciousness, and distributes the energies of joy (Soma) into action.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra-Soma praise in Soma-yajña sequences (general)
ज॒ज्ञा॒नः सोमं॒ सह॑से पपाथ॒ प्र ते॑ मा॒ता म॑हि॒मान॑मुवाच । एन्द्र॑ पप्राथो॒र्व१॒॑न्तरि॑क्षं यु॒धा दे॒वेभ्यो॒ वरि॑वश्चकर्थ ॥
ज॒ज्ञा॒नः । सोम॑म् । सह॑से । प॒पा॒थ॒ । प्र । ते॒ । मा॒ता । म॒हि॒मान॑म् । उ॒वा॒च॒ । आ । इ॒न्द्र॒ । प॒प्रा॒थ॒ । उ॒रु । अ॒न्तरि॑क्षम् । यु॒धा । दे॒वेभ्यः॑ । वरि॑वः । च॒क॒र्थ॒ ॥
jajñānaḥ | somam | sahase | papātha | pra | te | mātā | mahimānam | uvāca | ā | indra | paprātha | uru | antarikṣam | yudhā | devebhyaḥ | varivaḥ | cakartha
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables (with Vedic resolution/overlap possible)
Forward-driving, martial-expansive cadence suited to heroic widening and victory.
Builds a sense of inner enlargement and confident force; supports ‘breaking-through’ meditation.
- जज्ञानः (jajñānaḥ)
- Literal: being born, coming into manifestation. Symbolic: awakening/manifestation of the illumined power in the seeker
- सोमम् (somam)
- Literal: Soma, the pressed nectar. Symbolic: divine bliss/immortal delight that nourishes consciousness
- सहसे (sahase)
- Literal: for strength, for force. Symbolic: increase of inner tapas/energy for transformation
- माता (mātā)
- Literal: mother. Symbolic: Aditi/creative Consciousness-Force that bears and affirms the godhead in us
- महिमानम् (mahimānam)
- Literal: greatness, vastness. Symbolic: expansion into the large being; the soul’s true amplitude
- उरु अन्तरिक्षम् (uru antarikṣam)
- Literal: wide mid-region/atmosphere. Symbolic: expanded inner life-plane (prāṇa–manas field) made fit for divine workings
- युधा (yudhā)
- Literal: by battle. Symbolic: yogic combat with the Coverer-forces (habit, ignorance, subconscient resistance)
- वरिवः (varivaḥ)
- Literal: free room, wide space, scope. Symbolic: inner freedom and unobstructed field for higher powers
Soma sacrifice praise of Indra’s birth and heroic action; recited to affirm Indra’s capacity to receive Soma and open the ‘varivas’ for the gods in the rite and in the sacrificer.
During Soma pressing/offerings; also as general Indra-stuti for victory and widening prosperity.
Recitation to invoke Indra’s strength and space-making power for the devas.
Use as a mantra of ‘inner space’—recite before difficult work or when feeling constrained, to invoke widening and victorious clarity.
jajñānáḥ: √jan (PIE *ǵenh₁- ‘beget, be born’), indicating manifestation of a power. papātha: √pā ‘drink’ (distinct from √pā ‘protect’), Soma as assimilated force. paprātha: √prath ‘spread, broaden’—creation of ‘uru antarikṣa’, a widened inner mid-region. varivaḥ: from √vṛ ‘to cover/choose’ + semantic development to ‘space, room, scope’; in RV often the boon of ‘free course’ for divine workings.
opening of inner space (varivas) for divine functioning, manifestation of power through delight (Soma → sahas), R̥ta as right expansion (prath) against constriction
Indra’s widening of antarikṣa is a restoring of ṛta’s free movement between planes.
Mother’s proclamation hints at satya—true being affirming the destined greatness of the awakened power.
Expansion of the mid-world as a cosmogonic act: making room for divine functions within manifestation.
Proto-Vedāntic and Yogic-Vedic (Aurobindonian psychological reading)
Soma = delight; antarikṣa = inner vital-mental field; battle = effort against resistance; widening = expansion of consciousness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Indra’s empowerment through Soma and his widening of the mid-world: the heroic god drinks Soma to become force, then expands antarikṣa and creates varivas for the gods. Psychologically, delight assimilated becomes strength that opens the constricted vital nature into a wide field where higher powers can act freely.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The verse is built on inherited perfects (papātha, paprātha, cakartha) typical of archaic Indo-European heroic diction, presenting completed foundational acts. Roots √jan, √pā, √prath, √kṛ are all ancient and widely cognate, aligning RV style with PIE ‘heroic past’ narration.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The ṛṣi rehearses Indra’s archetypal deeds as a guarantee of present efficacy: because Indra once drank Soma and opened space for the gods, he can now do so in the sacrificer’s being—transforming the mid-region into a field of free movement for the luminous powers.
Invoke Indra to widen the inner mid-world: feel breath and awareness expand between navel and brow; receive Soma as quiet joy.
Anāhata–Ājñā axis (expansion + illumination)
Moderate nāḍī-śodhana for 6–8 rounds, then recite on natural exhale emphasizing ‘uru antarikṣam’.
Uplifted, spacious, victorious clarity (sattvic-heroic).
Begin with a felt ‘yes’ to inner greatness (mother’s affirmation), then offer strain/effort into Indra; end by resting in widened silence where higher impulses can move freely.
Use Rigvedic three-tone contour: maintain udatta on lexical highs; treat enclitics (te, pra) with lighter anudatta; observe svarita on falling accents per śākhā tradition (exact svara requires pada + saṃhitā svara marking).
Lean on semantic peaks: jajñānáḥ, sómam, sáhase, mātā́, mahimā́nam, índra, úru antárikṣam, yúdhā, várivaḥ.
Keep retroflex ḍ/ṭ distinct where applicable; here focus on clear ‘indra’ with short i., ‘antarikṣam’: articulate kṣ as k+ṣ, not ‘x’., ‘varivaḥ’: final visarga ḥ is a light breath-release, not a hard ‘h’., Lengthen long vowels: mātā, mahimānam, paprātha.
Firm, expansive, chest-to-throat resonance; avoid harshness—heroic but clear.
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