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 6.61.3

Sanskrit text [Accents, Plain, Transliterated]:

सर॑स्वति देव॒निदो॒ नि ब॑र्हय प्र॒जां विश्व॑स्य॒ बृस॑यस्य मा॒यिन॑: । उ॒त क्षि॒तिभ्यो॒ऽवनी॑रविन्दो वि॒षमे॑भ्यो अस्रवो वाजिनीवति ॥
सरस्वति देवनिदो नि बर्हय प्रजां विश्वस्य बृसयस्य मायिनः । उत क्षितिभ्योऽवनीरविन्दो विषमेभ्यो अस्रवो वाजिनीवति ॥
sarasvati devanido ni barhaya prajāṃ viśvasya bṛsayasya māyinaḥ | uta kṣitibhyo 'vanīr avindo viṣam ebhyo asravo vājinīvati ||

English translation:

“Destroy, Sarasvatī, the revilers of the gods, the offspring of the universal deluder, Bṛsaya; giver of sustenance, you have acquired for men the lands (seized by the asuras), and have showered water upon them.”

Commentary by Sāyaṇa: Ṛgveda-bhāṣya

Bṛsaya: Bṛsaya is a name of Tvaṣṭā, whose son was Vṛtra; Sāyaṇa, provides a legend in his introduction to the Black Taittirīa Yajuṣ, to illustrate te importance of correctly accentuating the words of the Veda: Indra, had killed a son of Tvaṣṭā, named Viśvarūpa, in conseqence of which there was enmity between them. Upon the occasion of a Soma sacrifice celebrated by Tvaṣṭā, he omitted to include Indra in his invitation to the gods. Indra, however, came an uninvited guest, and by force took a part of the Soma libation. With the remainder Tvaṣṭā performed a sacrifice for the birth of an individual who should avenge his quarrel and destroy his adversary, directing the priest to pray, now let a man be born and prosper, the killer of Indra. In uttering the mantra, however, the officiating priest made a mistake in the accentuation of the term indraghātaka, slayer of Indra, in which sense as a tatpuruṣa compound, the acute accent should have been plural ced upon the last syllable. instrumental ad of this, the reciter of the mantra plural ced the acent upon the first syllable, whereby the compound became a bahuvrīhi epithet, signifying one of whom Indra is the slayer. Consequently, wen by virtue of the rite, Vṛtra was produced, he was fore-doomed by the wrong accentuation to be put to death by Indra instrumental ad of becoming the destroyer. You have acquired for men: kṣitibhyo avanīravindo viṣam abhyo asravaḥ = you have shed poison upon them, or destroyed them

Details:

Ṛṣi (sage/seer): bharadvājo bārhaspatyaḥ [bharadvāja bārhaspatya];
Devatā (deity/subject-matter): sarasvatī;
Chandas (meter): virāḍjagatī ;
Svara (tone/note): Swar;

Padapatha [Accents, Plain, Transliterated]:

सर॑स्वति । दे॒व॒ऽनिदः॑ । नि । ब॒र्ह॒य॒ । प्र॒ऽजाम् । विश्व॑स्य । बृस॑यस्य । मा॒यिनः॑ । उ॒त । क्षि॒तिऽभ्यः॑ । अ॒वनीः॑ । अ॒वि॒न्दः॒ । वि॒षम् । ए॒भ्यः॒ । अ॒स्र॒वः॒ । वा॒जि॒नी॒ऽव॒ति॒ ॥
सरस्वति । देवनिदः । नि । बर्हय । प्रजाम् । विश्वस्य । बृसयस्य । मायिनः । उत । क्षितिभ्यः । अवनीः । अविन्दः । विषम् । एभ्यः । अस्रवः । वाजिनीवति ॥
sarasvati | deva-nidaḥ | ni | barhaya | pra-jām | viśvasya | bṛsayasya | māyinaḥ | uta | kṣiti-bhyaḥ | avanīḥ | avindaḥ | viṣam | ebhyaḥ | asravaḥ | vājinī-vati

Multi-layer Annotation of the Ṛgveda

[Rigveda 6.61.3 English analysis of grammar]

sarasvati < sarasvatī

[noun], vocative, singular, feminine

“Sarasvati; Sarasvatī; language; voice; speech; eloquence; balloon vine; river.”

devanido < deva

[noun], masculine

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

devanido < nidaḥ < nid

[noun], accusative, plural, masculine

“derision; scoffer; contempt.”

ni

[adverb]

“back; down.”

barhaya < barhay < √bṛṃh

[verb], singular, Present imperative

prajāṃ < prajām < prajā

[noun], accusative, singular, feminine

“people; offspring; being; national; man; prajā [word]; creature; child; descendants; population; race; animal.”

viśvasya < viśva

[noun], genitive, singular, masculine

“all(a); whole; complete; each(a); viśva [word]; completely; wholly.”

bṛsayasya < bṛsaya

[noun], genitive, singular, masculine

māyinaḥ < māyin

[noun], genitive, singular, masculine

“artful; charming; crafty; deceptive.”

uta

[adverb]

“and; besides; uta [indecl.]; similarly; alike; even.”

kṣitibhyo < kṣitibhyaḥ < kṣiti

[noun], dative, plural, feminine

“floor; Earth; earth; pṛthivī; people; dwelling; battlefield; Earth; estate; colony; house.”

'vanīr < avanīḥ < avani

[noun], accusative, plural, feminine

“river; earth; floor; path; bed; course.”

avindo < avindaḥ < vid

[verb], singular, Imperfect

“find; detect; marry; get; think.”

viṣam < viṣa

[noun], accusative, singular, neuter

“poison; poisoning; viṣa; venom; vatsanābha; Aconitum Ferox; viṣa [word]; Viṣa; myrrh; myrrh.”

ebhyo < ebhyaḥ < idam

[noun], dative, plural, masculine

“this; he,she,it (pers. pron.); here.”

asravo < asravaḥ < sru

[verb], singular, Imperfect

“discharge; issue; run; filter; discharge; liquefy; ejaculate; fail; disappear; leak; fester.”

vājinīvati < vājinīvat

[noun], vocative, singular, feminine

“rich; rich in horses.”

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