Rig Veda 8.6.3: Mandala 8, Sukta 6, Mantra 3
Sukta 8.6
- Rishi
- Kaṇva
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
कण्वा इन्द्रं यदक्रत स्तोमैर्यज्ञस्य साधनम् । जामि ब्रुवत आयुधम् ॥
kaṇvā́ índraṃ yád ákrata stómair yajñásya sā́dhanam | jā́mi brúvata ā́yudham ||
Khi các Kaṇva dùng thánh ca tạo dựng Indra thành quyền năng làm cho tế lễ thành tựu, họ nói như người đồng tộc, rèn nên vũ khí của lời nói—mài sắc mantra cho cuộc chiến của ánh sáng.
Word by Word
- कण्वाः
- the Kaṇvas (seers)Nounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot कण्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्रम्
- IndraNounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- यत्
- which/that (as/when)Pronoun/Relativeनपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम् (सम्बन्ध/यद्-तद्-सम्बन्धे)Role कर्म (अक्रत इत्यस्य) / सम्बन्धसूचकRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अक्रत
- they made / fashionedVerbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Role क्रियाRoot कृ (धातु)
- स्तोमैः
- with hymns of praiseNounपुंलिङ्गः, तृतीया, बहुवचनम्Role करणRoot स्तोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- यज्ञस्य
- of the sacrificeNounपुंलिङ्गः, षष्ठी, एकवचनम्Role सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
- साधनम्
- the accomplisher / means of accomplishmentNounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role कर्म (इन्द्रम् इत्यस्य विशेषण/समनाधिकरण-भावः) अथवा कर्म (अक्रत इत्यस्य)Root साधन (प्रातिपदिक) < साध् (धातु) + ल्युट्
- जामि
- intimately / familiarly (as kin)Indeclinable (usage) / Adverbialअव्ययम्Role क्रियाविशेषण (ब्रुवत) / प्रकारRoot जामि (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक; ‘निकट/सहज/समान’)
- ब्रुवत
- speaking / utteringVerb (participle)वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययः; प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्, पुंलिङ्गे (कर्तरि), ‘कण्वाः’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्Role कर्तृ-विशेषण (कण्वाः) / सहक्रियाRoot ब्रू (धातु)
- आयुधम्
- weaponNounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role कर्म (ब्रुवत इत्यस्य) / उक्त-वस्तुRoot आयुध (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: कण्वाः | इन्द्रम् | यत् | अक्रत | स्तोमैः | यज्ञस्य | साधनम् | जामि | ब्रुवत | आयुधम् । 1) कण्वा॒ इन्द्रं॒ → कण्वाः + इन्द्रम् (विसर्ग-लोपः/सन्धिः)
- 2) यदक्र॑त → यत् + अक्रत (त् + अ → द् (जश्त्व) इति संहितायाम्)
- 3) स्तोमै॑र्य॒ज्ञस्य॒ → स्तोमैः + यज्ञस्य (विसर्गस्य रेफादेशः: ः + य → र्य)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The Kaṇvas, by their hymns, fashioned (made effective) Indra as the accomplisher of the sacrifice; speaking as kin, they made a weapon.
Inner meaning
The seer-lineage awakens and “builds” the Indra-power (illumined mind and victorious force) through concentrated stoma (inspired praise). Mantra is not ornament but śastra: a sharpened instrument of consciousness that cuts through inner resistance. “Speaking as kin” indicates a unified inner fraternity—faculties of the being consenting together—so the Word becomes effective for the yajña, the inner offering of works and energies.
Universal truth
A higher power becomes operative in life when consciousness deliberately shapes it through inspired speech, intention, and unity of inner parts; the right word, born of vision, becomes an instrument of transformation.
Themes
mantra-weapon, Indra-empowerment, seer-lineage, victory-over-obstruction
The seer
- Rishi
- Kaṇva
- Lineage
- Kaṇva (Kaṇvayana)
- Other hymns
- RV 8.1, RV 8.2, RV 8.3, RV 8.4, RV 8.5, RV 8.6
Family tradition
Kaṇvas are renowned for Indra-hymns emphasizing victorious illumination and the efficacy of inspired speech (stoma) in the inner yajña.
Significance
Kaṇva-vision often treats mantra as a living power (śakti) that forms the god within—invocation as inner construction of consciousness.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- vṛṣan (bull of power), vajrin (wielder of the thunderbolt), maghavan (bountiful), śatakratu (of a hundred powers/acts)
- Related deities
- Agni, Soma, Bṛhaspati, Uṣas, Maruts
Cosmic role
Breaker of obstructions; releaser of the waters/rays; establisher of wide heaven (svarga) through victory over the Coverer.
Inner power
Illumined intelligence allied with courageous force—decisive will that opens the sealed subconscient and brings down truth-light into action.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra-stotra within Soma-yajña sequences (praise to strengthen the Indra-power for overcoming obstacles).
कण्वा॒ इन्द्रं॒ यदक्र॑त॒ स्तोमै॑र्य॒ज्ञस्य॒ साध॑नम् । जा॒मि ब्रु॑वत॒ आयु॑धम् ॥
कण्वाः॑ । इन्द्र॑म् । यत् । अक्र॑त । स्तोमैः॑ । य॒ज्ञस्य॑ । साध॑नम् । जा॒मि । ब्रु॒व॒ते॒ । आयु॑धम् ॥
kaṇvāḥ | indram | yat | akrata | stomaiḥ | yajñasya | sādhanam | jāmi | bruvate | āyudham
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4 pādas of ~11 syllables each
Driving, martial, forward-pressing cadence suitable for invocation of force and victory.
Builds resolve and upward surge; supports “making effective” the invoked power through firm rhythmic will.
- कण्वाः (kaṇvāḥ)
- Literal: the Kaṇvas (seer-family). Symbolic: a lineage of inner hearing; harmonized powers of aspiration and discrimination
- इन्द्रम् (indram)
- Literal: Indra. Symbolic: illumined mind-force that conquers darkness and releases truth-currents
- स्तोमैः (stomaiḥ)
- Literal: with hymns/praises. Symbolic: vibrations of inspired thought that shape and invoke higher force
- यज्ञस्य साधनम् (yajñasya sādhanam)
- Literal: the accomplisher/effective means of the sacrifice. Symbolic: the power that makes the inner offering fruitful and operative
- जामि (jāmi)
- Literal: as kin, in close relation. Symbolic: inner unity; concord of the faculties in a single aspiration
- आयुधम् (āyudham)
- Literal: weapon. Symbolic: mantra as a force of battle for light; decisive spiritual instrument
Indra-stotra framing: stoma as means (sādhana) that empowers Indra for the yajña and for victory over obstacles
During Soma pressing/offerings where Indra is invoked for strength and victory.
Recitation of stoma with offering (āhuti) to Indra; energizing the rite’s effectiveness (sādhanatā).
Use as a pre-task invocation: unify intention (“jāmi”), speak a clear sankalpa/mantra as a ‘weapon’ against inertia, fear, or confusion.
ákrata from √kṛ ‘make’ (PIE *kwer-/*ker- in making/doing field). sā́dhanam from √sādh ‘to accomplish, make effective’. ā́yudha from ā- + √yudh ‘fight’ → instrument for battle; psychologically, speech becomes weapon against obstruction. jā́mi ‘kin’ indicates a doctrine of affinity: the seer and god share a plane of consciousness when the hymn is true.
mantra as effective force (śabda-śakti), yajña as inner discipline, kinship (jāmi) between human and divine in inspired consciousness
Indra is ‘made effective’ to restore ṛta by breaking the disordering cover.
Mantra as satya-vāk: speech aligned to vision becomes effective power.
Formation of divine power through Word—invocation as a creative act.
Proto-Vedāntic/Vedantic psychology as read by Sri Aurobindo (Word-force shaping consciousness).
Natural battle imagery corresponds to inner struggle: mantra-forged will and illumination confronting obscuring habits.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘forging the god by hymn’ mythologem: Indra is ‘made’ by stoma into the effective power of yajña; speech becomes āyudha. Psychologically, inspired affirmation shapes and concentrates the Indra-force in the practitioner for inner battle.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √yudh ‘fight’ is PIE *yeudh- (cf. Germanic cognates like Gothic juþan ‘fight’). √brū ‘speak’ belongs to inherited speech roots. The idea of ‘weaponised speech’ is a common IE poetic theme (word as spear/arrow).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The relationship is co-creative: the rishi’s stoma does not merely address Indra but ‘forms’ his operative presence; the god becomes the sacrifice’s sādhana, while the seer becomes kin (jāmi) through shared inspired vibration.
Invoke the Indra-force in the head/mental being as decisive illumination; feel mantra as a sharpened will of truth.
ājñā (brow)
4-4-6 breathing (inhale-hold-exhale) while mentally repeating key phrase; exhale as ‘release of obstruction’.
Energized clarity (sattva with heroic drive).
Before action, unify inner parts (‘jāmi’): pause, align intention, speak/chant once with full attention; then act from the illumined decision rather than impulse.
Vedic tri-svara (udātta/anudātta/svarita) as per Śākala tradition; maintain udātta peaks on accented syllables in indram, stomaiḥ, sādhanam, āyudham (per recensional marking).
Let udātta rise be clear but not shouted; svarita as a controlled fall-glide; avoid flattening compounds (yajñasya-sādhanam).
kaṇvāḥ: retroflex ṇ; long ā; visarga ḥ audible before pause, indraṃ: anusvāra as nasalization before consonant/pause, stomaiḥ: diphthong ai; final ḥ lightly aspirated, āyudham: long ā; ‘yu’ clean, not ‘yoo’
Firm, bright, forward-placing (as if ‘forging’).
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