Rig Veda 1.39.7: Mandala 1, Sukta 39, Mantra 7
Sukta 1.39
- Rishi
- Kaṇva
- Devata
- Rudras/Maruts
- Chandas
- Trishtubh
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion) and Vira (heroism)
आ वो मक्षू तनाय कं रुद्रा अवो वृणीमहे । गन्ता नूनं नोऽवसा यथा पुरेत्था कण्वाय बिभ्युषे ॥
ā́ vo makṣū́ tánāya káṃ rudrā́ ávo vṛṇīmahe | gántā nū́naṃ no'vásā yáthā purétthā kaṇvā́ya bibhyúṣe ||
鲁陀罗众啊，我们迅疾拣择你们的护佑，为使我等子嗣与生命增长。如今请以庇护来临，如同往昔那般，你们曾以同样方式来到惧怕的迦ṇ婆（Kaṇva）身边。
Word by Word
- आ
- hither, towardsIndeclinableउपसर्ग (preverb)Root आ (उपसर्ग) / ā (preverb)
- वः
- for you / of youPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी बहुवचन (gen./dat. pl.)Role SampradānaRoot युष्मद्
- मक्षु
- quickly, soonIndeclinableक्रियाविशेषणRoot मक्षु (अव्यय)
- तनाय
- for (our) offspring/sonNounचतुर्थी एकवचन (dat. sg.), पुंलिङ्गRole SampradānaRoot तनय
- कम्
- whom? (which one?)Pronounद्वितीया एकवचन (acc. sg.), पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Vedic usage)Role KarmaRoot क (किम्-प्रातिपदिक)
- रुद्राः
- the RudrasNounप्रथमा बहुवचन (nom. pl.), पुंलिङ्गRole KartāRoot रुद्र
- अवः
- help, protectionNounद्वितीया एकवचन (acc. sg.), नपुंसकलिङ्गRole KarmaRoot अवस्
- वृणीमहे
- we choose / we seekVerbलट्, उत्तमपुरुष बहुवचन, आत्मनेपदRoot √वृ (वृणीते) चयन/वरणे
- गन्ता
- (he) will comeVerbलुट् (periphrastic future), प्रथमा एकवचन, परस्मैपद (agent ‘will come’)Role KartāRoot √गम्
- नूनम्
- now, indeedIndeclinableक्रियाविशेषणRoot नूनम् (अव्यय)
- नः
- for us / of usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी बहुवचन (gen./dat. pl.)Role SampradānaRoot अस्मद्
- अवसा
- with help, by protectionNounतृतीया एकवचन (inst. sg.), नपुंसकलिङ्गRole KaraṇaRoot अवस्
- यथा
- as, just asIndeclinableसम्बन्ध/उपमानार्थRoot यथा (अव्यय)
- पुरा
- formerly, beforeIndeclinableकालवाचकRole AdhikaraṇaRoot पुरा (अव्यय)
- इत्था
- thus, in this mannerIndeclinableप्रकारवाचकRoot इत्था (अव्यय)
- कण्वाय
- to KanvaNoun (proper name)चतुर्थी एकवचन (dat. sg.), पुंलिङ्गRole SampradānaRoot कण्व
- बिभ्युषे
- to the frightened one / to him who was afraidParticipleकृदन्त: परस्मैपदी वर्तमान-प्रत्ययान्त (Vedic pres. ptc.) ‘बिभ्युष्’; चतुर्थी एकवचन (dat. sg.), पुंलिङ्गRole SampradānaRoot √भी (बिभेति) भय
Sandhi Notes
- संहिता-पाठ: ‘आ वो मक्षू तनाय कं रुद्रा अवो वृणीमहे । गन्ता नूनं नोऽवसा यथा पुरेत्था कण्वाय बिभ्युषे ॥’ Sandhi resolution: (1) नोऽवसा = नः + अवसा (visarga + a → ’). (2) पुरेत्था = पुरा + इत्था (ā + i → e). Other words are already pada-separated in sense
- ‘आ’ is a preverb used adverbially with the prayer
The meaning
Outer meaning
Swiftly we choose your help, O Rudras, for our offspring/progeny. Come now with protection, as you once came to Kaṇva when he feared.
Inner meaning
The seeker turns from description to prayer. ‘Tanāya’ is not merely physical offspring but the growth of our becoming—new formations of the soul’s life and works. The Rudra-Maruts are invoked as protectors during the crisis of transformation, when fear arises before the inrushing Force. Kaṇva recalls an earlier inner deliverance: the same powers that once steadied the seer in fear can now guard and foster our emerging spiritual birth.
Universal truth
At turning-points of growth, fear appears; calling the higher powers with sincerity restores protection and continuity of progress.
Themes
petition for protection, lineage memory, inner rebirth
The seer
- Rishi
- Kaṇva
- Lineage
- Kāṇva
- Other hymns
- RV 1.39 (self-referential cluster)
Family tradition
Self-referential seer-poetry: the rishi anchors the mantra in lived spiritual experience, not mere myth—‘they came to me when I feared’.
Significance
Kaṇva models surrender in turbulence: invoke force not only to break obstacles but to protect the tender new birth of consciousness.
The deity
- Devata
- Rudras/Maruts
- Epithets
- Rudrāḥ, āvah (helpers—by function), rakṣitāraḥ (protectors—by function)
- Related deities
- Rudra (as singular source), Indra, Agni
Cosmic role
Fierce guardians who remove disease/evil and defend the sacrifice; companions of Indra in battle and of ṛta in enforcement.
Inner power
Protective intensity: courage, immune strength of consciousness, and the capacity to endure purification without collapse into fear.
In ritual
Where it is used
Protective invocation to Rudra-Maruts within śrauta recitations; also apt for apotropaic (warding) intent.
आ वो॑ म॒क्षू तना॑य॒ कं रुद्रा॒ अवो॑ वृणीमहे । गन्ता॑ नू॒नं नोऽव॑सा॒ यथा॑ पु॒रेत्था कण्वा॑य बि॒भ्युषे॑ ॥
आ । वः॒ । म॒क्षु । तना॑य । कम् । रुद्राः॑ । अवः॑ । वृ॒णी॒म॒हे॒ । गन्त॑ । नू॒नम् । नः॒ । अव॑स् ॒यथा॑ । पु॒रा । इ॒त्था । कण्वा॑य । बि॒भ्युषे॑ ॥
ā | vaḥ | makṣu | tanāya | kam | rudrāḥ | avaḥ | vṛṇīmahe | ganta | nūnam | naḥ | avas yathā | purā | itthā | kaṇvāya | bibhyuṣe
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4 x ~11; prayerful imperatives (‘ganta’) create clear cadences.
Urgent but supplicatory; a quick lift (‘makṣū’) followed by steady reassurance.
Calms fear while keeping strength; encourages trust in protection.
- अवः (avaḥ)
- Literal: help, protection. Symbolic: grace-force that shields and guides during transformation
- तना॑य (tanāya)
- Literal: offspring. Symbolic: new birth of consciousness; growth of the inner being and its works
- रुद्राः (rudrāḥ)
- Literal: Rudras. Symbolic: fierce-healing divine powers that both shake and protect; purifiers
- बिभ्युषे (bibhyuṣe)
- Literal: to the fearing one. Symbolic: the ego-nature confronted by the vast; the trembling part seeking refuge
- पुरा इत्था (purā itthā)
- Literal: formerly, in that same way. Symbolic: continuity of the spiritual law: what helped before can help again when invoked rightly
Personal petition and lineage-remembrance used to secure immediate protection and to ensure continuity (tanāya) of the sacrificer’s line and inner attainment.
When seeking safeguarding of the sacrificer and the ‘progeny’/continuity of the rite; in moments emphasizing protection.
Recitation with intention of refuge and guardianship; offering of praise as a protective covering.
Use when anxiety arises during intense practice or life change; as a mantra of protection for ‘new beginnings’.
tanāya ‘offspring’ from tana ‘stretch, continuity’ (√tan ‘stretch’) → extension/continuation; inner reading as continuity of the soul’s becoming. avaḥ ‘help’ is a key Vedic term for saving protection. The self-reference to Kaṇva anchors the hymn in lineage-memory: the devatā responds across time when invoked in the right manner (itthā).
grace through remembrance (purā…itthā), fear transformed into protection, continuity of becoming (tanāya)
Protection is not mere shelter but guarding the right movement of becoming (tanāya) in ṛta.
Fear yields to a truer seeing: the divine powers are allies, not threats.
Spiritual birth (tanāya) safeguarded by higher powers.
Inner sacrifice/yogic psychology: fear as resistance; divine protection as strengthening of the psychic assent.
The ‘coming’ of the Rudras = descent/approach of higher force; fear = contraction of ego; protection = widening, strengthening field.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘ancestral rescue’ mythologem: the gods who once protected the seer in fear are invoked again. Inner sense: remembrance of prior divine intervention becomes a lever to convert present fear into protected growth and a new birth (tanāya) of consciousness.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √bhī ‘fear’ has clear Indo-European correspondences (PIE *bʰeyH- ‘fear’; cf. English ‘fear’ is different etymology, but Slavic/Greek parallels exist in reconstructed sets). The formula ‘as formerly, so now’ is a common inherited poetic strategy establishing precedent and efficacy.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- It is explicitly personal and contractual: the rishi ‘chooses’ (vṛṇīmahe) the gods’ help and cites a precedent of their aid to him/his lineage. The devatā is not distant; it is a repeatable presence responding to right call, enabling continuity and inner progeny.
Take refuge in the fierce-compassionate protection of the Divine Force while nurturing a new inner birth.
anāhata (trust) and mūlādhāra (safety/ground)
Slow ujjāyī with longer exhale (e.g., 4 in / 6 out) while repeating ‘ā vo… avo vṛṇīmahe’.
Protected openness—soft heart with firm spine.
When fear arises, name it inwardly, then offer it; feel a surrounding shield of force; affirm the intention: ‘for the growth (tanāya) of my being’.
Keep imperative accents clear (ā vó… vṛṇīmahe / gántā nūnám). Use steady anudātta base to soothe fear.
Pause after ‘rudrā’ and after ‘vṛṇīmahe’; let ‘ganta nūnaṃ’ be firm and inviting.
makṣū: pronounce kṣ as a tight cluster (k+ṣ), tanāya: long ā, no 'vasā: light avagraha; do not insert extra vowel, puretthā: articulate -tth- (t + th) clearly
Steady, protective, slightly lower pitch; avoid harshness despite Rudra-force.
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