Rig Veda 9.13.2: Mandala 9, Sukta 13, Mantra 2
Sukta 9.13
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- Likely Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
पवमानमवस्यवो विप्रमभि प्र गायत । सुष्वाणं देववीतये ॥
pávamānam avasyávo vípram abhí prá gāyata | suṣvāṇáṃ deva-vī́taye ||
Oh buscadores del don, cantad hacia Soma que se purifica, el inspirado; exprimido, viene para la gozosa acogida de los dioses, para que las Potencias divinas entren y participen en nosotros.
Word by Word
- पवमानम्
- the purifying (Soma), the flowing-purifierNoun/Adjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole कर्म (स्तुत्य/गाय्य विषय)Root पवमान- (प्रातिपदिक; √पू ‘पवते’ ‘to purify/flow’ से वर्तमान कृदन्त)
- अवस्यवः
- (you) desirous of help/favorNoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (आह्वानित गायक/ऋषयः)Root अवस्यु- (प्रातिपदिक; अवस् ‘help/favor’ + यु)
- विप्रम्
- the inspired sage; the seer (Soma as inspired)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole कर्म (गायन/स्तुति का विषय)Root विप्र- (प्रातिपदिक)
- अभि
- towards, untoIndeclinableअव्यय (उपसर्ग/पूर्वपद)Role (क्रियाविशेषण/उपसर्गार्थ: ‘towards, unto’)Root अभि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- प्र
- forth, forwardIndeclinableअव्यय (उपसर्ग/क्रियाविशेषण)Role (क्रियाविशेषण: ‘forth, forward’)Root प्र (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- गायत
- sing (you all)!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यम पुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रिया (आह्वान/आज्ञा)Root √गै (गायति) ‘to sing/praise’
- सुष्वाणम्
- the pressed (Soma), having been pressedNoun/Adjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole कर्म (गायन/स्तुति का विषय)Root सुष्वाण- (प्रातिपदिक; √सु/√सव् ‘to press (Soma)’ से परिपूर्ण/भूत कृदन्त)
- देववीतये
- for the gods’ enjoyment/coming; for divine receptionNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी विभक्ति, एकवचनRole सम्प्रदान (उद्देश्य/प्रयोजन)Root देववीति- (प्रातिपदिक; देव + वीतिः ‘pursuit/coming/enjoyment, reception’)
Sandhi Notes
- केवल पदसंयोग। 2) ‘अभि प्र’ दो उपसर्ग/अव्यय साथ
- क्रिया ‘गायत’ को विशेषित करते हैं। 3) ‘देववीतये’ = देव + वीतये (समास-प्रातिपदिक ‘देववीति-’ का चतुर्थी एकवचन)। उच्चारणचिह्न: पव॑मानम् (उदात्त), अवस्यवो॒ (स्वरित/प्रगृह्य चिह्न), विप्र॑म्, प्र गा॑यत, दे॒ववी॑तये (वैदिक स्वर-चिह्न यथापाठ)।
The meaning
Outer meaning
O seekers of help/boon, sing forth to the purifying Soma, the inspired one; pressed out, he comes for the gods’ enjoyment/receiving.
Inner meaning
The mantra addresses practitioners (avasyavaḥ) who seek the saving power: they are asked to actively ‘sing forth’ toward Pavamāna—because aspiration and mantra are part of purification. Soma is vipra: the inspired consciousness itself. When ‘pressed’ (suṣvāṇa), delight is extracted from life-experience and offered so the gods—inner powers of will, light, harmony—may enter and partake (deva-vītaye), i.e., become operative in our nature.
Universal truth
Transformation requires collaboration: when we actively invoke and refine our delight, higher faculties can descend and participate in our life.
Themes
Invocation, Soma pressing, Mantric action, Divine enjoyment
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 9.13 (same hymn cluster)
Significance
A communal instruction-verse: it turns the Soma process into a psychology of practice—pressing (refining), singing (invoking), and hosting the gods (higher functions) within.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Pavamāna, Vipra (inspired), Suṣvāṇa (well-pressed)
- Related deities
- Agni, Indra, Vāyu, Viśve Devāḥ
Cosmic role
Mediator who, when purified and offered, invites the divine powers into the sacrifice and into the seeker.
Inner power
Ananda that becomes invocation-power and receptivity, enabling descent/participation of higher faculties.
In ritual
Where it is used
Pavamāna stotra during Soma pressing; exhortation to singers/priests.
पव॑मानमवस्यवो॒ विप्र॑म॒भि प्र गा॑यत । सु॒ष्वा॒णं दे॒ववी॑तये ॥
पव॑मानम् । अ॒व॒स्य॒वः॒ । विप्र॑म् । अ॒भि । प्र । गा॒य॒त॒ । सु॒ष्वा॒णम् । दे॒वऽवी॑तये ॥
pavamānam | avasyavaḥ | vipram | abhi | pra | gāyata | suṣvāṇam | deva-vītaye
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3 × 8 (imperative exhortation fits Gāyatrī’s brisk form).
Call-and-response energy; exhortative and bright.
Energizes aspiration and collective chanting; quickly clears tamas and gathers attention.
- अवस्यवः (avasyavaḥ)
- Literal: desirous of help/boon. Symbolic: the soul-practitioner seeking protection and progress
- अभि प्र गायत (abhi pra gāyata)
- Literal: sing forth toward. Symbolic: directed aspiration/mantric projection that opens the inner channels
- विप्र (vipra)
- Literal: inspired sage. Symbolic: inspired consciousness awakened by Soma
- सुṣvāṇa (suṣvāṇa)
- Literal: well-pressed. Symbolic: essence extracted from experience by discipline and offering
- देववीति (deva-vīti)
- Literal: gods’ enjoyment/receiving, coming of the gods. Symbolic: entry and participation of divine powers in the human system
Chanting during Soma pressing/straining; invitation for devas to ‘enjoy’ Soma. Inner practice: mantra-chant draws the purifying delight so higher powers can partake and act in the psyche.
At moments of pressing and purification when chants are led by officiants.
Group chanting to accompany pressing and to invite deities to the Soma offering.
Use in group kīrtan/chant circles or personal practice when motivation is low—an invocation to actively participate in purification.
gāyata < √gai ‘to sing’ (mantric speech as effective action). avasya- relates to √av ‘to protect/help’ → ‘desiring aid’. suṣvāṇa from su + √sū/√su ‘press out (Soma)’ indicates ‘well-expressed’ delight. deva-vīti ‘divine enjoyment/acceptance’ frames ritual as mutual participation.
Mantra as formative power (vac), Divine participation (deva-vīti), Purification (pavamāna)
When aspiration is rightly directed (abhi pra), the gods’ arrival follows Ṛta—law of correspondence between inner act and inner response.
Vipra signifies satya-seeing beginning to awaken through Soma.
Co-creation: human invocation + divine participation.
Bhakti-tinged yogic psychology within Vedic ritual symbolism (Integral approach).
Pressing = extracting essence from life; song = vibrational alignment; gods’ coming = activation of higher psychological powers.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is ‘song that summons the purifying Soma for the gods’: the community of seekers chants to bring the well-pressed Soma for deva-vīti. Inner sense: mantra-utterance calls down the clarifying delight so divine powers can enter the human field and drink—i.e., operate—there.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The prominence of ‘song’ (√gai) as a sacred act parallels Indo-European poetics where praise-song effects exchange with the divine. The su- prefix as intensifier (‘well-’) and the compound deva-vīti show early IE compounding strategies to encode ritual reciprocity.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi/chanters (avasyavaḥ) offer voice and right pressing (suṣvāṇa). Soma as devata responds by becoming present as vipra (inspirer) and enabling deva-vīti—divine reception—so the aspirant’s being becomes a meeting ground for higher powers.
Active invocation: chant as an offering that invites higher qualities (peace, strength, clarity) to enter the system.
Viśuddha (mantra/voice) supporting Anāhata (devotional offering).
Brisk but controlled recitation with steady nasal breathing; brief pause after each full mantra to feel ‘arrival’.
Energized devotion with receptive openness.
Chant audibly for 3–5 minutes; then sit silently imagining the ‘gods’ as qualities descending into breath, mind, and heart.
Follow Saṃhitā accents; imperatives ‘gāyata’ should be clear but not shouted; keep udātta rises precise.
Phrase as one exhortation: pavamānam avasyavo | vipram abhi pra gāyata | suṣvāṇaṃ devavītaye.
avasyavaḥ: keep ‘va’ light; final ḥ audible as breath, gāyata: long ā; dental t, suṣvāṇam: retroflex ṣ; long ā, devavītaye: long ī; articulate vī-ta-ye
Bright, projecting, collective-chant friendly.
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