Rig Veda 5.71.3: Mandala 5, Sukta 71, Mantra 3
Sukta 5.71
- Rishi
- Atri
- Devata
- Mitra-Varuṇa
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Shringara (love) and Shanta (peace)
उप नः सुतमा गतं वरुण मित्र दाशुषः । अस्य सोमस्य पीतये ॥
úpa naḥ sutám ā́ gatam varuṇa mítra dāśúṣaḥ | asyá sómasya pītáye ||
Acercaos a nosotros, al Soma exprimido del dador, oh Varuṇa y Mitra; venid para beber este Soma.
Word by Word
- उप
- near, hither; (as preverb) towardsIndeclinableउपसर्ग/निपात; अव्ययRoot उप (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- नः
- of us / ourPronounषष्ठी (genitive), एकवचन; एन्क्लिटिक रूपRole सम्बन्ध (possessive/relational)Root अस्मद्
- सुतम्
- pressed (Soma), preparedAdjective/Participleनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि भूतकृदन्त (क्त)Role कर्म (गन्तुम्/आगन्तुम् इत्यस्य)Root सु (धातु) → सुत (कृदन्त, PPP)
- आ
- to, hither (towards the speaker/ritual place)Indeclinableउपसर्ग/निपात; अव्ययRoot आ (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- गतम्
- come (you two)!Verb (imperative form used as invitation)लोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, द्विवचन; परस्मैपद; वैदिक प्रयोगे आमन्त्रणार्थम्Role क्रियाRoot गम्
- वरुण
- O VaruṇaNoun (proper name)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot वरुण (प्रातिपदिक)
- मित्र
- O MitraNoun (proper name)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot मित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- दाशुषः
- of the worshipper/giverNoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root दाश्वस्/दाशुष् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘दाता/यजमान’)
- अस्य
- of thisPronounषष्ठी (genitive), एकवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot इदम्
- सोमस्य
- of SomaNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- पीतये
- for drinkingNoun (verbal noun/infinitival dative)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (dative), एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थे (तुमर्थ/इन्फिनिटिवल) प्रयोगRole सम्प्रदान/प्रयोजन (purpose)Root पा (धातु) → पीति (कृदन्त/भाववाचक संज्ञा)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-resolved): उप | नः | सुतम् | आ | गतम् | वरुण | मित्र | दाशुषः | अस्य | सोमस्य | पीतये । 1) ‘सुतमा’ इति संहितायां ‘सुतम् + आ’ (अम् + आ → अमा) संधिः। 2) ‘गतम् वरुण’ इत्यत्र विसर्ग/अनुस्वार-परिवर्तनं न
- केवलं पदसंधि-विरामः। 3) ‘मित्र दाशुषः’ इत्यत्र ‘मित्र’ सम्बोधनः, ‘दाशुषः’ षष्ठी-एकवचनम्—अर्थतः “(हे वरुणमित्रौ) दाशुषः (यजमानस्य) …”।
The meaning
Outer meaning
“Come near to us, to the pressed Soma of the giver; O Varuṇa and Mitra, come for the drinking of this Soma.”
Inner meaning
Soma is the distilled delight and immortalizing essence released by inner pressing (discipline, aspiration, purification). The ‘giver’ (dāśuṣ) is the part of us that offers—self-giving to the Divine. Mitra-Varuṇa are invited to partake so that delight is not chaotic but governed: harmony and truth-law organize bliss into stable Ananda rather than vital excitement.
Universal truth
Delight becomes transforming only when offered and governed by truth and harmony; otherwise it degrades into craving. Rightly received bliss nourishes the whole being.
Themes
Soma-ritual, Invitation to drink, Delight and order
The seer
- Rishi
- Atri (Ātreya)
- Lineage
- Ātreya
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 5.71.1, Rig Veda 5.71.2
Family tradition
Ātreya hymns often integrate Soma (delight) with Āditya governance—bliss must be ordered by truth and harmony.
Significance
Atri’s integral emphasis: the divine must enjoy the offered essence so the human can safely partake of a higher delight without distortion.
The deity
- Devata
- Mitra-Varuṇa
- Epithets
- guarantors of ṛta (implicit), near-approachers to the offering (invited)
- Related deities
- Soma (as deity and substance), Agni (pressing/offering mediator), Indra (often drinker of Soma—illumined force)
Cosmic role
They regulate the exchange between human offering and divine reception; ensure the Soma’s delight supports cosmic order rather than intoxication.
Inner power
They make bliss sober, luminous, and stable—Ananda aligned with truth (Varuṇa) and harmony (Mitra).
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma-offering invitation to Mitra-Varuṇa to drink the pressed Soma.
उप॑ नः सु॒तमा ग॑तं॒ वरु॑ण॒ मित्र॑ दा॒शुष॑: । अ॒स्य सोम॑स्य पी॒तये॑ ॥
उप॑ । नः॒ । सु॒तम् । आ । ग॒त॒म् । वरु॑ण । मित्र॑ । दा॒शुषः॑ । अ॒स्य । सोम॑स्य । पी॒तये॑ ॥
upa | naḥ | sutam | ā | gatam | varuṇa | mitra | dāśuṣaḥ | asya | somasya | pītaye
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3×8
Invitatory and flowing; suited to ‘approach’ and ‘drinking’ imagery.
Creates intimacy and sweetness; supports receptivity to a calm joy.
- सुतम् (sutam)
- Literal: pressed (Soma). Symbolic: Extracted essence through practice—distilled joy from life-experience offered upward
- दाशुषः (dāśuṣaḥ)
- Literal: of the giver/worshipper. Symbolic: The self-giving soul-nature; generosity of being that offers its energies
- सोमस्य (somasya)
- Literal: of Soma. Symbolic: Divine bliss, nectar of consciousness, immortalizing delight
- पीतये (pītaye)
- Literal: for drinking. Symbolic: Assimilation: letting bliss enter and permeate mind-life-body under divine governance
- उप...आ गतम् (upa...ā gatam)
- Literal: come near, come hither. Symbolic: Intimacy of the divine presence; bringing higher powers close to the inner altar
Soma-pāna invitation: calling the deities to the pressed Soma for their share; corresponds to the moment of offering and divine ‘participation’ in the rite.
During Soma pressing and offering sequences; at the moment of presenting Soma to the invited deities.
Āvāhana + offering: calling deities near for Soma-drinking.
Use to consecrate joy: before meals, creative work, or after meditation—offer the felt delight inwardly to truth and harmony so it becomes purifying.
súta- ‘pressed’ from √su ‘press’ (soma pressing). dāśúṣ- from √dāś ‘to offer, give honor’. pītáye dative of √pā ‘drink’ (PIE *peh₃- ‘drink’). Soma in inner sense is the delight/nectar of consciousness that the gods ‘drink’—i.e., they take their portion and establish their workings in the seeker.
Soma as delight-essence, Offering (dāśuṣ) and reciprocity, Assimilation (pīti) as inner integration
Soma must be received within ṛta; Mitra-Varuṇa ensure delight does not become anṛta (excess, intoxication, craving).
True delight is transparent and self-luminous, not dependent on falsehood or escape.
Delight as a creative power: when governed, it nourishes growth of higher consciousness in the embodied being.
Aurobindonian: Soma as Ananda; gods as powers that organize and stabilize higher experiences in the nature.
Pressing = inner distillation; drinking = assimilation; juice = sweetness of consciousness released from life under aspiration.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is ‘the gods drink Soma’: divine powers come to receive the expressed essence. Innerly, the ‘drinking’ is the gods’ taking up of delight in the human vessel, stabilizing their law and harmony in the seeker.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √pā ‘drink’ (pītaye) is a classic PIE inheritance (*peh₃-). The ritual lexicon around pressing and drinking soma shows an Indo-Iranian shared poetic-sacral register (compare Avestan haoma).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The ṛṣi, as dāśuṣ (giver), offers the distilled delight (suta soma). The devatās respond by approaching and ‘drinking’—accepting the offering and thereby empowering and ordering the inner life of the worshipper.
Offer joy to the Divine; receive bliss under truth and harmony so it stabilizes and purifies.
Anāhata (sweet communion) with Sahasrāra (Ananda descent).
Inhale ‘upa naḥ sutam ā gatam’ (welcoming), exhale ‘asya somasya pītaye’ (assimilation).
Receptive communion; quiet sweetness with alert clarity.
When delight arises (in meditation or life), do not grasp. Mentally ‘offer’ it upward, then let it spread evenly through the body—especially places of tension—until it becomes calm strength.
Gāyatrī with Vedic accents; keep ‘somasya pītaye’ as a smooth, sweet cadence.
Slightly emphasize sutám, varuṇa-mitra, dāśuṣaḥ, sómasya, pītáye; keep pāda endings clean and not swallowed.
: in Saṃhitā sandhi ‘sutam ā’—keep separation: ‘sutamā’ but mentally divide, : ‘dā-śu-ṣaḥ’—retroflex ṣ, final ḥ soft, : ‘pī-ta-ye’—long ī sustained, y consonant clear
Soft, warm, devotional; avoid heaviness.
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