Rig Veda 9.113.8: Mandala 9, Sukta 113, Mantra 8
Sukta 9.113
- Rishi
- Pavamāna Soma hymn tradition
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Karuna (compassion)
यत्र राजा वैवस्वतो यत्रावरोधनं दिवः । यत्रामूर्यह्वतीरापस्तत्र माममृतं कृधीन्द्रायेन्दो परि स्रव ॥
yátra rājā́ vaivasvató yátrāvaródhanaṃ diváḥ | yátrāmū́r yahvatī́r ā́pas tátra mā́m amṛ́taṃ kṛdhī́ndrāyéndo pári srava ||
Là où se tient le Roi Vaivasvata, là où est l’enceinte (la porte) du ciel, là où sont ces eaux puissantes — là, rends-moi immortel. Ô Indu, coule tout autour et au-dehors pour Indra.
Word by Word
- यत्र
- whereIndeclinableस्थानवाचक अव्यय (relative adverb)Role अधिकरणRoot यत्र (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक) < यद्-तत्र-सम्बन्ध
- राजा
- the kingNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- वैवस्वतः
- Vaivasvata (Yama), son of VivasvatNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन (राजा-विशेषणम्)Role कर्तृRoot वैवस्वत (विशेषण/नाम; विवस्वत्-अपत्य)
- यत्र
- whereIndeclinableस्थानवाचक अव्ययRole अधिकरणRoot यत्र (अव्यय)
- अवरोधनम्
- enclosure, confinement; barrierNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनRole कर्तृ/अधिकरण (स्थानीय-वस्तु)Root अव-√रुध् (रुधिर्/रुध् ‘to obstruct, confine’) → अवरोधन (नपुं.)
- दिवः
- of heavenNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग (द्यौः); षष्ठी एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root दिव्/द्यौ (प्रातिपदिक: दिव्/द्यौ ‘heaven, sky’)
- यत्र
- whereIndeclinableस्थानवाचक अव्ययRole अधिकरणRoot यत्र (अव्यय)
- अमूर्यह्वतीः
- the (waters) calling/inviting, not-failing/undelaying (epithet)Adjective (used substantively)स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचन (आपः-विशेषणम्)Role कर्तृRoot अमूर्यह्वती (स्त्री. बहु.; बहुव्रीहि/कर्मधारय-समासः: अमूर्य + आह्वती) < √ह्वा ‘to call/invoke’
- आपः
- the watersNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot अप् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘water’)
- तत्र
- thereIndeclinableस्थानवाचक अव्यय (correlative)Role अधिकरणRoot तत्र (अव्यय)
- माम्
- mePronounद्वितीया एकवचनRole कर्मRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- अमृतम्
- immortal(ity)Noun/Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन (कृधी-सम्पाद्य-भावः)Role कर्म (द्वितीयकर्म/परिणाम)Root अमृत (प्रातिपदिक; ‘immortal, immortality’)
- कृधि
- make (me)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे) मध्यमपुरुष एकवचन; परस्मैपदमRole क्रियाRoot √कृ (करोति)
- इन्द्राय
- for IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्दो
- O Indu (Soma)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्दु (प्रातिपदिक; सोम)
- परि
- around, forthIndeclinableउपसर्गः/क्रियाविशेषणम्Root परि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- स्रव
- flowVerbलोट् मध्यमपुरुष एकवचन; परस्मैपदमRole क्रियाRoot √स्रु (स्रवति ‘to flow’)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolved as: यत्र + राजा + वैवस्वतः | यत्र + अवरोधनम् + दिवः | यत्र + अमूर्यह्वतीः + आपः | तत्र + माम् + अमृतम् + कृधि | इन्द्राय + इन्दो + परि + स्रव. Notable: यत्रा॑व॒रोध॑नम् = यत्र + अवरोधनम्
- यत्रा॒मूर्य॒ह्वती॒रापः = यत्र + अमूर्यह्वतीः + आपः (ई/आ sandhi and visarga loss in saṃhitā)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Where King Vaivasvata is, where the gate/enclosure of heaven is, where those mighty waters are—there make me immortal. O Indu, flow forth all around for Indra.
Inner meaning
‘Rājā Vaivasvata’ (Yama) marks the law of right discernment and the passage beyond mortal limitation. The ‘enclosure of heaven’ is the threshold-structure between ordinary mind and the higher luminous planes; the ‘mighty waters’ are the great currents of consciousness (āpah) that cleanse and bear the soul upward. Soma is invoked to transform the being so it can cross the threshold and dwell in immortality—not as escape from life but as mastery over the death-principle (limitation).
Universal truth
Immortality is entered by crossing an inner threshold: aligning with the law of truth, letting the greater waters of consciousness wash the being, and allowing purified joy to remake identity beyond fear and finitude.
Themes
eschatology and ascent, higher waters, Soma as transformative agent
The seer
- Rishi
- Pavamāna Soma cycle (RV 9)
- Other hymns
- RV 9.113.7-10 (immortality-world sequence), RV 10.14 (Yama hymns: passage and law), RV 7.49 (Waters hymn: purifying powers)
Family tradition
Soma hymns that often map ritual stations to inner stations of ascent (thresholds, waters, worlds).
Significance
The rishi frames immortality as a guarded crossing: law (Yama), gate (threshold), waters (purification), Soma (delight) as the enabling force.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna (transformer toward immortality); associated figure: Yama Vaivasvata; Indra in refrain
- Epithets
- Pavamāna, Indu, Soma
- Related deities
- Yama (Vaivasvata), Varuṇa (cosmic waters and law), Indra (illumination)
Cosmic role
Soma carries the offerer across the heavenly threshold and into the great waters of luminous existence.
Inner power
Bliss-force that dissolves fear of death and expands the being into wideness (āpah).
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma-yajña pavamāna recitations
यत्र॒ राजा॑ वैवस्व॒तो यत्रा॑व॒रोध॑नं दि॒वः । यत्रा॒मूर्य॒ह्वती॒राप॒स्तत्र॒ माम॒मृतं॑ कृ॒धीन्द्रा॑येन्दो॒ परि॑ स्रव ॥
यत्र॑ । राजा॑ । वै॒व॒स्व॒तः । यत्र॑ । अ॒व॒ऽरोध॑नम् । दि॒वः । यत्र॑ । अ॒मूः । य॒ह्वतीः । आपः॑ । तत्र॑ । माम् । अ॒मृत॑म् । कृ॒धि॒ । इन्द्रा॑य । इ॒न्दो॒ इति॑ । परि॑ । स्र॒व॒ ॥
yatra | rājā | vaivasvataḥ | yatra | ava-rodhanam | divaḥ | yatra | amūḥ | yahvatīḥ | āpaḥ | tatra | mām | amṛtam | kṛdhi | indrāya | indo iti | pari | srava
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4×12 with refrain cadence
Processional and threshold-like—each pāda feels like a step toward a ‘there’.
Builds a sense of crossing and arrival; the refrain releases tension into flow.
- राजा वैवस्वतः (rājā vaivasvataḥ)
- Literal: King Vaivasvata (Yama). Symbolic: the sovereign law of right measure; mastery over death/limitation; inner judge guiding transition
- अवरोधनम् दिवः (avarodhanam divaḥ)
- Literal: enclosure/gate of heaven. Symbolic: threshold between lower and higher consciousness; guarded passage into the luminous
- यह्वतीः आपः (yahvatīr āpaḥ)
- Literal: mighty waters. Symbolic: vast purifying currents of consciousness-force; flowing wideness
- अमृतम् कृधि (amṛtam kṛdhi)
- Literal: make (me) immortal. Symbolic: effect a transformation into deathless awareness
- इन्दु (indu)
- Literal: bright drop. Symbolic: concentrated delight that can cross boundaries
- दिवः (divaḥ)
- Literal: of heaven. Symbolic: of the luminous mind/upper worlds
Soma as mediator to the beyond: prayer for immortality, framed with eschatological geography (Yama, heaven’s threshold, higher waters).
During purification/flow of Soma, especially in sequences invoking heaven, waters, and immortality.
Accompanies filtration and offering; evokes the ‘path’ to the heavenly world.
Use for transition moments (grief, endings, major life changes): chant to invoke inner law, safe passage, and cleansing wideness.
(vaivasvata) ‘son of Vivasvat’ (solar). (ava-rodhana) from ava + √rudh/√rudh ‘obstruct/enclose’ → enclosure, barrier, gate/threshold. (āpas) ‘waters’ from PIE *h₂ep- (cf. Latin aqua with debated relation; more secure is Hittite ḫāpa- ‘river’ as cognate set often cited). (yahvatī) from √yahu/√yah ‘move impetuously’ (mighty, swift).
immortality (amṛta), threshold/boundary (avaro-dhana), Yama as law of passage
The ‘gate of heaven’ suggests ṛta’s guarded order: entry requires alignment, not force.
Vaivasvata as truth-judgment: what is in harmony passes; what is false cannot endure.
Passage from finite to infinite through widening waters; remaking of the being by Soma.
Integral Yoga reading: death as limitation; immortality as enlargement and transformation of consciousness.
Gate = inner threshold; waters = vast peace/force cleansing; king = inner law/discernment that guides the crossing.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The geography of the beyond: Yama (Vaivasvata), the gate/enclosure of heaven, and the mighty waters mark the post-mortal or supramental domain. The prayer is transformation—‘make me immortal’—through Soma’s agency. Inner sense: crossing the threshold of limited mind into the higher waters of consciousness where the law of passage (Yama) is fulfilled.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- vaivasvata preserves the solar lineage concept; diváḥ (gen. of dyu/div) aligns with PIE *dyeu- ‘sky’. āpas aligns with the PIE water lexeme *h₂ep- (Indo-Iranian ap-), one of the most stable IE semantic inheritances.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi asks Soma not merely to give strength but to enact ontological change: kṛdhi—make me amṛta. Soma is approached as the power that can carry consciousness past the ‘avaro-dhana’ (threshold) into the higher waters; Indra remains the active victorious force supported by Soma’s flow.
Cross the inner gate: offer fear and limitation into Soma’s purifying joy; rest in vast waters of consciousness.
Viśuddha (threshold of expression) to Ājñā (gate of light)
Box-breath gently (4-4-4-4) while contemplating ‘gate’; then switch to long exhale imagining ‘waters’ washing the system.
Vast, quiet wideness; reduced fear-response; sense of protected passage.
Bring to mind a limiting pattern; chant once; feel it ‘stand before the gate’; chant again and let it dissolve into the ‘waters’—ending in stillness.
Follow marked accents (यत्र॒ राजा॑, वैवस्व॒तः, अव॒रोध॑नं, यह्वती॒रापः॑, इन्द्रा॑येन्दो॒).
Keep compound clusters clear: vai-vas-va-taḥ; a-va-ro-dha-nam. Let ‘āpaḥ’ end softly with visarga-like breath.
vaivasvataḥ: articulate ‘sv’ cleanly, avarodhanam: avoid inserting extra vowels (a-va-ro-dha-nam), yahvatīr āpaḥ: keep long ‘ī’ in yahvatīḥ; ‘āpaḥ’ with final ḥ audible
Steady, solemn, flowing on ‘āpaḥ’ and ‘srava’.
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