Rig Veda 1.175.1: Mandala 1, Sukta 175, Mantra 1
Sukta 1.175
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
मत्स्यपायि ते महः पात्रस्येव हरिवो मत्सरो मदः । वृषा ते वृष्ण इन्दुर्वाजी सहस्रसातमः ॥
matsyapā́yi te máhaḥ pā́trasyeva harivo matsaró mádaḥ | vṛ́ṣā te vṛ́ṣṇa índur vājī sahasra-sā́tamaḥ ||
Hỡi Indra, đấng có những tuấn mã hung vàng, niềm hân hoan lớn lao đã được Ngài uống, như uống từ một bình đầy tràn. Vì Ngài—Bò Đực—Indu (Soma) được ép này, mạnh mẽ và chiến thắng, trở thành sức lực thắng ngàn lần: xung lực của Soma làm tăng trưởng quyền năng cho cuộc chinh phục nội tâm.
Word by Word
- मत्स्यपायि
- fish-drinker (epithet; one who drinks like a fish / drinks fish-like)Noun (compound) / Adjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (इन्द्रस्य विशेषणम्)Role विशेषण (कर्तृ-सम्बन्धे)Root मत्स्य- (प्रातिपदिक) + पा (धातु, पिबति) → पायि (कृदन्त/नामधातु-रूप)
- ते
- of you / yourPronounषष्ठी, एकवचन (एन्क्लिटिक ‘ते’ = तव)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive: ‘of/for you’)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- महः
- of the great (one); greatAdjective (used substantively)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन (महः = महतः)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive: ‘of the great’)Root महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- पात्रस्य
- of the vessel / cupNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root पात्र- (प्रातिपदिक)
- इव
- like, asIndeclinableअव्ययRole उपमान-निर्देशकRoot इव (निपात)
- हरिवः
- O Harivaḥ (Indra, having tawny horses)Noun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot हरिवत्/हरिवस्- (प्रातिपदिक; इन्द्रस्य विशेषणम् ‘having tawny steeds’)
- मत्सरः
- exhilaration; excitement; intoxicationNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ/भाव (as subject-noun in apposition)Root मत्सर- (प्रातिपदिक)
- मदः
- rapture; intoxication (soma-joy)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ/भाव (appositional)Root मद- (प्रातिपदिक)
- वृषा
- the bull; the strong oneNoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (subject/apposition to इन्दुः)Root वृषन्/वृषा- (प्रातिपदिक)
- ते
- of you / yourPronounषष्ठी, एकवचन (तव)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वृष्णः
- of the bull; of the strong oneNoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive: ‘of the bull/strong one’)Root वृषन्- (प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्दुः
- the Soma drop; SomaNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (subject)Root इन्दु- (प्रातिपदिक)
- वाजी
- prize-winning; swift; bringing bootyAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (इन्दोः विशेषणम्)Role विशेषण (कर्तृ-सम्बन्धे)Root वाजिन्- (प्रातिपदिक)
- सहस्रसातमः
- most winning of thousands; best at winning thousandsAdjective (superlative)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (इन्दोः/वाजिनः विशेषणम्)Role विशेषण (कर्तृ-सम्बन्धे)Root सहस्र- + सातम (सात- ‘winning’ < √सन्/सा ‘to gain, win’ as prātipadika) (समास)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सन्धि-निरसन): मत्स्यपायि | ते | महः | पात्रस्य | इव | हरिवः | मत्सरः | मदः || वृषा | ते | वृष्णः | इन्दुः | वाजी | सहस्रसातमः || 1) ‘पात्र॑स्येव’ = ‘पात्रस्य + इव’ (स्वर-सन्धि/स्वर-समास; अ + इ → ए)
- 2) ‘इन्दु॑र्वा॒जी’ = ‘इन्दुः + वाजी’ (विसर्ग-सन्धि: उः + व → उर्व)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra, lord of tawny steeds, has drunk a great exhilaration as from a full vessel; for the Bull (Indra), the Soma-pressing becomes a force that wins a thousand prizes.
Inner meaning
The illumined Mind-Power (Indra) is filled with the vast rapture-force (mada) born of Soma (ānanda). When the inner offering is made, that bliss becomes an irresistible victorious impulsion (vājī) that multiplies capacities for the soul’s conquest—breaking limitations and opening a larger consciousness.
Universal truth
When the higher mind is nourished by inner delight and aspiration, the will becomes victorious: joy is not merely emotion but a power that multiplies strength and accomplishes difficult inner transformations.
Themes
Soma-ritual, Indra’s empowerment, Inner battle: force against obstruction, Victory and abundance (sahasra-sāti)
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Lineage
- Vasiṣṭha-gotra (traditional)
- Other hymns
- RV 1.175.1-5, RV 7.1-101 (Vasiṣṭha maṇḍala, broad association)
Family tradition
Brahmarṣi of the Vasiṣṭha line; hymns often stress inner rightness (ṛta), divine help, and victorious illumination.
Significance
Vasiṣṭha’s vision frequently presents the gods as inner powers organizing the sacrifice of consciousness; Indra-Soma here becomes the psychology of empowered illumination and victorious progress.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra (Soma-empowered)
- Epithets
- हरिवः (hari-vaḥ), वृषा (vṛṣā), वाजी (vājī), सहस्रसातमः (sahasrasātamaḥ)
- Related deities
- Soma, Agni, Bṛhaspati, Uṣas
Cosmic role
Releases the Light and the Waters, breaks the coverer, establishes wide space for life and thought.
Inner power
Illumined mind-force that, filled with ānanda (Soma), becomes an invincible will for inner conquest.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma-yajña (Indra-Soma praise in Soma pressing context)
मत्स्यपा॑यि ते॒ मह॒: पात्र॑स्येव हरिवो मत्स॒रो मद॑: । वृषा॑ ते॒ वृष्ण॒ इन्दु॑र्वा॒जी स॑हस्र॒सात॑मः ॥
मत्सि॑ । अपा॑यि । ते॒ । महः॑ । पात्र॑स्यऽइव । ह॒रि॒ऽवः । म॒त्स॒रः । मदः॑ । वृषा॑ । ते॒ । वृष्णे॑ । इन्दुः॑ । वा॒जी । स॒ह॒स्र॒ऽसात॑मः ॥
matsi | apāyi | te | mahaḥ | pātrasya-iva | hari-vaḥ | matsaraḥ | madaḥ | vṛṣā | te | vṛṣṇe | induḥ | vājī | sahasra-sātamaḥ
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4 pādas × ~11 syllables (Triṣṭubh norm; minor Vedic variations possible)
Strong, forward-driving cadence suited to heroic will and victory-hymns.
Builds uplift and momentum; supports a felt surge of confidence and expansive force in meditation.
- इन्द्र (indra)
- Literal: Indra, Vedic king of gods. Symbolic: Divine Mind/illumining intelligence that leads the inner battle against obscurity
- हरिवः (harivo)
- Literal: having tawny steeds. Symbolic: Mind-force yoked to luminous vital energies that carry the consciousness forward
- मद (mada) / मत्सर (matsara)
- Literal: exhilaration, intoxication. Symbolic: Spiritual ecstasy/rapture that empowers the will and breaks inertia
- पात्र (pātra)
- Literal: vessel, cup. Symbolic: The purified instrument (mind-life-body) capable of holding a greater force
- इन्दु (indu)
- Literal: Soma drop, bright juice. Symbolic: Soma as concentrated delight/illumined essence descending into consciousness
- वृषा (vṛṣā)
- Literal: bull. Symbolic: Fertile, forceful potency of the divine will in action
- वाजी (vājī)
- Literal: prize-winner, racer. Symbolic: Victorious impulsion/energy of accomplishment
- सहस्रसातम (sahasrasātama)
- Literal: most thousand-winning. Symbolic: Power that yields manifold gains—many openings, many lights, many victories
Soma pressing context (general Indra-Soma usage in Soma-yajña; suitable for Indra-stotras in Agniṣṭoma/Ukthya sequences depending on śrauta arrangement)
During Soma pressing/offerings to Indra; also as general Indra-invocation for strength and victory.
Recitation to invite Indra to drink Soma and empower the rite; offering of Soma with praise.
Use as a mantra of energizing aspiration: invoke illumined mind before demanding work, sādhanā, or when breaking inner resistance.
Key terms: (1) mádaḥ ‘inspired intoxication, might’ from √mad ‘to rejoice, be exhilarated, be impelled’; psychologically, the uplifted force that breaks inertia. (2) índu ‘bright drop’ (Soma) from √ind/√id ‘to swell, be strong/bright’ (traditional: ‘drop’), indicating a luminous essence. (3) vṛ́ṣā/vṛ́ṣṇe from √vṛṣ ‘to rain, shower; be virile/strong’; inner sense: the power that pours force and fecundates consciousness. (4) vājī from vāja ‘strength, prize, plenitude’ (PIE *wegʷh- ‘to be strong/active’ often compared with ‘vigour’ set), hence ‘bearer of victorious energy’. (5) sahasra-sātamaḥ superlative of ‘winning’ (√san ‘to gain, win’) with sahasra ‘thousand’—not arithmetic but multiplicity/abundance of attainments.
R̥ta as victorious ordering power through Indra’s force, Bṛhat/Vastness (mahaḥ) as expansion of consciousness, Ananda (Soma-joy) as fuel for inner conquest
Indra’s empowered action restores right order by increasing force and opening the way for truth.
True power arises when delight and will are united; the ‘thousand-winning’ indicates truth’s abundance.
Increase (vardhana) of power through Soma—consciousness grows by receiving the higher essence.
Proto-Vedāntic and integral-psychological reading (Aurobindo/Kashyap): gods as powers of consciousness.
Soma = delight descending; vessel = inner receptacle; bull = forceful potency; horses = dynamic life-energies carrying the mind.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The Soma-empowerment of Indra: the god’s victorious capacity is intensified by the luminous draught (índu), yielding ‘thousand-winning’ force. In the inner-shell reading, Soma is the joy/essence that, when received into the human vessel, magnifies Indra-like will to overcome obstructions and establish r̥ta.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √mad ‘rejoice/be exhilarated’ aligns with the Indo-European semantic field of heightened vitality (cf. exhilaration/rapture terms across IE; not a direct single cognate claim). √san ‘to win’ (sā́tamaḥ) belongs to an old acquisition/victory lexicon comparable to IE ‘gain’ roots. vṛṣ- ‘rain/virile’ preserves the archaic metaphor of ‘pouring’ power (storm/seed), a common IE poetic equation: rain/seed/strength.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The poet acknowledges a reciprocal economy: the seer offers the Soma-force (praise/pressing as inner and outer oblation), and Indra receives it as empowering rapture (mádaḥ), returning ‘sahasra-sāti’—abundant victories and plenitude of force to the sacrificer/seeker. The ‘vessel’ image implies the human system as the cup that must be filled and lifted by the god’s might.
Receive and hold a higher delight that strengthens the will; let joy become force.
ājñā (illumined mind) and anāhata (uplifting joy)
Moderate, steady inhalation imagining ‘Soma’ rising to the brow; exhale offering the force into action.
Energized clarity—joyful power without restlessness.
Before chanting, recall one inner victory you seek (habit, fear, doubt). Chant with the sense of ‘drinking’ a vastness; then sit 2–3 minutes in stillness, letting the force consolidate.
Vedic tri-svara (udātta/anudātta/svarita) as per śākhā recitation; follow pada text for accents (e.g., marked svarita/udātta in saṃhitā).
Keep udātta as a clear rise; svarita as a fall from the rise; avoid flattening on compounds like sahasrasātamaḥ.
(madaḥ): final visarga lightly aspirated, (vṛṣā): retroflex ṣ, long ā, (harivo): light ‘ha’, roll ‘r’, (induḥ): short i, clear dental d
Bright, steady, invigorating; avoid harshness—let ‘exhilaration’ be felt as controlled power.
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