Rig Veda 8.13.5: Mandala 8, Sukta 13, Mantra 5
Sukta 8.13
- Devata
- Indra
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
नूनं तदिन्द्र दद्धि नो यत्त्वा सुन्वन्त ईमहे । रयिं नश्चित्रमा भरा स्वर्विदम् ॥
nūnáṃ tád indra daddhi no yát tvā sunvántá ī́mahe | rayíṃ naś citrám ā́ bhara svàr-vidam ||
اب بیشک ہمیں وہ عطا کر جس کے لیے ہم تجھے پریس کرتے اور تلاش کرتے ہیں، ہمارے لیے بہت سی شکلوں والی فراوانی لے آ، ایسی دولت جو سورج دنیا کو پاتی ہے، روشنی جیتنے والی اور جنت کو پانے والی۔
Word by Word
- नूनम्
- now, indeedIndeclinableअव्यय (कालवाचक)Role Adhikaraṇa (काल-अधिकारण) / वाक्योपपदRoot नूनम् (अव्यय) < नू (नव/इदानीम्-अर्थे) स्थिररूपम्
- तत्
- thatPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (दद्धि इत्यस्य कर्म) / वाक्य-प्रत्यवस्थापनRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- दद्धि
- giveVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यम? → वास्तवतः परस्मैपद, द्वितीय-पुरुष, एकवचन; रूपम्: दद्धि (Vedic imperative)Role क्रियाRoot दा (दाने) धातु
- नः
- to us / for usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी, बहुवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role Sampradāna (दाने प्राप्ता) / सम्बन्धRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- यत्
- what, that whichPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (यत्-तत् सम्बन्ध)Role Karma (ईमहे इत्यस्य कर्म; तत् इत्यस्य विशेषण-सम्बन्ध) / सम्बन्धRoot यद् (संबन्ध-सर्वनाम)
- त्वा
- youPronounद्वितीया, एकवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role Karma (ईमहे इत्यस्य कर्म)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- सुन्वन्तः
- pressing (Soma), the Soma-pressersParticiple (Adjective/Noun)वर्तमान-कर्तरि कृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole Kartā (ईमहे इत्यस्य कर्ता)Root सु (सोम-प्रसवे/अभिषवे) धातु; वर्तमान-कृदन्त: सुन्वत्
- ईमहे
- we seek, we imploreVerbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot ईम्/इ (गत्यर्थे/याचने) — वैदिक प्रयोग: ईमहे = ‘we seek/implore’
- रयिम्
- wealth, bountyNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (आ भरा इत्यस्य कर्म)Root रयि (प्रातिपदिक)
- नः
- to us / for usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी, बहुवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role Sampradāna (आहरणस्य प्राप्ता) / सम्बन्धRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- चित्रम्
- bright, splendid, wondrousAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग (रयिम् इति विशेष्यस्य), द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (रयिम् इत्यस्य विशेषण) / विशेषणRoot चित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- आ
- hither, towards (us)Indeclinableउपसर्गः (भृ धातोः सह) / दिशावाचकRole क्रियाविशेषण (उपसर्ग)Root आ (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- भरा
- bringVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), परस्मैपद, द्वितीय-पुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot भृ (भरणे) धातु
- स्वर्विदम्
- heaven-winning, light-finding (wealth)Adjective (compound) / Noun-epithetपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (रयिम् इत्यस्य विशेषण)Role Karma (रयिम् इत्यस्य विशेषण) / विशेषणRoot स्वर् + विद् (विद्—वेदने/लाभे); समास: स्वर्विद् ‘स्वर्ग/प्रकाश-विद्’
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: नूनम् | तत् | इन्द्र | दद्धि | नः | यत् | त्वा | सुन्वन्तः | ईमहे | रयिम् | नः | चित्रम् | आ | भरा | स्वर्विदम् || 1) ‘तदि॑न्द्र’ = ‘तत् + इन्द्र’ (व्यञ्जन-सन्धि: त् + इ → दि)
- 2) ‘यत्त्वा॑’ = ‘यत् + त्वा’ (त् + त् → त्त्)
- 3) ‘चित्रमा भरा’ = ‘चित्रम् + आ + भरा’ (म् + आ → मा)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra, grant now what we seek while pressing; bring a many-formed wealth that finds the Sun-world.
Inner meaning
The aspirant asks the illumined Mind to grant the sought attainment: a rich, many-sided plenitude (citra rayi) that is ‘svar-vid’—discovering the supramental/sun-world of truth-light. The ‘wealth’ is not material but a composite spiritual possession: light, right power, joy, and wideness that opens the higher planes.
Universal truth
True prosperity is that which leads to higher consciousness; the right ‘wealth’ is what uncovers the sun of truth and reorganizes life around it.
Themes
Prayer for wealth, Light-attainment, Soma-ritual, Indra as giver
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 8.13.1-8, Rig Veda 1.50 (Sūrya hymn; thematic link to svar)
Significance
The seer frames the aim of the sacrifice as ‘svar-vid’: not mere gifts, but the discovery of the sun-world—an explicitly upward, illuminative goal.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- giver of rayi (wealth-bestower), svar-vid (sun-world revealer; functionally)
- Related deities
- Sūrya (solar truth), Soma (bliss), Agni (will)
Cosmic role
Opens the luminous worlds (svar) by victory over obscurity; grants the riches of light and power.
Inner power
Capacity to turn aspiration into realization—converts pressed delight into illuminating attainment.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra invocation during Soma pressing; request for boons/victory.
नू॒नं तदि॑न्द्र दद्धि नो॒ यत्त्वा॑ सु॒न्वन्त॒ ईम॑हे । र॒यिं न॑श्चि॒त्रमा भ॑रा स्व॒र्विद॑म् ॥
नू॒नम् । तत् । इ॒न्द्र॒ । द॒द्धि॒ । नः॒ । यत् । त्वा॒ । सु॒न्वन्तः॑ । ईम॑हे । र॒यिम् । नः॒ । चि॒त्रम् । आ । भ॒र॒ । स्वः॒ऽविद॑म् ॥
nūnam | tat | indra | daddhi | naḥ | yat | tvā | sunvantaḥ | īmahe | rayim | naḥ | citram | ā | bhara | svaḥ-vidam
Urgent and petitionary; ends with an uplifting ‘svar-vidam’ cadence.
Strengthens intention toward higher light; builds a sense of upward opening and expectancy.
- दद्धि (daddhi)
- Literal: give, grant. Symbolic: bestow inner realization/force as a concrete help
- सुन्वन्तः (sunvantaḥ)
- Literal: pressing (soma). Symbolic: disciplined extraction of delight/essence through practice
- ईमहे (īmahe)
- Literal: we seek, we go toward. Symbolic: aspiration and movement toward the divine consciousness
- रयिम् (rayim)
- Literal: wealth, abundance. Symbolic: spiritual riches: capacities, wideness, light, harmony
- चित्रम् (citram)
- Literal: variegated, many-formed, wonderful. Symbolic: integral fullness—many powers and forms of realization
- स्वर्विदम् (svar-vidam)
- Literal: sun/heaven-finding. Symbolic: that which discovers the solar world: truth-illumination, higher consciousness
Direct petition in Soma context; appropriate as a refrain-like request for the fruit of pressing: rayi that is svàr-vid.
At moments of asking (yācñā) after offering/praise.
Supplication for rayi and opening to svar.
Use when seeking clarity and direction: ask for the ‘wealth’ that leads to truth (not mere outcomes).
rayí- ‘wealth, abundance’ (often spiritual plenitude in RV); citrá- ‘bright/variegated’ (√cit ‘perceive’ also resonates with ‘consciousness’); īmahe from √ī/√i ‘to go, seek’ (middle ‘we seek’); svàr ‘sun/heaven-light’ (related to √svar ‘shine’); -vid from √vid ‘know/find’ (PIE *weid- ‘see/know’, cf. Latin videre, English wit). Inner sense: svàr-vidam indicates wealth that leads to the truth-world, not mere material gain.
Rayi (plenitude of being), Svar (truth-light world), Vision/knowledge (√vid)
Right seeking and right offering lead to right attainment—wealth that aligns life to truth-order.
svar-vidam explicitly points to truth-light discovery.
Ascent to svar: unveiling higher planes; evolution by illumination.
Integral Vedantic symbolism: svar as plane of truth-consciousness; rayi as spiritual plenitude.
dawn-to-sunrise (symbolically, movement from seeking to solar discovery)
Sun = truth-consciousness; pressing = concentrated practice extracting inner bliss/essence that empowers ascent.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The request for rayi that ‘finds svàr’: the mythologem of wealth as light-attainment. The god’s gift is defined by its power to lead to the luminous world, aligning prosperity with revelation.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- vid- in svàr-vidam is a clear reflex of PIE *weid- ‘see/know’ (Greek oîda, Latin vidēre). The compound epithet type (X-vid) is a productive Vedic strategy to encode function (‘finder of X’) and parallels IE epithetic compounding.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi asserts a claim grounded in effort: ‘we press and seek thee’; therefore Indra should grant the sought fruit. The reciprocity is disciplined aspiration answered by a gift whose criterion is spiritual: it must open svàr.
Aspire for ‘citra rayi’—integral spiritual richness—and specifically for discovery of the inner sun (truth).
ājñā
inhale: ‘īmahe’ (seeking); exhale: ‘ā bharā svarvidam’ (bring the sun-finding wealth).
Upward-turned aspiration with bright concentration.
Hold a single intention: ‘Let my effort yield truth-light.’ Repeat the mantra, then sit silently imagining a sun in the brow/forehead space, letting clarity spread through the mind.
Notated svara unavailable; chant with heightened lift on nūnaṃ and svarvidam to mark urgency and goal.
Stress: nūnáṃ, índra, daddhí, īmahe, ráyim, cítram, ā bhara, svár-vidam.
svár-vidam: keep compound clear, do not reduce to ‘sor’., citrám: crisp ‘tr’ cluster., īmahe: long ī sustained lightly.
Bright, aspiring, slightly ascending at the end of each pāda.
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