Rig Veda 9.53.4: Mandala 9, Sukta 53, Mantra 4
Sukta 9.53
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
तं हिन्वन्ति मदच्युतं हरिं नदीषु वाजिनम् । इन्दुमिन्द्राय मत्सरम् ॥
táṃ hinvanti madá-cyutaṃ hárim nadī́ṣu vājínam | índum índrāya matsarám ||
তেওঁলোকে তাক প্ৰেৰণা দিয়ে—মদচ্যুত নহোৱা হৰি, নদীসমূহত বেগৱান। ইন্দ্ৰৰ বাবে মৎসৰ ইন্দু—উল্লাসময় সোম-ৰস।
Word by Word
- तम्
- him / that (one)Pronounपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- हि
- indeed, forIndeclinableनिपातः (अव्ययम्)Root हि (निपात)
- हिन्वन्ति
- they impel / set in motionVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Root हिन्व् (हिन्वति) धातु
- मदच्युतम्
- flowing with intoxication; causing exhilarationAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम् (तम् इति विशेषणम्)Role कर्मRoot मद + च्युत (च्यु/च्युत ‘fallen/flowing’; समासः)
- हरिम्
- the tawny one (Soma)Noun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम् (तम् इति समानाधिकरण/विशेषणत्वेन)Role कर्मRoot हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
- नदीषु
- in the streams (waters)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्गे सप्तमी बहुवचनम्Role अधिकारणRoot नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
- वा
- orIndeclinableविकल्पार्थक-अव्ययम्Root वा (निपात)
- वाजिनम्
- swift/strong; prize-winningAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम् (तम् इति विशेषणम्)Role कर्मRoot वाजिन् (प्रातिपदिक) < वाज ‘strength/prize’
- इन्दुम्
- the drop (Soma)Nounपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot इन्दु (प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्राय
- for IndraNounपुंलिङ्गे चतुर्थी एकवचनम्Role सम्प्रदानRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- मत्सरम्
- intoxicating (draught); exhilarationNounपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम् (इन्दुम् इति विशेषण/अप्पोजिशन)Role कर्मRoot मत्सर (प्रातिपदिक) < √मद् ‘to be exhilarated’ (Vedic: intoxicating draught)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: तम् | हि | हिन्वन्ति | मदच्युतम् | हरिम् | नदीषु | वा | वाजिनम् | इन्दुम् | इन्द्राय | मत्सरम् । Sandhi: (1) इन्दु॒मिन्द्रा॑य = इन्दुम् + इन्द्राय (म् + इ → मि; परसवर्ण-सन्धि/अनुस्वार-लोप-प्रकारः). (2) अन्यत्र स्पष्ट-सन्धि-परिवर्तनं न
- ‘मदच्युतम्’ समासपदम् (मद + च्युत)
The meaning
Outer meaning
They impel him—the tawny one whose ecstasy does not fall away—swift in the rivers; the drop that is rapturous intoxication for Indra.
Inner meaning
The priests/inner powers ‘impel’ Soma in the streams (channels of consciousness). Hari (tawny) is the golden delight-radiance; madacyuta means the ecstasy is stable—ānanda that does not collapse back into depression. As Indu he becomes matsara for Indra: an intensifier that gives the illumined mind its victorious rapture and force. Psychologically, purified delight running in the nāḍī-like currents feeds the luminous intelligence (Indra) and makes it puissant.
Universal truth
Stable joy, once set in motion through the whole being, energizes clear intelligence and makes action swift, harmonious, and victorious.
Themes
Soma-ritual, Indra empowerment, Flow/purification, Ecstatic force
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 9.53.2, Rig Veda 9.53.3
Significance
The seer highlights the key Aurobindonian dynamic: Soma (ānanda) is not an end in itself; it is fuel for Indra (illumined mind) to act victoriously against the coverer.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna (for Indra)
- Epithets
- Hari, Madacyuta, Indu, Vājin
- Related deities
- Indra, Maruts (impelling forces), Sūrya
Cosmic role
Nectar-force that, when purified, becomes a swift current feeding the powers of light; special energizer of Indra.
Inner power
Ananda in motion—ecstasy stabilized and distributed through the being, intensifying illumination and decisive action.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma filtration songs; many RV 9 verses are adapted into Sāmans
तं हि॑न्वन्ति मद॒च्युतं॒ हरिं॑ न॒दीषु॑ वा॒जिन॑म् । इन्दु॒मिन्द्रा॑य मत्स॒रम् ॥
तम् । हि॒न्व॒न्ति॒ । म॒द॒ऽच्युत॑म् । हरि॑म् । न॒दीषु॑ । वा॒जिन॑म् । इन्दु॑म् । इन्द्रा॑य । म॒त्स॒रम् ॥
tam | hinvanti | mada-cyutam | harim | nadīṣu | vājinam | indum | indrāya | matsaram
Likely Gāyatrī (common in Soma pavamāna sections) or Triṣṭubh; this verse reads compact and song-like—probable Gāyatrī (3 pādas of 8) though transmitted as two lines in some editions
24
3 x 8 (if Gāyatrī); otherwise approximate compact cadence
Quick, flowing, ‘river-like’ rhythm; buoyant and propulsive.
Induces uplifted brightness and a sense of flowing energy; supports circulation of prāṇa with joy.
- हिन्वन्ति (hinvanti)
- Literal: they impel, set in motion. Symbolic: the aspirant and inner disciplines propel the delight-force through the system
- मदच्युतम् (mada-cyutam)
- Literal: whose intoxication/ecstasy does not fall away. Symbolic: steady ānanda not subject to recoil
- हरिम् (harim)
- Literal: tawny/golden one. Symbolic: golden radiance of delight and illumination
- नदीषु (nadīṣu)
- Literal: in the rivers. Symbolic: currents/channels of consciousness; life-streams and nāḍīs
- वाजिनम् (vājinam)
- Literal: swift/possessing vāja (might, winning power). Symbolic: effective force that wins the ‘vāja’—spiritual plenitude and victory
- इन्दुम् (indum)
- Literal: the drop. Symbolic: concentrated essence of bliss-consciousness
- इन्द्राय (indrāya)
- Literal: for Indra. Symbolic: to empower the illumined mind, lord of light
- मत्सरम् (matsaram)
- Literal: intoxicating rapture. Symbolic: ecstatic intensification that makes illumination dynamic and conquering
Soma is urged on through the waters and the filter; the verse supports the offering of Soma as Indra’s energizing draught in Soma yajña sequences.
During Soma pressing/flow and offerings to Indra
Sung/recited to impel Soma and gladden Indra; accompaniment with regulated actions of filtering
Chant to stabilize joy and ‘feed’ clarity—use before study, discernment, or decisive work to avoid dullness.
hinvanti (√hi ‘impel, drive on’); mada (from √mad ‘be glad, intoxicated’ → ecstasy/rapture) + cyuta (ppp of √cyu ‘fall, slip’) → ‘unfallen ecstasy’; hari- ‘tawny, golden’ (often for luminous energies); nadī- ‘river’ (outer streams; inner currents); vāja- a polyvalent term: ‘prize/food’ but rooted in strength and fullness → ‘plenitude of force’, hence vājin- ‘possessing vāja’; indu- ‘drop’ (Soma as essential point of light); matsara- from √mad semantic field: rousing exhilaration that energizes Indra’s victory.
Ananda/rapture (mada) as spiritual energy, Indra as illumined force empowered by Soma
The correct ‘flow’ through the channels mirrors ṛta: harmony of movements in the being.
Stable ecstasy (madacyuta) implies delight aligned with truth, not excitement that collapses.
Distribution of essence: the one drop becomes many currents, empowering the cosmic mind-force.
Integral yoga hermeneutic: Soma (delight) empowers Indra (illumined mind) to transform nature.
Rivers = channels of experience and energy; tawny-gold = illumination suffused with delight; drop = concentrated bliss-essence entering mind to produce luminous rapture.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘Soma for Indra’ mythologem: Soma as the exhilarating draught that empowers Indra’s victorious force. Innerly, the purified essence is driven through the life-currents and becomes the rapture that arms the illumined mind (Indra) for conquest over obscurity.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The √mad family (mada-, matsara-) reflects an archaic Indo-Iranian sacral lexicon of ‘exhilaration/rapture’ linked to ritual drink; Indo-Iranian parallels are strong though exact PIE reconstruction is debated. vāja-/vājin- shows an inherited poetic abstraction where ‘food/prize’ merges with ‘strength’—a common Indo-European trope of vitality as nourishment and victory.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi participates through collective ritual agency (‘they impel’): the human act of pressing/urging corresponds to an inner urging of consciousness. Soma reciprocates by becoming ‘unfailing rapture’ and by empowering Indra—the awakened force in the practitioner—to act victoriously.
Feel a golden current of delight moving through inner ‘rivers’ from navel to head, offering it to the illumined mind (Indra) for clear seeing.
Manipura to Ajna (uplift of energized clarity)
Breath-as-river: inhale up the spine, exhale down the front; softly chant on exhale, sensing flow in ‘nadīṣu’.
Bright, flowing, lightly ecstatic concentration.
Avoid excitement: aim for madacyuta—steady joy. After chanting, sit 2–3 minutes watching thoughts become luminous and swift but quiet.
Rigvedic svara; keep a buoyant lift on harim/indum/indrāya.
Let the phrase nadīṣu vājinam flow without breaks; avoid chopping consonant clusters.
: ‘cyu’ cluster clean (not ‘chy’), : long ī; retroflex ṣ at end, : long ā; soft j, : clear ‘ts’ cluster
Bright, flowing, lightly singing tone; avoid harshness.
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.
