Rig Veda 8.97.3: Mandala 8, Sukta 97, Mantra 3
Sukta 8.97
- Devata
- Indra
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Bhayankara
य इन्द्र सस्त्यव्रतोऽनुष्वापमदेवयुः । स्वैः ष एवैर्मुमुरत्पोष्यं रयिं सनुतर्धेहि तं ततः ॥
yá índra sásty avrátó ’nu-svā́pam ádevayuḥ | sváīḥ sá eváīr mumurat póṣyaṃ rayím sanutár dhehi táṃ tátas ||
Hỡi Indra, kẻ nào lơ là, không giữ luật của hành động chân chính, chìm trong giấc ngủ, không tìm cầu các thần—kẻ ấy tự theo bước mình mà suy rụng, lìa xa. Còn với người giành được bằng nỗ lực chân thật, xin Ngài đặt nơi người ấy của cải nuôi dưỡng, sự sung mãn (rayi); hãy đặt nó ở đó, xa khỏi kẻ kia.
Word by Word
- यः
- who (he who)Pronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNoun (address)पुंलिङ्गः, सम्बोधन, एकवचनम्Role SambodhanaRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- सस्त्यव्रतः
- having a firm/true vow (steadfast in observance)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role Kartā (यः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Root सस्त्य-व्रत (प्रातिपदिक; समासः)
- अनुष्वापम्
- in following-sleep / in a drowsy way (as if asleep)Adverbial (accusative of manner) / Indeclinable-like usageनपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम् (क्रियाविशेषणवत्)Role Adhikaraṇa/Prakāra (manner)Root अनु-स्वप् (धातु: स्वप् ‘to sleep’; उपसर्गः अनु-)
- अदेवयुः
- not seeking the gods; godless/irreverentAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role Kartā (यः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Root अ-देव-यु (प्रातिपदिक; नञ्-समासः)
- स्वैः
- with his own (means/men)Pronoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्गः, तृतीया, बहुवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot स्व (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सः
- hePronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- एवैः
- with these very (same ones)Particle-like demonstrative (Vedic) / Pronoun-adjectiveतृतीया, बहुवचनम् (स्वैः इत्यस्य सह—‘with these very [own ones]’)Role KaraṇaRoot एव (निपात) / एवै (प्रातिपदिक-रूपेण ‘these very’)
- मुमुरत्
- perished / diedVerbलिट्/परस्मैपद-प्रयोगः (वैदिक), प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KriyāRoot मृ (धातु ‘to die’), desiderative/iterative? here: perfect-like reduplicated stem मु-मुर्
- पोष्यम्
- nourishing / to be fosteredAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम् (रयिम् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role Karma (object-qualifier)Root पोष्य (कृदन्त; √पुष् ‘to thrive, nourish’ → पोष्य ‘to be nourished/that which nourishes’)
- रयिम्
- wealth, richesNounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot रयि (प्रातिपदिक)
- सनुतर्
- more and more; ever furtherIndeclinable (adverb)अव्ययम्Role Adhikaraṇa/Prakāra (degree/manner)Root सनुतर् (अव्यय/क्रियाविशेषण; comparative of सनु ‘old, former’ in Vedic sense ‘more and more/ever’)
- धेहि
- place/bestow (give)Verb (imperative)लोट्, मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role KriyāRoot धा (धातु ‘to put, place, bestow’)
- तम्
- that (him/it)Pronounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ततः
- from there; thenceIndeclinableअव्ययम्Role Apādāna (source) / AdverbialRoot ततः (तद्-प्रभव अव्यय)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (सम्भाव्यः): यः | इन्द्र | सस्त्यव्रतः | अनुष्वापम् | अदेवयुः | स्वैः | सः | एवैः | मुमुरत् | पोष्यम् | रयिम् | सनुतर् | धेहि | तम् | ततः । 1) ‘इन्द्र॒ …॒तो॑ऽनु॒ष्वाप॒म्’ इत्यत्र ‘तः + अनु-’ संधौ ‘तोऽनु-’ (अकारादौ अनु-; विसर्ग/ओकार-परिवर्तनः वैदिकपाठे) । 2) ‘स्वैः ष एवैः’ इत्यत्र ‘स्वैः + सः’ संधौ वैदिके ‘ष’ (सकारस्य मूर्धन्यादेशः) दृश्यते: स्वैः ष (= स्वैः सः) । 3) ‘तं ततः’ इत्यत्र संधिः न कृतः (पदपाठानुसारं पृथक्) । 4) ‘मुमुरत्’ वैदिक-लिट्/पुनरुक्त-धातुरूपं (√मृ) — पाठभेद/व्याख्याभेद सम्भवः।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Whoever is negligent, without right observance, sunk in sleep, not seeking the gods—by his own ways he perishes. Place the nourishing wealth with the one who wins it by striving; place it away from that other.
Inner meaning
Indra is asked to discriminate between two inner orientations. The sasty-avrata, ‘careless and lawless’ part of us—habitual inertia, spiritual sleep, non-seeking—falls by its own movements. But the one who strives (sanutaḥ) wins rayi: a nourishing plenitude of being (not mere wealth), capable of growth (poṣyam). Indra is invoked to place the life-force and inner abundance with the sincere striver and withdraw it from the tamasic tendency.
Universal truth
Conscious growth belongs to vigilance and right practice; negligence naturally declines. Grace cooperates with effort by strengthening what strives toward truth.
Themes
ethical discernment, anti-inertia, reward of aspiration, inner wealth (rayi)
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 8.97.2 (contrast with paṇi), RV 1.113 (wakefulness/illumination motifs)
Family tradition
The mantra continues the ethical-psychological discrimination of 8.97: divine gifts adhere to wakefulness and discipline, not to inertia or bargain.
Significance
A compact yogic teaching: tamas declines by itself; effort aligned with the gods draws sustaining abundance.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- dātā (implied), vṛtrahā (contextual in the cycle)
- Related deities
- Agni (wakeful will), Uṣas (awakening), Soma (delight sustaining effort)
Cosmic role
Upholder of the striving human; withdraws power from inertia; ensures right victory and distribution of divine wealth.
Inner power
Discriminating force of illumination that strengthens vigilance and cuts off the supply to tamasic habits.
In ritual
Where it is used
General Indra praise; moral/disciplinary reinforcement within sacrificial setting.
य इ॑न्द्र॒ सस्त्य॑व्र॒तो॑ऽनु॒ष्वाप॒मदे॑वयुः । स्वैः ष एवै॑र्मुमुर॒त्पोष्यं॑ र॒यिं स॑नु॒तर्धे॑हि॒ तं तत॑: ॥
यः । इ॒न्द्र॒ । सस्ति॑ । अ॒व्र॒तः । अ॒नु॒ऽस्वाप॑म् । अदे॑वऽयुः । स्वैः । सः । एवैः॑ । मु॒मु॒र॒त् । पोष्य॑म् । र॒यिम् । स॒नु॒तः । धे॒हि॒ । तम् । ततः॑ ॥
yaḥ | indra | sasti | avrataḥ | anu-svāpam | adeva-yuḥ | svaiḥ | saḥ | evaiḥ | mumurat | poṣyam | rayim | sanutaḥ | dhehi | tam | tataḥ
44
4 x ~11 (probable)
Admonitory then affirmative; a turn from warning to blessing.
Wakes the listener; creates resolve; then settles into confidence that right striving will be supported.
- सस्ति (sasti)
- Literal: negligent, careless. Symbolic: inattentive consciousness; lack of wakeful aspiration
- अव्रतः (avrataḥ)
- Literal: without vrata (rule/discipline). Symbolic: without inner law of right working; unaligned nature
- अनुष्वापम् (anuṣvāpam)
- Literal: following sleep. Symbolic: tamas, mechanical living, spiritual drowsiness
- अदेवयुः (adevayuḥ)
- Literal: not desiring the gods. Symbolic: no seeking of higher powers; closed to illumination
- रयिम् पोष्यम् (rayim poṣyam)
- Literal: nourishing wealth. Symbolic: growing plenitude of being—energy, joy, capacity, harmony
- सनुतः (sanutaḥ)
- Literal: by winning/striving. Symbolic: earnest tapas and perseverance that opens to the divine
Didactic-ethical reinforcement within an Indra hymn: boons follow vrata, wakeful aspiration, and deva-seeking.
In sequences where the sacrificer’s fitness is emphasized; also as a daily reminder against negligence.
Recitation as a discriminating prayer—directing boons to the worthy (inner and outer).
Use as a ‘wake-up’ mantra at the start of meditation; or when slipping into procrastination, dullness, or mechanical practice.
vratá: ‘vow/law/observance’ from √vṛ ‘choose/will’ or semantic development to ‘set rule’; in RV denotes the gods’ law and the human discipline aligning with it. svāpá: sleep from √svap ‘sleep’ (PIE *swep-). deva-yu: ‘desiring the gods’ from √yu ‘to join, seek’ with deva. mumurat: from √mṛ ‘die’ (intensive/iterative nuance in RV forms), sense ‘falls into death/decline’. poṣya: from √puṣ ‘nourish, thrive’. rayi: ‘wealth/plenitude’ possibly from √rā ‘to give’ (semantic field of gift/abundance). sanutáḥ: from √san ‘to win, gain’.
vrata as alignment with ṛta, tamas/nidrā (sleep) as inertia of consciousness, rayi as inner plenitude gained by striving (san)
Vrata is alignment with Ṛta; without it, energies dissipate and decline.
Adevayuḥ indicates refusal of truth-powers; sanutaḥ indicates choosing truth by effort.
Evolution of the human instrument through sustained striving; the nourishable rayi as growth of being.
Yogic psychology: tamas vs tapas; grace strengthens the striving part.
night-to-dawn transition (symbolically)
Sleep = tamasic veil; nourishment = steady inflow of prāṇa and harmony; dawn-light = awakening aspiration.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- A moral-psychological bifurcation rather than a battle scene: the ‘sleeping, non-deva-seeking’ man declines by his own tendencies, while the nourishing rayi is to be placed with the winner (sanutaḥ). It echoes the Vedic mythic polarity of seekers of light vs. allies of darkness/inertia.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- svap ‘sleep’ reflects PIE *swep-. mṛ ‘die’ reflects PIE *mer-. puṣ ‘nourish’ has Indo-Iranian parallels (Avestan puš-). The abstract ethical vocabulary vrata is characteristically Vedic, mapping cosmic ‘law’ into human discipline.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi asks Indra to act as distributor of inner wealth according to consciousness: Indra is invoked not only as giver but as discerner—placing rayi where there is wakeful, lawful striving, withdrawing it from inertia and god-neglect.
Cultivate wakefulness (jāgrat) and vrata (steady discipline); ask Indra to redirect energy away from tamasic loops into sincere effort.
mūlādhāra (tamas/instinct transformed) and ājñā (wakeful guidance)
Brisk 3 rounds of deep breathing; then chant slowly once; sit 5 breaths feeling energy gather in the spine and forehead.
Alert, courageous, discriminating awareness.
Identify the ‘sleeping’ pattern (anuṣvāpa) in you; do one small act of tapas immediately; then invoke Indra to ‘place rayi’ in that striving line.
Monotone with sharper emphasis on the warning terms (sasti, avrataḥ, anuṣvāpam, adevayuḥ) and warm emphasis on ‘poṣyaṃ rayim’.
Make a clear contrastive pause after the fall statement; then deliver ‘poṣyaṃ rayiṃ… dhehi’ with affirmative firmness.
anuṣvāpam: retroflex ‘ṣv’ cluster, adevayuḥ: ‘yuḥ’ softly voiced, poṣyam: retroflex ‘ṣ’, sanutaḥ: dental ‘t’ at end, light visarga if present in your recension
Awakening and decisive; slightly softer on the blessing portion.
11
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.
