Rig Veda 9.80.5: Mandala 9, Sukta 80, Mantra 5
Sukta 9.80
- Rishi
- Not securely inferable from the excerpt alone
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna, explicitly as Indra’s gladdener
- Chandas
- Likely Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
तं त्वा हस्तिनो मधुमन्तमद्रिभिर्दुहन्त्यप्सु वृषभं दश क्षिपः । इन्द्रं सोम मादयन्दैव्यं जनं सिन्धोरिवोर्मिः पवमानो अर्षसि ॥
táṃ tvā hastíno mádhumantam ádribhir duhánty apsú vṛṣabháṃ dáśa kṣípaḥ | índraṃ soma mādayan daívyam jánaṃ síndhor ivormíḥ pavamāno arṣasi ||
إيّاك، المفعمَ بالحلاوة، تحلبُ الأيدي الماهرةُ بالحجارة—في المياه—ذلك الثورَ من الأصابع العشر. يا سوما، مُفرِحًا إندرا، مُبهِجًا القومَ الإلهيَّ في داخلنا، تندفعُ مُطهَّرًا كموجةِ النهر.
Word by Word
- तम्
- him/that (one)Pronounपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- त्वा
- you (acc. sg.)Pronounद्वितीया एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- हस्तिनः
- the handlers/pressers (lit. ‘having hands’)Nounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot हस्तिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- मधुमन्तम्
- honeyed, sweet (rich in mead)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot मधुमन्त् (प्रातिपदिक)
- अद्रिभिः
- with the pressing-stonesNounपुंलिङ्गे तृतीया बहुवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot अद्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
- दुहन्ति
- they milk/draw outVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमा पुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Role (क्रिया)Root दुह्
- अप्सु
- in the watersNounस्त्रीलिङ्गे सप्तमी बहुवचनम्Role AdhikaraṇaRoot अप् (प्रातिपदिक)
- वृषभम्
- the bull (strong one)Nounपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot वृषभ (प्रातिपदिक)
- दश
- tenNumeralअव्यय (संख्याशब्दः), ‘ten’Role (विशेषणम्)Root दशन्/दश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
- क्षिपः
- fingers/handsNounस्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot क्षिप् (प्रातिपदिक; RV ‘finger/hand’)
- इन्द्रम्
- IndraNounपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- सोम
- O SomaNounपुंलिङ्गे सम्बोधन एकवचनम्Role (सम्बोधन)Root सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- मादयन्
- gladdening, intoxicatingVerb (participle)वर्तमान कृदन्तः (शतृ), पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot मद् (णिच्) → मादय
- दैव्यम्
- divineAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot दैव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- जनम्
- people, raceNounपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot जन (प्रातिपदिक)
- सिन्धोः
- of the river/streamNounपुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी एकवचनम्Role (सम्बन्धः)Root सिन्धु (प्रातिपदिक)
- इव
- like, asIndeclinableउपमा-अव्ययम्Role (उपमा)Root इव
- ऊर्मिः
- a waveNounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot ऊर्मि (प्रातिपदिक)
- पवमानः
- purifying himself, flowing clearVerb (participle)वर्तमान कृदन्तः (शानच्/आत्मनेपदीय), पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot पू (धातु) → पवमान (प्रातिपदिक; ‘self-purifying’)
- अर्षसि
- you flow, you rushVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपदम्, मध्यम पुरुषः, एकवचनम्Role (क्रिया)Root ऋष्/अर्ष् (Vedic: ‘to flow, rush’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-resolved): तम् | त्वा | हस्तिनः | मधुमन्तम् | अद्रिभिः | दुहन्ति | अप्सु | वृषभम् | दश | क्षिपः || इन्द्रम् | सोम | मादयन् | दैव्यम् | जनम् | सिन्धोः | इव | ऊर्मिः | पवमानः | अर्षसि । प्रमुख-सन्धयः: (1) दुहन्त्यप्सु = दुहन्ति + अप्सु (इ + अ → य्, यण्-सन्धि)
- (2) सिन्धोरिव = सिन्धोः + इव (ः + इ → रि, विसर्ग-सन्धि)
- (3) इवोर्मिः = इव + ऊर्मिः (अ + ऊ → ओऊ/ओ, गुण-सन्धि; संहितायां ‘इवोर्मिः’)
- (4) पवमानो अर्षसि = पवमानः + अर्षसि (ः + अ → ओ, विसर्ग-सन्धि)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Skilful hands draw out the sweet Soma with stones, in the waters, the bull from the ten fingers. O Soma, making Indra glad and gladdening the divine people, you rush purified like a river’s wave.
Inner meaning
The ‘skilful hands’ are trained faculties of attention and practice; ‘in the waters’ indicates the life-plane (āpas) where consciousness mixes with desire and movement. Soma as the ‘bull’ is the strong, fecund delight-force extracted from the vital waters and made fit through purification. As Soma gladdens Indra, it intensifies the illumined mind’s power to break limitations; as it gladdens the ‘divine people’ (daivyaṃ janam), it awakens and harmonizes the inner community of higher tendencies. The purified rush ‘like a wave’ describes the experiential surge of clarified ananda moving through the being in rhythmic pulses.
Universal truth
When disciplined skill draws delight out of the moving waters of life and purifies it, that delight becomes a powerful wave that strengthens illumination and uplifts the whole inner nature.
Themes
Soma as wave, Indra exhilaration, Pressing with stones, Waters of purification
The seer
- Rishi
- Ascribed at hymn-level in Anukramaṇī to a Soma-Pavamāna seer.
- Other hymns
- RV 9.80 (same sūkta context)
Significance
The verse reads like a technical note of inner yoga: skill (hastinaḥ), life-waters (apsu), exhilaration of Indra (illumined mind), and the wave-like movement of purified ananda.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- madhumant (sweet), vṛṣabha (bull), pavamāna (purifying), Indra-mādana (Indra’s gladdener)
- Related deities
- Indra, Āpas, Viśve Devāḥ
Cosmic role
Mediator of delight between the life-waters and the luminous gods; a purifier that turns raw life into offering-force.
Inner power
Transforms vital movements into rhythmic waves of clarified joy that empower illumination and collective inner harmony.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing and purification; recited during filtration/flow into vessels and offerings to Indra and others.
तं त्वा॑ ह॒स्तिनो॒ मधु॑मन्त॒मद्रि॑भिर्दु॒हन्त्य॒प्सु वृ॑ष॒भं दश॒ क्षिप॑: । इन्द्रं॑ सोम मा॒दय॒न्दैव्यं॒ जनं॒ सिन्धो॑रिवो॒र्मिः पव॑मानो अर्षसि ॥
तम् । त्वा॒ । ह॒स्तिनः॑ । मधु॑ऽमन्तम् । अद्रि॑ऽभिः । दु॒हन्ति॑ । अ॒प्ऽसु । वृ॒ष॒भम् । दश॑ । क्षिपः॑ । इन्द्र॑म् । सो॒म॒ । मा॒दय॑न् । दैव्य॑म् । जन॑म् । सिन्धोः॑ऽइव । ऊ॒र्मिः । पव॑मानः । अ॒र्ष॒सि॒ ॥
tam | tvā | hastinaḥ | madhu-mantam | adri-bhiḥ | duhanti | ap-su | vṛṣabham | daśa | kṣipaḥ | indram | soma | mādayan | daivyam | janam | sindhoḥ-iva | ūrmiḥ | pavamānaḥ | arṣasi
44
4 × ~11 syllables
Wave-like propulsion; a rolling cadence matching ‘ūrmiḥ’ imagery.
Induces an energetic, cleansing surge; supports uplift and gladness.
- हस्तिनः (hastinaḥ)
- Literal: those with hands / skilful handlers. Symbolic: trained faculties of practice—attention, discernment, inner craftsmanship
- अद्रिभिः (adribhiḥ)
- Literal: with stones. Symbolic: tapas-pressure; concentrated method that extracts essence
- अप्सु (apsu)
- Literal: in the waters. Symbolic: life-energy field; the flow of emotions/desires where purification is needed
- वृषभम् (vṛṣabham)
- Literal: bull. Symbolic: strong generative force of purified delight/power
- इन्द्रं मादयन् (indraṃ mādayan)
- Literal: making Indra glad. Symbolic: exhilarating illumined mind; intensifying victorious light
- दैव्यं जनम् (daivyaṃ janam)
- Literal: divine people. Symbolic: inner assembly of divine powers/tendencies awakened in the seeker
- सिन्धोरिव ऊर्मिः (sindhor iva ūrmiḥ)
- Literal: like a river’s wave. Symbolic: rhythmic surge of purified consciousness-energy
Soma extraction and straining in water; preparation of Indra’s invigorating draught; communal divine participation (daivya jana).
During pavamāna stotras/śastras sequences in Soma rites (general).
Pressing with stones, mixing/flow ‘in waters’, filtering, offering; invoking exhilaration of Indra.
Chant when needing to convert emotional turbulence into a clear wave of joy; visualize the ‘waters’ settling as Soma rushes purified.
hastin: from hasta 'hand' with possessive suffix—those who act with effective skill. apsu: ap- 'waters' locative plural—ritually the watery medium; inwardly the fluent life-substance where clarity occurs. ūrmi: wave, surge—common metaphor for Soma’s dynamic movement. arṣasi: √ṛṣ 'rush/flow' (distinct from √arṣ 'to pierce' in later usage); emphasizes impetuous purified streaming.
Ananda as energizer of Indra-force, Collective divinity in the being (daivya jana), Purification-through-flow (pavamāna)
The ‘wave’ is ṛta in motion—right rhythm established in the life-force.
Purified Soma represents truth of feeling: joy freed from distortion.
Emergence of strong delight from the waters; transformation of life into divine force.
Integral-psychological symbolism: Indra as illumined mind; āpas as vital plane.
Waters = vital currents; wave = rhythmic pranic surge; bull = strong purified force; stones = tapas; hands = skill of sadhana.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Soma as the river-wave that exhilarates Indra: the pressed bull-essence emerges in the waters and surges onward, gladdening Indra and the divine host. Inner myth: the clarified delight-force rises from the life-waters and rushes through the system, awakening victorious and harmonious faculties.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The wave/river metaphor (sindhu, ūrmi) and the pastoral extraction verb √duh are part of an archaic IE imagistic stock. The verse also shows typical RV parallelism: ritual action (pressing) is immediately mapped to psychological effect (mādayan—exhilarating).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi invokes Soma not merely as an offering but as an active transformer: through correct pressing and purification, Soma becomes the agent that delights Indra and organizes the daivya jana (divine faculties). The reciprocity is the return of uplift and collective harmony in consciousness.
Let purified joy rise from the ‘waters’ of emotion as a steady wave; offer it to the illumined mind (Indra) to increase clarity and courage.
Maṇipūra (vital force) refined upward toward Ājñā (illumination)
Wave-breath: inhale 4–6, exhale 6–8, imagining a river-wave of light moving upward on exhale.
From emotional flux to rhythmic purified gladness.
Start by observing the ‘waters’ (feelings) without judgment; apply gentle inner pressure (steady attention); sense a sweet force being extracted; let it surge upward as a wave, brightening the mind and harmonizing the inner ‘people’ (faculties).
Follow saṃhitā accent marks (e.g., त्वा॑, मधु॑-, वृ॑षभं, इन्द्रं॑). Keep wave-like continuity through the second half.
Do not over-pause at caesura; let ‘sindhor ivormiḥ’ roll as a single image-unit with a gentle swell.
‘apsu’ = ap-su (clear p-s)., ‘vṛṣabham’ keep ṛ short and clear; ṣ retroflex., ‘ūrmiḥ’ lengthen ū; final ḥ audible but light., ‘pavamāno arṣasi’ articulate ṛ in arṣasi, and ṣ retroflex.
Flowing, resonant, slightly rising like a wave crest.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
