Rig Veda 9.24.4: Mandala 9, Sukta 24, Mantra 4
Sukta 9.24
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
त्वं सोम नृमादनः पवस्व चर्षणीसहे । सस्निर्यो अनुमाद्यः ॥
tváṃ soma nṛmā́danaḥ pavasva carṣaṇīsáhe | sasnír yó anumā́dyaḥ ||
Tú, oh Soma, eres el que alegra al ser humano: purifícate, vencedor para los pueblos. Tú eres el vencedor que sigue al éxtasis, llevando al alma a una alegría mayor.
Word by Word
- त्वम्
- thouPronounपुंलिङ्ग/स्त्रीलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (सर्वनाम), प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot युष्मद् (प्रातिपदिक)
- सोम
- O SomaNoun (vocative)पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन (vocative), एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- नृमादनः
- gladdening menAdjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (त्वम्/सोम इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role कर्तृ (विशेषणरूपेण)Root नृ-मादन (प्रातिपदिक; नृ ‘man’ + मादन ‘gladdening’)
- पवस्व
- purify thyself; flow pureVerbलोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदRole (आज्ञार्थे) क्रियाRoot √पू (पवते) ‘to purify, to flow (as Soma)’
- चर्षणीसहे
- O helper/overcomer of the peoplesAdjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन, एकवचन (सोमस्य विशेषणम्)Role सम्बोधनRoot चर्षणी-सह (प्रातिपदिक; चर्षणी ‘peoples’ + सह ‘able to overcome/withstand’)
- सस्निर्यः
- who (is) swift/impetuousAdjective + Relative pronounसस्निः: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; यः: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (यः—सम्बन्धवाक्ये)Root सस्नि- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘swift/impetuous’—Vedic epithet) + य (यः)
- अनुमाद्यः
- gladdening (others) in succession / repeatedly exhilaratingAdjective (participial/derivative epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (सोमस्य विशेषणम्)Role कर्तृ (विशेषणरूपेण)Root अनु-√मद् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; ‘to rejoice, gladden’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: त्वम् | सोम | नृमादनः | पवस्व | चर्षणीसहे | सस्निः | यः | अनुमाद्यः । 1) नृ-मादनः इति समासः (तत्पुरुष/बहुव्रीह्यर्थे ‘men-gladdening’). 2) चर्षणी-सह इति समासः
- मन्त्रे संबोधन-एकवचनम् ‘चर्षणीसहे’. 3) सस्निर्यो = सस्निः + यः (विसर्गस्य लोपः/रुत्व-प्रक्रिया वैदिकपाठे; संहितायां ‘र्’/‘यो’ रूपेण संधिः). 4) अनुमाद्यः = अनु-उपसर्गपूर्वक √मद् धातोः कृदन्त-विशेषणम् (वैदिक प्रयोगः)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Soma, gladdener of men, purifies himself; he is a conqueror for the peoples and a winner who follows after ecstasy.
Inner meaning
Soma (the delight-principle) becomes clarified in the being and increases the soul’s gladness. As the inner Ananda is purified, it gains the power to “conquer for the peoples” (the many parts of our nature), bringing them under a higher harmony. The ‘winner’ is the victorious movement of delight that follows and stabilizes true spiritual ecstasy, preventing it from fading into mere excitement.
Universal truth
Lasting joy is not seized by force; it is purified into clarity, then it naturally governs the many impulses of the personality and consolidates inspiration into stable happiness.
Themes
inner joy, purification, victory for the peoples, Soma as human energizer
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 9.24 (Pavamāna Soma series), Rig Veda 9.25 (Pavamāna Soma series)
Significance
In Mandala 9, the seer-voices are often collective/ritual-line transmissions emphasizing the yoga of purification: delight is pressed out of experience and clarified into a force that supports illumination and right action.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- nṛmādanaḥ (gladdener of man), carṣaṇīsahe (conqueror for the peoples), sasniḥ (winner), pavamāna (self-purifying/flowing clear)
- Related deities
- Indra, Vāyu, Maruts, Agni
Cosmic role
Purifier and intensifier of the life-force and mind; the bliss-current that supports the gods (powers) and makes the sacrifice effective.
Inner power
Ananda that, when clarified, unifies the being and gives victorious perseverance after peaks of ecstasy.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing and purification (Pavamāna chants over the flowing Soma)
त्वं सो॑म नृ॒माद॑न॒: पव॑स्व चर्षणी॒सहे॑ । सस्नि॒र्यो अ॑नु॒माद्य॑: ॥
त्वम् । सो॒म॒ । नृ॒ऽमाद॑नः । पव॑स्व । च॒र्ष॒णि॒ऽसहे॑ । सस्निः॑ । यः । अ॒नु॒ऽमाद्यः॑ ॥
tvam | soma | nṛ-mādanaḥ | pavasva | carṣaṇi-sahe | sasniḥ | yaḥ | anu-mādyaḥ
Likely Gāyatrī (common in Soma Pavamāna verses; 3 pādas)
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3×8 (approx.)
Swift, bright, forward-driving cadence suited to ‘flowing’ and ‘purifying’.
Creates a clear, uplifting momentum—useful for lifting mood into quiet joy while maintaining alertness.
- सोम (soma)
- Literal: Soma-juice; the pressed draught. Symbolic: Divine Delight/Ananda that can be refined and made conscious
- पवस्व (pavasva)
- Literal: purify/flow clear. Symbolic: clarify consciousness; refine emotion into luminous bliss
- नृमादन (nṛ-mādana)
- Literal: gladdener of men. Symbolic: that which increases the soul’s joy and courage in embodied life
- चर्षणीसह (carṣaṇī-sahe)
- Literal: conqueror for the peoples/tribes. Symbolic: master of the many ‘peoples’ = our faculties, drives, subpersonalities
- अनुमाद्य (anu-mādya)
- Literal: following after exhilaration/ecstasy. Symbolic: the after-current that stabilizes and amplifies true spiritual rapture into abiding gladness
- सस्निः (sasniḥ)
- Literal: winner/conqueror (one who wins). Symbolic: victorious attainment of a higher state against inner resistance
Soma purification hymn used to invoke Soma’s effect on the human community and its collective endeavor; inwardly, to intensify and stabilize delight so it becomes a conquering force for embodied life.
During Soma-yajña sequences as Soma is filtered and offered
Chanting while Soma flows through the pavitra; invocation of Soma’s clarifying and gladdening power
Use as a mantra for refining emotion: chant when joy feels scattered or when inspiration needs stabilization into steady gladness.
nṛmā́dana: nṛ- ‘man’ + mā́dana ‘gladdening/intoxicating’ (< √mad). pavasva: imperative middle of √pū ‘purify’. carṣaṇī-sáhe: carṣaṇī ‘peoples/men’ (Vedic collective) + sah- ‘to be strong, overcome’ (< √sah). sasníḥ: from √san/√sas ‘to gain, win, acquire’ (Vedic ‘to win’), ‘winner’. anumā́dya: anu- ‘following’ + mādya ‘exhilaration’ (< √mad), ‘in the wake of ecstasy’, suggesting sustained or progressive delight.
ānanda as power (madá → victory), collective embodiment (carṣaṇī) as field of realization, ṛta as purified delight that can ‘conquer’ disorder
Purification is alignment of the delight-current with Ṛta so it can govern the ‘peoples’ (faculties) rightly.
Joy becomes true when it follows illumination rather than desire.
The clarified flow sustains the divine workings in the manifested being.
Proto-Vedāntic / integral-psychological reading (Aurobindo/Kashyap): Soma as Ananda supporting higher mind.
A current of delight moving through inner ‘filters’ (discernment, sincerity) until it becomes clear, potent, and governing.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Soma as the ‘gladdener and winner’: the god-juice that both intoxicates and conquers. Inner sense: purified delight becomes a stable force that overcomes resistance in collective human nature.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √sah ‘overcome’ continues PIE *segh- ‘to hold, overcome’ (cf. English ‘sough’ is unrelated; closer are forms like Greek ékhō ‘hold’ from different root, but Indo-Iranian shows *segh- reflexes). √mad continues PIE *med- ‘heightened mental state’.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi asks Soma not merely to appear but to ‘purify itself’—i.e., to take a perfected form in the human system—so that its joy becomes effective victory (sah-) in the life of the community and the seeker.
Refine joy into calm luminous Ananda; let delight become steady rather than reactive.
Anahata (heart) to Ajna (clarity) axis (optional contemplative mapping)
Gentle nāḍī-śodhana or slow equal breathing (sama-vṛtti) while mentally repeating ‘pavasva’.
Quiet uplift (prasāda) with alert lucidity.
Recall a pure gratitude/joy; imagine it flowing through a clear inner filter (discernment), then spreading to harmonize all parts of the nature.
Not fully specified here; chant in a steady udātta-led flow with light svarita turns on accented syllables (traditional recitation depends on śākhā).
Keep natural word-accent on: sóma, pavásva, carṣaṇī-sáhe; avoid flattening compounds.
tvaṃ: nasalized ‘ṃ’ clearly before space, nṛ: syllabic ‘ṛ’ (as in ‘nri’ but with vocalic r), carṣaṇī: ‘ṣ’ retroflex; lengthen ‘ī’, soma: short ‘o’ (not English diphthong)
Clear, bright, flowing; avoid heaviness—aim for ‘purifying’ tone.
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