Rig Veda 8.67.2: Mandala 8, Sukta 67, Mantra 2
Sukta 8.67
- Devata
- Ādityas
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Karuna (compassion)
मित्रो नो अत्यंहतिं वरुणः पर्षदर्यमा । आदित्यासो यथा विदुः ॥
mitró no áty aṃ́hatim váruṇaḥ parṣad aryamā́ | ādityā́so yáthā vidúḥ ||
Nguyện Mitra đưa chúng con vượt qua sự chật hẹp và khốn ách; nguyện Varuṇa và Aryaman dẫn chúng con sang bờ—để các Āditya, những vị biết Luật (ṛta), thiết lập cho chúng con lối vượt an lành đi vào cõi rộng lớn.
Word by Word
- मित्रः
- Mitra (the deity)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot मित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- नः
- of us / for usPronounषष्ठी (एन्क्लिटिक), बहुवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अति
- over, beyond; veryIndeclinableअव्ययRoot अति (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- अंहतिम्
- distress, harm, afflictionNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot अंहति (स्त्रीलिङ्ग प्रातिपदिक; from अंहस् ‘distress, sin, narrowness’)
- वरुणः
- Varuṇa (the deity)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot वरुण (प्रातिपदिक)
- पर्षत्
- may (he) carry across / saveVerbलोट् (आशीर्लिङ्/आज्ञार्थ), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot पॄ/पॢ (धातु: पॄ ‘to carry across, save, bring over’; Vedic present stem पर्ष-)
- अर्यमा
- Aryaman (the deity)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (वैदिक रूप: अर्यमा < अर्यमन्)Role कर्तृRoot अर्यमन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- आदित्याः
- the ĀdityasNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot आदित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- यथा
- as, according asIndeclinableअव्ययRoot यथा (अव्यय)
- विदुः
- they knowVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRoot विद् (धातु: विद् ‘to know’)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution: अत्यंहतिम् → अति + अंहतिम् (उपसर्ग/अव्यय ‘अति’ + कर्मपद ‘अंहतिम्’). पर्षदर्यमा → पर्षत् + अर्यमा (त् + अ → द्, i.e., त् becomes voiced before vowel: पर्षत् अर्यमा → पर्षदर्यमा). Other padas are already in padapāṭha-like form. Accent marks in the saṃhitā text are not re-assigned here
- analysis is morphological
The meaning
Outer meaning
May Mitra take us beyond distress; may Varuṇa and Aryaman carry us across, as the Ādityas know (the law).
Inner meaning
Mitra (harmony and right relation) widens the being beyond cramped suffering (aṃhati). Varuṇa (vast purity and truth-law) and Aryaman (noble right conduct and mutuality) ‘carry across’ the seeker from constriction to wideness. The phrase ‘yathā viduḥ’ emphasizes that these powers act by knowledge of ṛta—true law, not arbitrary force.
Universal truth
Release from inner distress comes through aligning relationships, conscience, and noble conduct with truth; wideness is crossed into by lawful knowledge.
Themes
Deliverance from distress, Āditya law and knowledge, Safe passage, Expansion of consciousness
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 8.67 (Āditya cluster)
Significance
The verse maps a practical inner dharma: harmony (Mitra), purity-law (Varuṇa), and noble conduct (Aryaman) together effect the crossing from constriction to wideness.
The deity
- Devata
- Ādityas (Mitra, Varuṇa, Aryaman)
- Epithets
- law-knowers (yathā viduḥ), crossers (parṣat), protective sovereigns
- Related deities
- Bhaga, Aditi, Savitar
Cosmic role
Regulators of truth, harmony, and ethical order; maintain cosmic-social coherence.
Inner power
Restores right relation, cleanses falsehood, strengthens noble will; enables safe inner transitions.
In ritual
Where it is used
Āditya invocation for protection, lawful conduct, and safe passage
मि॒त्रो नो॒ अत्यं॑ह॒तिं वरु॑णः पर्षदर्य॒मा । आ॒दि॒त्यासो॒ यथा॑ वि॒दुः ॥
मि॒त्रः । नः॒ । अति॑ । अं॒ह॒तिम् । वरु॑णः । प॒र्ष॒त् । अ॒र्य॒मा । आ॒दि॒त्यासः॑ । यथा॑ । वि॒दुः ॥
mitraḥ | naḥ | ati | aṃhatim | varuṇaḥ | parṣat | aryamā | ādityāsaḥ | yathā | viduḥ
Gāyatrī (probable; compact 3-pāda structure typical of Āditya prayers)
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3 pādas of ~8 syllables
Swift and lucid; ‘crossing’ feel through forward cadence.
Creates a sense of passage—mind feels guided beyond tightness into open clarity.
- Mitra
- Literal: friend, ally. Symbolic: power of harmony, goodwill, right relation; integrative mental light
- aṃhati
- Literal: narrowness, distress. Symbolic: constriction of consciousness; anxiety and cramped ego-space
- Varuṇa
- Literal: the enveloping one. Symbolic: vast truth and purification; law that binds falsehood and frees truth
- parṣat
- Literal: may he carry across. Symbolic: transition through inner threshold; safe crossing from ignorance to wideness
- Aryaman
- Literal: noble companion, patron of order. Symbolic: right conduct, honorable exchange, strength of the ethical will
- yathā viduḥ
- Literal: as they know. Symbolic: divine action grounded in ṛta-knowledge; guidance by truth
Prayer for safe crossing beyond distress; suitable for rites seeking expiation, protection, and restoration of right order under Varuṇa and Mitra.
Morning/transition times; before travel, vows, agreements, or when resolving conflict
Recitation as sankalpa for truth and right relation; offering of intention
Use when feeling ‘cramped’ by anxiety or conflict—invoke Mitra for harmony, Varuṇa for truth-clearing, Aryaman for noble action.
aṃhas- denotes ‘tightness/pressure’—psychologically contraction and suffering. parṣat from √pṛ/√pl̥ ‘carry over’ evokes a ‘fording’ metaphor: the Ādityas enable transition from constriction to wideness (Varuṇa’s domain). √vid ‘know’ (viduḥ) signals that their action is grounded in knowledge of ṛta, not arbitrary favor.
From aṃhas (constriction) to uru/vastness, Ṛta as known law (viduḥ), Harmony (Mitra) and sovereignty (Varuṇa)
Ādityas ‘know’ ṛta and therefore can lead safely across inner thresholds.
Varuṇa’s satya binds falsehood and releases the truthful being.
Wideness achieved by lawful crossing from constriction.
Ethico-spiritual Ṛta doctrine with psychological application (Aurobindo/Kashyap style).
morning or liminal transitions (implied)
A bridge from anxious constriction to open, sunlit clarity through harmony, truth, and noble will.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘crossing beyond aṃhas’: a salvation motif where the Ādityas ferry the seeker over constriction into wideness. Inner sense: harmonizing and sovereign truth-powers lift consciousness across anguish into the vast order of ṛta.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √vid ‘know’ (viduḥ) is PIE *weyd- (wit/vision). The coupling of ‘knowing’ with lawful action is an Indo-European poetic trait: sovereignty is legitimated by knowledge/vision.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi petitions specific Ādityas by function—Mitra for harmonious passage, Varuṇa for sovereign release, Aryaman for noble ordering—indicating a differentiated theology where cosmic powers correspond to distinct psychological operations.
Bring to mind one area of conflict or distress; invoke Mitra for goodwill, Varuṇa for truth-purification, Aryaman for dignified right action; feel the ‘crossing’ into wideness.
viśuddha (truthful speech)
Exhale longer than inhale (e.g., 4 in / 6 out) while chanting to release constriction.
From contracted emotional-mental knots toward open, lawful clarity.
After chanting, practice one act of satya (truth) with mitra-bhāva (goodwill) and aryaman-bhāva (nobility).
Keep ‘mitró’ and ‘varúṇaḥ’ with clear accent peaks per Vedic tradition; avoid monotone on the deity names.
Let ‘ati aṃhatim’ be slightly compressed (narrowness), then open the voice on ‘parṣat’ (crossing).
mitro: tr cluster clean, aṃhatim: nasal ‘aṃ’, then ‘ha’ audible, varuṇaḥ: retroflex ‘ṇ’, aryamā: long final ‘ā’ held gently
calm, guiding, steady
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