Rig Veda 9.25.4: Mandala 9, Sukta 25, Mantra 4
Sukta 9.25
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
विश्वा रूपाण्याविशन्पुनानो याति हर्यतः । यत्रामृतास आसते ॥
viśvā́ rūpā́ṇy ā́viśan punānáḥ yā́ti haryatáḥ | yátrāmṛ́tāsa āsáte ||
Sich läuternd geht er in alle Gestalten ein und schreitet in der geliebten Wonne dahin — dorthin, wo die unsterblichen Mächte ihren Sitz haben.
Word by Word
- विश्वा
- all (things), all formsAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्म (आविशन् इत्यस्य)Root विश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- रूपाणि
- forms, shapesNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्म (आविशन् इत्यस्य)Root रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
- आविशन्
- (they) entered, pervadedVerbलङ् (अनद्यतनभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRole क्रिया (पुनानो इत्यस्य सह—‘प्रविशतः/प्रविष्टवान्’ भावः)Root √विश् (विशँ प्रवेशने) + आ-
- पुनानः
- being purified, purifying himselfParticiple (Adjective) / Kṛdantaपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (सोमः)Role कर्तृ (याति इत्यस्य)Root √पू (पूञ् शौचने) → पुनान (शतृ/शानच् वर्तमानकृदन्त)
- याति
- goes, proceedsVerbलट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √या (या प्रापणे/गत्यर्थे)
- हर्यतः
- of the tawny (one); of the golden/tawny-hued (Soma)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन (सोमस्य)Role सम्बन्ध (पुनानः/याति इत्यस्य—‘हर्यतस्य’)Root हर्यत् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘हरि-युक्त/हरि-सम्बद्ध’)
- यत्र
- whereIndeclinableस्थानवाचक अव्ययRole अधिकरणRoot यत्र (अव्यय)
- अमृतासः
- the immortals (gods)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (आसते इत्यस्य)Root अमृत (प्रातिपदिक)
- आसते
- sit, abideVerbलट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; आत्मनेपदRole क्रियाRoot √आस् (आसँ उपवेशने/स्थितौ)
Sandhi Notes
- संहिता-पाठः: विश्वा॑ रू॒पाण्या॑वि॒शन्पु॑ना॒नो या॑ति हर्य॒तः । यत्रा॒मृता॑स॒ आस॑ते ॥ Sandhi-viccheda: रूपाणि + आविशन् → रूपाण्याविशन् (इ + आ = या)
- आविशन् + पुनानः → आविशन् पुनानः (पद-सन्धौ नासिक्य/अनुस्वार-लोपादि सहित संहिता-लेखनम्: आविशन्पुनानो)
- यत्र + अमृतासः → यत्रामृतासः (अ + अ = आ)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Purifying himself, Soma enters all forms and moves in the beloved delight, to where the deathless ones are seated.
Inner meaning
As Soma is refined, the delight-consciousness becomes capable of inhabiting every formation of the being (mind, life, body) without distortion. It travels in ‘haryata’—the attractive, beloved gladness—toward the plane where the Amṛtās (deathless powers) abide: a stable immortality-consciousness beyond decay and depression.
Universal truth
Purified joy can pervade all parts of life and lead consciousness toward an abiding, deathless poise.
Themes
Soma-ritual, purification, ascent to the immortals, Ananda (delight) current
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 9.25.1-6, RV 9.26.1
Significance
The anonymous Soma-seer speaks from a collective yogic lineage: the ‘pressing’ is an inner discipline where delight becomes universalized and established in the immortal plane.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- punāna (self-purifying), haryata (delight-moving/attractive)
- Related deities
- Aditi (vastness/limitlessness as field of the immortals), Indra (illumined mind that receives Soma), Viśve Devāḥ (the totality of divine powers)
Cosmic role
Mediator between forms and the immortal station: Soma carries the essence through all worlds toward the seat of the gods.
Inner power
A unifying ananda that can enter every part of the nature and make it receptive to immortality-consciousness.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma filtration chants (pavamāna)
विश्वा॑ रू॒पाण्या॑वि॒शन्पु॑ना॒नो या॑ति हर्य॒तः । यत्रा॒मृता॑स॒ आस॑ते ॥
विश्वा॑ । रू॒पाणि॑ । आ॒ऽवि॒शन् । पु॒ना॒नः । या॒ति॒ । ह॒र्य॒तः । यत्र॑ । अ॒मृता॑सः । आस॑ते ॥
viśvā | rūpāṇi | ā-viśan | punānaḥ | yāti | haryataḥ | yatra | amṛtāsaḥ | āsate
Likely Jagatī (12-syllable cadence common in Soma hymns)
48
4 x 12 (approx.)
Smooth, all-pervading flow; less ‘strike’ and more ‘pervasion’.
Encourages a feeling of diffusion of purity through the whole being; supports integrative meditation.
- पुनानः (punānaḥ)
- Literal: purifying himself. Symbolic: self-refining consciousness removing mixture and obscurity
- विश्वा रूपाणि (viśvā rūpāṇi)
- Literal: all forms. Symbolic: all formations/levels of the being; all psychological modalities
- आविशन् (ā-viśan)
- Literal: entering into. Symbolic: pervading and transforming from within
- हर्यतः (haryataḥ)
- Literal: delightful, beloved. Symbolic: the attractive ananda that draws upward toward truth
- अमृतासः (amṛtāsaḥ)
- Literal: the immortals. Symbolic: deathless powers of light, truth, and bliss; stable divine faculties
- आसते (āsate)
- Literal: sit/are seated. Symbolic: a settled station of consciousness, not a passing experience
Soma-pavamāna cycle: verses used in the pressing/clarification (pavamāna) sequences connected with Soma sacrifice (e.g., Agniṣṭoma framework).
While Soma is strained and made fit for offering; associated with the movement toward the gods’ seat
Filtering through pavitra; directing Soma to the cups/offerings
A mantra for ‘integration’: before daily work, meditate that purified delight enters all roles and emotions, leading toward a stable, luminous poise.
: √viś ‘enter, settle, pervade’ (PIE *weys- ‘enter’); ā- marks penetration ‘into’. : present participle middle of √pū ‘to cleanse, purify’ (semantic bridge: clarity/brightness → purity of consciousness). : adjective from har(i)/hary- field ‘golden/green, desirable’; in Soma hymns often denotes the attractive, delight-bearing movement; links with √hṛ/√har ‘to take, bear, carry’ only indirectly via traditional lexical clustering, but primary is ‘harya-’ = ‘pleasing, desirable’. : a-mṛta ‘not subject to mṛ ‘death’ (√mṛ ‘to die’; PIE *mer- ‘die’). : 3pl middle of √ās ‘to sit, be established’.
amṛtatva (immortality as a plane of consciousness), pervasion of forms (viśva-rūpa as integrative consciousness), purification/clarification (pū as inner catharsis)
Soma’s movement ‘into all forms’ signifies ṛta as harmonious ordering of the whole nature by a higher essence.
Forms become true to their archetype when pervaded by purified delight.
Involution and evolution: one essence entering many forms and returning to the immortal station.
Integral/psychological Vedism: transformation of nature rather than escape from it.
The stream of refined delight permeates mind-life-body and ascends to the ‘seat’ of deathless consciousness—an inner summit of stability.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The Soma-ascent mythologem: the purified Soma-current ‘enters all forms’ and travels to the seat of the immortals. Mythically it is Soma reaching the gods; psychologically it is the clarified delight/energy rising through the whole being and establishing contact with the deathless powers (amṛtāsaḥ) in their plane.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Key verbal roots are archaic and widely Indo-European: √viś ‘enter’ aligns with PIE *weys- ‘enter’; √mṛ ‘die’ in amṛta reflects PIE *mer- ‘die’. The privative a- in a-mṛta is an inherited Indo-European negation strategy (cf. Greek a-/an-), marking ‘deathless’ as a formal negation of mortality.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The verse presents the ṛṣi as witness and facilitator of an inner rite: by invoking Soma ‘purifying’ and ‘entering all forms’, the poet aligns human aspiration with the devatā’s action—Soma becomes the operative power that universalizes the seeker’s nature (viśvā rūpāṇi) and leads it toward the settled truth-plane where the immortals abide.
Let a sense of pure gladness pervade every ‘form’ of experience—thought, feeling, sensation—without clinging; then rest attention in the ‘seat of the deathless’ (quiet, luminous stillness).
Ajna/Sahasrara (seat of immortals) supported by Anahata (haryata delight)
Slow inhalation imagining Soma entering all cells; pause gently; exhale releasing impurity; end with stillness at the crown-space.
Integrative sattva moving toward a settled, luminous silence.
Do not reject any part of nature; let the purified delight enter it and refine it. Then turn upward to the quiet seat where higher powers are naturally present.
Follow śākhā-specific svara; maintain flowing continuity across sandhi (āviśan punānaḥ).
Keep the phrase ‘viśvā rūpāṇy āviśan’ evenly propelled; avoid chopping consonant clusters.
: ‘viśvā’ with clear ‘śv’ cluster, : long ‘ū’ and retroflex ‘ṇ’, : lengthen initial ‘ā’, : dental ‘t’, clear ‘āsaḥ’ with light visarga
Smooth, unbroken, slightly soft (pervasion-tone).
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.
