Rig Veda 2.41.4: Mandala 2, Sukta 41, Mantra 4
Sukta 2.41
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada
- Devata
- Mitra–Varuṇa
- Chandas
- Trishtubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
अयं वां मित्रावरुणा सुतः सोम ऋतावृधा । ममेदिह श्रुतं हवम् ॥
ayáṃ vā́ṃ mitrā́varuṇā sutáḥ sóma ṛtāvṛ́dhā | máméd ihá śrútaṃ hávam ||
Đây là Soma được ép dành cho hai Ngài, hỡi Mitra và Varuṇa, những vị làm tăng trưởng ṛta (trật tự của Chân lý). Xin nghe ngay tại đây, ngay lúc này, lời thỉnh cầu của con; xin cho khát nguyện của con được tiếp nhận.
Word by Word
- अयम्
- this (here)Pronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृ (वाक्ये विषय-निर्देशः) / विशेष्य-निर्देशःRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → अयम्
- वाम्
- for you two / of you twoPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी-विभक्तिः, द्विवचनम् (एन्क्लिटिक रूपम्)Role सम्प्रदान (युष्मभ्यां) / सम्बन्ध (युवयोः) — संदर्भानुसारRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → वाम्
- मित्रावरुणा
- O Mitra and VaruṇaNounपुंलिङ्गः, सम्बोधन-विभक्तिः, द्विवचनम्Role सम्बोधन (आह्वानम्)Root मित्र + वरुण (देवनाम-प्रातिपदिक; द्वन्द्व-समासः)
- सुतः
- pressed, expressedAdjective/Participleपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्Role विशेषणम् (सोमस्य)Root √सु (सुनोति ‘to press/express’) → सुत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; भूतकृत्/कृत-प्रत्ययः)
- सोमः
- Soma (the pressed ritual drink)Nounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृ (श्रुतम् इति क्रियायाः विषयः) / वाक्य-विषयःRoot सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- ऋतावृधा
- O you two who grow/strengthen through Ṛta (cosmic order)Adjective (dual epithet)पुंलिङ्गः, सम्बोधन-विभक्तिः, द्विवचनम्Role सम्बोधन-विशेषणम् (मित्रावरुणयोः)Root ऋत + √वृध् (वर्धते ‘to grow/increase’) → वृध (कृदन्त) ; बहुव्रीहि/कर्मधारय-समासः ‘ऋतेन आवृधौ’
- मम
- myPronounषष्ठी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्Role सम्बन्ध (मे/मम) — ‘my’Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → मम
- इह
- hereIndeclinableअव्ययम्Role अधिकरण (स्थान-निर्देशः)Root इह (अव्यय)
- श्रुतम्
- heard; heededVerb-form (past passive participle used predicatively)नपुंसकलिङ्गः, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विधेय-विशेषणम् (अस्ति-लोपे)Role कर्मणि-भावः/विधेयः — ‘(let it be) heard’Root √श्रु (शृणोति ‘to hear’) → श्रुत (कृदन्त; भूतकृत्)
- हवम्
- invocation, callNounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्Role कर्म (श्रुतम्—किं? हवम्)Root हव (प्रातिपदिक; ‘invocation/call’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: अयम् | वाम् | मित्रावरुणा | सुतः | सोमः | ऋतावृधा | मम | इह | श्रुतम् | हवम् । 1) ‘मित्रावरुणा’ = मित्र + वरुण (द्वन्द्व), सम्बोधन-द्विवचनम्। 2) ‘ऋतावृधा’ = ऋता + वृधा (समास; मित्रावरुणयोः विशेषणम्), सम्बोधन-द्विवचनम्। 3) ‘ममेदिह’ इति संहितायां ‘मम + इद् + इह’ सम्भवः
- अत्र पाठे ‘मम इह’ (एव) ग्रहणम्, ‘इद्’ कणः पाठान्तर/उच्चारण-विशेषेण दृश्यते। 4) ‘श्रुतं हवम्’ = श्रुतम् (PPP) + हवम् (द्वितीया) — ‘मम हवम् इह श्रुतम् (अस्तु)’ इति अर्थः।
The meaning
Outer meaning
A Soma pressed for Mitra and Varuṇa is offered; they, increasers of ṛta, are asked to hear the poet’s call here.
Inner meaning
Mitra (harmonizing light, right relation) and Varuṇa (vastness, law, purity) are invoked to receive the pressed Soma—inner delight distilled by aspiration. As ṛta-vṛdhā, they increase truth-order in the being: they make the seeker’s call effective, establishing sincerity, clarity, and wide calm so the aspiration is truly heard within and above.
Universal truth
When one offers the distilled essence of experience with sincerity, the powers of harmony and truth-law respond: aspiration becomes audible to the deeper Self, and life aligns with a greater order.
Themes
Soma-ritual (inner delight as offering), Invocation and reciprocity, Guardians/increasers of Ṛta
The seer
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada
- Lineage
- Bhārgava (traditional association)
- Other hymns
- RV 2.27 (Ādityas and protection through ṛta), RV 2.28 (Varuṇa and inner law), RV 2.29 (Mitra–Varuṇa, wideness and truth)
Family tradition
The Gṛtsamada hymns to Ādityas often emphasize ṛta, moral-psychological rectitude, and the establishment of a luminous order in the inner life.
Significance
Here the seer turns ‘hearing the call’ into a psychological principle: when harmony and vast law are invoked, aspiration is stabilized and becomes effective—an inner covenant with Truth.
The deity
- Devata
- Mitra–Varuṇa
- Epithets
- Ṛtāvṛdhā (increasers of ṛta), Dual kings (implied by the hymn sequence)
- Related deities
- Aryaman (noble harmony), Bhaga (distributor of delight), Savitar (impulsion of truth)
Cosmic role
Ādityas governing cosmic order, contracts, truth, and the vast encompassing sky; guardians of ṛta and moral law.
Inner power
Mitra: concord, right relation, luminous friendliness in the mind; Varuṇa: vast purity, inner law, and the power to release from falsehood by truth-binding.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma offering to Mitra–Varuṇa within Soma rites and general Āditya invocations
अ॒यं वां॑ मित्रावरुणा सु॒तः सोम॑ ऋतावृधा । ममेदि॒ह श्रु॑तं॒ हव॑म् ॥
अ॒यम् । वा॒म् । मि॒त्रा॒व॒रु॒णा॒ । सु॒तः । सोमः॑ । ऋ॒त॒ऽवृ॒धा॒ । मम॑ । इत् । इ॒ह । श्र॒त॒म् । हव॑म् ॥
ayam | vām | mitrāvaruṇā | sutaḥ | somaḥ | ṛta-vṛdhā | mama | it | iha | śratam | havam
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4 pādas × 11 syllables
Majestic, steady, authoritative; suitable for invoking sovereign powers of order.
Creates breadth and calm; supports a feeling of uprightness and solemn sincerity—like entering a court of truth.
- मित्रावरुणा (mitrāvaruṇā)
- Literal: Mitra and Varuṇa. Symbolic: harmony/rightness + vast truth-law/purity; relational truth and sovereign order
- सुतः (sutaḥ)
- Literal: pressed out. Symbolic: essence extracted by tapas; clarified offering from life-experience
- सोमः (somaḥ)
- Literal: Soma. Symbolic: divine delight (Ananda) offered to higher powers
- ऋतावृधा (ṛtāvṛdhā)
- Literal: increasers of ṛta. Symbolic: powers that expand truth-order and right movement in consciousness
- श्रुतम् (śrutam)
- Literal: heard. Symbolic: received/answered; inner consent of higher law
- हवम् (havam)
- Literal: call, invocation. Symbolic: aspiration-prayer rising from the psychic being
Soma offering context (general Soma-yajña usage; suitable for invocations in Agniṣṭoma-related Soma pressings)
During Soma libations or as part of hymns to Ādityas for establishing ṛta in the rite
Offering of Soma and request for attentive hearing/acceptance of the invocation
Use as a ‘truth-alignment’ mantra: chant before making vows, beginning disciplined practice, or when seeking inner clarity and ethical steadiness.
Key terms: (1) sutáḥ: past participle of √su/√sū in the Soma-pressing sense, but psychologically 'expressed/precipitated' delight-force into awareness. (2) sómaḥ: from √su 'press' → soma as pressed essence; inwardly the distilled ananda that feeds the god-powers. (3) ṛta-vṛdhā: ṛta (from √ṛ 'to go, fit, rise' → right movement/order) + vṛdhā (agent noun from √vṛdh 'to increase') = those who augment the right order in the being. (4) śrutám: PPP of √śru 'hear' implying not only audition but consent/acceptance. (5) hávam: noun from √hū 'invoke/call'—the effective summons that establishes reciprocity between human and deva.
Ṛta (cosmic order/right movement), Satya–Ṛta alignment (truth received by the gods through right invocation)
Explicit: ṛtāvṛdhā—these powers increase ṛta in the cosmos and the seeker.
‘Hearing’ the call indicates alignment with Satya: aspiration becomes truthful and therefore effective.
Order precedes fullness: the cosmos and the inner life are sustained by sovereign law and harmonious relation.
Ethico-spiritual cosmology of the Ādityas; bridges ritual ṛta and inner psychological truth.
day/clear light (Mitra association; not explicit)
unspecified
Soma = distilled delight; sky = wideness of consciousness; ‘hearing’ = inner receptivity of truth-law.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The Soma-offering that empowers the Ādityas: the human presses out (makes manifest) the delight-essence and offers it so Mitra–Varuṇa may strengthen Ṛta. Mythically, Soma is the mediator substance linking mortal aspiration and divine order; psychologically, it is the distilled ananda that enables truth-governed harmony (Mitra) and vast law (Varuṇa) to act in the seeker.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √śru 'hear' aligns with PIE *ḱlew- ('hear, be famed') seen in Greek κλύω, English 'loud' (via fame/noise semantic field). √hū 'call' reflects the archaic Indo-European sacral speech-act (invocation as effective utterance). ṛta relates to Indo-Iranian *ṛtá- (Avestan aša) indicating a shared concept of cosmic/right order.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- A reciprocal exchange: the seer offers a consciously prepared Soma (inner delight-force) and requests śruti—divine reception/assent. Mitra–Varuṇa, as ṛta-vṛdhā, respond by increasing right order in the human field; the 'havam' is thus not mere praise but a binding call that invites their governance into embodied life ('iha').
Offer inner delight to the powers of harmony and truth-law; cultivate sincerity and wideness.
Viśuddha (truthfulness) with support from Anāhata (harmony)
Slow coherent breathing (5–6 breaths/min); mentally ‘press’ experience into a single sincere aspiration on exhale.
Wide, quiet, truthful; readiness for inner guidance.
Chant 3–7 times, then sit in silence and observe where life is out of alignment; let a calm ‘law of truth’ reorganize thought and impulse without repression.
Follow Vedic accent marks where available; keep triṣṭubh cadence with clear pāda breaks; avoid rushing the 11-syllable line.
Give weight to ṛtāvṛdhā and śrutam; pause lightly after each pāda to preserve breadth.
mitrāvaruṇā: keep retroflex ṇ in varuṇa, ṛtāvṛdhā: vocalic ṛ; aspirate dhā at end, mamed iha: separate ‘mama’ + ‘id’ sandhi feel; keep iha clear, havam: light 'h', short vowels
broad, steady, solemn (court-of-truth tone)
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