.png)
Ancient Scripture: Rig Veda (Part 3 of Mandala 1)
- A. Royden D'Souza
- 4 days ago
- 23 min read
Maṇḍala 1 is the largest book of the Rig Veda, containing 191 hymns. It is a collection of songs from multiple seer families, and its themes cover a wide range of deities; Agni, Indra, the Ashvins, Varuna, Mitra, and many others. It opens, fittingly, with an invocation to Agni, the god of fire, who acts as the divine messenger between humans and gods.
Rig Veda: Hymn 1.11 – To Indra
Seer (Ṛṣi): Medhātithi Kāṇva
Deity (Devatā): Indra
Meter (Chandas): Gāyatrī
Verses
इन्द्रं॒ विश्वा॑ अवीवृधन्समु॒द्रव्य॑चसं॒ गिरः॑ ।
र॒थीत॑मं रथी॒नां वाजा॑नां॒ सत्प॑तिं॒ पति॑म् ॥१॥
indraṃ viśvā avīvṛdhan samudravyacasaṃ giraḥ |
rathītamaṃ rathīnāṃ vājānāṃ satpatiṃ patim ||1||
All songs have magnified Indra, whose expanse is like the sea—the best of charioteers among charioteers, the lord of spoils, the master of the good.
सखा॑य॒ आ नि षी॑दत पुना॒नं प्र गा॑यत ।
शिशुं॒ न य॒ज्ञैः परि॑ भूतमीडते ॥२॥
sakhāya ā ni ṣīdata punānaṃ pra gāyata |
śiśuṃ na yajñaiḥ pari bhūtam īḍate ||2||
O friends, sit down together; sing forth to the purifying one. They worship him who surrounds (all) like a child with sacrifices.
संसि॑ य॒ज्ञेषु॑ वा॒जिना॒ यज॑मानस्य सुन्व॒तः ।
इन्द्रं॑ य॒ज्ञेषु॑ वा॒जिनं॒ सुक्र॑तुं शूर॑मीडते ॥३॥
saṃsi yajñeṣu vājinā yajamānasya sunvataḥ |
indraṃ yajñeṣu vājinaṃ sukratuṃ śūram īḍate ||3||
Together in the sacrifices, with the swift ones, (the priests) worship Indra—the sacrificer's, the Soma-presser's—the swift, well-acting hero in the sacrifices.
तं वो॒ वाजे॑षु वा॒जिनं॑ वाज॒यन्तः॑ सु॒वीराः॑ ।
इन्द्रं॑ सु॒हव॑मीडते असु॑राः ॥४॥
taṃ vo vājeṣu vājinaṃ vājayantaḥ suvīrāḥ |
indraṃ suhavam īḍate asurāḥ ||4||
Him, the swift one in the contests, the good heroes, seeking to win, worship Indra, the easy-to-call, the powerful ones.
स नः॑ सहस्रधा॒रया॑ पुरं॒धिवा॑ज॒सात॑ये ।
इन्द्रं॑ सु॒शिप्रं॑ हवामहे ॥५॥
sa naḥ sahasradhārayā purandhi-vājasātaye |
indraṃ suśipraṃ havāmahe ||5||
May he—with his thousand-streamed (bounty)—we call upon Indra of the beautiful jaws, for the winning of abundant wisdom and spoils.
इन्द्रो॒ वाजे॑षु नोऽव सहस्रप्रधनेषु च ।
उ॒ग्र उ॒ग्राभि॑रू॒तिभिः॑ ॥६॥
indro vājeṣu no 'va sahasrapradhaneṣu ca |
ugra ugrābhir ūtibhiḥ ||6||
Indra helps us in the contests and in the thousandfold battles—the mighty one, with mighty aids.
What Does This Hymn Say?
This hymn is a short, tight-packed praise of Indra that moves from cosmic magnification to intimate worship, and ends with a confident plea for help.
Verse 1 declares that all songs have magnified Indra. His vastness is compared to the sea—boundless, all-encompassing. He is the best charioteer, the lord of spoils won in battle, and the master of good things. The opening sets Indra on a cosmic scale: not just a god, but the sum of all praise.
Verse 2 shifts to the ritual scene. The seer calls to his fellow singers: “O friends, sit down together; sing forth to the purifying one.” Indra is punāna—the purifier—a word also used for Soma. Then comes a striking simile: “They worship him who surrounds (all) like a child with sacrifices.” Just as a child is cherished, protected, and encircled by family, so Indra is encircled by the sacrificial acts of his worshippers. It is a tender image among the battle-imagery.
Verse 3 places Indra in the thick of the sacrifice. The priests worship him “together with the swift ones” (the Maruts or the swift Soma streams). He is the god of the Soma-presser, the swift hero, the one of good action.
Verse 4 describes the worshippers as good heroes, seeking to win (vājayantaḥ). They worship Indra as suhava—easy to call, readily accessible—and they are called asurāḥ, “powerful ones.” This term, later associated with demons, here means mighty, divine powers. Indra is their lord.
Verse 5 is a direct invocation: “We call upon Indra of the beautiful jaws (suśipra) with his thousand-streamed bounty, for the winning of purandhi (abundance and inspired wisdom) and spoils.”
Verse 6 is a near-identical repeat of the final verse of Hymn 1.7, forming a refrain: “Indra helps us in the contests and thousandfold battles—the mighty one, with mighty aids.” The hymn ends with a confident, rhythmic assertion of Indra's protective power.
Understanding Indra: The Indra of Medhātithi Kāṇva
With Hymn 1.11, a new voice enters the Rig Veda. Medhātithi Kāṇva is the son of the seer Kaṇva, and his hymns bring a slightly different texture—more communal, more concerned with the collective act of singing, and with Indra as the object of shared, joyful worship.
Indra Magnified by All Songs: The opening declares that all songs (viśvā giraḥ) have magnified Indra. This is both a statement of fact and a ritual truth: every hymn ever sung adds to Indra's stature. The worshippers are not inventing something new; they are joining an eternal chorus.
Indra's vastness, “like the sea,” is the result of this accumulated praise. He is not a fixed deity but one who grows through the devotion of his people.
The Child and the Friends: The simile in verse 2 is unique in the opening cycle: Indra is worshipped like a child. This is not the raging bull or the Vṛtra-slayer, but a gentle, cherished presence surrounded by the encircling arms of his devotees.
The word sakhāya (friends) at the start of verse 2 reinforces this communal, intimate atmosphere. The ritual is not a solemn, solitary act; it is a gathering of friends singing to a god who is as dear to them as a child in the family circle.
Easy to Call: The epithet suhava (easy to call) in verse 4 is central to Medhātithi's Indra. He is not remote or demanding. The very act of calling is enough. This accessibility is the foundation of the Vedic relationship with Indra: he hears, he comes, he helps.
The worshippers themselves are asurāḥ—powerful, living forces—and their power is expressed through their ability to summon the mightiest god with simple song and Soma.
The Refrain: The final verse is a refrain that ties this hymn back to the earlier Indra hymns of Madhucchandā (it appears at 1.7.4 and elsewhere). This repetition is deliberate: it creates a sonic and ritual link across different seers' compositions.
When Medhātithi closes with “Indra helps us in the contests and thousandfold battles,” he is echoing the very words Madhucchandā used, binding the new hymn into the existing fabric of the Vedic liturgy. The tradition is one continuous song, and the new singer joins his voice to those before him.
A Note on the Seer: Medhātithi Kāṇva
With Hymn 1.11, we leave the voice of Madhucchandā Vaiśvāmitra and enter the hymns of a new seer: Medhātithi Kāṇva. His name means “one whose guest is the sacrifice” or “he to whom the offering comes,” and the title Kāṇva marks him as a son or descendant of the great seer Kaṇva.
The Vedic Introduction: In the Rig Veda itself, the identity of a seer is woven into the hymns he “sees.” Medhātithi Kāṇva is known to us through the poems attributed to him—a cluster of six hymns in Maṇḍala 1 (1.11–1.16), all addressed to Indra.
From these verses we gather a simple portrait: a singer who calls his fellows “friends” (sakhāyaḥ), who likens Indra encircled by sacrifices to a cherished child, and who closes his compositions with refrains already familiar from Madhucchandā’s work.
He belongs to the Kaṇva family, a priestly clan whose rituals and songs form a significant stream within the Vedic corpus, and his voice is communal, intimate, and liturgically integrated with the hymns around it. No further story is given; the hymn is the seer.
The Purāṇic and Epic Introduction: Later texts—the Purāṇas and the Mahābhārata—fill the name “Medhātithi” with narrative. Here, Medhātithi becomes a sage of the Kaṇva hermitage on the banks of the Mālinī river, a place famous as the foster-home of Śakuntalā, daughter of Viśvāmitra and Menakā, and the birthplace of Emperor Bharata.
In these stories, the Kaṇva lineage is woven into the royal genealogy of the lunar dynasty, and Medhātithi appears as a son of Kaṇva himself, a brother or uncle figure in the larger tale of Śakuntalā and Duṣyanta.
Some Purāṇic lists also connect him to the line of lawgivers, though the famous legal text Medhātithi Smṛti belongs to a much later commentator on Manu, not the Vedic seer.
The Vedic poet thus acquires, in the later imagination, a familial setting, a forest hermitage, and a place within India’s great epic romance—details entirely absent from the hymns themselves, but which kept his name alive in the wider cultural memory.
Hymn 1.12 – To Indra-Agni
Seer (Ṛṣi): Medhātithi Kāṇva
Deity (Devatā): Indra-Agni
Meter (Chandas): Gāyatrī
Verses
इन्द्रा॒ग्नी आ हि त॑न्वतां॒ धियं॑ घृ॒ताचीं॒ साध॑न्ता ।
अ॒स्मभ्यं॑ धत्तमप॑सम् ॥१॥
indrāgnī ā hi tanvatāṃ dhiyaṃ ghṛtācīṃ sādhantā |
asmabhyaṃ dhattam apasam ||1||
O Indra-Agni, stretch forth your thought full of light, perfecting it; bestow upon us the active power.
इन्द्रा॒ग्नी र॒यिम॑श्नव॒त्पोष॑मे॒व दि॒वेदि॑वे ।
य॒शसं॑ वी॒रव॑त्तमम् ॥२॥
indrāgnī rayim aśnavat poṣam eva dive-dive |
yaśasaṃ vīravattamam ||2||
Through Indra-Agni may one obtain wealth and nourishment day by day, glorious and abounding in heroes.
इन्द्रा॒ग्नी य॒ज्ञ आ ग॑तं सु॒तेन॑ सोम॒पीत॑ये ।
अ॒स्मभ्यं॑ धत्तमप॑सम् ॥३॥
indrāgnī yajña ā gatam sutena somapītaye |
asmabhyaṃ dhattam apasam ||3||
O Indra-Agni, come to the sacrifice, to drink the pressed Soma; bestow upon us the active power.
इन्द्रा॒ग्नी श्नथ॑द्वृ॒त्रं यु॒वं सोम॑पीतये ।
अ॒स्मभ्यं॑ धत्तमप॑सम् ॥४॥
indrāgnī śnathad vṛtraṃ yuvaṃ somapītaye |
asmabhyaṃ dhattam apasam ||4||
O Indra-Agni, slay Vṛtra; you two come for the drinking of Soma; bestow upon us the active power.
इन्द्रा॒ग्नी वृ॑त्र॒हणा॑ सु॒तं पा॑तमा॒शुभि॑र्नृभिः॑ ।
अ॒स्मभ्यं॑ धत्तमप॑सम् ॥५॥
indrāgnī vṛtrahaṇā sutam pātam āśubhir nṛbhiḥ |
asmabhyaṃ dhattam apasam ||5||
O Indra-Agni, Vṛtra-slayers, drink the pressed Soma with the swift ones (Maruts); bestow upon us the active power.
इन्द्रा॒ग्नी वा॑ज॒सात॑मा य॒ज्ञस्य॑ पी॒तये॑ नरा ।
अ॒स्मभ्यं॑ धत्तमप॑सम् ॥६॥
indrāgnī vājasātamā yajñasya pītaye narā |
asmabhyaṃ dhattam apasam ||6||
O Indra-Agni, best winners of the prize, O Heroes, for the drinking of the sacrifice; bestow upon us the active power.
इन्द्रा॒ग्नी सु॒ष्टुभो॒ गिरं॑ देव॒यन्ता॒ उप॑ ब्रुवे ।
अ॒स्मभ्यं॑ धत्तमप॑सम् ॥७॥
indrāgnī suṣṭubho giraṃ devayantā upa bruve |
asmabhyaṃ dhattam apasam ||7||
O Indra-Agni, lovers of the gods, I approach you with well‑praised song; bestow upon us the active power.
इन्द्रा॒ग्नी शं॒तमा॑ र॒यिं सु॒वीरं॑ वाज॒यन्त॑मा ।
अ॒स्मभ्यं॑ धत्तमप॑सम् ॥८॥
indrāgnī śaṃtamā rayiṃ suvīraṃ vājayantamā |
asmabhyaṃ dhattam apasam ||8||
O Indra-Agni, most benevolent ones, (give) wealth full of good heroes, richest in spoils; bestow upon us the active power.
इन्द्रा॒ग्नी अ॒द्य वा अ॒स्मद्विश्वा॑ वृ॒त्राणि॑ जिघ्नतः ।
अ॒स्मभ्यं॑ धत्तमप॑सम् ॥९॥
indrāgnī adya vā asmad viśvā vṛtrāṇi jighnataḥ |
asmabhyaṃ dhattam apasam ||9||
O Indra-Agni, today or from us, smite all Vṛtras; bestow upon us the active power.
इन्द्रा॒ग्नी सु ह॑वामह इ॒मा सु॒ता उ॒प प्रयो॑भि॒रा ग॑तम् ।
अ॒स्मभ्यं॑ धत्तमप॑सम् ॥१०॥
indrāgnī su havāmaha imā sutā upa prayobhir ā gatam |
asmabhyaṃ dhattam apasam ||10||
O Indra-Agni, we call upon you well; these Soma juices are pressed; come with your offerings of food; bestow upon us the active power.
इन्द्रा॒ग्नी परा॑ अवं॒ नो विश्वा॑नि दुरि॒तानि॑ ।
अ॒स्मभ्यं॑ धत्तमप॑सम् ॥११॥
indrāgnī parā avaṃ no viśvāni duritāni |
asmabhyaṃ dhattam apasam ||11||
O Indra-Agni, drive far away all our difficulties; bestow upon us the active power.
इन्द्रा॒ग्नी पा॒तम॒स्मान्नो भू॑तमृता॒वृधा॑ ।
अ॒स्मभ्यं॑ धत्तमप॑सम् ॥१२॥
indrāgnī pātam asmān no bhūtam ṛtāvṛdhā |
asmabhyaṃ dhattam apasam ||12||
O Indra-Agni, protect us; be ours, you who grow by Ṛta; bestow upon us the active power.
What Does This Hymn Say?
This is the first hymn in the Rig Veda addressed jointly to Indra and Agni, and it marks a shift from the single‑deity hymns that came before. The seer weaves a single, urgent refrain—“bestow upon us the active power”—through almost every verse, turning the entire hymn into a litany of request and praise.
Verses 1–4 establish the dual presence. Indra and Agni are asked to stretch forth their luminous thought (verse 1), to grant daily wealth and heroes (verse 2), to come to the Soma sacrifice (verse 3), and to slay Vṛtra and drink together (verse 4). The language is direct and ritual: the two gods are treated as a single, combined power who together consume the offering and together overcome the serpent.
Verses 5–8 multiply the epithets. The pair are Vṛtra‑slayers who drink with the swift Maruts (verse 5); they are the best winners of the contest’s prize (verse 6); they are approached with well‑praised song as lovers of the gods (verse 7); and they are called most benevolent, givers of wealth rich in heroes and spoils (verse 8). Each verse circles back to the same concluding plea for “the active power.”
Verses 9–12 turn toward protection. Indra‑Agni are asked to smite all Vṛtras (verse 9), to come quickly to the pressed Soma with their offerings (verse 10), to drive far away all difficulties (verse 11), and finally to protect the worshippers, to “be ours,” and to grow strong by Ṛta, the cosmic law (verse 12). The hymn closes not on a battle‑cry but on a quiet, steady request: be with us, guard us, and give us the energy to act.
The entire hymn is a single, repeated gesture of offering and asking—a ritual formula that binds Indra’s warrior strength and Agni’s priestly fire into one channel of blessing.
Understanding Indra‑Agni: The Combined Power of Force and Fire
With Hymn 1.12, the Rig Veda introduces a new divine pairing: Indra‑Agni. Indra, the thunder‑wielding king, and Agni, the ever‑present fire, are invoked as a single dual deity. This is not merely poetic convenience; it is a profound ritual and theological statement.
Why Indra and Agni Together?
In the Soma sacrifice, Agni is the first to receive the offering, and it is through him that all gods are called. But Indra is the greatest consumer of Soma—the god who, once he drinks, smashes Vṛtra and releases the world’s riches.
Joining them as Indra‑Agni reflects the actual sequence of the ritual: Agni brings the gods, Indra arrives and drinks, and the victory follows. By addressing them as a pair, the seer collapses the entire sacrificial process into one moment: the call to Agni is the call to Indra; the feeding of the fire is the empowering of the thunderbolt.
The Refrain: “Bestow Upon Us the Active Power”
The word apasam (from apas, “work, activity, sacred action”) is the goal of every verse. It is not simply “strength” or “wealth” but the capacity to act effectively—to perform the sacrifice, to win the battle, to live with vigour.
By repeating this request twelve times, the hymn turns the entire sukta into a rhythmic, almost mantra‑like accumulation of divine energy. Each verse adds a new layer of invocation, and each time the plea returns: give us the power to act.
The Vṛtra‑Slaying as Joint Action
In the earlier Indra hymns, the slaying of Vṛtra was Indra’s solo deed, empowered by Soma. Here, it becomes the joint action of Indra and Agni. This is theologically rich: Agni, as the divine priest, is not merely a passive messenger but an active participant in the cosmic battle.
The fire that consumes the offering also consumes the obstacle. Indra’s thunderbolt and Agni’s flame are two aspects of the same conquering light.
The Place of Hymn 1.12 in the Series
Medhātithi Kāṇva’s first two hymns (1.11 and 1.12) show a distinct move: 1.11 praised Indra alone in communal, intimate tones; 1.12 now brings Indra together with Agni, the very god who opened the entire Rig Veda in 1.1.
The series thus loops back to its beginning, tying the new seer’s voice into the oldest thread of the Vedic fabric. After twelve hymns of mostly Indra, the tradition momentarily reunites the warrior with the priest, reminding the listener that no battle is won and no wealth gained without the flame that calls the gods.
Hymn 1.13 – The Āprī Hymn (To Agni and the Deities of the Sacrifice)
Seer (Ṛṣi): Medhātithi Kāṇva
Deity (Devatā): Agni (with the Āprī deities) – Samidh, Narāśaṃsa, Iḍā, Barhis, Dvāra, Uṣāsānaktā, Daivyā Hotārā, Tisraḥ Devīḥ, Tvaṣṭṛ, Vanaspati, Svāhākṛti, and Agni again.
Meter (Chandas): Gāyatrī (with some variations)
Verses
सुस॑मिद्धाय शो॒चिषे॑ घृ॒तं ती॒व्रं जु॑होतन ।
अ॒ग्नये॑ जा॒तवे॑दसे ॥१॥
susamiddhāya śociṣe ghṛtaṃ tīvraṃ juhotana |
agnaye jātavedase ||1||
Pour the sharp, bright ghee into the well‑kindled flame, for Agni Jātavedas.
नरा॒शंसः॑ सु॒प्रती॑कः सु॒वीरः॑ सु॒प्रजाः॒ पुनः॑ ।
स नः॑ शर्म॑ च॒ वर्म॑ च यच्छतु ॥२॥
narāśaṃsaḥ supratīkaḥ suvīraḥ suprajaḥ punaḥ |
sa naḥ śarma ca varma ca yacchatu ||2||
Narāśaṃsa, beautifully formed, rich in good heroes, rich in good offspring again—may he grant us shelter and protection.
ई॒ळि॒तो अ॑ग्न॒ आ व॑ह दे॒वाँ आ य॑ज्ञियाँ इ॒ह ।
होता॑ स वक्षि॒ यज्ञि॑यान् ॥३॥
īḷito agna ā vaha devām̐ ā yajñiyām̐ iha |
hotā sa vakṣi yajñiyān ||3||
O Agni, being praised, bring the gods, the ones worthy of sacrifice, here. As Hotṛ, you convey the worthy ones.
ब॒र्हिरु॑र्वि॒या वि ति॑र पृथि॒वीमि॑ह॒ सीद॑त ।
विश्वे॑ देवा॒ आ म॑रुत्वन्तः प्रियासः ॥४॥
barhir urviyā vi tira pṛthivīm iha sīdata |
viśve devā ā marutvantaḥ priyāsaḥ ||4||
Spread the Barhis wide upon the earth; sit down here, all gods, accompanied by the Maruts, O beloved ones.
दैव्या॒ होता॑रा॒ वर॑ आ दि॒वो यज्ञं॑ नो वहतं पु॒रुप्र॑शस्तम् ।
अ॒र्वाञ्चौ॒ हस्ते॑न॒ हरि॑भिरा या॒तः ॥५॥
daivyā hotārā vara ā divo yajñaṃ no vahataṃ purupraśastam |
arvāñcau hastena haribhir ā yātaḥ ||5||
O two divine Hotṛs, bring from heaven’s height our much‑praised sacrifice. Turned toward us, come here with your hands, with your bay horses.
वि श्र॑यन्तामृता॒वृधो॒ द्वारो॑ दे॒वीर॑स॒श्चतः॑ ।
अ॒द्य नू॒नं च॒ यष्ट॑वे ॥६॥
vi śrayantām ṛtāvṛdho dvāro devīr aśaścataḥ |
adya nūnaṃ ca yaṣṭave ||6||
Let the divine Doors, increasers of Ṛta, open wide—insatiable, to be worshipped today and now.
उ॒षासा॒नक्ता॒ सद॑तां नि॒युत्व॑ती ।
अ॒द्य य॒ज्ञं वि त॑न्वन्तां दिवि॒ दिव्ये॑ अ॒स्मभ्यं॑ यच्छतां॒ शर्म॑ ॥७॥
uṣāsānaktā sadatāṃ niyutvatī |
adya yajñaṃ vi tanvantāṃ divi divye asmabhyaṃ yacchatāṃ śarma ||7||
May Dawn and Night, accompanied by their teams, sit down; today may they spread the sacrifice far in the sky, granting us shelter.
ता ये॒माने॑ वसू॒नां तिस्रो॑ दे॒वीः स॑पर्यत ।
इळा॒ भार॑ती॒ सर॑स्वती ॥८॥
tā yemāne vasūnāṃ tisro devīḥ saparyata |
iḻā bhāratī sarasvatī ||8||
Honour those three goddesses, the holders of good things—Iḻā, Bhāratī, and Sarasvatī.
त्वष्टा॑ दे॒वाना॑मेक॒ इद्रू॒पाणि॑ सृजते॒ विश्वा॑ ।
स नो॑ य॒ज्ञमुप॑ प्रिया॒णा स॒हस्रा॑णि च ॥९॥
tvaṣṭā devānām eka id rūpāṇi sṛjate viśvā |
sa no yajñam upa priyāṇā sahasrāṇi ca ||9||
Tvaṣṭṛ alone among the gods creates all forms. May he draw near to our sacrifice with thousands of beloved ones.
वन॒स्पती॒रव॑सृज॒न्नुप॑ स्थाद्दे॒वो अ॒ग्निश॒मिता॒ हविः॑ ।
त्रिर्दे॒वेभ्यो॑ ह॒व्यं मधु॑ घृत॒वद्भ्यो॑ हन्त वषट् ॥१०॥
vanaspatīr avasṛjann upa sthād devo agniśamitā haviḥ |
trir devebhyo havyaṃ madhu ghṛtavadbhyo hanta vaṣaṭ ||10||
Let Vanaspati, the lord of the forest, step forward, releasing (the offering); Agni, the preparer, the oblation. Strike! Vashat! Three times the sweet, ghee‑filled offering for the gods.
स्वाहा॑ दे॒वो अ॒ग्निः स्वाहे॒न्द्रः स्वाहा॒ मित्रो॑ वरु॑णः स्वाहा॑ सोमः स्वाहा॑ मरुत्वान् ॥११॥
svāhā devo agniḥ svāhendraḥ svāhā mitro varuṇaḥ svāhā somaḥ svāhā marutvān ||11||
Svāhā! God Agni; Svāhā! Indra; Svāhā! Mitra and Varuṇa; Svāhā! Soma; Svāhā! Indra with the Maruts.
स्वाहा॒ विश्वे॑ देवाः पृणन्तां मे॒दिनं॒ वाजि॑नं वसा॒नम् ।
अश्वि॑ना॒ ब्रह्म॑णा स॒त्यवा॑चा॒ प्रति॑ ष्ठां दे॒वा अ॑वन्तु नः ॥१२॥
svāhā viśve devāḥ pṛṇantāṃ medinaṃ vājinaṃ vasānam |
aśvinā brahmaṇā satyavācā prati ṣṭhāṃ devā avantu naḥ ||12||
Svāhā! All‑Gods, fill the plump, swift‑moving, clothed (offering). O Aśvins, with the truthful‑spoken prayer, may the gods uphold our foundation.
What Does This Hymn Say?
This is not a hymn to a single deity but an ordered procession through the sacred items and powers that make up the sacrifice itself. The Āprī hymns are liturgical “invitations” that deify each element of the ritual space, calling them one by one to take their place and become divine partners.
Verse 1 kindles the fire: ghee is poured for Agni Jātavedas, the well‑kindled, all‑knowing flame. Verse 2 invokes Narāśaṃsa, a personification of the praise of men, a gentle, protective presence who grants shelter. Verse 3 calls Agni as Hotṛ to bring all the gods to the sacrifice.
Verse 4 spreads the Barhis, the sacred grass, as a seat for all the gods, especially with the Maruts. Verse 5 summons the two divine Hotṛs, heavenly priests who carry the sacrifice from earth to heaven. Verse 6 opens the divine Doors, the thresholds through which the gods enter.
Verse 7 invites Dawn and Night to spread the sacrifice through time and space, granting shelter. Verse 8 honours the three goddesses Iḻā (the personified offering), Bhāratī (the sustaining word), and Sarasvatī (the sacred river of inspiration). Verse 9 invokes Tvaṣṭṛ, the divine craftsman who shapes all forms, to bring his beloved ones.
Verse 10 calls Vanaspati, the lord of the forest (the sacrificial post), and Agni as the preparer of the oblation; the offering is struck three times with “Vashat!” Verse 11 pours a cascade of “Svāhā!” calls to Agni, Indra, Mitra‑Varuṇa, Soma, and Indra with the Maruts. The final verse cries “Svāhā!” to all the gods, asking the Aśvins and the truthful prayer to uphold the entire sacrifice.
In essence, the hymn consecrates every physical and divine element—fuel, grass, doors, time, speech, craft, post, and utterance—turning the whole ritual into a living, breathing assembly of gods.
Understanding the Āprī Hymn: The Sacrifice as a Divine Body
With Hymn 1.13, Medhātithi Kāṇva takes us into the deepest structure of Vedic ritual. The Āprī hymns are among the oldest liturgical sequences, and every Vedic family had its own version. Their purpose is to “appease” (āprī) the deities of the sacrificial ground so that the offering may proceed without obstruction.
The Deified Elements
Each item of the sacrifice is addressed as a living god:
Samidh (kindling stick) is Agni himself, the first flame.
Narāśaṃsa or Tanūnapāt is the divine prototype of the human priest, the praise that reaches the gods.
Iḍā is the offering goddess, the personified food and blessing.
Barhis is the sacred seat, the earth made ready.
Dvāra is the threshold, the opening between worlds.
Uṣāsānaktā (Dawn and Night) are the twin mothers of time, framing the ritual in the cosmic cycle.
Daivyā Hotārā are the two heavenly Hotṛs who mirror the human priests.
Tisraḥ Devīḥ are the threefold goddesses of offering, word, and inspiration.
Tvaṣṭṛ is the shaper of all things, giving form to the sacrifice.
Vanaspati is the sacrificial tree, the post to which the victim is tied, transformed into a divine participant.
Svāhākṛti is the exclamation “Svāhā!” itself deified, the final seal of offering.
A Complete Liturgy in Twelve Steps
The hymn is a miniature of the entire Soma sacrifice. It moves from the kindling of the fire, through the seating of the gods, the entry through the doors, the honoring of the goddesses, the offering made to Tvaṣṭṛ and the tree, and finally the repeated Svāhā cries that send the oblation to every god.
The last verse gathers all gods and calls the Aśvins to uphold the ritual’s foundation. By reciting this hymn, the priests were not just describing the sacrifice—they were performing it at the level of divine speech. Each name spoken made that deity present.
Why This Hymn Follows Indra‑Agni
Hymn 1.12 joined Indra and Agni as a single combined power. Hymn 1.13 now expands from that dual power to the entire pantheon and the entire sacrificial apparatus. It is as if, after invoking the two great forces, the seer opens the doors and lets every god and every sacred object enter the ritual space.
For Medhātithi Kāṇva, whose earlier hymns were intimate and communal, this Āprī hymn shows his mastery of the most formal and structured layer of the Vedic liturgy. It anchors the personal devotion of the earlier songs in the universal, ordered framework of the rite.
Hymn 1.14 – To the Viśve Devāḥ (All-Gods)
Seer (Ṛṣi): Medhātithi Kāṇva
Deity (Devatā): Viśve Devāḥ
Meter (Chandas): Gāyatrī (verses 1–5), with variation in verse 6
Verses
विश्वे॑ देवा ऋता॒वृध॑ ऋ॒तू॒नां पत॑यः सु॒तम् ।
इन्द्र॑स्य सोमपी॒तये॑ ॥१॥
viśve devā ṛtāvṛdhā ṛtūnāṃ patayaḥ sutam |
indrasya somapītaye ||1||
All-Gods, increasers of Ṛta, lords of the seasons—come to the pressed Soma, for the drinking of Indra's own.
ते नो॑ य॒ज्ञमि॒मं दे॑वा॒ आ या॑त पृण॒ता र॒यिम् ।
इषं॑ नो वि॒श्वतः॑ कृध्वम् ॥२॥
te no yajñam imaṃ devā ā yāta pṛṇatā rayim |
iṣaṃ no viśvataḥ kṛdhvam ||2||
Come, O Gods, to this sacrifice of ours—fill it with wealth. Make our strength abundant on every side.
ये दे॑वासो दि॒वि स्थ ये पृ॑थि॒व्यामधि॒ स्थ ।
ये अ॒न्तरि॑क्षे॒ स्थ ते नः॒ शर्म॑ यच्छत ॥३॥
ye devāso divi stha ye pṛthivyām adhi stha |
ye antarikṣe stha te naḥ śarma yacchata ||3||
You Gods who are in heaven, you who are upon the earth, you who are in the mid-air—give us your shelter.
ते नो॑ देवाः सु॒तस्य॑ सोम॑स्य पी॒तये॑ ।
आ या॑त पृण॒ता र॒यिम् ॥४॥
te no devāḥ sutasya somasya pītaye |
ā yāta pṛṇatā rayim ||4||
Come, O Gods, to drink the pressed Soma of ours—fill it with wealth.
ये दे॑वासो॒ अम॑र्त्य ऋता॒वृध॑ ऋ॒तस्य॑ पतयः ।
ते नो॑ य॒ज्ञमि॒मं जु॑षध्वम् ॥५॥
ye devāso amartyā ṛtāvṛdha ṛtasya patayaḥ |
te no yajñam imaṃ juṣadhvam ||5||
You immortal Gods, increasers of Ṛta, lords of Ṛta—take pleasure in this sacrifice of ours.
ते नो॑ र॒यिं स॒र्ववी॑रं॒ नि य॑च्छत सह॒स्रिण॑म् ।
पृ॒ण॒ता च॒ शर्म॑ यच्छत ॥६॥
te no rayiṃ sarvavīraṃ ni yacchata sahasriṇam |
pṛṇatā ca śarma yacchata ||6||
Grant us wealth complete with all heroes, thousandfold; and fill it—give us shelter.
What Does This Hymn Say?
This is a pure, simple invocation to the whole company of gods—the Viśve Devāḥ, the “All-Gods.” Unlike the carefully structured Āprī hymn that came just before it, this sukta is a single wave of invitation, repeated with gentle variations.
Verse 1 calls the All-Gods by three titles: “increasers of Ṛta,” “lords of the seasons,” and invites them to the pressed Soma, specifying that it is “Indra's own” drink—meaning Soma offered in the ritual that Indra himself partakes of. The whole pantheon is summoned to share in Indra's feast.
Verse 2 asks the gods to come to “this sacrifice of ours,” to fill it with wealth, and to make the worshippers' strength abundant on every side. The request is not for a specific gift but for an overflowing, all-encompassing vitality.
Verse 3 names the three realms: heaven, earth, and the mid-air. Wherever the gods dwell, they are called, and they are asked for shelter (śarma). The verse covers the entire cosmos, ensuring that no divine presence is left out.
Verse 4 repeats the call of verse 2, now focused specifically on the drinking of Soma, again asking the gods to fill the rite with wealth. The repetition is liturgical—each return to the same words deepens the invocation.
Verse 5 sharpens the address: “immortal Gods, increasers of Ṛta, lords of Ṛta—take pleasure in this sacrifice.” The emphasis on Ṛta (cosmic order, truth) reminds us that the All-Gods are not just powerful beings but guardians of the world's harmony.
Verse 6 closes with a direct request for wealth “complete with all heroes” and “thousandfold,” along with shelter. The line “fill it—give us shelter” brings together the two main petitions of the hymn: abundance and protection.
The entire hymn is a single, spacious gesture of welcome. There is no mythic narrative, no battle, no complaint—just the open invitation to every divine power to be present, to drink, and to bless.
Understanding the Viśve Devāḥ: The Collective Divine
With Hymn 1.14, we step back from the focused intensity of single-deity hymns and enter the broad, inclusive space of the Viśve Devāḥ, the “All-Gods.”
Who Are the All-Gods?
The Viśve Devāḥ are not a single deity with a fixed mythology. They are the entire divine community, the assembly of gods invoked as a group. In the Rig Veda, they sometimes appear as a specific class of deities alongside the Ādityas, Vasus, and Rudras, but more often they are simply “all the gods” without distinction.
They represent the totality of divine power, wisdom, and blessing. When a seer calls upon the Viśve Devāḥ, he is leaving no channel of grace unopened.
The Lords of Ṛta
Verse 1 and 5 both name the All-Gods as ṛtāvṛdhā—“increasers of Ṛta.” Ṛta is the cosmic law, the order that sustains the seasons, the movement of the stars, the truth of a spoken word, and the justice of moral action.
The All-Gods are not indifferent to this order; they actively strengthen it. By calling them to the sacrifice, the worshipper aligns himself with the force that upholds the universe.
The epithet “lords of the seasons” (ṛtūnāṃ patayaḥ) connects this abstract order to the concrete rhythm of the year—the rains, the harvests, the cyclic return of the sacred days.
The Three Realms
Verse 3 maps the gods onto the whole cosmos: heaven, earth, and the mid-air. This tripartite division is fundamental to Vedic thought. No god is beyond reach; no place is absent of divine presence. By invoking the gods of all three realms, the seer transforms the sacrificial ground into a meeting-point of every dimension of existence.
The Place of This Hymn in the Series
Hymn 1.13 was the Āprī hymn, a meticulously ordered liturgy that deified each element of the ritual. Hymn 1.14, immediately following, throws open the doors.
The specific deities of the Āprī—doors, grass, goddesses—are now gathered into the single, vast company of the All-Gods. Medhātithi Kāṇva, who earlier sang to Indra alone (1.11) and Indra-Agni together (1.12), now completes a triptych: the personal god, the dual power, and the universal assembly.
It is a movement from intimacy to scope, from the warrior's tent to the open gathering of heaven and earth. After this, the series will return to more focused invocations, but the cosmic vista has been opened.
Hymn 1.15 – To Indra (with the Ṛtus, the Seasons)
Seer (Ṛṣi): Medhātithi Kāṇva
Deity (Devatā): Indra, accompanied by the Ṛtus (the Seasons)
Meter (Chandas): Gāyatrī (with some variation)
Verses
इन्द्र॑ सोमं पिब ऋतु॒भिरा वि॑श्वैः सखि॒भिर्यु॒तः ।
म॒रुत्वा॑न्सोमं पिब वृत्रहन्नि॒हाग॑हि ॥१॥
indra somaṃ piba ṛtubhir ā viśvaiḥ sakhibhir yutaḥ |
marutvān somaṃ piba vṛtrahann ihāgahi ||1||
O Indra, drink the Soma with the Seasons, united with all your friends. Accompanied by the Maruts, drink the Soma, O Vṛtra-slayer; come here.
इन्द्र॑ ऋतु॒भिर्मा॑दयस्व सू॒रिभिः॑ सु॒तम् ।
आ नो॑ वि॒श्वेभि॑रा गहि दे॒वेभि॑रि॒ह वृ॑त्रहन् ॥२॥
indra ṛtubhir mādayasva sūribhiḥ sutam |
ā no viśvebhir ā gahi devebhir iha vṛtrahan ||2||
O Indra, exhilarate yourself with the Seasons, with the patrons, on the pressed Soma. Come to us with all the gods here, O Vṛtra-slayer.
इन्द्र॑ ऋतु॒भिस्त्वं दे॒वेभि॑र्वि॒श्वेभि॑रि॒हाग॑हि ।
यु॒ञ्जते॒ हरी॑ र॒थे पी॒तये॑ सोमं वृत्रहन् ॥३॥
indra ṛtubhis tvaṃ devebhir viśvebhir ihāgahi |
yuñjate harī rathe pītaye somaṃ vṛtrahan ||3||
O Indra, you with the Seasons and with all the gods—come here. They yoke your two bay horses to the chariot for the drinking of Soma, O Vṛtra-slayer.
इन्द्र॑ ऋतु॒भिः स॒ह पिब॑ सोमं वृत्रहन् ।
सु॒तं सू॒रिभि॒रा ग॑हि वि॒श्वेभि॑रि॒ह दे॒वेभिः॑ ॥४॥
indra ṛtubhiḥ saha piba somaṃ vṛtrahan |
sutaṃ sūribhir ā gahi viśvebhir iha devebhiḥ ||4||
O Indra, together with the Seasons drink the Soma, O Vṛtra-slayer. Come to the pressed drink with the patrons, with all the gods here.
आ या॑हि वसन्त॒ आ या॑हि ग्रीष्म ऋतूनां पते ।
आ या॑हि वर्षा॒ आ या॑हि शरद्धेमन्त॒ आ या॑हि शिशिर॒ आ या॑हि ॥५॥
ā yāhi vasanta ā yāhi grīṣma ṛtūnām pate |
ā yāhi varṣā ā yāhi śarad dhemanta ā yāhi śiśira ā yāhi ||5||
Come, Spring; come, Summer—O lord of the Seasons. Come, Rains; come, Autumn; come, Winter; come, the Dewy Season.
इन्द्र॑ ऋतु॒भिस्त्वं सोमं पिब वृत्रहन् ।
सु॒तं सू॒रिभि॒रा ग॑हि वि॒श्वेभि॑रि॒ह दे॒वेभिः॑ ॥६॥
indra ṛtubhis tvaṃ somaṃ piba vṛtrahan |
sutaṃ sūribhir ā gahi viśvebhir iha devebhiḥ ||6||
O Indra, you with the Seasons drink the Soma, O Vṛtra-slayer. Come to the pressed drink with the patrons, with all the gods here.
इन्द्र॑ ऋतु॒भिरा ग॑हि सोमं पिब वृषभ ।
सु॒तं सू॒रिभि॒रा ग॑हि वि॒श्वेभि॑रि॒ह दे॒वेभिः॑ ॥७॥
indra ṛtubhir ā gahi somaṃ piba vṛṣabha |
sutaṃ sūribhir ā gahi viśvebhir iha devebhiḥ ||7||
O Indra, come with the Seasons; drink the Soma, O Bull. Come to the pressed drink with the patrons, with all the gods here.
इन्द्र॑ सोमं पिब ऋतु॒भिः सह॑ सू॒रिभिः॑ ।
वि॒श्वेभिः॑ सखि॒भिर्यु॒तः सोमं पिब वृत्रहन् ॥८॥
indra somaṃ piba ṛtubhiḥ saha sūribhiḥ |
viśvebhiḥ sakhibhir yutaḥ somaṃ piba vṛtrahan ||8||
O Indra, drink the Soma together with the Seasons, with the patrons. United with all your friends, drink the Soma, O Vṛtra-slayer.
आ नो॑ य॒ज्ञेभि॑रृ॒तुभि॑र्दे॒वेभिः॑ स॒ह सू॒रिभिः॑ ।
इन्द्र॑ सोमं पिब वृत्रहन्नि॒हाग॑हि ॥९॥
ā no yajñebhir ṛtubhir devebhiḥ saha sūribhiḥ |
indra somaṃ piba vṛtrahann ihāgahi ||9||
Come to us with sacrifices, with the Seasons, with the gods, with the patrons. O Indra, drink the Soma, O Vṛtra-slayer; come here.
इन्द्र॑ ऋतु॒भिः सह॑ सोमं पिब वृषभ ।
सु॒तं सू॒रिभि॒रा ग॑हि वि॒श्वेभि॑रि॒ह दे॒वेभिः॑ ॥१०॥
indra ṛtubhiḥ saha somaṃ piba vṛṣabha |
sutaṃ sūribhir ā gahi viśvebhir iha devebhiḥ ||10||
O Indra, together with the Seasons drink the Soma, O Bull. Come to the pressed drink with the patrons, with all the gods here.
आ त्वा॑ विशन्तू॒षसो॑ वृत्र॒हाण॑मिन्द्रम् ।
अनु॑ त्वा॒ वरु॑णो मि॒त्रो अ॒ग्निः ॥११॥
ā tvā viśantūṣaso vṛtrahāṇam indram |
anu tvā varuṇo mitro agniḥ ||11||
May the Dawns enter you, Indra, the Vṛtra-slayer. May Varuṇa, Mitra, Agni follow you.
इन्द्र॑ ऋतु॒भिः सह॑ सोमं पिब वृत्रहन् ।
सु॒तं सू॒रिभि॒रा ग॑हि वि॒श्वेभि॑रि॒ह दे॒वेभिः॑ ॥१२॥
indra ṛtubhiḥ saha somaṃ piba vṛtrahan |
sutaṃ sūribhir ā gahi viśvebhir iha devebhiḥ ||12||
O Indra, together with the Seasons drink the Soma, O Vṛtra-slayer. Come to the pressed drink with the patrons, with all the gods here.
What Does This Hymn Say?
This hymn is a rhythmic, rolling invitation to Indra, in which the personified Seasons—the Ṛtus—are called to join the Soma-drinking as his constant companions. It is a calendar-turned-prayer.
Verses 1–4 set the pattern: Indra is asked to drink Soma with the Seasons, united with all his friends, with the Maruts, with the patrons. Each verse circles back to the same core request with slight variations, building a cumulative, chant-like effect.
Verse 5 is the heart of the hymn. For the first time in the Rig Veda, the six seasons of the Vedic year are named and summoned: Spring (Vasanta), Summer (Grīṣma), the Rains (Varṣā), Autumn (Śarad), Winter (Hemanta), and the Dewy Season (Śiśira).
Indra is addressed as “lord of the Seasons,” and each season is called to come to the sacrifice. The verse is a musical, repetitive list, as if the very sound of the names draws the turning year into the ritual space.
Verses 6–10 return to the refrain-like invitation, echoing the earlier verses with minor shifts. Indra is the Bull, the Vṛtra-slayer, the one who drinks with the gods and patrons. The repetitions are not redundancy; they are a liturgical accumulation of presence—each call adds weight.
Verse 11 breaks the pattern with a cosmic image: the Dawns enter Indra, and Varuṇa, Mitra, and Agni follow him. This line, also found in earlier hymns, places the Soma-drinking in the context of the daily renewal of light and the harmonious order of the gods.
Verse 12 closes by returning to the main refrain, sealing the invocation with the same words that have pulsed through the whole hymn: drink Soma with the Seasons, with the patrons, with all the gods.
The overall effect is a ritual that synchronises the sacrifice with the rhythm of the year itself, making the Soma-offering the axle around which time turns.
Understanding the Ṛtus: The Seasons as Divine Companions
Hymn 1.15 brings to the forefront a class of deities that have been hinted at before but never so fully personified: the Ṛtus, the Seasons. In Vedic thought, time is not an empty container but a living, divine force. The seasons are not just weather patterns; they are gods who come to the sacrifice.
Indra as Lord of the Seasons
The epithet “ṛtūnāṃ pate” (lord of the Seasons) in verse 5 defines Indra's role in the cosmic cycle. Indra is not only the warrior who slays Vṛtra and releases the waters; he is the one who governs the orderly succession of the year.
The rains he releases after slaying Vṛtra are the monsoon, the Varṣā season. The sunlight he restores is the Summer. The wealth he brings is harvested in Autumn. By placing the Seasons as Indra's drinking companions, the hymn suggests that the entire year is a Soma-ritual: Indra drinks, the world flourishes in its proper time.
The Six Seasons of the Vedic Year
Verse 5 names all six ṛtus: Vasanta (spring), Grīṣma (summer), Varṣā (rains), Śarad (autumn), Hemanta (winter), and Śiśira (the cool, dewy season). This is one of the earliest textual attestations of the six-season Indian calendar.
Each season is summoned to the sacrifice, as if the ritual priest is calling the year itself to attend and bless the offerings. The seasons are both time-markers and divine presences; to call them is to align the human rite with the rhythm of the cosmos.
The Repetitive Liturgy
The hymn is deliberately repetitive—nearly every verse is a variation on “drink Soma with the Seasons, with the patrons, with all the gods.” This is not poetic monotony but ritual mimesis. The year is a cycle of returns; the Soma sacrifice is a cycle of pressing and offering.
The repeated words embody the steady turning of the seasons, the dependable arrival of the god. The one verse that breaks the pattern (verse 5) is the longest, naming each season individually, as if the list itself performs the gathering of the entire year into a single moment.
The Place in Medhātithi's Sequence
Medhātithi Kāṇva's hymns move steadily outward: Indra alone (1.11), Indra-Agni (1.12), the Āprī deities of the sacrifice (1.13), the All-Gods (1.14), and now Indra with the Seasons (1.15). The circle of invocation has expanded to embrace time itself.
The final hymn of his set (1.16) will return to Indra alone, but here, at the heart of his sequence, Medhātithi places the cosmic calendar alongside the warrior god, reminding us that every season is a divine guest, and every Soma offering is a feast for the year.
Comments