Rig Veda 9.92.2: Mandala 9, Sukta 92, Mantra 2
Sukta 9.92
- Rishi
- Rebha Kāśyapa
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- Jagatī
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
अच्छा नृचक्षा असरत्पवित्रे नाम दधानः कविरस्य योनौ । सीदन्होतेव सदने चमूषूपेमग्मन्नृषयः सप्त विप्राः ॥
ácchā nṛ-cákṣā ásarat pavítre nā́ma dádhānaḥ kavír asya yónau | sī́dan hótā-iva sádane camū́ṣv úpem ágmann ṛ́ṣayaḥ saptá víprāḥ ||
স্পষ্ট নৃচক্ষু দৃষ্টিৰে সি পৱিত্ৰলৈ ধাৰা হৈ বয়; কবিৰ যোনিত নিজৰ নাম ধৰি লয়। হোতাৰ দৰে সদনত, চমূসমূহত সি বহে; আৰু তাৰ ওচৰলৈ আহে সাত ঋষি—সাত বিপ্ৰ, আলোকিত চিন্তাৰ বাণী।
Word by Word
- अच्छा
- towardsIndeclinableअव्यय (दिशा/गति-वाचक)Role Adhikaraṇa (गत्यर्थे—‘towards’)Root अच्छा (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
- नृचक्षाः
- the man-seeing one (Soma)Noun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (असरत् इत्यस्य)Root नृ-चक्षस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- असरत्
- flowed / ranVerbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपद, 3 एकवचनRoot सृ (धातु)
- पवित्रे
- in/through the strainer (filter)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole Adhikaraṇa (स्थान—‘in/through the filter’)Root पवित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- नाम
- indeed / as (by) nameIndeclinableअव्यय (नूनम्/खलु/इव-प्रायः; here emphatic)Root नाम (अव्यय)
- दधानः
- bearing / placingParticipleवर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ), परस्मैपदी, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (सह-विशेषणम् नृचक्षाः)Root धा (धातु) → दधान (शतृ)
- कविः
- seer / poetNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (अन्तर्निहित—‘being a seer/poet’ as apposition)Root कवि (प्रातिपदिक)
- अस्य
- of him / hisPronounषष्ठी, एकवचनRole Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (योनौ इत्यस्य)Root इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- योनौ
- in the womb / seat / sourceNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole Adhikaraṇa (स्थान—‘in the womb/seat’)Root योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
- सीदन्
- sitting down / settlingParticipleवर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (सह-विशेषणम् नृचक्षाः)Root सद् (धातु) → सीदत्/सीदन् (शतृ; वैदिक रूप)
- होता
- Hotṛ-priestNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (उपमान—इव)Root होतृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- इव
- likeIndeclinableउपमा-अव्ययRoot इव (अव्यय)
- सदने
- in the seat / dwellingNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole Adhikaraṇa (स्थान—‘in the seat/house’)Root सदन (प्रातिपदिक)
- चमूषु
- in the ladles/cups (vessels)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचनRole Adhikaraṇa (स्थान—‘in the cups/vessels’)Root चमू (प्रातिपदिक)
- उप
- near / up toIndeclinableउपसर्ग/गत्यर्थ-अव्ययRoot उप (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- इमग्मन्
- came / approachedVerbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपद, 3 बहुवचनRoot गम् (धातु) with preverb इम्- (वैदिक intens./preverb) → इमग्मन्
- ऋषयः
- seersNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole Kartā (इमग्मन् इत्यस्य)Root ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक)
- सप्त
- sevenNumeralअव्ययवत् संख्या; here qualifying ऋषयःRoot सप्तन् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
- विप्राः
- inspired sages / priestsNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole Kartā (ऋषयः इत्यस्य विशेषण/समनाधिकरण)Root विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पाठ-संधि-विच्छेद (मुख्य): नृचक्षा असरत् → नृचक्षाः असरत् (विसर्ग-संधि)
- पवित्रे नाम → पवित्रे नाम (संधि नहीं)
- कविरस्य → कविः अस्य (विसर्ग-लोप/संधि)
- सीदन्होतेव → सीदन् होता इव (न् + ह् संयोग; ‘इव’ संधि)
- चमूषूपेमग्मन् → चमूषु उप इमग्मन् (उ + उ → ऊ; उप + इमग्मन्)
- नृषयः → ऋषयः (पदपाठानुसार)
The meaning
Outer meaning
With clear human-seeing vision he streams to the purifier, taking his name in the womb of the Seer. He sits like a priest in the session, in the bowls; and to him the seven inspired sages come near.
Inner meaning
Soma flows toward the inner purifier with nṛcakṣā—vision that truly ‘sees the human’ (our nature) and makes it transparent. ‘Taking the name in the womb of the Seer’ suggests Soma assuming a defined vibration (nāma) within the kavi-yoni, the luminous source of inspiration. Seated as hotṛ within the sadana (inner session), Soma becomes the officiating delight that conducts the sacrifice in the receptacles (camūṣu) of our being. The ‘seven viprāḥ’ are the seven powers of inspired consciousness (or seven seer-faculties) that gather around the purified delight to articulate and organize illumination.
Universal truth
Transformation requires a discerning joy that can look upon the human condition clearly, take form in inspired consciousness, and become the inner priest; then the many faculties of insight converge and cooperate.
Themes
Soma-ritual, purification, inspiration, inner sacrifice, sevenfold powers
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 9.92 (hymn context)
Significance
The mantra itself foregrounds kavi-yoni (seer-womb): it is about the birth-place of inspiration and the convergence of the seven seer-powers—suggesting a rishi-consciousness even when the named seer is uncertain.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- nṛcakṣā (human-seeing), kavi-yoni-born (in the seer-womb), hotṛ-like (inner priest)
- Related deities
- Agni (hotṛ archetype), Bṛhaspati (lord of inspired word), Sarasvatī (flow of inspiration), Viśve Devāḥ
Cosmic role
Soma as mediator and officiant: he becomes fit for the gods by purification and organizes the session of powers that uphold the sacrifice.
Inner power
Discerning delight that can inhabit the intuitive source and govern the offering-process within the being.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma filtration and placement into bowls (camū) during Soma yajña
अच्छा॑ नृ॒चक्षा॑ असरत्प॒वित्रे॒ नाम॒ दधा॑नः क॒विर॑स्य॒ योनौ॑ । सीद॒न्होते॑व॒ सद॑ने च॒मूषूपे॑मग्म॒न्नृष॑यः स॒प्त विप्रा॑: ॥
अच्छ॑ । नृ॒ऽचक्षाः॑ । अ॒स॒र॒त् । प॒वित्रे॑ । नाम॑ । दधा॑नः । क॒विः । अ॒स्य॒ । योनौ॑ । सीद॑न् । होता॑ऽइव । सद॑ने । च॒मूषु॑ । उप॑ । ई॒म् । अ॒ग्म॒न् । ऋष॑यः । स॒प्त । विप्राः॑ ॥
accha | nṛ-cakṣāḥ | asarat | pavitre | nāma | dadhānaḥ | kaviḥ | asya | yonau | sīdan | hotā-iva | sadane | camūṣu | upa | īm | agman | ṛṣayaḥ | sapta | viprāḥ
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4 pādas of ~12 syllables; Jagatī accommodates descriptive compounds (nṛcakṣā, nāma dadhānaḥ…).
Measured flow with a ceremonial ‘seating’ cadence in the second half.
Creates a sense of inward assembly—flowing in, then settling into a stable seat of ritual attention.
- नृचक्षाः (nṛcakṣāḥ)
- Literal: human-seeing, seeing men. Symbolic: lucid awareness that sees and understands the human nature to be transformed
- असरत् (asarat)
- Literal: flowed, streamed. Symbolic: continuous movement of delight through the being
- पवित्रे (pavitre)
- Literal: to/through the purifier. Symbolic: inner discrimination refining experience
- नाम दधानः (nāma dadhānaḥ)
- Literal: bearing the name. Symbolic: taking a fixed mantric vibration/identity in consciousness
- कविः…योनौ (kaviḥ…yonau)
- Literal: in the womb/source of the seer. Symbolic: in the origin-plane of intuition where true mantra is born
- होता इव (hotā iva)
- Literal: like a priest. Symbolic: inner will/office that offers and mediates between lower and higher
- सदने (sadane)
- Literal: in the session/seat. Symbolic: inner gathering-place of faculties; stable poise of practice
- चमूषु (camūṣu)
- Literal: in the bowls. Symbolic: receptive parts of the being (mind-life-body) holding the delight
- सप्त विप्राः (sapta viprāḥ)
- Literal: seven inspired sages. Symbolic: sevenfold inspired powers (thought-rays) converging around purified ananda
Soma Pavitrī rites within Soma-yajña (e.g., Agniṣṭoma): Soma pressed, strained through pavitra, collected in camū/kalaśa for offering; inner sense: purification and settling of the delight-force in the prepared vessels of consciousness.
When Soma is directed through the purifier and collected; also when invoking the priestly function of Soma within the rite.
Chant as Soma is made fit and seated in vessels; invites cooperation of seer-powers (viprāḥ).
Use to ‘seat’ the practice: chant at the start of meditation to gather scattered faculties and establish the inner officiant (focused, discerning joy).
Key terms: (1) asarat < √sṛ ‘flow, run’: Soma as a streaming consciousness-force. (2) pavitra < pav ‘to purify/clarify’ + -tra instrument: the strainer as inner discrimination separating truth from mixture. (3) dadhānaḥ < √dhā ‘place, establish’: Soma ‘puts on’ his nāman—his essential law/identity—in the yoni, the originating matrix of the kavi (seer-consciousness). (4) nṛ-cakṣāḥ: compound of nṛ ‘human’ + cakṣ ‘see’ (√cakṣ): a vision operative in embodied mentality yet opening to higher sight. (5) vipra: from √vip ‘quiver, thrill’: thought made luminous by inspired vibration; not mere intellect but manas lit by soma.
Satya (truth-identity implied by nāman established in the yoni), Rita (right movement/order suggested by the directed flow ‘acchā… asarat’ and ritual correctness as inner rightness), inspiration/ṛṣi-vision (kavi, vipra)
Soma seated as hotṛ indicates ṛta functioning as an inner rite—ordered offering and reception.
‘Name in the seer-womb’ suggests truth-vibration taking form from the satya-plane of intuition.
Birth of mantra-identity (nāma) from the seer-source; gathering of seven powers to manifest it.
Yogic-symbolic: sevenfold powers as differentiated functions of consciousness.
Flow = movement of delight; filter = discrimination; bowls = receptivity of parts; seven = full spectrum of inspired faculties.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The descent/entry of Soma into the purifier and vessels: the divine delight-force ‘streams’ into discrimination (pavítra) and then ‘takes its seat’ in the prepared receptacles (camū́). The ‘seven seers’ coming near encodes the mythic pattern of sevenfold inspired powers gathering around the settled Soma—an imaginal scene of illumination organizing itself around the clarified Ananda/Indu.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √sṛ ‘to flow’ (ásarat) continues the Indo-European image of sacred liquidity/flow as power; cognate patterns appear across IE as ‘running/streaming’ for vitality. √dhā ‘to place’ (dádhānaḥ) is a well-attested IE root (*dheh₁-) seen in English ‘do’ (via different developments) and Greek tí-thē-mi ‘I place’. cakṣ ‘see’ relates to an old ‘see/perceive’ complex (cf. Latin cernere ‘discern’ is not a direct cognate but shows the shared IE salience of vision/discrimination in sacral speech).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- Soma is not merely praised; he is installed as Hotṛ ‘like the invoking priest’—i.e., the Devatā becomes the very operative power of invocation within the human session (sádana). The ṛṣis (seven viprāḥ) approach him: inspiration is shown as a reciprocity—when Soma settles in purified consciousness, the seer-powers gather and speech becomes effective. The offering is thus inward: the human vessel prepares (camū), Soma clarifies (pavítra), and the seer-force responds by heightened mantra-vision.
Let a clear, compassionate seeing of one’s human nature arise; invite purified delight to take its seat as inner priest; gather the ‘seven’ faculties into one session.
Anāhata (seat/session) with Ājñā (seer-womb/intuition)
4-4-6 breathing (inhale-hold-exhale) for 6 rounds; chant on the exhale, feeling Soma ‘seated’ in the heart-bowl.
Collected, ceremonial inwardness; intuitive receptivity.
After chanting, sit silently and sense: (1) a clear witness (nṛcakṣā), (2) a luminous source above/between brows (kavi-yoni), (3) a settled delight in the heart (hotṛ seated).
Observe udātta/anudātta/svarita as marked; give a gentle rise on ‘acchā’ and keep ‘sīdan hotā-iva’ with a settling downward cadence.
Slight pause after ‘pavitre’; another after ‘yonau’ to mark the transition from flowing to seating imagery.
(acchā): double cch; long ā, (nṛ-cakṣāḥ): vocalic ṛ; retroflex ṣ, (asarat): light t, (kavir asya): separate words; avoid merging v/r, (sīdan): long ī, (camūṣu): long ū; retroflex ṣ, (viprāḥ): long ā; visarga
Clear and ceremonial; soften and ‘seat’ the tone on the second half.
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