Rig Veda 9.62.10: Mandala 9, Sukta 62, Mantra 10
Sukta 9.62
- Rishi
- Soma-Pavamāna seer-family
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
अयं विचर्षणिर्हितः पवमानः स चेतति । हिन्वान आप्यं बृहत् ॥
ayáṃ vicárṣaṇir hitáḥ pávamānaḥ sá cetati | hinvāná ā́pyaṃ bṛhát ||
Dieser Weitblickende ist als Pavamāna eingesetzt; er erwacht zum Bewusstsein und treibt die großen Wasser – die weite Tiefe – zur rechten Entfaltung an.
Word by Word
- अयम्
- this (one), hePronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृ (सः/एषः—विषयः) अथवा विशेष्य-निर्देशकःRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- विचर्षणिः
- the far-seeing/renowned one (epithet of Soma)Noun/Epithetपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृ (अयम्…—सोमस्य विशेषणम्) / विशेषणम्Root वि-चर्षणि (प्रातिपदिक; ‘विचर्षणि’ = सर्वजन-दर्शनीय/प्रख्यात/मनुष्येषु प्रसिद्ध) अथवा ‘चर्षणि’ (जन/मनुष्य) + वि-
- हितः
- placed, set, stationedParticiple (Adjective)पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; क्त-प्रत्ययान्तः (past passive participle)Role कर्तृ-विशेषणम् (स्थित/निहितः) / अवस्था-निर्देशःRoot धा (धातु) → हित (कृदन्त; क्त-प्रत्यय) / ‘हि’ धातोः न; सामान्यतः √धा ‘to place’
- पवमानः
- purifying, flowing (Soma)Participle (Noun/Adjective)पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; वर्तमानकाले शानच् (आत्मनेपदीय-भावः)Role कर्तृ (सोमः—स्वयं पवते) / विशेषणम्Root पू (धातु ‘to purify’) → पवमान (शतृ/शानच्-प्रत्यय; वर्तमानकालिक कृदन्त)
- सः
- hePronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृ (पुनरुक्त-विषयः)Root तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- चेतति
- perceives, is aware, takes noticeVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Role क्रिया (कर्तृ = सः/पवमानः)Root चित् (धातु ‘to perceive/notice/think’)
- हिन्वानः
- impelling, urging onParticiple (Adjective)पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; वर्तमानकाले शानच्Role कर्तृ-विशेषणम् (प्रेरयन्/वेगयन्)Root हि (धातु ‘to impel/drive on’) → हिन्वान (शानच्-प्रत्यय; वर्तमानकालिक कृदन्त)
- आप्यम्
- watery, belonging to the watersAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम् (बृहत् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्) अथवा नपुं. प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (रूप-साम्य) — अत्र कर्मपदत्वात् द्वितीयाRole कर्म (हिन्वानः… बृहत् [आप्यम्]—प्रेरयति/प्रवर्तयति) / विशेषणम्Root आप्य (प्रातिपदिक; आप् ‘जल’/‘आपः’ से सम्बन्धित; ‘watery, of the waters’)
- बृहत्
- great, vastAdjective (used substantively)नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम् (कर्म)Role कर्म (प्रेरित/प्रवर्तित वस्तु—‘the great [stream/force]’)Root बृह् (धातु ‘to grow, be great’) → बृहत् (विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: अयम् | विचर्षणिः | हितः | पवमानः | सः | चेतति | हिन्वानः | आप्यम् | बृहत् || 1) ‘विचर्षणिर्हितः’ = विचर्षणिः + हितः (विसर्ग-सन्धि: ः + ह → र्ह)
- 2) ‘पवमानः स’ = पवमानः + सः (विसर्गः पदान्ते; संहितायां ‘ः’ के पश्चात् ‘स’ आरम्भ—उच्चारण-सम्बन्धी संधि; पदपाठे पृथक्)
- 3) ‘चे॑तति । हि॒न्वा॒न’ इत्यत्र विरामेण संधि-निवृत्तिः।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Soma as Pavamāna (self-purifying) is set in its place; it becomes conscious/awakens and impels the vast waters, the great depth.
Inner meaning
The wide-seeing consciousness (Soma as luminous delight) is established in the inner instrument; once seated in the right place, it awakens awareness (cetati) and sets in motion the deep waters of the being—subconscient and subliminal life-stuff—so they can expand rightly and become usable for the inner sacrifice.
Universal truth
When the delight-principle is purified and rightly stationed in us, it naturally awakens clarity and mobilizes the hidden depths of life, turning inert or chaotic energies into a vast, ordered power for growth.
Themes
awakening, expansion into the Vast, Soma as conscious agent, truth-order trajectory
The seer
- Rishi
- Soma-Pavamāna seer-family (anukramaṇī attribution to be verified)
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 9.62 (whole sūkta, Pavamāna group), Rig Veda 9.61–9.63 (adjacent Pavamāna hymns)
Family tradition
Pavamāna maṇḍala (RV 9) is largely attributed to multiple seer-families transmitting Soma-visions used in the Soma sacrifice; here the voice is of the Soma-seers who specialize in inner purification symbolism.
Significance
The Soma-seers articulate the psychology of purification: delight (ānanda) entering the system, clarifying perception, and releasing the ‘waters’ of life into a vast, luminous order.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- vicarṣaṇi (wide-seeing), pavamāna (self-purifying)
- Related deities
- Agni, Indra, Sarasvatī/Āpas (Waters)
Cosmic role
Purifier and awakener: Soma’s flow clarifies the worlds (inner and outer) and sets the life-waters moving toward ordered expansion.
Inner power
Ānanda as a conscious force: it awakens citi (awareness) and liberates submerged energies for transformation.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing and purification (pavamāna-stotra/śastra context)
अ॒यं विच॑र्षणिर्हि॒तः पव॑मान॒: स चे॑तति । हि॒न्वा॒न आप्यं॑ बृ॒हत् ॥
अ॒यम् । विऽच॑र्षणिः । हि॒तः । पव॑मानः । सः । चे॒त॒ति॒ । हि॒न्वा॒नः । आप्य॑म् । बृ॒हत् ॥
ayam | vi-carṣaṇiḥ | hitaḥ | pavamānaḥ | saḥ | cetati | hinvānaḥ | āpyam | bṛhat
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3 pādas of ~8 syllables each
Compact, swift, bright cadence; forward-driving clarity
Quickens attention and ‘switches on’ wakeful awareness (cetati); good for short, concentrated japa-like recitation.
- विचर्षणिः (vicarṣaṇiḥ)
- Literal: wide-seeing, far-seeing. Symbolic: the all-surveying inner consciousness that can perceive layers of the being
- हितः (hitaḥ)
- Literal: placed, set, established. Symbolic: the divine force firmly seated in the right psychological center (inner altar/instrument)
- पवमानः (pavamānaḥ)
- Literal: purifying, flowing clear. Symbolic: the self-purifying current of delight-consciousness refining mind, life, and body
- चेतति (cetati)
- Literal: becomes aware, perceives, awakens. Symbolic: the ignition of conscious discernment in the inner nature
- आप्यम् (āpyam)
- Literal: watery, belonging to waters. Symbolic: the deep vital/subconscient energies and the flowing stuff of experience
- बृहत् (bṛhat)
- Literal: vast, the great. Symbolic: the widened being (bṛhat consciousness) that supports spiritual expansion
Conclusion-like affirmation of Soma’s established purifying action; inwardly: when set in the system (hitaḥ), Soma awakens consciousness (cetati) and drives the waters (āpyam) toward the Vast (bṛhat), i.e., towards Satyam-Ṛtam-Bṛhat.
During Soma-yajña on pressing days; in sequences praising the flowing Soma through the filter
Pressing, filtering, collecting Soma; offering and chanting to empower the rite
Use as a meditation-chant to ‘seat’ clarity in the mind and mobilize emotional depths without turbulence.
vi-carṣaṇi: ‘wide-ranging/among men’ (vi- + carṣaṇi, a Vedic term for ‘men/settlements/domain’ with sense of broad extension); pavamāna: from √pū ‘purify’ with -māna participial; cetati: 3sg pres. √cit; hinvāna: pres. ptc. √hi ‘impel’; āpya: from áp ‘water’; bṛhat: ‘the vast’ from √bṛh ‘grow, expand’. Symbolic justification: √bṛh directly supports ‘expansion into the Vast’; āpya as ‘watery’ supports life-mind currents that Soma impels toward bṛhat (higher wideness).
bṛhat (the Vast), consciousness-awakening (cit), ṛta through purification (pavamāna)
Soma’s purification aligns the waters/energies to ṛta—right movement and right expansion.
Awakening (cetati) supports satya as clear seeing of what is.
The vast waters are stirred and ordered—an inner recapitulation of cosmogony: consciousness organizing the undifferentiated depths.
Proto-Vedāntic / Integral (Aurobindonian) reading: Soma as ānanda-power awakening mind and life toward wideness.
Waters = subconscious/vital currents; purification = refinement of mixed impulses into luminous, usable energies; vastness = widened consciousness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘awakening purifier’ mythologem: Soma as Pavamāna is established (hitaḥ), becomes conscious (cetati), and impels the waters toward bṛhat. It is a microcosmic cosmogony: from moving waters to awakened vastness.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- bṛhat from √bṛh aligns with PIE *bʰerǵʰ- ‘rise/high/exalt’ (semantic neighborhood of growth/height). √cit relates to PIE *keyt-/*skeid-? (less direct), but the core idea of ‘notice/know’ is broadly IE. The pervasive ‘waters’ cosmology is also a widespread IE motif of primordial or foundational waters.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi recognizes Soma as already ‘set’ in the work; the relationship is now of sustained governance: Soma awakens the seeker’s consciousness and drives the life-mind currents toward bṛhat, fulfilling the sacrificial aim as inner transformation rather than outer gain.
Seat the ‘clear delight’ in the heart-mind and let it awaken awareness; allow deep emotions to rise as purified currents.
Anāhata (heart) moving upward toward Ājñā (clarity)
Gentle nāḍī-śodhana or slow equal breathing (sama-vṛtti) while mentally repeating cetati
Wakeful inner poise with widening (bṛhat)
Begin with 9 or 27 recitations; feel a cool, luminous flow descending through the head and spreading through the chest; observe deeper impulses (āpyam) without judgment, letting them reorganize around calm clarity.
Default RV recitation with udātta/anudātta/svarita as marked in the Saṃhitā accents (requires śākhā-specific notation for exact contour).
Keep udātta syllables bright and slightly raised; svarita as a controlled fall; avoid flattening the cadence in ‘pavamānaḥ sa cetati’.
vicarṣaṇiḥ: keep ṛ as vocalic ‘ri’ (not ‘ar’), pavamānaḥ: clear ‘va’ and long ā, hinvānaḥ: nasalize ‘n’ lightly; long ā, bṛhat: vocalic ṛ and final ‘t’ crisp
Clear, flowing, slightly resonant (as if ‘pouring’ sound through a filter)
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