Rig Veda 3.42.8: Mandala 3, Sukta 42, Mantra 8
Sukta 3.42
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
तुभ्येदिन्द्र स्व ओक्ये सोमं चोदामि पीतये । एष रारन्तु ते हृदि ॥
túbhyéd indra svá okyè sómaṁ codāmi pītáye | eṣá rārantu te hṛdí ||
Dir allein, o Indra, in deinem eigenen Haus, treibe ich den Soma zum Trinken an. Möge er in deinem Herzen sich freuen und dort sich niederlassen.
Word by Word
- तुभ्ये
- to youPronounचतुर्थी (दत्तिव) एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot युष्मद् (प्रातिपदिक) → त्वद्-
- इद्
- indeed, justIndeclinableनिपात (अव्यय)Root इद् (निपात)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNoun (proper)सम्बोधन एकवचन (पुं)Role सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- स्वे
- in (your) ownAdjective/Pronounसप्तमी एकवचन (नपुं) — ओक्ये इति विशेषणम्Role अधिकरणRoot स्व (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ओक्ये
- in the dwelling/homeNoun/Adjective (locative of a neuter stem)सप्तमी एकवचन (नपुं)Role अधिकरणRoot ओक्य (प्रातिपदिक; ओकस्/ओकः ‘घर, आवास’ सम्बन्धि)
- सोमम्
- Soma (juice)Nounद्वितीया एकवचन (पुं)Role कर्मRoot सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- चोदामि
- I impel/urge (offer forth)Verbलट् (वर्तमान) उत्तमपुरुष एकवचन, परस्मैपदRoot चुद् (धातु; प्रेरणे) → चोदयति
- पीतये
- for drinkingVerbal noun (action noun)चतुर्थी एकवचन (स्त्री/भाव-प्रयोगः) — प्रयोजन-दत्तिवRole प्रयोजन/सम्प्रदानRoot पा (धातु; पाने) → पीति (कृदन्त-भाव) / पीतय्- (दत्तिव)
- एषः
- this (Soma)Pronounप्रथमा एकवचन (पुं)Role कर्ताRoot एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- रारन्तु
- let (it/they) delightVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ) तृतीयपुरुष बहुवचन, परस्मैपदRoot रा (धातु; दाने/तुष्टौ; RV: ‘to gladden, give pleasure’)
- ते
- yourPronounषष्ठी एकवचन (सम्बन्ध) — हृदि इति सहRole सम्बन्धRoot युष्मद् (प्रातिपदिक) → त्वद्-
- हृदि
- in (the) heartNounसप्तमी एकवचन (नपुं)Role अधिकरणRoot हृद् (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: तुभ्ये इद् इन्द्र स्वे ओक्ये सोमम् चोदामि पीतये । एषः रारन्तु ते हृदि ॥ 1) तुभ्येद् → तुभ्ये + इद् (स्वर-सन्धिः: ए + इ → ए; लेखने ‘एद्’)
- 2) इन्द्र स्वे: सम्बोधन ‘इन्द्र’ + ‘स्वे’ (सन्धि-विशेषः न आवश्यकः)
- 3) एष रारन्तु → एषः + रारन्तु (विसर्ग-सन्धिः: ḥ + र → र; पदे ‘एष’)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The poet urges Soma for Indra alone, in Indra’s own home, for drinking; may this Soma delight settle in Indra’s heart.
Inner meaning
The offering is directed to Indra ‘in his own home’—the native plane of illumined mind within the being. The rishi impels Soma upward for that consciousness to drink. When delight settles in the heart-center of the divine mind-force, its action becomes intimate and inward—power working from within rather than imposed from without.
Universal truth
Transformation is secured when higher joy is established at the core (heart) of consciousness; then power acts naturally from within one’s own true home.
Themes
Interiorization, Indwelling deity, Soma as delight in the heart
The seer
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Lineage
- Kuśika
- Other hymns
- RV 3.42.1-10
Family tradition
A line that repeatedly seeks the ‘home’ of the gods within the human being—invocation as inner descent and establishment.
Significance
This verse is explicitly inward: Soma is sent to Indra’s ‘own home’ and asked to settle in the heart—language that readily supports the psychological interpretation favored by Aurobindo/Kashyap.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Sva-okya (dwelling in his own home; implied), Soma-pā (implied)
- Related deities
- Soma, Agni
Cosmic role
Receives Soma and thereby acts as victorious power in the worlds.
Inner power
Indwelling lord of illumination; when Ananda rests in him, his action becomes intimate guidance and decisive inner governance.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra’s Soma offering (invocation emphasizing Indra’s ‘own seat’)
तुभ्येदि॑न्द्र॒ स्व ओ॒क्ये॒३॒॑ सोमं॑ चोदामि पी॒तये॑ । ए॒ष रा॑रन्तु ते हृ॒दि ॥
तुभ्य॑ । इत् । इ॒न्द्र॒ । स्वे । ओ॒क्ये॑ । सोम॑म् । चो॒दा॒मि॒ । पी॒तये॑ । ए॒षः । र॒र॒न्तु॒ । ते॒ । हृ॒दि ॥
tubhya | it | indra | sve | okye | somam | codāmi | pītaye | eṣaḥ | rarantu | te | hṛdi
44
4 × ~11 syllables
More inward and settling than the previous; a cadence of ‘placing’ and ‘resting’.
Draws attention inward to heart and inner home; supports concentration and internalization of joy.
- sva okye
- Literal: in (thy) own home/house. Symbolic: The native seat of the deity in us: the plane of illumined mind where truth is at home
- somaṃ codāmi
- Literal: I impel Soma. Symbolic: Conscious aspiration that lifts delight toward the higher consciousness
- pītaye
- Literal: for drinking. Symbolic: For inward reception and operative assimilation
- eṣaḥ
- Literal: this (Soma). Symbolic: The present, tangible experience of Ananda in sadhana
- rārantu
- Literal: let them/it rejoice, delight, play. Symbolic: Let delight become self-sustaining and active, not dependent on outer stimulus
- hṛdi
- Literal: in the heart. Symbolic: The psychic center where truth and joy become stable and govern the nature
Consecratory focusing: directing Soma to Indra’s ‘seat’; interiorization of the offering
During Soma sequences; could accompany the mental act of ‘directing’ the offering to the deity’s seat.
Consecration and directed offering; prayer for the deity’s inward satisfaction.
Heart-centered meditation: offer a felt joy upward to the illumined mind; then let it settle as quiet gladness in the heart.
: from ‘house, dwelling’ (possibly from √/√ semantic ‘to dwell’ in later alignment), denotes the deity’s proper seat—psychologically the settled station of the force in the inner being. : √ ‘to impel, urge’, causative nuance of setting energies in motion. : √ ‘to delight, enjoy, be pleased’; in benedictive use: ‘may it delight/settle pleasantly’. : heart as locus of consciousness, not merely emotion.
Antaryāmin-like interior presence (deity in ‘okya’), Heart as conscious center (hṛd)
Right order is achieved when delight is rightly placed—in the true seat—so action proceeds harmoniously.
Sva okye implies the truth-plane where Indra naturally dwells; aligning with it is aligning with Satya.
Inward enthronement: the divine power is installed in its proper seat within the being.
Integral Vedantic psychology: indwelling deity, heart as psychic center, Ananda as stabilizing substance.
‘Home’ as inner locus of true consciousness; ‘heart’ as the stable center where delight can abide and radiate.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The Soma is directed to Indra’s own dwelling and heart: the mythic ‘seat’ of the god becomes explicit. Innerly, the goal is stable indwelling—delight settling in the heart so the Indra-force acts from an established center.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √ (rārantu) has Indo-Iranian correspondences in the semantic domain of rest/pleasure (cf. Avestan ram- ‘to be at peace/please’). The heart-word hṛd reflects PIE *ḱerd- (cf. Greek kardía, Latin cor).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi acts as mediator who ‘impels’ Soma toward Indra’s inner seat; this is a yogic-ritual gesture: speech and will direct the delight so that the deity’s presence is not transient but heart-established.
Offer joy to the illumined mind, then let it settle in the heart as abiding gladness.
Anāhata (heart) with support from Ājñā (Indra’s plane)
Slow inhalation to brow (offer), slow exhalation to heart (settle).
Inwardly established, quietly luminous.
Sit upright. Feel a clear presence above/behind the forehead (Indra’s ‘home’). Offer a subtle sweetness (Soma) there; then allow it to descend and rest in the heart as calm joy.
Tri-svara; keep pitch distinctions clear on tubhyéd / índra / sómam as marked; do not flatten svarita glides.
Make a gentle caesura at |; second hemistich softer, with a settling cadence on hṛdí.
tubhyed: sandhi of tubhya + id; pronounce tubh-yed, sva okye: separate lightly (sva-okye) without overpausing, codāmi: long ā; dental d, pītaye: long ī, rārantu: double ‘rā’ long; roll r lightly, hṛdi: vocalic ṛ; short i
Soft, inward, resonant in chest; avoid force.
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