Rig Veda 8.21.18: Mandala 8, Sukta 21, Mantra 18
Sukta 8.21
- Devata
- Sarasvatī
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
चित्र इद्राजा राजका इदन्यके यके सरस्वतीमनु । पर्जन्य इव ततनद्धि वृष्ट्या सहस्रमयुता ददत् ॥
citró id rājā́ rājakā́ id anyaké yaké sárasvatīm ánu | parjányā iva tátanad dhí vṛṣṭyā́ sahásram ayútā dádāt ||
Kỳ diệu thay là bậc vương, và kỳ diệu thay là các tiểu vương—những kẻ khác theo sau Sarasvatī. Vì như Parjanya, người đã giăng rộng bằng mưa; người ban ngàn, ban vạn—những sung mãn tràn đầy.
Word by Word
- चित्रः
- bright, splendidAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (विशेषण-रूपेण कर्तृपदस्य)Root चित्र (प्रातिपदिक) < PIE *ḱei-? (variegated/bright) (lexical)
- इत्
- indeed, justIndeclinableनिपात (emphatic/limiting particle)Root इत् (निपात)
- राजा
- kingNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- राजकः
- a kinglet / petty king (royal one)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (समनाधिकरण/उपपद-विशेषणभावः ‘राजा’ इत्यस्य)Root राजक (प्रातिपदिक)
- इत्
- indeedIndeclinableनिपातRoot इत् (निपात)
- अन्यके
- in/among another (one), elsewhereAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (वेदे ‘-के’ इति रूपं)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot अन्यक (प्रातिपदिक; ‘अन्य’ + क)
- यके
- in the Yaka (place/people-name)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole Adhikaraṇa (स्थानवाचक)Root यक (प्रातिपदिक/स्थानीय-शब्द; वेदिक-रूप)
- सरस्वतीम्
- Sarasvatī (river/goddess)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
- अनु
- along, followingIndeclinableअव्यय; ‘along/after’ (governs acc. in sense ‘along’)Root अनु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- पर्जन्यः
- Parjanya (rain-god)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (उपमान-कर्तृ)Root पर्जन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- इव
- like, asIndeclinableउपमानार्थक निपातRoot इव (निपात)
- ततनत्
- stretched/spread (out)Verbलङ् (इम्पर्फेक्ट्), परस्मैपद, 3 पुरुष, एकवचनRole KriyāRoot तन् (धातु)
- हि
- for, indeedIndeclinableनिपात (emphatic/causal)Root हि (निपात)
- वृष्ट्या
- with rain, by rainfallNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot वृष्टि (प्रातिपदिक) < √वृष्
- सहस्रम्
- a thousandNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- अयुताः
- ten-thousands (myriads)Noun/Adjective(प्रायः नपुंसक ‘अयुत’), अत्र बहुवचन-रूपेण संख्यावाचक-सम्बन्धः; (पाठानुसारं) प्रथमा/द्वितीया बहुवचनRole Karma (सहस्रम् इत्यस्य संख्याविशेषण/समुच्चय)Root अयुत (प्रातिपदिक)
- ददत्
- giving, bestowingVerb (participle)वर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ), परस्मैपद-धातु; प्रथमा एकवचन (कर्तरि) / अव्ययीभाववत् (वेदे)Role Kriyā (कर्तृ-विशेषणरूपेण)Root दा (धातु)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (सन्धिविग्रह): चित्रः इत् राजा राजकः इत् अन्यके यके सरस्वतीम् अनु । पर्जन्यः इव ततनत् हि वृष्ट्या सहस्रम् अयुताः ददत् ॥ 1) इद्राजा = इत् + राजा (द् + र → द्र)
- 2) राजका = राजकः (वेदिक-पदपाठे विसर्गः)
- 3) इदन्यके = इत् + अन्यके (द् + अ → द)
- 4) सरस्वतीमनु = सरस्वतीम् + अनु (म् + अ → म)
- 5) पर्जन्य इव = पर्जन्यः + इव (विसर्ग-लोपः)
- 6) ततनद्धि = ततनत् + हि (त् + ह → द्धि)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Wondrous is the king and wondrous the lesser kings, those who follow Sarasvatī. Like Parjanya spreading with rain, he gives thousands and ten-thousands.
Inner meaning
The ‘king’ is the sovereign power of inspired truth (Sarasvatī’s leading current) and the ‘lesser kings’ are subordinate capacities—mental rulers, faculties, or leaders in the being—that become luminous when they ‘follow Sarasvatī’ (align with inspiration and right speech). The simile of Parjanya (rain-cloud) indicates a descent of plentitude: when consciousness opens to the higher flow, gifts multiply—ideas, energies, harmonies—‘thousands and ten-thousands’ as abundant formations of truth in life and mind.
Universal truth
When leadership (inner governance) aligns with truth-inspiration, abundance follows naturally—like rain feeding all fields; right order brings plenitude.
Themes
Abundance, Inspired flow, Rain-as-grace
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 8.21.16-17
Significance
The seer maps an inner polity: the being becomes well-governed when its powers follow Sarasvatī; then abundance ‘rains’ into life.
The deity
- Devata
- Sarasvatī (primary); Parjanya (as simile)
- Epithets
- citra (wondrous—applied to the king/power), subhagā (fortunate—contextually from prior verse)
- Related deities
- Indra, Bṛhaspati, Vāk, Maruts
Cosmic role
Sarasvatī: channel of inspired truth and ordering intelligence; Parjanya: distributor of nourishing rains—symbol of descending force.
Inner power
Sarasvatī: intuitive discrimination and revelatory speech that organizes; Parjanya: downward dynamis that fructifies mind and life.
In ritual
Where it is used
Praise of abundance as a rain-like outpouring accompanying inspired flow; suitable to Soma and prosperity petitions.
चित्र॒ इद्राजा॑ राज॒का इद॑न्य॒के य॒के सर॑स्वती॒मनु॑ । प॒र्जन्य॑ इव त॒तन॒द्धि वृ॒ष्ट्या स॒हस्र॑म॒युता॒ दद॑त् ॥
चित्रः॑ । इत् । राजा॑ । रा॒ज॒काः । इत् । अ॒न्य॒के । य॒के । सर॑स्वतीम् । अनु॑ । प॒र्जन्यः॑ऽइव । त॒तन॑त् । हि । वृ॒ष्ट्या । स॒हस्र॑म् । अ॒युता॑ । दद॑त् ॥
citraḥ | it | rājā | rājakāḥ | it | anyake | yake | sarasvatīm | anu | parjanyaḥ-iva | tatanat | hi | vṛṣṭyā | sahasram | ayutā | dadat
Likely 4 pādas with extended descriptive cadence; imagery-heavy line with a concluding abundance count.
Expansive and overflowing—mirrors ‘rain-spreading’ and multiplication.
Opens the sense of wideness; supports a feeling of descent and plenty in meditation.
- राजा (rājā)
- Literal: king. Symbolic: sovereign governing power in consciousness; central directive will
- राजकाः (rājakāḥ)
- Literal: lesser kings. Symbolic: subsidiary faculties/powers that rule parts of the nature
- सरस्वतीम् अनु (sarasvatīm anu)
- Literal: following after Sarasvatī. Symbolic: alignment with inspired truth-current and right speech
- पर्जन्यः (parjanyaḥ)
- Literal: rain-giver, cloud deity. Symbolic: descending grace; outpouring of force and nourishment
- वृष्ट्या (vṛṣṭyā)
- Literal: with rain. Symbolic: with the shower of inspiration/energy
- सहस्रम् अयुताः (sahasram ayutā)
- Literal: thousand, ten-thousand. Symbolic: manifold plenitudes; abundant formations of truth and power
Praise of abundance as a rain-like outpouring accompanying inspired flow; suitable to Soma and prosperity petitions.
Use when seeking harmonization of one’s ‘inner leaders’ (thought, speech, will) with truth; also as a mantra for abundance rooted in right alignment rather than grasping.
√tan ‘stretch’ (PIE *ten-) in tatanat: expansion/spreading, often used for the spread of sacrifice, light, or rain. Parjanya embodies raining abundance; psychologically, the ‘rain’ is the descent of life-force and clarity. rājā/rājakā contrast sovereign truth-power with subordinate executive powers—inner faculties aligned behind Sarasvatī’s inspired stream.
Bṛhat (vastness) as expansion (√tan), Rita as ordered sovereignty (rājā)
‘Following Sarasvatī’ implies moving with ṛta’s current; abundance is the natural fruit of right order.
Truth-inspired governance yields stable and multiplying results.
Descent of plentitude (rain) into the ordered field of consciousness.
Vedic-psychological polity model (inner kingship) resonant with later dharmic governance metaphors.
rainy season (monsoon) imagery implied
Rain = descent of force/blessing; river = continuous inspiration; kings = governing faculties of the nature.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The rain-of-plenty mythologem: like Parjanya, the divine power ‘stretches’ rain and gives immense numbers (thousand/myriad). In inner terms, inspired truth (Sarasvatī) is followed by ordered powers (kings) and results in an overflowing descent of force and felicity.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √tan (tatanat) continues PIE *ten- ‘stretch’ (Lat. tendere). The regal lexeme rājā is Indo-Iranian (cf. Avestan raoža-/xšaθra- for rule; not direct cognate but shared political-sacral vocabulary). Numeral formations reflect inherited Indo-European counting idioms used poetically for ‘immeasurable’.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi observes and affirms the devatā’s mode of giving: inspired flow is not solitary but organizes subordinate powers (‘kings’) and manifests as plentiful outpouring. The hymn functions as assent to that order, inviting the same descent within the sacrificer.
Align all sub-personalities/faculties (‘lesser kings’) with the central truth-current; invite a descent of nourishing force.
sahasrāra (crown)
Quiet inhalation imagining ‘rain of light’ descending from above; exhale distributing it through the body-mind field.
Widened, receptive, harmonized governance.
Before action or speech, inwardly ‘follow Sarasvatī’: wait for the truthful current; then let decisions arise from that alignment—abundance becomes a byproduct.
Not specified; keep names ‘sarasvatīm’ and ‘parjanya’ clearly articulated with traditional accent if available.
Let the verse ‘swell’ dynamically on the Parjanya simile; soften slightly on the abundance count to feel ‘pouring out’.
Pronounce ‘vṛṣṭyā’ with clear retroflex ṣṭ cluster., Keep ‘ayutā’ with y glide, not ‘auta’., Maintain ‘citraḥ’ with crisp ‘tr’ cluster.
Flowing, expansive, resonant head-voice.
7
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
