Rig Veda 4.18.3: Mandala 4, Sukta 18, Mantra 3
Sukta 4.18
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
परायतीं मातरमन्वचष्ट न नानु गान्यनु नू गमानि । त्वष्टुर्गृहे अपिबत्सोममिन्द्रः शतधन्यं चम्वोः सुतस्य ॥
parāyátīṃ mātáram ánv acaṣṭa ná nā́nu gā́ni ánu nū́ gamāni | tváṣṭur gṛhé apibat sómam índraḥ śatá-dhanyaṃ camvóḥ sutásya ||
Vigiló a su madre cuando huía, (diciendo): «No así; no seguiré las huellas comunes, no iré ahora por los caminos acostumbrados». En la casa de Tvaṣṭṛ, Indra bebió el Soma, la bebida de cien abundancias, exprimida en el cuenco.
Word by Word
- परायतीम्
- fleeing away / departingAdjective/Participleस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (अन्वचष्टे इत्यस्य)Root परायती (√या + परा) (स्त्री. कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) अथवा परा-यत् (यत्-प्रातिपदिक)
- मातरम्
- motherNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (अन्वचष्टे इत्यस्य)Root मातृ
- अनु
- after, alongIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot अनु
- अचष्ट
- he observed / he looked atVerbलुङ् (आगम-पूर्वक भूत), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √चक्ष् (चष्टे)
- न
- notIndeclinableनिषेधRoot न
- नानु
- nor after / not followingIndeclinableनिषेध + अव्ययRoot न + अनु
- गानि
- he wentVerbलुङ्, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √गा
- अनु
- afterIndeclinableअव्ययRoot अनु
- नु
- now, indeedIndeclinableनिपात (उद्बोधन/समयार्थ)Root नु
- गमानि
- he wentVerbलुङ्, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √गम्
- त्वष्टुः
- of TvaṣṭṛNoun (proper)पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (गृहे इत्यस्य)Root त्वष्टृ
- गृहे
- in the houseNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकारणRoot गृह
- अपिबत्
- he drankVerbलुङ्, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √पा
- सोमम्
- SomaNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (अपिबत् इत्यस्य)Root सोम
- इन्द्रः
- IndraNoun (proper)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot इन्द्र
- शतधन्यम्
- hundredfold-rich / very bountifulAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (सोमम् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role कर्म (अपिबत् इत्यस्य; विशेषणरूपेण)Root शत-धन्य (धन्य)
- च
- andIndeclinableसमुच्चयRoot च
- चम्वोः
- of/in the two ladles (cups)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी/सप्तमी, द्विवचन (वेदिक रूप)Role सम्बन्ध/अधिकारण (सुतस्य इत्यस्य; ‘in/ from the two ladles’)Root चमू
- सुतस्य
- of the pressed (Soma)Participle (past passive) used as noun/adjectiveपुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (सोमस्य)Root √सु (सुत)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सन्धिविच्छेद): परायतीम् | मातरम् | अनु | अचष्ट | न | नानु (= न + अनु) | गानि | अनु | नु | गमानि | त्वष्टुः | गृहे | अपिबत् | सोमम् | इन्द्रः | शतधन्यम् | च | चम्वोः | सुतस्य । मुख्य सन्धयः: नानु = न + अनु (निपात-सन्धि/संयोग)
The meaning
Outer meaning
He watched his mother as she fled, saying he would not follow by the common tracks nor go by usual ways. In Tvaṣṭṛ’s house Indra drank Soma, richly abundant, pressed in the bowl.
Inner meaning
Nature (mother) tries to flee the disruptive advent of a higher power; the old habitual life resists transformation. The awakening Indra refuses ‘common tracks’—the usual grooves of desire, fear, and inherited patterns—and chooses an uncommon route of emergence. In Tvaṣṭṛ’s house (the divine artisan: formative power that shapes bodies and instruments), Indra drinks Soma: the bliss-substance that makes the new formation possible. Psychologically: when illumination is born, it must be nourished by Ananda (Soma) within the right ‘workshop’ of transformation (Tvaṣṭṛ)—a conscious reshaping of the instrument—so the power becomes ‘richly plenishing’ (śatadhanya): abundant in inner wealth and sustenance.
Universal truth
Transformation requires leaving habitual grooves and feeding the awakening clarity with inner delight; the divine craftsman within reshapes the instrument when mind drinks the nectar of bliss.
Themes
Soma assimilation, refusal of conventional paths, Indra and Tvaṣṭṛ tension
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 4.18.1, RV 4.18.2
Family tradition
Vāmadeva’s mythic passages often pivot to Soma as the indispensable nourishment for heroic transformation, not merely ritual drink.
Significance
The seer highlights a key yogic law: illumination must be supported by Ananda and by conscious formation of the instrument; otherwise old nature ‘flees’ and the new power cannot stabilize.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra (with Tvaṣṭṛ and Soma as supporting powers)
- Epithets
- indra (lord of illumination)
- Related deities
- Soma, Tvaṣṭṛ, Agni, Bṛhaspati
Cosmic role
Hero who takes Soma and becomes capable of world-ordering victories; catalyst of change that nature initially resists.
Inner power
Illumined mind refusing habitual tracks, empowered by bliss (Soma) and shaped by the artisan-force (Tvaṣṭṛ).
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma-related Indra hymn segment; mentions Soma pressed in a bowl, fitting Soma-yajña symbolism.
प॒रा॒य॒तीं मा॒तर॒मन्व॑चष्ट॒ न नानु॑ गा॒न्यनु॒ नू ग॑मानि । त्वष्टु॑र्गृ॒हे अ॑पिब॒त्सोम॒मिन्द्र॑: शतध॒न्यं॑ च॒म्वो॑: सु॒तस्य॑ ॥
प॒रा॒ऽय॒तीम् । मा॒तर॑म् । अनु॑ । अ॒च॒ष्ट॒ । न । न । अनु॑ । गा॒नि॒ । अनु॑ । नु । ग॒मा॒नि॒ । त्वष्टुः॑ । गृ॒हे । अ॒पि॒ब॒त् । सोम॑म् । इन्द्रः॑ । श॒त॒ऽध॒न्य॑म् । च॒म्वोः॑ । सु॒तस्य॑ ॥
parāyatīm | mātaram | anu | acaṣṭa | na | na | anu | gāni | anu | nu | gamāni | tvaṣṭuḥ | gṛhe | apibat | somam | indraḥ | śata-dhanyam | camvoḥ | sutasya
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4 × ~11; the repeated negations (‘na na…’) create a rhythmic refusal, then resolves into the Soma-drinking statement.
Dramatic and decisive: resistance → refusal → replenishment.
Strengthens resolve to break habits; then induces a sense of sweetness and support on the Soma line.
- मातरम् परायतīm (mātaram parāyatīm)
- Literal: mother fleeing away. Symbolic: Habit-nature withdrawing/resisting higher change
- गानि / गमानि (gāni/gamāni)
- Literal: tracks/paths. Symbolic: Old grooves of behavior and thought
- न… अनु गानि (na… anu gāni)
- Literal: not along the common tracks. Symbolic: Refusal of conventional consciousness; choosing the yogic path
- त्वष्टुः (tvaṣṭuḥ)
- Literal: of Tvaṣṭṛ. Symbolic: Formative artisan power shaping the inner/outer instrument
- गृहे (gṛhe)
- Literal: in the house. Symbolic: In the field of formation—body-life-mind as workshop
- सोमम् (somam)
- Literal: Soma. Symbolic: Divine bliss, immortal delight that strengthens realization
- चम्वोः (camvoḥ)
- Literal: in the bowl. Symbolic: The prepared vessel of consciousness capable of receiving Ananda
- शतधन्यम् (śatadhanyam)
- Literal: hundred-rich, richly plenishing. Symbolic: Abundant inner nourishment—multiplying joy and force
Soma offering to Indra; thematically aligned with Indra’s Soma-drinking episodes recited in Soma yajñas.
During Soma pressing/praise where Indra’s drinking is recalled to invite his presence and power.
Recitation alongside Soma offering; remembrance of Indra’s acceptance of Soma.
Chant when breaking addictive patterns: affirm ‘not by common tracks’ and then sit to receive inner sweetness (Soma) as support.
√cakṣ 'to see' signals awakened witnessing. -√i 'to go away' depicts recession/withdrawal. Tvaṣṭṛ (from √tvakṣ 'to fashion, hew, form') is the power that shapes forms; Indra drinking Soma in Tvaṣṭṛ’s house suggests the victorious consciousness appropriating delight/force from within the very field of formation.
transformation through delight (Soma), formation vs. freedom (Tvaṣṭṛ’s shaping power vs. Indra’s breakout)
Leaving ‘common tracks’ is leaving disorderly habit for a higher ṛta; Soma provides the joy that makes ṛta sustainable.
Truth-action requires a re-formed instrument (Tvaṣṭṛ) and delight (Soma), not mere willpower.
Artisan formation + bliss-nourishment gives birth to a new divine capacity in the being.
Integral transformation: change of nature by illumination supported by Ananda and re-formation of the instrument.
dawn-to-midday transition (Soma pressing association; not explicit)
Tracks = habit grooves; house of Tvaṣṭṛ = inner workshop of formation; Soma pressed = distilled bliss from experience; bowl = purified receptive mind-heart vessel.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Indra’s unconventional emergence and his taking of Soma in Tvaṣṭṛ’s domain. Mythically it echoes the contested Soma and the hero’s refusal to be bound by customary routes; psychologically it is the awakened force refusing habitual grooves and seizing delight/energy from the very matrix of formed nature.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √pā 'to drink' (apibat) continues PIE *peh₃- (cf. Latin pōtus 'drunk', Greek pínō). √cakṣ (to see) relates to PIE *kweks-/*kʷek̂- 'to see/appear' (Vedic cakṣ-, Avestan čaš-). The formulaic placement of índraḥ with aorist apibat matches inherited heroic-poetic narration.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The R̥ṣi narrates Indra’s act as exemplar: the seeker must not follow the ‘gāni’ (pre-cut tracks) but must take the Soma-delight consciously within the field of formation, turning the fashioned nature into a site of empowerment rather than bondage.
Break habitual tracks; enter the inner ‘workshop’ and drink Soma—feel a quiet sweetness behind the breath.
anāhata (Soma as heart-delight) and ājñā (Indra’s clarity)
Alternate-nostril breathing for 6 rounds; then chant once and sit feeling a cool nectar descending from forehead to heart (Soma).
From habitual inertia to illumined resolve supported by Ananda.
After chanting 7 times, choose one ‘common track’ to refuse today; replace it with a small joy-based practice (music, gratitude, quiet walk) that feeds the inner Soma rather than mere suppression.
Rigvedic accents; the double negation ‘na na…’ should be crisp and emphatic; soften and lengthen slightly on ‘somam’ and ‘sutasya’.
Make ‘na nānu gāni’ a clear rhythmic refusal; place a gentle pause before ‘tvaṣṭur gṛhe’ to mark transition to nourishment.
parāyatīm: long ‘ā’, keep ‘y’ consonantal, acaṣṭa: retroflex ‘ṣṭ’ cluster clean, tvaṣṭur: initial ‘tv’ cluster; retroflex ‘ṣṭ’, apibat: short vowels, dental ‘t’, śatadhanyam: ‘śata’ clear, ‘dh’ voiced aspirate, camvoḥ: ‘mv’ cluster, visarga lightly
Decisive on the refusal lines; warm and nectar-like on the Soma line.
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