Rig Veda 9.10.7: Mandala 9, Sukta 10, Mantra 7
Sukta 9.10
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
समीचीनास आसते होतारः सप्तजामयः । पदमेकस्य पिप्रतः ॥
samīcīnā́sa āsate hótāraḥ saptá-jāmayaḥ | padám ékasya píprataḥ ||
Armonizados, los siete poderes afines del Hotṛ toman asiento; colman y afirman el paso único — el único fundamento de lo Divino.
Word by Word
- समीचीनाः
- facing one another / in proper orderAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (होतारः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Root समीचीन (प्रातिपदिक; सम्-√अञ्च्/अच् ‘to go/turn’ > ‘directed/turned towards’; adj.)
- आसते
- they sitVerbलट् (वर्तमान), ३ पुरुष, बहुवचन, आत्मनेपदRole (क्रिया)Root √आस् (to sit)
- होतारः
- the Hotṛ priests / invokersNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot होतृ (प्रातिपदिक; √हु ‘to offer/sacrifice’)
- सप्तजामयः
- sevenfold-kin / of seven families (i.e., the seven priests)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (होतारः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Root सप्त-जामि (समास; सप्त ‘seven’ + जामि ‘of one family/kin, related’; adj.)
- पदम्
- the step / track / stationNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot पद (प्रातिपदिक)
- एकस्य
- of the one (single)Numeral/Adjective (used substantively)पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी-सम्बन्धः)Root एक (प्रातिपदिक)
- पिप्रतः
- they fill / they make fullVerbलट् (वर्तमान), ३ पुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपदRole (क्रिया; कर्म = पदम्)Root √पॄ/पॢ (Vedic: to fill, to make full, to satisfy; reduplicated present stem पि-प्र-)
Sandhi Notes
- पदपाठानुसारं पदच्छेदः: समीचीनाः | आसते | होतारः | सप्तजामयः | पदम् | एकस्य | पिप्रतः || 1) ‘समीचीनास॑ आसते’ इत्यत्र विसर्गः (समीचीनाः) स्वरव्यञ्जनादौ लोप/रूपान्तरं न
- संहितायां ‘आ’ आरम्भे सन्धिः न दृश्यते। 2) ‘पदमेकस्य’ = पदम् + एकस्य
- म् + ए इत्यत्र पररूप/सन्ध्यभावेन लेखने ‘पदमेकस्य’ (अनुस्वार/मकारः यथावत्)। 3) ‘पिप्रतः’ वैदिक-रूपं (पुनरुक्त-धातु-प्रयोगः) — √पॄ/पॢ धातोः वर्तमान-बहुवचन-परस्मैपदम्।
The meaning
Outer meaning
In harmony the seven kindred Hotṛs sit; they fill and strengthen the single step of the One.
Inner meaning
When the inner officiating powers—seven allied functions of inspired utterance and offering—become harmonised (samīcīnāsaḥ), they establish themselves in the right seat of action (āsate) and build up the ‘one step’ (padam ekasya): the single foundational poise of the Divine consciousness in us, the stable basis for further ascent.
Universal truth
Integral harmony among the soul’s faculties is required to found a stable spiritual station; unity is not achieved by suppression but by coordinated offering.
Themes
Seven powers, Unity (Eka), Ritual psychology, Stabilisation of consciousness
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 9.10.1-11
Significance
Emphasizes the ‘sevenfold’ structure of Vedic yoga: realization is secured when the seven powers are aligned and seated in the sacrifice.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Pavamāna, Eka-pada foundation-giver (functional epithet from the verse)
- Related deities
- Agni (as hotṛ principle), Viṣṇu (padam motif: ‘three steps’ doctrine, thematic), Indra (as organizer of the powers, thematic)
Cosmic role
Soma harmonizes the powers and establishes the divine station; he is the cohesive delight that unites the functions of the sacrifice.
Inner power
Integrative Ananda that coordinates faculties and stabilizes a higher poise (padam).
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma rite: chants accompanying purification and establishment of Soma for offering
स॒मी॒ची॒नास॑ आसते॒ होता॑रः स॒प्तजा॑मयः । प॒दमेक॑स्य॒ पिप्र॑तः ॥
स॒मी॒ची॒नासः॑ । आ॒स॒ते॒ । होता॑रः । स॒प्तऽजा॑मयः । प॒दम् । एक॑स्य । पिप्र॑तः ॥
samīcīnāsaḥ | āsate | hotāraḥ | sapta-jāmayaḥ | padam | ekasya | piprataḥ
44
4 × ~11 syllables (approx.)
Balanced and settling; cadence supports ‘seating’ and ‘making firm’.
Grounding and integrative—helps collect scattered energies into a single stable poise.
- samīcīnāsaḥ
- Literal: turned together, aligned, harmonious. Symbolic: integration of mind-life-body around the soul’s aim
- hotāraḥ
- Literal: Hotṛ priests. Symbolic: inner powers that call, name, and offer—functions of aspiration, discernment, speech, will
- sapta-jāmayaḥ
- Literal: seven kindred/related. Symbolic: the seven rays/powers (often linked with seven flames, seven rivers, seven inspirations) acting as one family
- padam
- Literal: step, footprint, station. Symbolic: a stable plane/poise of consciousness
- ekasya
- Literal: of the One. Symbolic: the One Divine (eka) whose foundation is to be established in the being
- piprataḥ
- Literal: they fill, strengthen, make firm. Symbolic: they build a stable realization, not a passing experience
Recitation within the Soma purification liturgy; ‘Hotṛs’ evokes the priestly function, mirrored as coordinated inner invoking powers during pressing/straining
When the ritual emphasizes ordered seating of priestly functions and firm establishment of the offering
Recitation as Soma is made ready and the officiants take their places; supports ritual coherence
Use before meditation to unify attention; suitable for group chanting to harmonize collective mind.
sam-īcīna ‘convergent’ from sam ‘together’ + √añc/īc ‘to turn toward’. hotṛ from √hu ‘to call, invoke’ (PIE *ǵʰewh₁- ‘pour/libate/call’ debated; but Vedic √hu is central). sapta from PIE *septm̥ ‘seven’. jāmi ‘akin, of the same family’ (kinship/identity). padá- from √pad ‘to step’ (PIE *ped- ‘foot’). piprataḥ from √pṛ ‘fill’ (PIE *pleh₁- ‘fill’, cf. Greek plḗrēs, Latin plēnus).
unity behind multiplicity (ekasya), ordered harmony of faculties (samīcīna), padam as stable plane (the ‘step’ of the One)
Ṛta appears as alignment (samīcīna) and proper ‘seating’ of forces in the sacrifice.
The ‘one step’ is the satya-basis: a truth-founded station in consciousness.
Order arises by harmonizing multiplicity into oneness; foundation precedes expansion.
Integral yoga reading: sevenfold powers integrated around the One (eka).
Seat = stable inner posture; step = plane of consciousness; sevenfold = spectrum of inner powers/rays.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘seven powers establishing the One step’—a mythic image of multiplicity (seven) converging to found the single station of the Divine. It echoes the Vedic motif where the many rays/voices uphold the one sun/truth, interiorised as coordinated faculties establishing the stable footing of realization.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The formula sapta ‘seven’ and padam ‘step’ are classic IE inheritances (*septm̥, *ped-). The collocation ‘padam ekasya’ resembles archaic IE poetic abstraction: a concrete noun (‘step’) bearing metaphysical weight (‘of the One’), a stylistic feature paralleled in Greek and Avestan sacral diction.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi’s vision presents the rite as an inner assembly: the invoking powers ‘sit’ in harmony, enabling Soma’s purifying action to culminate in a single founded ‘step’—a stable contact with the One Reality that Soma mediates.
Bring the ‘seven’ functions (body, breath, life-energy, emotion, thought, intuition, will) into one aligned offering; rest in the ‘one step’ as a single base-awareness.
anāhata (harmonizing center) with support to sahasrāra (oneness)
Square breathing (4-4-4-4) for 7 cycles, then silent resting in the felt ‘seat’.
Collected, unified, steady.
Chant slowly; after each repetition, pause and feel the mind and breath ‘take their seat’ together; allow a single simple awareness to become the base.
Rigvedic udātta/anudātta/svarita; exact accenting depends on recension markings not included.
Let samīcīnāsaḥ flow evenly; give a calm emphasis to sapta-jāmayaḥ; land firmly on padam ekasya.
Long ī in samīcīnāsaḥ, Retroflex ṭ in hotāraḥ is not present; keep dental t; aspirate h in hotāraḥ, Consonant cluster in saptajāmayaḥ: keep it smooth, not rushed
steady, even, seated resonance (no sharp attack)
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