Rig Veda 8.45.8: Mandala 8, Sukta 45, Mantra 8
Sukta 8.45
- Devata
- Indra
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Raudra (fury)
वि षु विश्वा अभियुजो वज्रिन्विष्वग्यथा वृह । भवा नः सुश्रवस्तमः ॥
ví ṣú víśvā abhiyújo vájrin víṣvag yáthā vṛ́ha | bhávā naḥ suśrávas-tamaḥ ||
ہر طرف سے ہم پر حملہ کرنے والوں کو مکمل طور پر منتشر کر دے، اے بجہ گر، اور ہمارے لیے سب سے زیادہ سنا جانے والا بن جا، فتح یاب شہرت اور موثر مدد میں سب سے زیادہ ظاہر۔
Word by Word
- वि
- apart, asunder; forth (prefix)Indeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot वि (उपसर्ग) / √वि (विभज्-भाव) (न)
- षु
- indeed, quickly, surely (emphatic particle)Indeclinableनिपात (प्रयोगे बल/त्वरार्थकः)Root षु (निपात)
- विश्वाः
- all (of them)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग/स्त्रीलिङ्ग?—प्रयोगतः बहुवचनं प्रथमा (विशेष्य-बहुवचनं)Role Kartā (सम्बद्धः) / विशेषणम्Root विश्व (सर्व)
- अभियुजः
- assailants, attackers, opponentsNoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, बहुवचनं, द्वितीया (कर्मपदम्) (RV प्रयोगे) / पदपाठे ‘अभियुजो’ इति रूपम्Role KarmaRoot अभि-युज् (प्रातिपदिक: अभियुज् ‘आक्रमणकर्ता/प्रतियोजक’)
- वज्रिन्
- O wielder of the thunderbolt (Indra)Noun (epithet)पुंलिङ्गः, एकवचनं, सम्बोधन (हे वज्रिन्)Role SambोधनRoot वज्रिन् (प्रातिपदिक; वज्र + इन्)
- विष्वक्
- on all sides, in every directionIndeclinableअव्यय (दिशा/व्याप्त्यर्थे)Root विष्वक् (अव्यय)
- यथा
- as, just asIndeclinableअव्यय (उपमान/प्रकारार्थे)Root यथा (अव्यय)
- वृह
- smite!, tear away!, strike down!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role क्रिया (कर्तृ-सम्बन्धः: वज्रिन्)Root √वृह् (वृहँ) ‘उच्छेदने/वर्धने’ (RV: ‘to smite/tear away’)
- भव
- be!, become!; be to usVerbलोट् (आशीर्लिङ्/आज्ञार्थे), मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role क्रिया (कर्तृ-सम्बन्धः: वज्रिन्)Root √भू (भवति)
- नः
- to us; for usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी-एकवचनस्य एन्क्लिटिक रूपम् (RV: ‘to us/our’), यहाँ दत्तिवाचकः (नः = अस्मभ्यम्)Role SampradānaRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- सुश्रवस्तमः
- most glorious, most famedAdjective (superlative epithet)पुंलिङ्गः, एकवचनं, प्रथमा (वज्रिन्/इन्द्रस्य विशेषणम्)Role Kartā-विशेषणम् / विधेय-विशेषणम्Root सु-श्रवस्-तम (प्रातिपदिक; सु + श्रवस् ‘fame’ + तमप्)
Sandhi Notes
- संहिता-पाठ: ‘वि षु विश्वा॑ अभि॒युजो॒ वज्रि॒न्विष्व॒ग्यथा॑ वृह । भवा॑ नः सु॒श्रव॑स्तमः ॥’। संधि-विच्छेदः: ‘वज्रिन् + विष्वक्’ → ‘वज्रिन्-विष्वक्’ (नकारस्य परे वकारे संयोगः; संहितायां ‘वज्रि॒न्विष्व॒क्’)। ‘विष्वक् + यथा’ → ‘विष्वग्यथा’ (क् + य → ग्य, जश्त्व/संयोग-परिवर्तनम्)। ‘अभियुजः’ पदपाठे ‘अभियुजो’ इति (RV पदपाठ-रूपभेदः)।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Disperse utterly all assailants who press upon us, O Vajrin, in every direction; become for us the most famed and effective helper.
Inner meaning
The seeker asks the thunderbolt-bearing illumination (Indra Vajrin) to scatter the invading forces—confusions, compulsions, hostile suggestions—that attack from all sides. The ‘vajra’ is the decisive power of truth-discrimination that breaks formations. As Indra becomes ‘suśravas-tama’ (most perfectly heard-of), the inner being experiences a palpable, reliable Presence: help becomes not abstract belief but manifest efficacy.
Universal truth
When clarity is decisive, pressures of confusion disperse. True help is known by its effectiveness—by the way it reorganizes life toward truth.
Themes
obstacle-removal, protection, Indra vajra, victorious fame
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 8.45.1-10, RV 1.80 (Indra as helper), RV 10.103 (battle hymn motifs)
Family tradition
Protective and victory-oriented Indra praise, often used to clear obstacles to the sacrifice and to the seeker’s advance.
Significance
The verse is an inner protection formula: it calls for total clearing and for a tangible, dependable divine support in the midst of pressure.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra (Vajrin)
- Epithets
- Vajrin (thunderbolt-bearer), Suśravas-tama (most manifest in renown/help)
- Related deities
- Maruts (supporting energies), Viṣṇu (wide-pervading steps—support of expansion), Agni (purifying will)
Cosmic role
Storm-force that shatters the cover, disperses hostile powers, and establishes victorious order.
Inner power
Penetrating discernment and executive force that uproots obsessive patterns and restores inner sovereignty.
In ritual
Where it is used
Protective victory prayer; used to disperse hostile forces and secure Indra’s strong presence and ‘śravas’ (effective renown) for the sacrificer.
वि षु विश्वा॑ अभि॒युजो॒ वज्रि॒न्विष्व॒ग्यथा॑ वृह । भवा॑ नः सु॒श्रव॑स्तमः ॥
वि । सु । विश्वाः॑ । अ॒भि॒ऽयुजः॑ । वज्रि॑न् । विष्व॑क् । यथा॑ । वृ॒ह॒ । भव॑ । नः॒ । सु॒श्रवः॑ऽतमः ॥
vi | su | viśvāḥ | abhi-yujaḥ | vajrin | viṣvak | yathā | vṛha | bhava | naḥ | suśravaḥ-tamaḥ
44
4 pādas × 11 syllables (probable; expansive imperative style)
Commanding, sweeping rhythm; suited to dispersal in all directions.
Creates a protective field; the imperatives strengthen resolve and invoke a sense of clearing space.
- abhiyujaḥ
- Literal: attackers, assailants. Symbolic: invading thoughts/impulses; hostile formations pressing on consciousness
- vajrin
- Literal: wielder of the thunderbolt. Symbolic: power of decisive illumination that breaks fixed ignorance
- viṣvak
- Literal: in every direction. Symbolic: totality of the being—physical, vital, mental—needing protection and clearing
- vṛha
- Literal: tear away, uproot, disperse. Symbolic: radical removal of obstruction, not mere suppression
- suśravas-tamaḥ
- Literal: most famed / most well-heard-of. Symbolic: most manifest, reliably perceived helper; inner confirmation through results
Protective victory prayer; used to disperse hostile forces and secure Indra’s strong presence and ‘śravas’ (effective renown) for the sacrificer.
Protective Indra recitations during rites to ward off obstacles/hostilities; also before journeys or contests.
Invocation for apotropaic (warding) effect—dispersal of hostile influences.
Use as a ‘clearing mantra’ before meditation or sleep to disperse intrusive thought-forms and anxiety.
abhi-yúj ‘yoked against’ from √yuj (PIE *yeug- ‘yoke/join’; cf. Latin iugum). vájrin from vájra (thunderbolt/diamond-force) expresses concentrated decisive power. √vṛh ‘tear’ is an old violent verb for uprooting obstruction. su-śrávas relates to √śru ‘hear’ and śrávas ‘fame/hearing’; psychologically: the divine becomes ‘audible’/effective in consciousness and acclaimed by realized results.
removal of obstruction (vṛh), śravas as realized manifestation (heard-of because effective), ṛta as right victory
Dispersal of assailants restores right order in the being.
Vajra = truth-force that breaks false cohesion of negative formations.
Clearing space for higher manifestation; victory as prerequisite for widened consciousness.
Aurobindonian psychological reading: hostile forces as inner resistances; Indra as illumined force.
Lightning-vajra = sudden decisive insight; storm dispersal = clearing of mental weather; ‘all directions’ = total purification across layers.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The vajra-action: Indra as Vajrin disperses and rends the hostile conjunctions (abhiyujaḥ) on all sides, echoing the storm-god’s scattering of demons. The inner import is the breaking of converged pressures (mental/vital attacks) so the seeker can stand in widened, protected consciousness.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √yuj (yoke) is PIE *yeug-. The semantic extension ‘yoked against’ is a characteristic Indo-European metaphor for organized opposition. śrávas (fame/hearing) is tied to PIE *ḱlew- ‘hear, fame’ (cf. Greek kleos), a central IE heroic-poetic concept.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi asks for a double action: (1) active removal of pressing forces, and (2) Indra’s sustained manifest presence as ‘suśravas-tama’—a god not merely praised, but experientially ‘heard’ through tangible inner victories.
Invoke vajra-like clarity to uproot intrusive patterns; visualize dispersal in all directions from the heart or brow as a radiant shockwave of truth.
Ājñā
Exhale-focused practice: longer exhale while mentally sounding ‘vi ṣu viśvā…’; feel pressures leaving on the out-breath.
From constriction/pressure to widened, protected clarity.
When attacked by repetitive negativity, do not analyze endlessly. Call the ‘vajra’—one decisive inner No—then re-establish the chosen truth-thought and widen awareness.
Vedic svara not provided; chant with strong imperatives, slightly rising on ‘vajrin’ and ‘vṛha’.
Punch the verbs: ví ṣu … vṛ́ha | bháva naḥ suśrávas-tamaḥ.
‘viṣvag’ with clear ṣv cluster: vi-ṣvag., ‘abhiyujo’ as a-bhi-yu-jo (keep o long if indicated in your tradition)., ‘suśravas’ keep śr cluster clear: su-śra-vas.
Commanding, bright, protective; end with a confident, benevolent tone on ‘bhava naḥ’.
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