Rig Veda 2.41.2: Mandala 2, Sukta 41, Mantra 2
Sukta 2.41
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada
- Devata
- Vāyu
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
नियुत्वान्वायवा गह्ययं शुक्रो अयामि ते । गन्तासि सुन्वतो गृहम् ॥
niyútvān vāyávā gahy ayáṃ śukró ayā́mi te | gántāsi sunvató gṛhám ||
হে বায়ু, নিয়ুতসহ আহা; এই উজ্জ্বল সোম মই তোমালৈ আগবঢ়াইছোঁ। তুমি সোম-চেপা জনৰ গৃহলৈ আহিবা—অৰ্পণৰ সজ্জিত অন্তঃগৃহলৈ।
Word by Word
- नियुत्वान्
- (O Vāyu,) having/possessing the yoked teams (niyuts)Noun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनRole Kartā (सम्बोधन-प्रायः; वायोः विशेषण) अथवा विशेषणRoot नियुत्वन् (प्रातिपदिक; नि-युज् ‘to yoke, harness’ से) अथवा ‘नियुत्’ (युग्म-रथ-योजन) + -वन्
- अन्वायवा
- O Vāyu, following/along (come), O VāyuNounपुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचन (वेदिक रूप)Role (सम्बोधन; कारक-निर्देश नहीं)Root अनु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + वायु (प्रातिपदिक) → ‘अन्वायव’ (सम्बोधन)
- गहि
- come!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); मध्यम पुरुष; एकवचनRole (क्रिया)Root गम् (धातु) — वेदिक आज्ञार्थ/लोट् रूप ‘गहि’
- अयम्
- thisPronounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनRole Kartā/विषय (नामवाक्य में) अथवा विशेष्य-सूचकRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- शुक्रः
- bright, pure (one)Adjective/Nounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनRole Kartā/विषय (अयम् के साथ) अथवा विशेषणRoot शुक्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- अयामि
- I come / I approachVerbलट् (वर्तमान); उत्तम पुरुष; एकवचनRole (क्रिया)Root या (धातु ‘to go’) — वेदिक रूप; ‘अयामि’ = ‘आ-या-मि’ (आ + या) का संधि/विकल्पात्मक रूप
- ते
- to youPronounचतुर्थी एकवचन (ते = ‘to you’) [वेद में ‘ते’ दत्तिव/षष्ठी दोनों; यहाँ दत्तिव]Role SampradānaRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- गन्तासि
- you will comeVerb (periphrastic: nominal + copula)‘गन्ता’ (कर्तरि भविष्यत्/परस्मैपदी भाव: ‘one who will go/come’), पुं; प्रथमा एकवचन + ‘असि’ लट्, मध्यम पुरुष, एकवचनRole (क्रिया; भविष्यत्-आगमन का विधान)Root गम् (धातु) + कर्तरि भविष्यत् कृदन्त ‘गन्तृ/गन्ता’ + अस् (धातु) → ‘गन्ता असि’
- सुन्वतः
- of the Soma-presser (of the one who presses)Participle (Adjective/Noun)पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive) / अधिकरण-संबन्धRoot सु (धातु ‘to press (Soma)’) → वर्तमान कृदन्त ‘सुन्वत्’
- गृहम्
- house, homeNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचनRole KarmaRoot गृह (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद/संधि-निरसन: (1) नियुत्वान्वायवा → नियुत्वान् + (अ)यवा/वायवा (सम्बोधन)
- अन्त्य -न् + व- से संधि में ‘न्’ बना रहता है। (2) गन्तासि → गन्ता + असि (अ + अ → आ).
- षष्ठी ‘सुन्वतः’ + कर्म ‘गृहम्’ (गृहं) — ‘सुन्वतः (जनस्य) गृहम्’। (4) अयामि ते: ‘ते’ दत्तिव एकवचन (सम्प्रदान) के रूप में ग्रहण।
The meaning
Outer meaning
The poet invites Vāyu to come with his yoked teams; a bright Soma is offered to him, and he is asked to come to the house of the Soma-presser.
Inner meaning
Vāyu, the life-breath and dynamic prāṇic force, is summoned with disciplined energies (niyut—yoked powers). The “bright Soma” is the clarified delight of consciousness offered upward; the “house of the presser” becomes the prepared inner chamber where aspiration and breath cooperate, so the prāṇa can carry the offering to higher mind and open the pathways of experience.
Universal truth
Spiritual progress requires a consciously yoked life-force: when breath and energies are harnessed and invited into the prepared inner space, the pure delight (soma) becomes available and the journey toward wider consciousness begins.
Themes
Invitation, Soma offering, Purification, Vital discipline
The seer
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada
- Lineage
- Bhārgava (traditionally connected with the Gṛtsamada lineage)
- Other hymns
- RV 2.1 (Agni as inner priest), RV 2.23 (Bṛhaspati and the opening of the cave), RV 2.24 (Bṛhaspati, release of the cows/rays), RV 2.40–2.41 (dual deities; harmonizing powers)
Family tradition
Seer-family of RV Maṇḍala 2; hymns marked by practical invocations that double as inner-sacrifice instructions—calling powers to enter the ‘house’ of the seeker.
Significance
Gṛtsamada’s voice often turns the ritual scene into a psychology of ascent: the gods are invoked as functional powers in consciousness; the ‘pressing’ becomes extraction of essence from experience and offering it to higher forces.
The deity
- Devata
- Vāyu
- Epithets
- Niyutvān (with yoked teams), Swift-goer (implied), Soma-drinker (contextual)
- Related deities
- Indra (illumined mind, often paired with Vāyu), Agni (will and priest of the inner sacrifice), Soma (delight offered through breath)
Cosmic role
Mover of the atmosphere; distributor of breath and motion; first receiver of Soma in many sequences, opening the channels for other gods.
Inner power
Prāṇa-śakti that clears obstructions, quickens aspiration, and stabilizes the ‘carriage’ of the offering; the force that makes inner movement possible without dispersion.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma offering sequence with Vāyu as an early recipient (Vāyavya graha context)
नि॒युत्वा॑न्वाय॒वा ग॑ह्य॒यं शु॒क्रो अ॑यामि ते । गन्ता॑सि सुन्व॒तो गृ॒हम् ॥
नि॒युत्वा॑न् । वा॒यो॒ इति॑ । आ । ग॒हि॒ । अ॒यम् । शु॒क्रः । अ॒या॒मि॒ । ते॒ । गन्ता॑ । अ॒सि॒ । सु॒न्व॒तः । गृ॒हम् ॥
niyutvān | vāyo iti | ā | gahi | ayam | śukraḥ | ayāmi | te | gantā | asi | sunvataḥ | gṛham
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3 pādas × 8 syllables (typical gāyatrī cadence)
Quick, forward-driving, invitational; suited to ‘calling in’ a force.
Produces a light, energizing lift; supports breath-awareness and an immediate sense of presence entering the inner space.
- नियुत्वान् (niyutvān)
- Literal: having yoked teams/harnessed steeds. Symbolic: disciplined, harnessed life-energies; controlled prāṇa supporting sādhanā
- वायुः (vāyu)
- Literal: wind, air. Symbolic: life-breath; the vital dynamism that carries offerings upward
- आ गहि (ā gahi)
- Literal: come here. Symbolic: invocation for descent/entry of the force into the inner field
- शुक्रः (śukraḥ)
- Literal: bright, pure. Symbolic: purified consciousness; luminous delight free of mixture
- सोमः (soma) [implied by context]
- Literal: soma juice. Symbolic: divine Ananda; nectar of immortalizing experience
- सुन्वतः (sunvataḥ)
- Literal: of the presser. Symbolic: the aspirant who presses out essence by tapas and attention
- गृहम् (gṛham)
- Literal: house, dwelling. Symbolic: inner temple/psychic dwelling prepared for the offering
Soma invitation: offering of ‘bright Soma’ to Vāyu; ‘house of the presser’ corresponds to the sacrificer’s ritual space and, inwardly, the prepared psyche.
At Soma-pressing moments; invitational verses before offering/drinking
Invitation (āvāhana) and offering of Soma to Vāyu; establishing the deity’s presence in the ‘house’
Use as a pranayama-invocation: chant before breath practice to ‘yoke’ energies and consecrate the inner chamber (heart/breath space) for meditation.
śukra ‘bright’ from √śuc ‘shine, be pure’ (PIE *ḱleuk- ‘shine’ is debated; Indo-Iranian has strong ‘brightness/purity’ semantic cluster). sunvat ‘pressing Soma’ from √su ‘press’ (PIE *seuH- ‘press/juice’ often proposed). gṛha ‘house’ from √gṛh ‘seize/hold’, house as held space—psychologically the contained inner chamber of practice.
offering as extension of consciousness (ayāmi), inner house as stabilized field for divine descent
R̥ta is implied as right harnessing: movement that serves order rather than dispersion.
Śukra (bright/pure) points to a truth-clarified offering—experience refined toward Satya.
From undirected motion to conscious movement: breath becomes a vehicle for ascent and manifestation of higher states.
Proto-yogic/prāṇic psychology; aligns with Aurobindonian reading of gods as powers of consciousness.
dawn/early morning (typical Soma and Vāyu associations; not explicit)
unspecified
Wind = prāṇa-current; Soma = luminous delight; house = inner altar/heart-cave where offering is prepared.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The god’s arrival to the ‘house of pressing’: the prepared space where Soma is offered. Psychologically, the ‘house’ is the gathered inner being; the bright Soma is the clarified delight offered upward, inviting the breath-power to enter and harmonize the vital currents.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The invitation formula (ā gahi) and the house (gṛham) are archaic prayer diction. The ‘pressing’ identity (sunvat) reflects the central IE ritual act of extracting a sacred drink/essence by pressure—paralleled in Indo-Iranian tradition.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi actively ‘extends’ (ayāmi) the bright Soma—speech-act as offering—while affirming the god’s assured coming. It is cooperative immediacy: divine participation is expected when the offering is luminous and the inner house is prepared.
Invite prāṇa to become a conscious ally; offer the ‘bright soma’ (quiet joy) upward with each exhale.
Anāhata (inner dwelling/heart-space)
Gentle nāḍī-śodhana or 1:1 slow breathing; mentally ‘yoke’ inhalation/exhalation before chanting.
Collected, energized, inwardly open; readiness for ascent.
Chant 3–9 times, then sit with attention on the breath in the heart-region; feel prāṇa entering as a calm, swift force that carries aspiration without strain.
Use Vedic accenting per śākhā: preserve udatta on marked syllables, svarita/anudatta according to surrounding; do not flatten into later classical stress.
Honor the marked udatta in niyutvān, śukro; keep ā gahi as a clear upward call; avoid overlengthening unaccented syllables.
ni-yut-vān: keep 't' dental, 'vān' long ā, vāyav: vā-ya-v (do not collapse to 'vāyo'), śukraḥ: śu-kraḥ with clear visarga at end if reciting with it, gṛham: gṛ- with vocalic ṛ; light 'h'
bright, inviting, breath-supported (airy resonance)
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