Rig Veda (translation and commentary)

by H. H. Wilson | 1866 | 1,999,864 words | ISBN-10: 8171101380 | ISBN-13: 9788171101382

The Rig-Veda, English translation, including the commentary of Sayana and grammatical analysis. The hyms of the Rigveda Samhita represents some of the oldest and complex of Hindu Sanskrit literature. In ten books, these mantras form the core essence of rituals and ceremonies once widely performed throughout ancient India. This edition contains the...

Disclaimer: These are translations of Sanskrit texts and are not necessarily approved by everyone associated with the traditions connected to these texts. Consult the source and original scripture in case of doubt.

Rig Veda 4.58.1

Sanskrit text [Accents, Plain, Transliterated]:

स॒मु॒द्रादू॒र्मिर्मधु॑माँ॒ उदा॑र॒दुपां॒शुना॒ सम॑मृत॒त्वमा॑नट् । घृ॒तस्य॒ नाम॒ गुह्यं॒ यदस्ति॑ जि॒ह्वा दे॒वाना॑म॒मृत॑स्य॒ नाभि॑: ॥
समुद्रादूर्मिर्मधुमाँ उदारदुपांशुना सममृतत्वमानट् । घृतस्य नाम गुह्यं यदस्ति जिह्वा देवानाममृतस्य नाभिः ॥
samudrād ūrmir madhumām̐ ud ārad upāṃśunā sam amṛtatvam ānaṭ | ghṛtasya nāma guhyaṃ yad asti jihvā devānām amṛtasya nābhiḥ ||

English translation:

“The sweet water swells up from the firmament; by the (solar) ray (man) obtains immortality; that which is he secret name of clarified butter is the tongue of the gods, the navel of ambrosia.”

Commentary by Sāyaṇa: Ṛgveda-bhāṣya

Yajus. 17.89-99; the sweet water swells up from the firmament: samudrād urmir madhumān udārat: the meaning depends on the variants of meaning of samudra: samodante asmin yajamānaḥ, that in which worshippers delight, sacrificial fire; or, samudrād dravanti āpaḥ, that from which waters rush, celestial fire, lightning;

Ūrmi = reward or consequence; second occurrence of ūrmi = rain; in the latter sence of ūrmi, samudra may mean antarkṣa, the firmament; samudra may also mean the udder of the cow, whence flows milk, samudravati, from which come ūrmi, ghi or butter; another interpretation restricts the objects to two: ghī and agni, atra annādhyāsena ghṛtam stūyate prāṇādhyāsena ca agniḥ; as a representative of food, ghī is here praised, as that of vitality, agni; samudra is the ocean of ghī, from which it rises as its wave, samudrād ghṛta-mayad madhumān rasavān ūrmirudagacchat, and, having so risen, it pervades immortality by Agni, as the life of the world with whom it is combined: udgatya ca sa ūrmir-ansunā jagatprāṇabhūtenāgninā samaikibhūya amṛtatvān vyāpnoti; in both interpretations, agni is intended, with whom ghī, as the material of the oblation, is meant to be identified. That which is the secret name: ghṛtasya nāma guhyam yad asti jihvā devānām amṛtasya nābhiḥ: i.e., the material of sacrifice commonly called ghī is, in the mantras of the Veda, designated the tongue of the gods, being used metonymicaly for Agni; also the navel or binding, that is, the means of securing immortality for him who offers it in oblations. Since the ghṛta is intented to be the secret name, the reference intended may be to another principal oblation: the Soma

Details:

Ṛṣi (sage/seer): vāmadevo gautamaḥ [vāmadeva gautama];
Devatā (deity/subject-matter): agniḥ sūryo vā'po vā gāvo vā ghṛtaṃ;
Chandas (meter): nicṛttriṣṭup ;
Svara (tone/note): Swar;

Padapatha [Accents, Plain, Transliterated]:

स॒मु॒द्रात् । ऊ॒र्मिः । मधु॑ऽमान् । उत् । आ॒र॒त् । उप॑ । अं॒शुना॑ । सम् । अ॒मृ॒त॒ऽत्वम् । आ॒न॒ट् । घृ॒तस्य॑ । नाम॑ । गुह्य॑म् । यत् । अस्ति॑ । जि॒ह्वा । दे॒वाना॑म् । अ॒मृत॑स्य । नाभिः॑ ॥
समुद्रात् । ऊर्मिः । मधुमान् । उत् । आरत् । उप । अंशुना । सम् । अमृतत्वम् । आनट् । घृतस्य । नाम । गुह्यम् । यत् । अस्ति । जिह्वा । देवानाम् । अमृतस्य । नाभिः ॥
samudrāt | ūrmiḥ | madhu-mān | ut | ārat | upa | aṃśunā | sam | amṛta-tvam | ānaṭ | ghṛtasya | nāma | guhyam | yat | asti | jihvā | devānām | amṛtasya | nābhiḥ

Multi-layer Annotation of the Ṛgveda

[Rigveda 4.58.1 English analysis of grammar]

samudrād < samudrāt < samudra

[noun], ablative, singular, masculine

“ocean; Samudra; sea; samudra [word]; four.”

ūrmir < ūrmiḥ < ūrmi

[noun], nominative, singular, masculine

“wave; billow.”

madhumāṃ < madhumat

[noun], nominative, singular, masculine

“sweet; honeyed; sweet; pleasant.”

ud

[adverb]

“up.”

ārad < ārat < ṛch

[verb], singular, Thematic aorist (Ind.)

“enter (a state); travel; shoot; send; hit; originate; get; raise; begin; harm.”

upāṃśunā < upāṃśu

[noun], instrumental, singular, masculine

sam

[adverb]

“sam; together; together; saṃ.”

amṛtatvam < amṛta

[noun]

“immortal; amṛta; imperishable.”

amṛtatvam < tvam < tva

[noun], accusative, singular, neuter

“state; quality; cause; reason.”

ānaṭ < naś

[verb], singular, Root aorist (Ind.)

“reach; achieve; enter (a state); reach.”

ghṛtasya < ghṛta

[noun], genitive, singular, neuter

“ghee; fat.”

nāma < nāman

[noun], nominative, singular, neuter

“name; appellation; nāman [word]; nāmakaraṇa; surname; noun; word.”

guhyaṃ < guhyam < guhya

[noun], nominative, singular, neuter

“secret; concealed.”

yad < yat < yad

[noun], nominative, singular, neuter

“who; which; yat [pronoun].”

asti < as

[verb], singular, Present indikative

“be; exist; become; originate; happen; result; be; dwell; be born; stay; be; equal; exist; transform.”

jihvā

[noun], nominative, singular, feminine

“tongue; tongue; jihvā [word]; fire.”

devānām < deva

[noun], genitive, plural, masculine

“Deva; Hindu deity; king; deity; Indra; deva [word]; God; Jina; Viśvedevās; mercury; natural phenomenon; gambling.”

amṛtasya < amṛta

[noun], genitive, singular, neuter

“amṛta; immortality; vatsanābha; ambrosia; mercury; medicine; vighasa; calcium hydroxide.”

nābhiḥ < nābhi

[noun], nominative, singular, feminine

“navel; hub; kinship; beginning; origin; umbilical cord; nābhi [word]; friendship; center.”

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