Rig Veda 3.40.7: Mandala 3, Sukta 40, Mantra 7
Sukta 3.40
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Trishtubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
अभि द्युम्नानि वनिन इन्द्रं सचन्ते अक्षिता । पीत्वी सोमस्य वावृधे ॥
abhí dyumnā́ni vanína índraṃ sacante ákṣitā | pītvī́ sómasya vāvṛdhe ||
En torno a Indra se reúnen los poderes inagotables que conquistan plenitudes luminosas; habiendo bebido Soma, él crece.
Word by Word
- अभि
- towards, uponIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्यय; governs accusative; sense: ‘towards, upon, in addition’Role Adhikaraṇa (directional/locative sense) / upasarga to the verbal ideaRoot अभि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- द्यु॒म्नानि
- splendours, brilliant powersNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole Karma (object of ‘सचन्ते’ with अभि) / goal of movementRoot द्यु॒म्न (प्रातिपदिक)
- वनिनः
- the winners/conquerors (lit. ‘possessors of winning/booty’)Noun (agentive/epithet)पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole Kartā (subject of ‘सचन्ते’)Root वनिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्रम्
- IndraNoun (proper)पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचनRole Karma (object of ‘सचन्ते’)Root इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- सचन्ते
- they accompany / they attach themselvesVerbलट् (वर्तमान); आत्मनेपद; प्रथमपुरुष; बहुवचनRole (क्रिया) —Root √सच् (सचँ) ‘to accompany, follow, attach oneself’
- अक्षिता
- undiminishing, imperishableAdjective (past participial, used as epithet)नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; बहुवचन; agrees with द्यु॒म्नानिRole Karma (qualifier of the object द्यु॒म्नानि) / adjectivalRoot अ-क्षि-त (क्षि ‘to perish/diminish’ + क्त; with privative अ-)
- पीत्वी
- having drunkVerbal indeclinable (gerund)क्त्वा/त्वी-अव्यय; ‘having drunk’Role (क्रियाविशेषण) prior action to वावृधेRoot √पा ‘to drink’ → पीत्वी (त्वी-प्रत्यय; Vedic absolutive/gerund)
- सोमस्य
- of SomaNounपुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी विभक्ति; एकवचनRole Sambandha (genitive relation with पीत्वी: ‘of Soma’)Root सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- वावृधे
- he has grown / he has become strongVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परोक्श; perfect); आत्मनेपद; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचनRole (क्रिया) —; subject understood: इन्द्रःRoot √वृध् (वृधँ) ‘to grow, increase’
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (Vedic): अ॒भि | द्यु॒म्नानि॑ | व॒निन॒ः | इन्द्रं॑ | सचन्ते॒ | अक्षि॑ता । | पी॒त्वी | सोम॑स्य | वावृधे ॥ Notes: (1) ‘अक्षिता’ is adjectival to ‘द्यु॒म्नानि’ (n. acc. pl.), hence same case/number/gender
- (2) ‘पीत्वी’ is Vedic absolutive (त्वी) from √पा, governing genitive ‘सोमस्य’ (‘having drunk of Soma’)
- (3) ‘सचन्ते’ (√सच्, Ātmanepada) takes accusative with ‘अभि’ expressing motion/attachment ‘towards’
The meaning
Outer meaning
Unexhausted winning powers gather around Indra; having drunk Soma, he grows/increases.
Inner meaning
Around the illumined Mind cluster the inexhaustible energies that win luminous plenitudes (dyumnāni). When Indra drinks Soma—assimilates delight—his capacity expands; the mind grows into greater amplitude, able to hold more light, force, and victorious manifestation.
Universal truth
Sustainable spiritual power is renewable: when joy is united with illumination, our capacities do not deplete but increase; true growth is expansion of consciousness, not accumulation of possessions.
Themes
Indra’s increase, Allied powers, Inexhaustible energies, Luminous plenitudes
The seer
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Lineage
- Viśvāmitra (Kauśika lineage)
- Other hymns
- RV 3.24, RV 3.32, RV 3.34, RV 3.45
Family tradition
Victory hymns: gathering of powers around Indra reflects the rishi’s method—collect the faculties, concentrate, drink the delight, expand into conquest of darkness.
Significance
Suggests a key Aurobindonian theme: the gods are not distant; they are organizing powers that gather around an awakened center (Indra) and become inexhaustible when fed by Soma (ānanda).
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Soma-pā (Soma-drinker, implied)
- Related deities
- Soma, Maruts (powers that ‘gather around’ Indra), Viśve Devāḥ
Cosmic role
Focus of victorious energies; Soma-fed Indra is the expanding power that enables divine conquest and establishment of wide worlds.
Inner power
Expansive illumination: the mind that grows by joy, attracting and coordinating inexhaustible energies of victory.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra-Soma praise concluding/continuing a Soma-offering sequence
अ॒भि द्यु॒म्नानि॑ व॒निन॒ इन्द्रं॑ सचन्ते॒ अक्षि॑ता । पी॒त्वी सोम॑स्य वावृधे ॥
अ॒भि । द्यु॒म्नानि॑ । व॒निनः॑ । इन्द्र॑म् । स॒च॒न्ते॒ । अक्षि॑ता । पी॒त्वी । सोम॑स्य । व॒वृ॒धे॒ ॥
abhi | dyumnāni | vaninaḥ | indram | sacante | akṣitā | pītvī | somasya | vavṛdhe
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4 pādas × ~11 syllables
Gathering-and-release movement: clustering around a center, then a swelling cadence on growth (vāvṛdhe).
Energizes and expands; evokes a sense of inexhaustible support and widening victory.
- dyumnāni
- Literal: splendours, luminous powers. Symbolic: Powers of illumination—plentitudes of clarity, inspiration, and effective force
- vaninaḥ
- Literal: winners, those who win. Symbolic: Victorious faculties that secure light against resistance
- akṣitā
- Literal: un-decaying, inexhaustible. Symbolic: Renewable spiritual energies not subject to vital depletion
- pītvī somasya
- Literal: having drunk Soma. Symbolic: Assimilating bliss into consciousness to empower action and widen mind
- vāvṛdhe
- Literal: he grew, increased. Symbolic: Expansion of the illumined mind into a greater range and potency
Soma rite: proclamation of Indra’s increase after drinking; strengthens the efficacy of the offering by describing its result
After Soma drinking/offerings, affirming Indra’s increase and the gathering of powers.
Praise that seals the effect of Soma: Indra’s growth and the congregation of victorious energies.
Chant when fatigued: reframe energy as renewable by aligning joy with clarity; invite ‘inexhaustible’ powers to gather.
dyumná from dyu ‘shine’ + suffix indicating luminous might. vanin from √van ‘to win, desire, obtain’. sacante from √sac ‘to accompany, follow’. akṣita (a- + kṣita) from √kṣi/√kṣī ‘to perish/diminish’ → ‘undiminished’. vāvṛdhe perfect of √vṛdh ‘to grow’ (PIE *werdʰ-; cf. English worth, become; German werden).
Inexhaustibility of true powers (akṣita) in the economy of sacrifice, Growth (vṛddhi) of consciousness through Ananda (Soma)
The ‘winners’ (vaninaḥ) imply right conquest—victory that serves order, not egoic domination.
Inexhaustibility (akṣitā) belongs to truth-based energies, not to restless desire.
Growth/expansion as a cosmic process: consciousness widens by receiving delight and light.
Integral Yoga psychology: increase of consciousness by ānanda; powers gather around the awakened center.
Renewable energies circulating around a luminous center; expansion like dawn-light spreading (dyumna as brightness).
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Indra’s augmentation myth: after Soma, Indra grows and is surrounded by victorious dyumnas. Inner sense: delight increases the illumined mind, and inexhaustible luminous attainments rally around it as supportive faculties.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √vṛdh ‘grow’ continues PIE *werdʰ- (broad IE growth/becoming family). The ‘winning’ lexeme √van has parallels in IE desire/win semantics, reflecting an inherited heroic/agonistic poetic register.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi describes the divine response as assurance: by offering Soma, the sacrificer causes an objective increase in the Indra-force within the being; the ‘winners’ (vaninaḥ) are the rishi’s own awakened powers that now naturally adhere to Indra’s leadership.
Gather scattered energies around the brow-light; drink the inner sweetness; allow consciousness to widen.
sahasrāra (as expansion)
4-4-6 breathing (inhale-hold-exhale) for a few rounds, then chant once; feel expansion on exhale.
Widened, luminous, energized stability.
Visualize a radiant Indra-center in the head; call in ‘akṣitā’ powers from all sides; after chanting, rest in spacious awareness and let effort become effortless strength.
Keep a bright lift on ‘dyumnāni’ and ‘índram’; sustain ‘akṣitā’; let the final ‘vāvṛdhe’ swell slightly then resolve.
Do not rush ‘pītvī somasya’; it is the causal pivot—drink → growth.
(dyumnāni): ‘dyu’ glide, nasal ‘mn’ cluster, (vaninaḥ): short vowels, clear ‘n’, (akṣitā): crisp ‘kṣ’, long ‘ā’, (vāvṛdhe): long ‘vā’; retroflex ‘ḍh’ with aspiration
Bright, expansive, slightly triumphant.
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