Universal Oneness & Self-Knowledge Vedic Mantra
Rigveda 1.164.46: what is real is one, and the wise call it by many names. Sanskrit text, transliteration and meaning in simple English.
Sanskrit
इन्द्रं मित्रं वरुणमग्निमाहुरथो दिव्यः स सुपर्णो गरुत्मान् ।
एकं सद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्त्यग्निं यमं मातरिश्वानमाहुः ॥
The Rigveda is traditionally chanted with pitch marks. The text here is given without them. “Sat” means “what is, the real”.
Transliteration (IAST)
indraṃ mitraṃ varuṇam agnim āhur atho divyaḥ sa suparṇo garutmān |
ekaṃ sad viprā bahudhā vadanty agniṃ yamam mātariśvānam āhuḥ ||
Meaning
They call it Indra, Mitra, Varuna and Agni. They call it the heavenly bird Garutman. What is real is one; the wise speak of it in many ways. They call it Agni, Yama, Matarishvan.
Source / Textual Reference
Rigveda 1.164.46 (Mandala 1, Sukta 164, verse 46)
Text compared with Sanskrit Wikisource and Wisdomlib (accent marks removed). The seer (Dirghatamas Aucathya), the deity (Surya, the Sun) and the metre are as listed on Wisdomlib.
Traditional Significance
This is one of the best-known lines of the Rigveda. It is often quoted to show that the Vedic seers saw one truth behind the many names of the gods.
In the hymn itself, the names are names of the Sun, the deity of the verse. Scholars read the verse in different ways: some see one reality behind many gods, others a single power, the Sun, praised under many names. We give the usual meaning.
Traditional Practice
The verse is read, studied and quoted in talks on Hindu thought. It is not a mantra with a fixed count of repetitions.
Related Content
- Agnim Ile Purohitam, the first verse of the Rigveda, which names Agni
- Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma, all this is Brahman
- Ishavasyam Idam Sarvam, the Lord within all