Tr. And may the restrainers say to us : "Say forth and strive on even in other fields, reposing on Indra your activity.”
uta and besides; naḥ to us; nidaḥ restrainers ; bruvantu may tell (what is going to be said afore); anyataḥ cit even in other fields; nirārata (going from here) make effort, strive; being of what kind ? indra it on Indra alone; duvaḥ (your) activity; dadhānāḥ reposing.
nidan revilers, according to the old commentators. The root-meaning is binding or obstructing. At times it has the sense of blame also and it is apposite too. Even as Vritra, etc. cover up the light and their emanations, haters of Gods, come to harm the Sacrifice, so also there are others who obstruct the person set out on the inner sacrifice in order to attain to Indra the lord of the gods. It is they who are called nidah. The root nid is used elsewhere too in the sense of binding. Terms like niditam, bound, nidānam bondage, nidātāram the binder-in the sense of binding are seen in the Mantras e.g., "He loosed the bond that held the rays (6.32.2): nidānam is to be understood as binding. Explains Sayana : He released the bonds of the cows stolen by the Panis, bearers of Vala. In, “Moving here the radiant calf finds none to fetter him” (8.61.5), Sayana himself explains nidātāram as obstructor. “Released Shunahshepa bound to the thousandfold post (sacrificial)”: the commentator explains niditam as bound firmly.
It will be clear on a consideration of the purport of the hymn that nidaḥ means obstructors, not revilers here. In this Rik, it is stated, let our opponents, the obstructors themselves speak their consent to our going onward and onward. In a subsequent hymn, “And us fortunates..” the seer says, may even those who are favourable to us command us as the fortunate, heroes of action, accomplishers of action. Hence the relation between the two Riks is to be understood when grasping the purport.
ārata : it is to be noted that words like arati, aranam, ariḥ, aryaḥ, āryah, are used in the Veda in the sense of effort, toil, ceaseless engagement, cultivation. Note that the word āryaḥ is used in the sense of slothless, everactive, fighter with the enemies of gods in the worship of the gods, one who does not stop cultivation of the human soil for the fruit of the divine wealth -- the eternal tiller.
duvaḥ: ordinary action or service.
Thus ends the seventh group in the first Chapter of the first Eighth.
This is the sixth Rik.