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yajvan
27 December 2010, 07:33 PM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté


There is a insightful śloka that is offered in the ṛg ved ( rig veda) saṃhitā¹ . It is ṛg ved 1.89.1. The ṛṣi is gotamaḥ rāhūgaṇaḥ , the devatā is the viṣvedevatāḥ (all the devatā collectively ) and the the meter is jagatī. We always mention these 3 when we have this information.


The śloka that appears within the first punctuation mark (called a virāma and looks like this | ) for now we can call it the 1st sentence,
is most often used... in a nutshell it is often translated as let noble thoughts come to us from every side.

ā no bhadrāḥ kratavo kṣyantu viśvato adabdhāso aparītāsa udbhidaḥ |
devā no yathā sadamid vṛdhe asanaprāyuvo rakṣitāro dive-dive || 1 or written like this १ in saṃskṛt

If one takes some time to look at the word definitions found in this śloka it is quite profound. Let me offer the definitions for each
word and ask you, the HDF reader, for your assessment of this śloka. What do you think is the meaning? What does it say to you?
What are your thoughts on this?


Translation of words; any inaccuracies or blemishes can only be attributed to me.

ā - this is nipāta - a particle used in grammar. I see this in the form of 'ās' - meaning compassion; yet this ā becomes
affixed to 'yantu' later in the mantra , and I will point it out below.
no =naru = nṛ = people, mankind ~ we~ ; also means a person, a hero
bhadrāḥ - blessed , auspicious , fortunate , prosperous , happy
kratavo - kratu - plan , design , intention , resolution , determination , purpose ; kratu as intelligence personified
(as a son of brahmā and one of the prajāpatis or the seven principal ṛṣi-s )
kṣyantu - others write this saṃskṛt translation as 'yantu'; by adding the 'ā' nipāta ( particle) found in front of the mantra we get āya meaning arrival , approach, from āyana coming , approaching. Some may say yantu brings us to suyantu meaning curbing or guiding well (as reins) ; another view is kṣyantu as I see it is akṣ ('a' coming from the nipāta - or particle "ā" that started the śloka) meaning 'to accumulate' , 'to cause to pervade' , 'to pass through , penetrate , pervade , embrace' ; ; one could say this applies as it compliments the next word viśvato.
viśvato - viśva all-pervading or all-containing , omnipresent ~all sides~
adabdhāso -adabdha - not deceived or tampered with , unimpaired , unbroken ~unaffiliated~
aparītāsa - aparīta - unobstructed , irresistible
udbhidaḥ - sprouting , germinating ; a fountain or spring | the end of the 1st sentence

devā = Divine; the shining ones
no =naru = nṛ = people, mankind ~ we~ ; also means a person, a hero; yet can take the 'ā' from devā and apply
it to āno and this = ānu = human, living
yathā - ' so that', ' 'in this way' , 'in which manner or way , according as '
sadamid - sadā = always; every time , continually , perpetually + mid = mit = mith =to unite , pair , couple ;
yet some way it is mit which yields ' anything set up or erected , a post , pillar '
vṛdhe =vṛdh = to exalt , magnify , glorify - to increase
asanaprāyuvo - asan = asat = not true, non-existence + aprāyu = not careless + vo = va = going
rakṣitāro =rakṣitā = guarded , protected , saved , preserved , maintained , kept + ro=ra= giving
dive-dive = day by day || the end of the 1 śloka or mantraṁ or stanza


Here is one translation by RL Kashyap to assist you in framing this śloka:
May auspicious knowledge come to us from all sides, which harm no one; are unimpeded and victorious over the forces of division |
May the gods be always for our increase, never moving away from us, but always guarding us day-to-day ||


praṇām

words

nipāta - in grammar a particle (all adverbs including conjunctions and interjections) ; irregular form , irregularity , exception
saṃhitā - put together , joined , attached . IN the ved it is considered 'uninterrupted' sequence of words e.g. the mantras.
This word has a deeper meaning: the force which holds together and supports the universe i.e. uninterrupted.
virāma - in grammer " the stop " . this mark is sometimes used in the middle of conjunctions of consonants but its proper use ,
according to native grammarians , is only as a stop at the end of a sentence.

dharma66
28 December 2010, 06:30 AM
Namo Narayan Yajvan-ji

Ok, I will have a go!

Here is my effort:

Wherever we may be, may auspicious intentions arise and pervade us unimpaired and unobstructed
God, in this way we perpetually bind to you and glorify you and with your continual protection we assiduously pass our allotted days


I will give a little explanation of my thought process in coming up with this interpretation.

I have taken viśva as 'omnipresent', and hence have 'wherever we may be'.
I have taken asanaprāyuvo as non-existence/assiduously/going, and hence have 'assiduously pass our allotted days'.

I submit this with all humility, and would deeply appreciate your thoughts and corrections Yajvan-ji, and indeed those of anyone else.

yajvan
28 December 2010, 05:49 PM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté dharma66


Namo Narayan Yajvan-ji

Wherever we may be, may auspicious intentions arise and pervade us unimpaired and unobstructed
God, in this way we perpetually bind to you and glorify you and with your continual protection we assiduously pass our allotted days

I have taken viśva as 'omnipresent', and hence have 'wherever we may be'.
I have taken asanaprāyuvo as non-existence/assiduously/going, and hence have 'assiduously pass our allotted days'.


yes, this viśva as omnipresent is spot-on. It is 'wherever we may be' and wherever we may not be also... hence viśvato is all-pervading or all-containing , omnipresent ~all sides~.

When we say 'all sides' some also think of diś or dik or dig - directions. We know the 4 major directions N,S,E,W + 4 minor directions NE, SE, SW, NW, + up and down gives us 10 directions or 'all sides'.

It is this desire for noble thoughts to come from all directions. The words from the śloka was bhadrāḥ kratavo (defined in the 1st post).
You have used 'auspicious intentions' which is a fine fit.

Do you have an opinion why the devatā are invoked for this? Could I not have noble or auspicious thoughts without them?

praṇām

dharma66
29 December 2010, 11:31 AM
Do you have an opinion why the devatā are invoked for this? Could I not have noble or auspicious thoughts without them?

praṇām

Hmmm.

This is a remarkably good and thought provoking question.

I really have only a child-like grasp of how to answer such questions. But I will again try.


Maybe you cannot have good thoughts under your own steam. In that case, for the 'grossest' sort of person, thinking that there are separately existent devatā might provide a useful prompt to behave oneself.

Or, for the more refined, the idea of invoking devatā as being projections of a single divine might provide the necessary motivation.

Even further refinement might be the thought that, actually, the devatā and oneself are the same, but the devatā are nevertheless useful ideas to aid one on the path.

Maybe you can auspicious thoughts without invoking the devatā. In this case, you can view devā as atman.

If you truly KNOW you are atman, then there is no need for devatā, and no need even for the verse!