Rig Veda 9.102.2: Mandala 9, Sukta 102, Mantra 2
Sukta 9.102
- Rishi
- Ascribed to Soma Pavamāna tradition
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- Likely Jagatī/Triṣṭubh family typical of Mandala 9 hymns
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
उप त्रितस्य पाष्योरभक्त यद्गुहा पदम् । यज्ञस्य सप्त धामभिरध प्रियम् ॥
úpa tritásya pāṣyòr abhakta yád guhā́ padám | yajñásya saptá dhā́mabhir ádha priyám ||
Ha tomado su puesto junto a los dos flancos de Trita — allí donde, en la cueva, yace oculto el asiento secreto; y entonces, por las siete moradas (potencias) del sacrificio, llega a ser el amado, el deleite dentro de la obra.
Word by Word
- उप
- up to, towardsIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot उप (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- त्रितस्य
- of TritaNoun (proper name)पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी; एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive relation)Root त्रित (प्रातिपदिक)
- पाष्योः
- in/at the two ‘pāṣyā-s’ (two sides/flanks/heels; lit. ‘two supports’)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी/सप्तमी; द्विवचन (वैदिक रूप)Role अधिकारण (locative sense: ‘in/at’) / सम्बन्ध (genitive sense: ‘of’) — प्रसङ्गानुसारRoot पाष्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- अरभक्त
- they seized/laid hold (upon)Verbलुङ् (अorist); परस्मैपद; 3 पुरुष; बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot रभ् (धातु) + आ- (उपसर्ग)
- यत्
- whichPronoun (relative)नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- गुहाम्
- the cave, hiding-placeNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole अधिकारण (goal/into) / कर्म (as object with motion) — प्रसङ्गानुसारRoot गुहा (प्रातिपदिक)
- पदम्
- footstep; place; stationNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot पद (प्रातिपदिक)
- यज्ञस्य
- of the sacrificeNounपुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी; एकवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
- सप्त
- sevenNumeralअव्यय (संख्यावाचक)Role विशेषण (संख्या-विशेषण)Root सप्त (संख्या)
- धामभिः
- with (its) abodes/ordinances/lightsNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया; बहुवचनRole करणRoot धामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- अध
- then, thereafterIndeclinableअव्ययRoot अध (निपात)
- प्रियम्
- the dear (thing); the beloved (goal)Adjective (substantivized)नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-resolution): उप | त्रितस्य | पाष्योः | अरभक्त | यत् | गुहाम् | पदम् | यज्ञस्य | सप्त | धामभिः | अध | प्रियम् । यद्गुहा = यत् + गुहाम् (द् + ग् → द्ग्; अन्त्य-त् परे घोषे ‘द्’ इव दृश्यते)
The meaning
Outer meaning
He has taken his place near the two sides of Trita, where the secret seat is hidden in the cave; then by the seven abodes/powers of the sacrifice he becomes the beloved.
Inner meaning
Soma seats himself near Trita’s ‘two sides’ (pāṣyoḥ): the dual boundaries of our nature—perhaps the two streams of consciousness (higher/lower, or ida/pingala as later correspondences). The true ‘padam’ (seat/step) is hidden in the cave (guhā): the secret psychic center where the divine is concealed. When Soma enters there, the yajña’s seven dhāmas—seven powers/planes/operations of the inner sacrifice—organize around him, and he becomes priyam: the intimate delight within the work. The verse maps an inward descent: from outer dualities to the hidden heart-seat, then an ordered sevenfold integration.
Universal truth
The deepest delight is found by entering the hidden center beyond dualities; from there, life’s work becomes harmonized through a many-layered (sevenfold) order.
Themes
Soma-ritual, Hidden light in the cave, Sevenfold order, Inner realization through yajña
The seer
- Rishi
- Pavamāna seer-line
- Other hymns
- RV 1.105 (Trita in distress; discovery motif), RV 9.86 (guhā imagery in Soma context; thematic), RV 10.67 (Angiras and the cave-seat; thematic parallel)
Family tradition
The Pavamāna tradition frequently uses ‘guhā/padam’ and mythic figures like Trita to encode inner discovery of the hidden delight/light.
Significance
The seer points to the decisive yogic move: find the secret seat in the cave (psychic center). From that inward station, the sevenfold order of the sacrifice becomes living and the delight becomes constant.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- priyam (beloved), indweller in guhā (implicit)
- Related deities
- Trita Āptya, Agni (hidden in cave), Bṛhaspati/Angiras (cave-breakers)
Cosmic role
Indwelling essence discovered in the hidden place; organizer of the sevenfold sacrificial order.
Inner power
Psychic Ananda that reconciles dualities and integrates the being through a sevenfold harmony.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pavamāna recitation within Soma-yajña; also interpretively linked to ‘seven’ structures of rite.
उप॑ त्रि॒तस्य॑ पा॒ष्यो॒३॒॑रभ॑क्त॒ यद्गुहा॑ प॒दम् । य॒ज्ञस्य॑ स॒प्त धाम॑भि॒रध॑ प्रि॒यम् ॥
उप॑ । त्रि॒तस्य॑ । पा॒ष्योः॑ । अभ॑क्त । यत् । गुहा॑ । प॒दम् । य॒ज्ञस्य॑ । स॒प्त । धाम॑ऽभिः । अध॑ । प्रि॒यम् ॥
upa | tritasya | pāṣyoḥ | abhakta | yat | guhā | padam | yajñasya | sapta | dhāma-bhiḥ | adha | priyam
44
Probable 4 × 11 (Triṣṭubh-like), but confirm by exact syllable count per pada in the saṃhitā.
More compact and ‘secretive’ than Jagatī; suited to guhā/padam imagery and inward turning.
Draws attention inward; creates a sense of entering a hidden chamber and then unfolding a structured sevenfold order.
- त्रित (trita)
- Literal: Trita (a Vedic figure). Symbolic: the ‘third’ principle: a mediator consciousness that discovers the hidden soma/light in the depths
- पाष्यौ (pāṣyau)
- Literal: two sides/flanks. Symbolic: dual boundaries of nature; two currents that must be balanced
- गुहा (guhā)
- Literal: cave, hidden place. Symbolic: heart-cave/psychic depth where the secret divine is concealed
- पदम् (padam)
- Literal: step, place, seat. Symbolic: stable realization/inner station of consciousness
- यज्ञ (yajña)
- Literal: sacrifice. Symbolic: the inner offering: self-giving of nature to the Divine
- सप्त धाम (sapta dhāma)
- Literal: seven abodes/regions. Symbolic: sevenfold powers/planes/operations organizing the inner life
- प्रिय (priya)
- Literal: beloved, dear. Symbolic: Ananda as intimate presence within the work
Soma-pavamāna pressing and purification (pavitra) in Soma sacrifices such as Agniṣṭoma; recited during the filtering/flow to the vats.
During chants emphasizing Soma’s indwelling seat and the ordering powers of the yajña.
Recite while Soma is processed/strained; contemplate the ‘secret seat’ as the rite’s inner core.
Meditation for accessing the ‘inner cave’: use to withdraw from surface dualities and establish practice in the heart-center, then align daily actions with a sevenfold discipline (e.g., body, life, mind, intuition, etc.).
Key roots: √bhaj ‘to share, allot, partake’ → abhakta ‘assigned/took as portion’ (mythic-psychological: the god-power takes its station in the hidden seat). guhā from √guh ‘to hide’ → the concealed inner chamber. padam from √pad ‘to step’ → a fixed footing/plane of consciousness. dhāman from √dhā ‘to place, set’ → a placed seat/abode; in RV often ‘luminous station/power’. yajña from √yaj ‘to worship, sacrifice’ → inner consecrated action.
R̥ta (ordered truth in the sacrifice), sevenfold powers/planes (sapta dhāman), inner Ananda (priya)
The seven dhāmas are the ordered architecture through which ṛta becomes embodied in the sacrifice/life.
Satya is ‘hidden’ and must be discovered as a stable padam in the guhā.
Hidden seat in the cave: creation emerges from concealed truth; discovery is a re-creation.
Sevenfold cosmology resonates with later Upaniṣadic and yogic mappings; read here as integral organization of planes around the psychic center.
Cave = heart-depth; two sides = dual currents/dualities; seven abodes = layered functions/planes of consciousness brought into harmony by Soma-delight.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘hidden seat in the cave’ mythologem: the luminous power (Soma as inner light) finds/occupies a secret station associated with Trita. In inner terms, the seeker’s triadic force (Trita) opens a concealed plane in the subconscient (guhā), and Soma establishes there the delight and right functioning of the yajña through the seven ordered powers (sapta dhāman).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- padám ‘step/footing’ continues PIE *ped- ‘foot’ (cf. Lat. pēs, Gk. poús). √bhaj ‘apportion/share’ aligns with Indo-Iranian distribution semantics (cf. Avestan bāxš- ‘share, distribute’). The verse’s relative clause (yád ... padám) plus sequencing particle ádha is a typical archaic Indo-European poetic syntax for unveiling a hidden locus then stating its consequence.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi’s speech frames Soma not as a mere pressed drink but as a conscious power that ‘takes its seat’ in the hidden inner chamber. The reciprocity is implicit: the yajña provides the sevenfold ordered field (dhāman) in which Soma can manifest; Soma in return becomes priyá—delight and fulfillment—within the practitioner’s work, stabilizing r̥ta in the human vessel.
Enter the heart-cave and locate the ‘seat’ (padam) of quiet delight; balance the two currents; then let practice unfold in seven aspects.
Anāhata (guhā) with optional mapping of ‘two sides’ to iḍā/piṅgalā (as a later yogic analogy)
Alternate-nostril breathing to ‘balance the two sides’, then silent breath with attention in the heart-cave.
Inward recollection leading to stable sweetness.
1) Balance breath (two sides). 2) Withdraw attention to the heart-cave. 3) Sense a stable ‘seat’ of quiet joy. 4) Offer seven domains of life (body, breath, emotions, thought, speech, will, aspiration) into that center.
Use the verse’s marked accents; keep a subdued, inward tone on ‘guhā padam’ and a gentle brightening on ‘sapta dhāmabhiḥ’.
Slight pause after ‘yad guhā padam’ to evoke the hidden seat; then flow evenly through ‘yajñasya sapta dhāmabhiḥ’.
‘tritasya’ crisp ‘tr’ cluster; avoid inserting a vowel., ‘pāṣyoḥ’ long ā; retroflex ṣ; and visarga-like release is not added—end with ‘oḥ’., ‘dhāmabhiḥ’ aspirate ‘dh’ clearly; final ḥ light.
Soft, inward, steady; temple-like resonance.
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