Rig Veda 1.187.4: Mandala 1, Sukta 187, Mantra 4
Sukta 1.187
- Devata
- Soma
- Chandas
- Gayatri/Anuṣṭubh uncertain
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
तव त्ये पितो रसा रजांस्यनु विष्ठिताः । दिवि वाता इव श्रिताः ॥
tavá tyé pito rásā rájāṁsy ánu víṣṭhitāḥ | diví vātā́ iva śritā́ḥ ||
Dein, o Pito, sind jene saftigen Essenzen, die sich durch die Räume ausbreiten; im Himmel gegründet, wie Winde, durchdringen und tragen sie.
Word by Word
- तव
- of you, yourPronounषष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (Genitival relation/possessor)Root त्वद् (युष्मद्-प्रातिपदिक) → तव (षष्ठी एक.)
- त्ये
- thosePronoun (demonstrative)प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन, पुंलिङ्गRole कर्तृ (subject)Root तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → त्य (वैदिक-रूप)
- पितः
- O fatherNounसम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन, पुंलिङ्गRole सम्बोधन (address)Root पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- रसाः
- juices, sap; essencesNounप्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन, पुंलिङ्गRole कर्तृ (in apposition to ‘त्ये’)Root रस (प्रातिपदिक)
- रजांसि
- regions, spaces; realmsNounद्वितीया (Accusative), बहुवचन, नपुंसकलिङ्गRole कर्म (object of ‘अनु’ + √स्था: ‘occupy/stand along’)Root रजस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- अनु
- along, after; throughIndeclinable (preverb/adverb)अव्ययRole (verb-modifier)Root अनु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- विष्ठिताः
- set/placed; stationed; spread outParticiple (past passive)प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन, पुंलिङ्ग (agreeing with ‘त्ये रसाः’)Role कर्तृ-विशेषण (predicate/adjectival to subject)Root वि + √स्था (स्था) ; क्त-प्रत्यय (PPP) → विष्ठित
- दिवि
- in heaven, in the skyNounसप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन, स्त्रीलिङ्गRole अधिकरण (location)Root द्यौ/दिव् (प्रातिपदिक) → दिवि
- वाताः
- windsNounप्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन, पुंलिङ्गRole उपमान-कर्तृ (standard of comparison)Root वात (प्रातिपदिक)
- इव
- like, asIndeclinableअव्ययRole उपमा-सूचक (comparative particle)Root इव (अव्यय)
- श्रिताः
- resting on; resorted to; settledParticiple (past passive)प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन, पुंलिङ्ग (agreeing with ‘त्ये रसाः’)Role कर्तृ-विशेषण (predicate/adjectival to subject)Root √श्रि (श्रि) ; क्त-प्रत्यय (PPP) → श्रित
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: तव | त्ये | पितः | रसाः | रजांसि | अनु | विष्ठिताः | दिवि | वाताः | इव | श्रिताः || 1) रजांसि + अनु → रजांस्यनु (इकार-आगम/यण्-सन्धि: -ि अ- → -्य अ-).
- ‘पितः’ वैदिक सम्बोधन-रूप (पितृ-शब्द)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Soma’s essences (rasāḥ) are spread through the regions; established in heaven like winds, they pervade.
Inner meaning
Soma is not merely a pressed juice but a pervasive subtle essence. The rasāḥ are currents of delight that extend through all planes (rajāṃsi), supporting the ascent and descent between earth, mid-world, and heaven. ‘In heaven like winds’ indicates a free, unobstructed movement of bliss in the luminous mind—ananda as a universal atmosphere that can enter the seeker when channels open.
Universal truth
A higher joy is not local or episodic; it is a pervasive field. As consciousness becomes subtle and open, it feels this ‘wind-like’ pervasion as support and uplift.
Themes
Cosmic pervasion, Soma as subtle wind-like power, Planes of consciousness
The seer
Significance
The seer emphasizes Soma as a cosmic pervasion rather than a single ritual object—supporting the Aurobindonian view of Soma as an all-world delight-principle.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma
- Epithets
- rasavat (implied: full of essence), divi śrita (heaven-established)
- Related deities
- Vāyu, Indra, Agni
Cosmic role
All-pervading sap of the worlds; it circulates as nourishment for gods and as cohesion for creation.
Inner power
Pervasive ananda that widens consciousness and opens inner channels for higher influx.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma praise during pressing/flowing (pavamāna atmosphere)
तव॒ त्ये पि॑तो॒ रसा॒ रजां॒स्यनु॒ विष्ठि॑ताः । दि॒वि वाता॑ इव श्रि॒ताः ॥
तव॑ । त्ये । पि॒तो॒ इति॑ । रसाः॑ । रजां॑सि । अनु॑ । विऽस्थि॑ताः । दि॒वि । वाताः॑ऽइव । शृइ॒ताः ॥
tava | tye | pito iti | rasāḥ | rajāṃsi | anu | vi-sthitāḥ | divi | vātāḥ-iva | śṛitāḥ
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4 x ~11 syllables; imagery-driven cadence with a strong simile close.
Expansive and airy; the ‘vātā iva’ simile lightens the rhythm.
Creates a feeling of wideness and circulation; helpful for releasing constriction in breath and mind.
- rasāḥ
- Literal: juices, saps, essences. Symbolic: subtle currents of ananda, the taste-essence of consciousness
- rajāṃsi
- Literal: regions, spaces (worlds). Symbolic: planes of being—physical, vital, mental, and beyond
- anu viṣṭhitāḥ
- Literal: spread along, distributed, arranged through. Symbolic: pervasion of delight through all parts of the being
- divi
- Literal: in heaven. Symbolic: in the luminous mind-plane (dyu), clarity and wideness
- vātāḥ iva
- Literal: like winds. Symbolic: free movement of prāṇa/force carrying delight; unobstructed circulation
Contemplative praise within Soma hymns; inwardly: recognition that Soma’s delight-essences pervade all planes while being founded in the luminous heaven
When contemplating Soma’s spread and presence across the worlds.
Recited as Soma is filtered/flowing; mentally tracking the ‘pervasion’ through one’s being.
A contemplation mantra for spaciousness—used when feeling stuck, contracted, or mentally heavy.
rasa (from √ras ‘to taste’) suggests not only liquid juice but ‘taste/essence’; in psychological reading, the ‘taste of delight’ that is the extract of experience. rajāṃsi: plural of rajas, ‘spaces/regions’; often the threefold cosmic expanse—here read as multiple planes of being. vi-sthita: vi + √sthā ‘stand apart/spread out’ indicates diffusion/pervasion. śrita (√śri) is ‘supported/established’—Soma’s essences are grounded in divi (higher luminous plane) yet move like vāta through the worlds.
pervasion across planes (rajāṃsi), higher foundation (divi) of transformative forces, movement of subtle energies
Pervasive rasāḥ imply an ordered circulation—like cosmic breath—maintaining right distribution of force and joy.
In ‘divi’ the essence is established in clarity; truth supports pervasion without distortion.
Creation sustained by circulating sap/essence (rasa) across planes.
Sāṃkhya-like cosmology of planes + Vedāntic ananda-field (integral reading).
Wind = prāṇic movement; sap = subtle joy in the nāḍīs; heaven = clarified mind where currents move freely.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘Soma pervades the worlds’ mythologem: Soma is not confined to the pressing; its rasas are diffused through the rajāṃsi, wind-like, while rooted in divi. Mythically, the divine drink becomes a cosmic principle of circulation.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- div (divi) relates to PIE *diw- ‘bright sky, day’ (Lat. diēs, Greek Zeus < *dyēus). vāta (wind) from √vā ‘blow’ aligns with PIE *h₂weh₁- ‘blow’ (cf. Eng. wind via Germanic, though not direct cognate of vāta; shared semantic field of wind/blowing).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi shifts from request to knowledge: he affirms Soma’s cosmic status. By recognizing Soma’s rasas as pervasive and divi-founded, the seeker aligns perception with ṛta—seeing the one force operating through many regions.
Feel delight as a pervading field; let it circulate like a gentle wind through the body.
Ajna (wide sky-mind) and Sahasrara (heaven-established)
Slightly lengthened exhale; imagine cool wind in the nostrils carrying nectar through the spine.
Widened, airy clarity with subtle sweetness.
After chanting, scan from crown to feet and sense ‘rasāḥ’ distributing evenly; release any tight spot as a knot in the wind-channel.
Keep the simile ‘divi vātā iva’ clearly contoured; observe udātta peaks on key nouns (rasāḥ, rajāṃsi).
Open the vowels on ‘rasā’ and ‘divi’ to evoke spaciousness; lighten on ‘iva’.
rasā: long ā at end, rajāṃsi: nasal ‘ṃ’ before s, viṣṭhitāḥ: retroflex ṭh; aspirate clearly, śritāḥ: palatal ś + short i
Airy, open-throated, with a sense of space.
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