Sukta 48
Sukta 4.48
Vāmadeva Gautama (traditional for RV 4.48)
Vāyu
Triṣṭubh/Jagatī (probable; refrain-like structure suggests fixed meter—requires confirmation)
This short hymn invites Vāyu, the swift Wind, to the Soma-pressing, repeatedly calling him to come in his shining chariot to drink the freshly pressed Soma. It links proper ritual arrangement (hotrā) with the arrival of divine vitality, asking Vāyu to bring abundance, strength, and expansive riches to the sacrificer.
Mantras
Mantra 1
विहि होत्रा अवीता विपो न रायो अर्यः । वायवा चन्द्रेण रथेन याहि सुतस्य पीतये ॥
Arrange the two offerings, O helper—like a sage for the noble plenitudes. O Vāyu, come with your shining chariot to the drinking of the pressed Soma.
Mantra 2
निर्युवाणो अशस्तीर्नियुत्वाँ इन्द्रसारथिः । वायवा चन्द्रेण रथेन याहि सुतस्य पीतये ॥
Casting out the falsehoods, yoked with ordered energies, with Indra as charioteer—O Vāyu, come with your shining chariot to the drinking of the pressed Soma.
Mantra 3
अनु कृष्णे वसुधिती येमाते विश्वपेशसा । वायवा चन्द्रेण रथेन याहि सुतस्य पीतये ॥
Following the dark ones, the two treasuries of richness extend with all their forms; O Vāyu, come with your shining chariot to the drinking of the pressed Soma.
Mantra 4
वहन्तु त्वा मनोयुजो युक्तासो नवतिर्नव । वायवा चन्द्रेण रथेन याहि सुतस्य पीतये ॥
Let the mind-yoked steeds, ninety and nine, carry you. O Vāyu, come with your shining chariot to the drinking of the pressed Soma.
Mantra 5
वायो शतं हरीणां युवस्व पोष्याणाम् । उत वा ते सहस्रिणो रथ आ यातु पाजसा ॥
O Vāyu, take joy in the hundred bright steeds of increase; or else let your thousand-fold chariot come here with its blazing force.
Frequently Asked Questions
Its purpose is to invite Vāyu to the Soma ritual, asking him to arrive swiftly and drink the pressed Soma, bringing vitality, strength, and prosperity to the worshipper.
The repeated line works like a refrain: it intensifies the invocation and highlights Vāyu’s defining trait—swift, radiant movement—so the deity is drawn quickly to the offering.
They are poetic symbols of immense speed and power, suggesting that Vāyu’s life-force can arrive in overwhelming strength and multiply nourishment and increase for the sacrificer.