Rig Veda 9.81.4: Mandala 9, Sukta 81, Mantra 4
Sukta 9.81
- Rishi
- Not securely inferable from the excerpt alone
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna with a collective invocation of multiple devatās
- Chandas
- Likely Jagatī
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
आ नः पूषा पवमानः सुरातयो मित्रो गच्छन्तु वरुणः सजोषसः । बृहस्पतिर्मरुतो वायुरश्विना त्वष्टा सविता सुयमा सरस्वती ॥
ā́ naḥ pūṣā́ pavamānaḥ su-rā́tayo mitró gacchantu váruṇaḥ sa-jóṣasaḥ | bṛ́haspátir marúto vāyúr aśvínā tváṣṭā savitā́ su-yámā sárasvatī ||
Möge Pūṣan mit dem sich läuternden Soma, den guten Gebern, zu uns kommen; mögen Mitra und Varuṇa in Eintracht herankommen. Mögen Bṛhaspati, die Maruts, Vāyu, die Aśvins, Tvaṣṭṛ, Savitṛ, Su‑yamā und Sarasvatī sich nahen.
Word by Word
- आ
- hither, towards (here)Indeclinableउपसर्ग/निपात (गत्यर्थे), अव्ययRoot आ (upasarga) अथवा आ (avyaya)
- नः
- to us / for usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी? बहुवचन (एन्क्लिटिक ‘नः’ = ‘our/to us’; here best as dative plural)Role SampradānaRoot अस्मद्
- पूषा
- PūṣanNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot पूषन् (प्रातिपदिक: पूषन्)
- पवमानः
- purifying, self-purifying (Soma)Adjective (participle)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; वर्तमानकाले आत्मनेपदी वर्तमान कृदन्त (शानच्)Role Kartā (विशेषणरूपेण पूष्णः)Root √पू (पवते) + शानच् (पवमान)
- सुरातयः
- good givers / bounties (or: generous ones)Noun/Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचनRole Kartā (समुच्चिताः)Root सु-राति (प्रातिपदिक: सुराति)
- मित्रः
- MitraNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot मित्र
- गच्छन्तु
- let (them) comeVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRoot √गम् (गच्छति)
- वरुणः
- VaruṇaNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot वरुण
- सजोषसः
- in concord, of one accordAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचन (देवसमूहविशेषणम्)Role Kartā (समुच्चितानां विशेषणम्)Root स-जोṣस् (प्रातिपदिक: सजोषस्)
- बृहस्पतिः
- BṛhaspatiNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot बृहस्पति
- मरुतः
- the MarutsNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचनRole KartāRoot मरुत्
- वायुः
- VāyuNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot वायु
- अश्विना
- the Aśvins (two)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा द्विवचन (वैदिके -ā अन्तः प्रथमा-द्विवचनरूपम्)Role KartāRoot अश्विन् (द्विवचन-प्रातिपदिक: अश्विनौ)
- त्वष्टा
- TvaṣṭṛNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot त्वष्टृ
- सविता
- SavitṛNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot सवितृ
- सुयमा
- well-guiding / of good guidanceAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचन (देवसमूहविशेषणम्)Role Kartā (विशेषणम्)Root सु-यम (प्रातिपदिक: सुयम)
- सरस्वती
- SarasvatīNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot सरस्वती
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सन्धिविग्रह): आ | नः | पूषा | पवमानः | सुरातयः | मित्रः | गच्छन्तु | वरुणः | सजोषसः || बृहस्पतिः | मरुतः | वायुः | अश्विना | त्वष्टा | सविता | सुयमा | सरस्वती || 1) ‘आ नः’ = उपसर्ग/निपात ‘आ’ + एन्क्लिटिक सर्वनाम ‘नः’ (दत्तिवाचक ‘to us’). 2) ‘अश्विना’ वैदिक-प्रयोगे प्रथमा-द्विवचनम् (अश्विनौ) का -ā रूप. 3) ‘सजोषसः’ तथा ‘सुयमा’ बहुवचन-विशेषणरूपेण समुच्चित-कर्तृसमूहं विशेषयतः. 4) उच्चारणचिह्न (॑, ॒) ऋग्वैदिक-स्वरचिह्नाः
- पदविश्लेषे स्वरः यथापाठं ग्राह्यः, परं अत्र रूप-विश्लेषणं पदरूपप्रधानम्।
The meaning
Outer meaning
A collective invitation: may Pūṣan arrive with the purifying Soma; may Mitra-Varuṇa come together; may Bṛhaspati, Maruts, Vāyu, Aśvins, Tvaṣṭṛ, Savitṛ, Su-yamā, and Sarasvatī approach.
Inner meaning
As Soma-Pavamāna (the stream of purified Ananda) rises in the inner sacrifice, the seeker calls allied powers of the Integral Yoga of the Veda: guidance (Pūṣan), harmony and truth-law (Mitra–Varuṇa), the word of illumination (Bṛhaspati), dynamic life-forces that clear obstacles (Maruts), the breath-current that carries the offering upward (Vāyu), swift healers and restorers of the dual nature (Aśvins), the fashioner of forms (Tvaṣṭṛ), the awakener of the supramental impulse (Savitṛ), the right-governance of the journey (Su-yamā), and the flowing inspiration (Sarasvatī). The verse is a psychological ‘gathering of the gods’—assembling all faculties around the purified delight so the being can be harmonized and uplifted.
Universal truth
Spiritual transformation is integrative: illumination, right order, inspired speech, breath-energy, healing, creative formation, and guidance must converge around a purified core of delight for wholeness to manifest.
Themes
Collective invocation, Soma as unifier, Harmony and law, Inspired speech and formation
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 9.81 (Pavamāna Soma hymn sequence; exact seer attribution requires full Anukramaṇī entry)
Significance
The seer-voice here functions less as an individual biography and more as a ‘collective priest’ of the inner sacrifice, summoning a complete pantheon of psychological powers to stabilize the ascent of Soma (Ananda) in consciousness.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna (with a collective invocation of allied devatās)
- Epithets
- pavamāna (self-purifying/flowing clear), surātayaḥ (good givers)
- Related deities
- Pūṣan, Mitra, Varuṇa, Bṛhaspati, Maruts, Vāyu, Aśvins, Tvaṣṭṛ, Savitṛ, Sarasvatī
Cosmic role
Soma as the purifying stream that links earth-life to the luminous worlds; the delight that empowers gods and humans and makes the sacrifice effective.
Inner power
Ananda that clarifies mind and vital, draws in harmonizing and illumining powers, and builds a unified inner government (ṛta) around the psychic offering.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing and purification (Pavamāna) chants during Soma-yajña sequences.
आ न॑: पू॒षा पव॑मानः सुरा॒तयो॑ मि॒त्रो ग॑च्छन्तु॒ वरु॑णः स॒जोष॑सः । बृह॒स्पति॑र्म॒रुतो॑ वा॒युर॒श्विना॒ त्वष्टा॑ सवि॒ता सु॒यमा॒ सर॑स्वती ॥
आ । नः॒ । पू॒षा । पव॑मानः । सु॒ऽरा॒तयः॑ । मि॒त्रः । ग॒च्छ॒न्तु॒ । वरु॑णः । स॒ऽजोष॑सः । बृह॒स्पतिः॑ । म॒रुतः॑ । वा॒युः । अ॒श्विना॑ । त्वष्टा॑ । स॒वि॒ता । सु॒ऽयमा॑ । सर॑स्वती ॥
ā | naḥ | pūṣā | pavamānaḥ | su-rātayaḥ | mitraḥ | gacchantu | varuṇaḥ | sa-joṣasaḥ | bṛhaspatiḥ | marutaḥ | vāyuḥ | aśvinā | tvaṣṭā | savitā | su-yamā | sarasvatī
48
4 pādas × 12 syllables (expected Jagatī cadence).
Expansive, processional, suitable for listing and ‘gathering’ powers.
Creates a sense of assembling and convergence—many forces arriving into one field of consciousness centered on Soma.
- पवमान (pavamāna)
- Literal: purifying, flowing clear. Symbolic: the movement of consciousness that self-purifies into luminous Ananda
- सोम (soma)
- Literal: Soma-juice. Symbolic: divine delight/bliss distilled from experience
- पूषा (pūṣā)
- Literal: Pūṣan, nourisher/guide. Symbolic: the inner guide that leads the journey and protects the path
- मित्र (mitra)
- Literal: Mitra, friend/covenant. Symbolic: harmony, right relation, luminous concord in the mind
- वरुण (varuṇa)
- Literal: Varuṇa, lord of ṛta. Symbolic: vast truth-law, ethical-spiritual order that releases from falsehood
- बृहस्पति (bṛhaspati)
- Literal: lord of the Word. Symbolic: mantric intuition; the power that breaks open the closed mind
- मरुतः (marutaḥ)
- Literal: storm-gods. Symbolic: impulses of force that purify the vital and shatter resistance
- वायु (vāyu)
- Literal: wind. Symbolic: prāṇa; the carrier of offering and inspirer of movement
- अश्विना (aśvinā)
- Literal: the two Aśvins. Symbolic: twin powers of swift help—healing and right functioning of dual nature
- त्वष्टा (tvaṣṭā)
- Literal: fashioner. Symbolic: the formative intelligence shaping new inner embodiment
- सविता (savitā)
- Literal: impeller (Sun). Symbolic: the divine impulsion toward higher truth-consciousness
- सरस्वती (sarasvatī)
- Literal: she of the stream. Symbolic: inspired flow of speech/intuition; clarity of discernment
Soma rite as a gathering-point of devatās; invitation (āvāhana) for participation in offering and inner harmonization.
During Soma filtration/flow (pavamāna-stotra/recitation contexts; exact placement depends on śākhā).
Invoking multiple devatās to ‘come near’ as Soma is purified through the filter.
Used as an inner invocation before meditation: consciously call guidance, harmony, truth-law, inspired speech, breath-force, healing, and creative formation to support a purified state of delight.
This is an invocation list: deities as functional powers. Mitra-Varuṇa are paired for harmony and law. Bṛhaspati embodies brahman (inspired word). Vāyu is prāṇa-like movement. Tvaṣṭṛ is formative power. Savitṛ is the impulsion of illumination. Sarasvatī is the streaming inspiration/speech.
Integration of divine powers in the sacrificer, Harmony and law (Mitra-Varuṇa) as foundation for purification, Inspired speech (Bṛhaspati) as mediator of transformation
Mitra–Varuṇa indicate the establishment of ṛta in the inner and outer life as Soma is purified.
Truth becomes a lived order when the ‘many gods’ (faculties) act in concord (sajoṣas).
Formation of a new inner cosmos by assembling functional powers around the purified essence.
Proto-Vedāntic / Integral-Vedic psychology (Aurobindo-Kashyap lens): gods as powers of consciousness.
Purified delight rises like a clear stream; breath and dynamic forces clear the system; inspired speech flows; solar impulsion awakens higher intention; harmony and truth-law stabilize the new order.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The 'assembly of the gods around Soma' mythologem: purification is a centripetal act drawing multiple cosmic powers into one sacrificial field. Inner sense: when delight is clarified, all faculties—guidance, harmony, law, breath, inspiration, formation—can collaborate.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The enumerative catalog of deities is a common IE hymnic strategy (invocation lists). Many names encode functions through transparent morphology (e.g., Savitṛ from √sū 'impel'), reflecting archaic theonymic formation patterns.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi acts as convener: through invitation speech, he aligns and summons the divine functions to participate in the rite and in the inner economy of the sacrificer, aiming at a coordinated action rather than isolated boons.
‘Assemble the gods’: gather scattered faculties into a unified field around a clear, blissful awareness (Soma).
Anāhata to Ājñā (heart-delight rising to illumined mind).
Gentle nāḍī-śodhana or slow equal breathing; on inhale ‘ā naḥ…’ (drawing in), on exhale ‘gacchantu…’ (settling/arriving).
Collected, harmonized, receptive to inspiration.
Begin with a felt sense of inner purity (pavamāna). Then name-invoke the needed powers: guidance, truth-law, inspired word, dynamic clearing, healing, creative formation. End by resting in a unified quiet delight.
Not fully derivable from provided excerpt; chant with Vedic udātta/anudātta/svarita as per śākhā recitation of RV 9.81.4.
Keep clear stress on invocatory ‘ā naḥ’ and on deity-names; maintain even pāda cadence (Jagatī-like).
Maintain long vowels: ā, ī, ū., Retroflex clarity: ṛ in bṛhaspati; ṇ in varuṇa., Avoid English ‘v’—use soft labio-dental/approximant for v (vāyu)., Sarasvatī: keep ‘sv’ cluster crisp (sar-as-va-tī).
Clear, summoning, steady (as if calling powers to assemble).
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