Rig Veda 9.13.8: Mandala 9, Sukta 13, Mantra 8
Sukta 9.13
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- Likely Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
जुष्ट इन्द्राय मत्सरः पवमान कनिक्रदत् । विश्वा अप द्विषो जहि ॥
juṣṭá indrā́ya matsaráḥ pávamāna kánikradat | víśvā apá dvíṣo jahi ||
ইন্দ্ৰৰ প্ৰিয়, উল্লাস-জাগ্ৰত সোম—হে পৱমান—আনন্দত কণিক্ৰদ কৰি উঠিছে। সকলো দ্বেষ, সকলো বৈৰী প্ৰবৃত্তি দূৰ কৰ; আমাৰ ভিতৰত জ্যোতিৰ বৃদ্ধি যি বাধা দিয়ে তাক নাশ কৰ।
Word by Word
- जुष्टः
- pleasing, acceptable, well-likedAdjective/Participleपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole विशेषण (इन्द्राय) / विधेय-विशेषणRoot जुष् (धातु) → जुष्ट (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्राय
- to/for IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- मत्सरः
- intoxicating draught; exhilaration (Soma-rapture)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्ताRoot मत्सर (प्रातिपदिक)
- पवमान
- O Pavamāna (Soma), ‘being purified/flowing’Adjective/Participle (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot पू (धातु) → पवमान (वर्तमान कृदन्त, शतृ/शानच्)
- कनिक्रदत्
- cries aloud, resounds (repeatedly)Verbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole क्रिया (कर्ता=मत्सरः)Root क्रन्द् (धातु) with intens./freq. reduplication → कनि-क्रद्
- विश्वाः
- allAdjective (used substantively)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन ( = ‘all [of them]’)Role कर्म (जहि)Root विश्व (सर्व/विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक)
- अप
- away, offIndeclinableRole क्रियाविशेषण/उपसर्ग (जहि)Root अप (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- द्विषः
- enemies, hatersNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्म (जहि) (विश्वाः … द्विषः = ‘all the enemies’)Root द्विष् (धातु) → द्विष् (कृदन्त/नाम) ‘hater, enemy’
- जहि
- strike/kill, smiteVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), परस्मैपद, मध्यम, एकवचनRole क्रिया (सम्बोधितः=पवमान)Root हन् (धातु)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: जुष्टः | इन्द्राय | मत्सरः | पवमान | कनिक्रदत् | विश्वाः | अप | द्विषः | जहि । 1) ‘जुष्ट॒ इन्द्रा॑य’ इति विसर्ग-सन्धिः: जुष्टः + इन्द्राय → जुष्ट इन्द्राय (विसर्गः स्वर-सन्धौ लोप/अप्रकाश). 2) ‘पव॑मान॒ कनि॑क्रदत्’ इति संहितायां केवलं पद-संयोगः
- धातुरूपं ‘कनिक्रदत्’ (लट् 3sg) । 3) ‘विश्वा॒ अप॒ द्विषो॑’ इति: अप इत्यव्ययम् पृथक्
- ‘विश्वाः’ (स्त्री. द्वि. बहु.) + ‘द्विषः’ (पुं. द्वि. बहु.) = ‘सर्वान् शत्रून्’ अर्थः।
The meaning
Outer meaning
The purifying Soma, welcomed by Indra, cries out in exhilaration; it is invoked to strike away all enmities.
Inner meaning
The Soma-current of delight (ānanda) rising through purification becomes “acceptable to Indra” (the illumined mind). Its inspired cry is the soul’s exultant affirmation. The mantra asks that all inner “hatreds” (dviṣaḥ)—hostile impulses, doubts, depressions, and resisting formations—be driven away so the growth of light and right force can proceed.
Universal truth
When inner joy is purified and offered to the higher intelligence, it becomes a dynamic force that expels psychological resistance and clears the way for truth-guided growth.
Themes
Indra-Soma synergy, Exhilaration and power, Removal of hostility, Inner battle
The seer
Significance
In Book 9, the seer-voices typically belong to Soma-pavamāna lineages (often Kāṇva/Āṅgirasa/Gr̥tsamada traditions depending on hymn). Here the rishi-function is the ‘inner priest’: to turn delight into a force accepted by Indra and capable of removing resistance.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna (in relation to Indra)
- Epithets
- Pavamāna (self-purifying), Matsara (exhilarating), Indra-juṣṭa (welcomed by Indra)
- Related deities
- Indra, Agni, Viśve Devāḥ
Cosmic role
Soma as the flowing essence that supports gods and worlds; in purification it becomes the upward current that feeds illumination and victory.
Inner power
Ananda as a purifying, energizing current; it awakens the illumined mind (Indra) and expels hostile formations.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma Pavitra/Pavamāna recitations during Soma pressing and purification sequences
जुष्ट॒ इन्द्रा॑य मत्स॒रः पव॑मान॒ कनि॑क्रदत् । विश्वा॒ अप॒ द्विषो॑ जहि ॥
जुष्टः॑ । इन्द्रा॑य । म॒त्स॒रः । पव॑मान । कनि॑क्रदत् । विश्वाः॑ । अप॑ । द्विषः॑ । ज॒हि॒ ॥
juṣṭaḥ | indrāya | matsaraḥ | pavamāna | kanikradat | viśvāḥ | apa | dviṣaḥ | jahi
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3 pādas of 8 syllables (typical gāyatrī cadence)
Quick, bright, forward-driving; suited to invocation and decisive action.
Creates a crisp uplift and a ‘cutting’ force on the final imperative (jahi), supporting inner rejection of negativity.
- juṣṭaḥ
- Literal: pleased, welcomed, accepted. Symbolic: the inner offering that has become fit for the higher mind; consent of the divine intelligence
- indra
- Literal: Indra (deity). Symbolic: illumined mind-power; lord of luminous perception and victorious clarity
- matsaraḥ
- Literal: exhilarating, intoxicating; rousing. Symbolic: ecstatic uplift of consciousness that energizes aspiration
- pavamāna
- Literal: self-purifying (Soma). Symbolic: the delight-current that purifies mind/vital by right movement
- kanikradat
- Literal: crying out, resounding. Symbolic: mantric vibration of awakened delight; triumphant affirmation
- dviṣaḥ
- Literal: hatreds, enemies. Symbolic: inner hostile movements—negation, inertia, craving, fear, doubt—opposed to illumination
- jahi
- Literal: strike, slay. Symbolic: decisive rejection by the illumined will; cutting off the resistant formation
Soma offered to Indra; prayer for removal of enemies. Inner application: once delight is accepted by illumined mind, it becomes a force that expels inner hostilities (dviṣ) obstructing truth.
During Soma extraction/straining and offering cycles; also as stotra/śastra material in Soma rites
Chant to accompany purification/straining and to invoke Indra’s acceptance and victory
Use as a short protection-and-clarity mantra before meditation: offer the day’s energy to higher mind; then reject hostile thoughts/impulses.
juṣṭa < √juṣ ‘to enjoy, be pleased with, accept’ indicates Indra’s consent to Soma. matsara relates to exhilaration/intoxicating rapture (Soma’s energizing delight). dviṣ ‘hate, be hostile’ (√dviṣ) is psychologized as inner antagonistic formations. jahi is imperative of √han ‘strike, slay’—a common Vedic verb for removing obstruction.
Battle of Light vs Darkness (removal of hostile forces), Ṛta (restoration through expulsion of dviṣ), Indra principle (illumined sovereignty)
Hostile movements are what distort ṛta; Soma accepted by Indra restores right movement.
Truth is maintained by removing dviṣ—forces of falsehood and division.
Purified delight becomes a creative dynamis that supports the ascent of consciousness.
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral (Aurobindonian) reading: ascent from vital-mind resistance to illumined mind via ananda.
Soma-flow = rising delight in the subtle body; its ‘cry’ = mantra-sound that awakens and clears; ‘enemies’ = obscuring samskāras and reactive vital habits.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is ‘Indra-accepted Soma that slays hostility’: Soma, exhilarating and resounding, once accepted by Indra, is invoked to drive away all dviṣ (hostile forces). Inner sense: illumined mind (Indra) receiving delight (Soma) generates a victorious vibration that expels inner negations, divisions, and resistances to truth.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The slaying formula jahi (√han) belongs to the widespread IE ‘strike/smite’ diction used for overcoming adversaries (mythic and psychological). Indra’s warrior-sovereign profile and the ‘enemy/hostility’ lexeme (√dviṣ) fit the archaic Indo-European conflict-poetics transposed here into ritual-psychic terms.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi positions Soma as effective only when aligned with Indra (juṣṭa indrāya): illumination must consent to and govern ecstasy. In return, Soma acts as a purifying warrior-force, removing all hostile formations (dviṣ) from the seeker’s field, enabling clearer establishment in ṛta.
Offer purified joy to the illumined mind; then practice firm inner rejection of hostile thought-forms.
Anāhata to Ājñā axis (joy rising to clarity)
Moderate nāḍī-śodhana for 3–7 rounds, then chant on a steady exhale; pause after ‘jahi’ for silent clarity.
Uplifted, luminous, victorious (from rajasic agitation into sattvic force).
1) Recall a moment of pure gratitude (Soma). 2) Mentally ‘offer’ it upward (to Indra). 3) Name one resisting pattern (dviṣ) and, on ‘jahi’, decisively drop it without struggle.
Vedic accents present in Saṃhitā text (udātta/anudātta/svarita) but full svara mapping requires pada+śākhā notation; treat marked accents as guides.
Maintain lift on udātta-marked syllables (e.g.,, ), glide through svarita, keep anudātta grounded; let the imperative ‘’ land firmly.
juṣṭa = ‘jush-ta’ (ṣ retroflex), indrāya: long ā (āy), matsaraḥ: clear ‘ts’ cluster, pavamāna: ‘va’ not ‘ba’; long ā, kanikradat: crisp ‘kr’ consonant cluster, dviṣaḥ: ‘dvi’ as in ‘dvi-’; ṣ retroflex
Bright, ringing, slightly forceful on the final pāda.
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