Rig Veda 8.83.2: Mandala 8, Sukta 83, Mantra 2
Sukta 8.83
- Devata
- Ādityas: Varuṇa, Mitra, Aryaman
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
ते नः सन्तु युजः सदा वरुणो मित्रो अर्यमा । वृधासश्च प्रचेतसः ॥
té naḥ santu yújaḥ sadā́ váruṇo mitró aryamā́ | vṛdhā́saś ca prá-cetasaḥ ||
Nguyện Varuṇa, Mitra, Aryaman—những đấng ban tăng trưởng, tỉnh thức với minh tri rộng lớn—luôn là bạn đồng ách của chúng ta trong công việc này.
Word by Word
- ते
- they (those)Pronounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → त
- नः
- for us / ourPronounषष्ठी बहुवचनम् (एन्क्लिटिक) — ‘our’Role SampradānaRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सन्तु
- let them beVerbलोट् (आशीर्लिङ्/आज्ञार्थे) परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Role (क्रिया)Root अस् (धातु)
- युजः
- allies / yoked companionsNoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot युज् (प्रातिपदिक: ‘yuj-’ = युक्त/सहाय) अथवा युज्- (सहचर/सहायक)
- सदा
- alwaysIndeclinableअव्ययम्Role AdhikaraṇaRoot सदा (अव्यय)
- वरुणः
- VaruṇaNoun (Proper)पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot वरुण (देवनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- मित्रः
- MitraNoun (Proper)पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot मित्र (देवनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अर्यमा
- AryamanNoun (Proper)पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम् (वैदिक-रूप: अर्यमा < अर्यमन्)Role KartāRoot अर्यमन् (देवनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वृधासः
- the strong/growing onesAdjective (substantivized)पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot वृध (प्रातिपदिक; ‘वृद्ध/वर्धमान’)
- च
- andIndeclinableअव्ययम्Role (समुच्चय)Root च (अव्यय)
- प्रचेतसः
- the wise / the far-seeingAdjective (substantivized)पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot प्र-चेतस् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘fore-knowing, wise’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: ते | नः | सन्तु | युजः | सदा | वरुणः | मित्रः | अर्यमा | वृधासः | च | प्रचेतसः || 1) ‘ते नः’ इत्यत्र एन्क्लिटिक ‘नः’ (अस्मदः षष्ठी/चतुर्थी-प्रयोगेषु) — अर्थतः ‘अस्माकं/अस्मभ्यम्’। 2) ‘मित्रो’ (संहितापाठ) = ‘मित्रः’ (पदपाठ) विसर्ग-लोपः/ओकारादेशः स्वर-सन्धिना। 3) ‘वृधासश्च’ (संहिता) = ‘वृधासः | च’ विसर्गस्य ‘श्’ आदेशः (विसर्जनीय-सन्धि) चकारादौ।
The meaning
Outer meaning
May Varuṇa, Mitra, Aryaman be always our yoked companions; they are growth-givers and full of awakened intelligence (pracetasaḥ).
Inner meaning
The Ādityas are powers of the Truth-order in the human being: Varuṇa is vastness and ethical-spiritual law; Mitra is harmony and right relation; Aryaman is noble aspiration, right effort, and the path of inner companionship. ‘Yoked companions’ indicates these powers harnessed to our life-journey, steadily cooperating with the seeker’s will. Their ‘wakeful consciousness’ (pra-cetas) is the luminous vigilance that prevents relapse into lower habits and fosters true growth (vṛdhāsaḥ).
Universal truth
When law, harmony, and noble effort are yoked together in us, growth becomes steady and protected by wakeful awareness.
Themes
Ādityas, Companionship in the path, Guardianship of ṛta, Growth of consciousness
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 5.62 (Mitra-Varuṇa as guardians of ṛta), RV 2.27 (Ādityas as wide-seeing protectors), RV 7.60 (Varuṇa’s law and release)
Family tradition
Āditya hymns often come from lineages emphasizing ṛta and social-spiritual harmony; Maṇḍala 8 preserves such invocations in a concise style.
Significance
The seer teaches integration: not one isolated virtue, but a yoked triad—law, harmony, noble effort—held in wakeful awareness to secure growth.
The deity
- Devata
- Ādityas: Varuṇa, Mitra, Aryaman
- Epithets
- vṛdhāsaḥ (growth-givers), pracetasaḥ (wide-awake), yujaḥ (yoked companions)
- Related deities
- Bhaga, Aṃśa, Savitar
Cosmic role
Upholders of ṛta: cosmic law (Varuṇa), concord and contracts (Mitra), noble order and right path (Aryaman).
Inner power
Psychic-ethical governance: wideness and truth-binding, harmonizing friendliness, and disciplined aspiration—creating a stable field for illumination.
In ritual
Where it is used
Āditya invocation in protective rites; general recitation for ṛta
ते न॑: सन्तु॒ युज॒: सदा॒ वरु॑णो मि॒त्रो अ॑र्य॒मा । वृ॒धास॑श्च॒ प्रचे॑तसः ॥
ते । नः॒ । स॒न्तु॒ । युजः॑ । सदा॑ । वरु॑णः । मि॒त्रः । अ॒र्य॒मा । वृ॒धासः॑ । च॒ । प्रऽचे॑तसः ॥
te | naḥ | santu | yujaḥ | sadā | varuṇaḥ | mitraḥ | aryamā | vṛdhāsaḥ | ca | pra-cetasaḥ
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4 × ~8 syllables
Balanced triadic naming; steady cadence suitable for invoking stable order.
Produces a feeling of being ‘harnessed’ to a clear path; strengthens vigilance and coherence.
- वरुण (varuṇa)
- Literal: Varuṇa (deity). Symbolic: vastness, inner law, truth-binding order; guardian against falsehood
- मित्र (mitra)
- Literal: Mitra (deity/friend). Symbolic: harmony, right relation, concord of parts of the being
- अर्यमन् (aryaman)
- Literal: Aryaman (noble one). Symbolic: noble aspiration, right path, inner companionship and disciplined progress
- युजः (yujaḥ)
- Literal: yoked, harnessed. Symbolic: aligned powers working together as instruments of sadhana
- वृधासः (vṛdhāsaḥ)
- Literal: growers, increasers. Symbolic: forces that expand consciousness and strengthen right movements
- प्रचेतसः (pra-cetasaḥ)
- Literal: widely conscious, wakeful. Symbolic: vigilant discernment; luminous awareness preventing obscuration
Āditya-invocation for protection and right order; broadly applicable in rites seeking harmony, truth-guardianship, and social/inner concord.
Morning recitation for ethical clarity, harmony in relationships, and disciplined progress.
Invocation (āvāhana) and request for companionship/protection in action.
Use before difficult conversations or decisions: call Mitra (harmony) + Varuṇa (truth-law) + Aryaman (noble resolve).
from √yuj ‘to yoke, join’ → inner ‘yoking’ of divine powers to the human journey (proto-yogic nuance). from √vṛdh ‘grow, increase’ → increasers of consciousness-force. from pra-√cit ‘to perceive, be conscious’ → forward/expanded awareness; not mere cleverness but luminous vigilance. Varuṇa (√vṛ ‘cover, encompass’) supports the sense of right containment and law; Mitra from √mi ‘to bind/measure’ (friendship as harmonious binding); Aryaman tied to arya ‘noble, orderly’ and social-ritual reciprocity, here internalized as right interchange of forces.
Ṛta (cosmic order) guarded by Ādityas, Satya (truth) through vigilance (pracetasaḥ), Yoga as yoking of powers (yuj)
Explicit: the Ādityas function as guardians of ṛta through wakeful intelligence.
Pra-cetas implies truth-seeing awareness; Varuṇa binds to satya.
Sustaining creation by law and harmony; enabling evolutionary growth through conscious governance.
Ethico-spiritual Vedism leading toward Upaniṣadic satya/ṛta consciousness.
morning
Solar wakefulness = clarity; yoking = integration of faculties; growth = expansion of consciousness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is the Ādityas as ‘yoked companions’ who uphold ṛta: the Gods are not distant sovereigns but harnessed allies sustaining the journey. This is the Vedic pattern of divine governance becoming operative as a guided path—law (Varuṇa), harmony (Mitra), and noble reciprocity (Aryaman) acting together.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- deity-names and key terms reflect archaic IE social-cosmic vocabulary: Mitra parallels Indo-Iranian *mitra- (Avestan Miθra), a shared figure of covenant/harmony. √yuj (yoke) is strongly IE (cf. Latin iugum, English yoke). √vṛdh (grow) has broad IE comparanda in growth/increase semantics, supporting the hymn’s focus on augmentation of being.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi seeks enduring co-operation: ‘may they be our yoked ones always’. The Devata are invited into constant proximity, implying disciplined receptivity—an inner pact where the human maintains alignment and the Ādityas maintain order, increase, and luminous watchfulness in the seeker.
Integrate truth (Varuṇa), harmony (Mitra), and noble effort (Aryaman) as three aligned forces in the mind-heart.
viśuddha (truth-expression)
Three-part breathing: inhale ‘Varuṇa’ (widen), hold ‘Mitra’ (harmonize), exhale ‘Aryaman’ (act rightly).
Vigilant calm; ordered wideness.
When scattered, repeat while feeling the inner ‘team’ yoking your impulses to a single truthful direction.
Maintain clear svara distinctions especially over the deity names (varuṇo, mitro, aryamā); use a Śākala accent text for exact udatta placements.
Give slight prominence to yujaḥ sadā and pracetasaḥ to convey ‘constant yoked wakefulness’.
varuṇo: retroflex ṇ, mitro: crisp dental t, rolled r, aryamā: long ā at end, pracetasaḥ: break as pra-ce-ta-saḥ, keep ‘ce’ clear
Even, composed, luminous; avoid agitation.
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