Rig Veda 9.21.3: Mandala 9, Sukta 21, Mantra 3
Sukta 9.21
- Devata
- Soma
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
वृथा क्रीळन्त इन्दवः सधस्थमभ्येकमित् । सिन्धोरूर्मा व्यक्षरन् ॥
vṛ́thā krī́ḷanta índavaḥ sadhástham abhyékam ít | síndhor ūrmā́ vyàkṣaran ||
In freiem Spiel tummeln sich die Soma-Tropfen; zu einem gemeinsamen Sitz strömen sie zusammen. Wie die Woge des Flusses ergießen sie sich und breiten sich aus.
Word by Word
- वृथा
- vainly, idlyIndeclinableअव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण)Role Adhikaraṇa (रीत्यर्थे/प्रकारे)Root वृथा (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
- क्रीळन्तः
- playing, sportingVerb (participle)कर्तरि वर्तमान-प्रत्यय शतृ; पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot क्रीळ् (धातु; क्रीड्/क्रीळ् ‘to play, sport’)
- इन्दवः
- the Soma dropsNounपुंलिङ्गः प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role Kartā (क्रीळन्तः/व्यक्षरन् इत्यस्य)Root इन्दु (प्रातिपदिक; ‘Soma-drop’)
- सधस्थम्
- the seat/abode (the place)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्गः द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role Karma (गत्यर्थे/अभिगमनस्य लक्ष्यं)Root सधस्थ (प्रातिपदिक; ‘common seat/abode, place’)
- अभि
- towards, untoIndeclinableउपसर्गः (अभिमुख्ये/अभिगमने)Root अभि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- एकम्
- one, singleAdjective (numeral)नपुंसकलिङ्गः द्वितीया एकवचनम् (सधस्थम् इति विशेषणम्)Role Karma (विशेषणत्वेन)Root एक (प्रातिपदिक)
- इत्
- indeed, justIndeclinableनिपातः (एव/खलु इत्यर्थे बलवचनम्)Root इत् (निपात/अव्यय; emphatic particle)
- सिन्धोः
- of/from the river (Sindhu/stream)Nounपुंलिङ्गः षष्ठी एकवचनम्Role Apādāna (उद्गम/निर्गमन-सम्बन्धे: ‘from/of the river/stream’)Root सिन्धु (प्रातिपदिक)
- ऊर्मा
- the waveNounपुंलिङ्गः प्रथमा एकवचनम् (वैदिकः रूपभेदः: ऊर्मा < ऊर्मिः)Role Kartā (व्यक्षरन् इत्यस्य)Root ऊर्मि (प्रातिपदिक; ‘wave’)
- वि
- apart, forthIndeclinableउपसर्गः (विभागे/विसर्गे/प्रसरणे)Root वि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- अक्षरन्
- they flowed, they streamedVerbलङ् (अनद्यतनभूत) परस्मैपदम्; प्रथमपुरुषः बहुवचनम्Role Kriyā (मुख्यक्रिया)Root क्षर् (धातु; ‘to flow, melt, run’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: वृथा | क्रीळन्तः | इन्दवः | सधस्थम् | अभि | एकम् | इत् | सिन्धोः | ऊर्मा | वि | अक्षरन् । 1) ‘अभ्येकमित्’ = ‘अभि + एकम् + इत्’ (अभि + एकम् → अभ्येकम्; ततः + इत्)
- 2) ‘सिन्धोरूर्मा’ = ‘सिन्धोः + ऊर्मा’ (विसर्गस्य लोपः/रूपपरिवर्तनः स्वरादौ; संहितायां ‘-ोः + ऊ-’ → ‘-ोरू-’)
- 3) ‘व्यक्षरन्’ = ‘वि + अक्षरन्’ (उपसर्ग-संयोगः)
- 4) ‘ऊर्मा’ वैदिक-प्रथमा-एकवचन-रूपम् (ऊर्मिः इत्यस्य)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The Soma drops sport in free play; they stream together to one seat; like a river’s wave they pour out and spread.
Inner meaning
The many movements of delight (indavaḥ) are not forced; they ‘play’ (krīḻantaḥ) spontaneously once purification has begun. Yet this freedom is not dispersion: they converge to one sadhastha—one settled foundation/seat of consciousness. From that unified base they overflow like waves: the ananda becomes a spreading force in the system, distributing clarified energy through mind, life, and body.
Universal truth
True freedom is not fragmentation: when energies discover their common center, play becomes harmony and overflow becomes nourishment for the whole being.
Themes
convergence into unity, flow imagery, Soma as river
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 9.86–9.97 (frequent imagery of Soma as river/wave and as unifier)
Family tradition
Soma seers describing integration: many currents gathered to one seat (sadhastha) and then diffused as harmonious force.
Significance
This verse is a concise psychology of integration: delight first liberated, then centralized, then harmoniously distributed.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma (Indavaḥ as purifying streams)
- Epithets
- indavaḥ (drops), pavamāna (implied purifier), sindhu-like (river-like)
- Related deities
- Agni (inner altar/seat), Indra (unity leading to power), Varuṇa (cosmic order of the waters)
Cosmic role
Soma as the flowing principle that gathers multiplicity into a common seat and then nourishes the worlds by its outpouring.
Inner power
Integrator of scattered energies; establishes a stable inner base and then releases a rhythmic, healing overflow of delight.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma purification chants accompanying flow into the collecting vessel (droṇa/āhavanīya context varies by ritual stage)
वृथा॒ क्रीळ॑न्त॒ इन्द॑वः स॒धस्थ॑म॒भ्येक॒मित् । सिन्धो॑रू॒र्मा व्य॑क्षरन् ॥
वृथा॑ । क्रीळ॑न्तः । इन्द॑वः । स॒धऽस्थ॑म् । अ॒भि । एक॑म् । इत् । सिन्धोः॑ । ऊ॒र्मा । वि । अ॒क्ष॒र॒न् ॥
vṛthā | krīḷantaḥ | indavaḥ | sadha-stham | abhi | ekam | it | sindhoḥ | ūrmā | vi | akṣaran
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3×8 (probable)
Undulating yet compact; the sound naturally imitates wave-motion and convergence.
Induces a sense of fluid unification; helpful for gathering scattered attention into a single calm base.
- वृथा (vṛthā)
- Literal: freely, without constraint. Symbolic: spontaneous movement of consciousness when released from inner knotting
- क्रीळन्तः (krīḻantaḥ)
- Literal: sporting/playing. Symbolic: līlā-like joy of the purified life-force
- सधस्थम् (sadhastham)
- Literal: common seat/foundation. Symbolic: the settled plane of unified awareness (a stable inner altar)
- एकम् इत् (ekam it)
- Literal: to the one only. Symbolic: convergence toward oneness—integral concentration
- सिन्धोः ऊर्मा (sindhoḥ ūrmā)
- Literal: wave of the river. Symbolic: rhythmic surge of life-energy carrying delight through the being
- वि अक्षरन् (vi akṣaran)
- Literal: they flowed out/spread. Symbolic: distribution of clarified ananda into all parts of nature
Imagery of Soma-streams converging and flowing like river-waves; ritually, the collected Soma moving to a common receptacle; inwardly, multiple energies harmonizing into one stable seat.
When Soma is seen to run together and be collected; also suitable as a refrain on the theme of ‘one seat’.
Chant while Soma streams converge; ritually mirrors inner convergence of energies.
Use in meditation to collect attention: visualize many thoughts/feelings flowing to one quiet center, then spreading as calm joy.
‘freely’ (adverb; possibly from √vṛ ‘turn/choose’ or an old adverbial formation). ‘seat, session’ + - ‘standing’ → sadhástha ‘common place’. ‘river’ (also ‘sea’ later; etymology debated). ‘wave’ (cf. Avestan cognates often cited). √kṣar ‘flow, melt, stream’ (PIE *kser- ‘flow’ often proposed).
unity (ekam) emerging from multiplicity, foundation/seat (sadhástha) as stable consciousness-base
The wave (ūrmī) is ordered rhythm, not chaos—an image of r̥ta in movement.
The ‘one seat’ implies a truth-base where energies align with their deeper reality.
From multiplicity to unity to manifold distribution: a template of manifestation from the One.
Vedic monism-in-action (ekam as experiential unity), anticipatory of Upaniṣadic integration.
River/wave = prāṇa and consciousness rhythms; confluence = concentration; spreading = harmonized distribution of joy-force.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The many Soma-drops as playful waves that nevertheless converge to one seat. Innerly, the dispersed movements of consciousness are gathered into unity, a prerequisite for the manifestation of truth and power.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The ‘flow’ lexeme √kṣar is part of an archaic IE hydrodynamic vocabulary (often compared with PIE *kser- ‘flow’). The poetic mapping of inspiration/divinity onto river-wave imagery is a widely attested Indo-European style.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi witnesses and assists the gathering of Soma into a single ‘seat’—ritually a vessel, psychologically the unified basis of attention. The deity’s action is harmonization: many impulses become one foundation in the chanter.
Integration practice: gather all movements to one inner seat (heart-center or witness-mind), then allow calm joy to pervade.
Anāhata (seat of harmonizing joy) or Sahasrāra (one seat of consciousness) depending on practice.
Wave-breath: slow inhale rising, slow exhale falling, feeling a gentle ‘ūrmī’ through the body.
Unified, fluid, quietly joyful (samāhita with gentle ānanda).
On each pāda, visualize: (1) free play of energies, (2) convergence to one center, (3) spreading as peace through the limbs; end with 1–2 minutes of silent pervasion.
Standard Rigvedic three-tone; consult svara text for exact accents.
Let ‘ekam it’ be clean and slightly emphasized by clarity (not volume) to convey convergence.
: retroflex ḷ (ḻ) carefully; do not substitute with simple ‘l’., : articulate dh + sth cluster distinctly., : keep nasal ‘n’ before dh; long ōḥ ending sustained lightly., : kṣ conjunct crisp; short a vowels kept short.
Fluid, wave-like legato across syllables, with clear pāda breaks.
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