Rig Veda 9.21.7: Mandala 9, Sukta 21, Mantra 7
Sukta 9.21
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
एत उ त्ये अवीवशन्काष्ठां वाजिनो अक्रत । सतः प्रासाविषुर्मतिम् ॥
eté u tye ávīvaśan kā́ṣṭhāṃ vājíno akrata | satáḥ prá āsāviṣur matím ||
Ceux-ci, oui — les impétueux — ont poussé jusqu’au but ; les porteurs du vāja, les Vājin, l’ont accompli. Du Sat (sat), du Réel, ils ont pressé la pensée (mati) et l’ont faite couler.
Word by Word
- एते
- thesePronoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → एत-
- उ
- indeed; nowIndeclinableनिपातः (उद्गार/अवधारण/अनुवादक) — अव्ययम्Root उ (निपात)
- त्ये
- those (well-known)Pronoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → त्य- (वैदिक-प्रयोगः)
- अवीवशन्
- they impelled/urged onVerbलङ् (अनद्यतन-भूत), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्; कारणार्थक-प्रयोगः (intensive/causative nuance in Vedic)Root √वश् (वशँ कान्तौ/वशीकरणे) [वैदिक-प्रयोगः: ‘प्रेरयति/वशीकरोति/उत्साहयति’]
- काष्ठाम्
- the goal; the finishing-point (lit. ‘the post/limit’)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot काष्ठा (प्रातिपदिक)
- वाजिनः
- the prize-winners; racers; vigorous onesNoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot वाजिन् (प्रातिपदिक) < वाज (strength/prize)
- अक्रत
- they made; they accomplishedVerbलङ् (अनद्यतन-भूत), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम् (वैदिक-रूपम्: अक्रत = अकुर्वन्)Root √कृ (डुकृञ् करणे)
- सतः
- of the existent/true (one); of the goodAdjective/Nounपुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी एकवचनम् (or नपुंसके षष्ठी/पञ्चमी एकवचनम्; वैदिके सन्दर्भानुसारं ‘सतः’ = ‘सतः (सत्-स्वरूपस्य)’)Root सत् (वर्तमान-कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) < √अस् (भू)
- प्रासाविषुः
- they have set in motion; they have impelled forthVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परोक्ष-भूत), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्; वैदिक-रूपम्Root प्र + √सू (षू प्रसवे)
- मतिम्
- thought; intention; hymn/poetic inspirationNounस्त्रीलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot मति (प्रातिपदिक) < √मन् (मनँ ज्ञाने/चिन्तायाम्)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: एते उ त्ये अवीवशन् काष्ठाम् वाजिनः अक्रत । सतः प्रासाविषुः मतिम् ॥ 1) ‘एत उ’ इति संहितायां ‘एत’ + ‘उ’ → ‘एत उ’ (स्वर-सन्धिः न विशेषः; पदान्त-उदात्त/अनुदात्त-प्रभावः मात्र)
- 2) ‘अवीवशन् काष्ठाम्’ मध्ये न सन्धिः (व्यञ्जनान्त + क-)
- 3) ‘वाजिनो अक्रत’ संहितायां ‘वाजिनः’ + ‘अक्रत’ (विसर्गः पदे; संहितापाठे ‘वाजिनो’ इति रूपं वैदिक-विसर्ग-लोप/ओ-आदेशेन)
- 4) ‘प्रासाविषुर्मतिम्’ = ‘प्रासाविषुः’ + ‘मतिम्’ (विसर्ग-सन्धिः: ः + म् → र् + म्; अतः ‘…षुर्म…’)
The meaning
Outer meaning
These forces have driven to the goal (kāṣṭhā); the vājins have made it. From Sat (the Real) they have pressed out and set forth the thought (mati).
Inner meaning
The Soma-powers, once purified, become impetuous but controlled energies that carry consciousness to its destined point (kāṣṭhā = inner limit/goal). The ‘vājins’ are bearers of plenitude-force—energies that bring accomplishment. From Sat, the plane of truth-being, they ‘press out’ (asāviṣuḥ) the inspired thought (mati): intuition becomes a stream in the mind, no longer a hidden potential.
Universal truth
When our energies are aligned with truth-being, thought is not manufactured by strain; it is expressed—pressed out—from a deeper real, and it naturally moves toward its fulfillment.
Themes
Soma-ritual, purification and ascent, truth-consciousness, inspired cognition
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 9.21 (hymn context)
Significance
The anonymous/collective seer-voice emphasizes an impersonal law: when Soma (delight-clarity) is active, the mind’s thought becomes a truth-expression (mati from sat) and moves to its proper goal (kāṣṭhā).
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- āśu (swift), vājī/vājina (bearer of plenitude), pūta (purified)
- Related deities
- Indra (receives Soma to widen illumination), Sarasvatī (inspired speech/thought; thematic), Agni (receiving will; thematic)
Cosmic role
Mediator that turns hidden essence into manifest power—pressing out the real into mind and life.
Inner power
Truth-inspired thought (mati) and goal-directed force; converts being (sat) into luminous cognition.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing/filtration recitation
ए॒त उ॒ त्ये अ॑वीवश॒न्काष्ठां॑ वा॒जिनो॑ अक्रत । स॒तः प्रासा॑विषुर्म॒तिम् ॥
ए॒ते । ऊँ॒ इति॑ । त्ये । अ॒वी॒व॒श॒न् । काष्ठा॑म् । वा॒जिनः॑ । अ॒क्र॒त॒ । स॒तः । प्र । अ॒सा॒वि॒षुः॒ । म॒तिम् ॥
ete | oṃ iti | tye | avīvaśan | kāṣṭhām | vājinaḥ | akrata | sataḥ | pra | asāviṣuḥ | matim
32
4 × ~8 (probable)
Driving and goal-oriented; clear propulsion in the cadence.
Energizes aspiration and forward movement; supports ‘pressing out’ intuitive thought during japa.
- ete
- Literal: these. Symbolic: the active Soma-streams/powers in the inner field
- avīvaśan
- Literal: they impelled/drove forward. Symbolic: dynamic urge of purified force toward realization
- kāṣṭhām
- Literal: the goal-post, limit, destination. Symbolic: the destined point of realization; the soul’s appointed aim
- vājinaḥ
- Literal: possessing vāja; strong/steed-like; winners of the prize. Symbolic: plentitude-force energies that accomplish and bring victory
- akrata
- Literal: they made/fashioned. Symbolic: they build the inner means and the achieved state
- sataḥ
- Literal: from sat (the real/being). Symbolic: from truth-plane; essential consciousness
- asāviṣuḥ
- Literal: they pressed out, set flowing. Symbolic: they expressed and made current what was concealed
- matim
- Literal: thought, intention, inspired mind. Symbolic: illumined cognition (mati) arising from truth, not opinion
Soma Pavamāna stotra context in Soma sacrifice (e.g., Agniṣṭoma/related Soma-yajñas): verses used with the flowing/filtered Soma during pressing and purification
During Pavamāna chants as Soma is made ready for offering
Accompanies the flow/pressing; invokes goal-attainment and manifestation of inspired thought
Chant before study/creative work or meditation to invite ‘mati from sat’—quietly wait for the thought that arrives with certainty rather than argument.
Key terms: (1) vājín- ‘possessing vāja’: vāja is multivalent—‘prize/food’ outwardly, but from the semantic field of strength and fullness; hence ‘plenitude-force’ (power of victorious becoming). (2) kāṣṭhā- ‘limit, goal, summit’ (also ‘furthest point’), here the inner destined terminus of the movement of Soma. (3) √su / √sū ‘to press, to impel; to extract’ in asāviṣuḥ (aorist middle/active usage in RV): Soma is ‘pressed out’—psychologically, the essence of consciousness is expressed. (4) mati- from √man ‘to think, to form in mind’; in RV often ‘inspired thought/vision’ rather than discursive thinking. (5) satáḥ gen./abl. ‘from sat’: sat as ‘real being, truth’ (basis for satyam/ṛtam).
Sat (the Real/Being), manifestation of inspired thought (mati) from truth, teleology of inner ascent (kāṣṭhā as summit)
The movement to kāṣṭhā suggests ṛta as a directed law of progress rather than random motion.
Mati becomes satya-bearing when pressed out from sat, not from surface preference.
Manifestation of thought from being—an inner cosmogony where truth expresses itself as cognition.
Integral/Upaniṣadic trajectory: being (sat) as source of knowledge (mati).
The inner current rushes toward its destined completion, and intuition streams from the depth of being into the mind.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The Soma-streams as living powers that ‘run/are driven’ to the kāṣṭhā (summit/goal) and ‘press out’ mati from sat. Mythically, Soma is not merely a plant-juice but a deity-force whose flowing creates inspired mind and establishes the movement toward the highest station; psychologically, the purified delight/essence releases truth-born intuition and carries the seeker to the destined culmination.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- mati- aligns with PIE *men- ‘to think’ (cf. Latin mens, English mind). sat- relates to PIE *h1es- ‘to be’ (cf. Latin est). The verb of pressing/expression (asāviṣuḥ) belongs to the Indo-Iranian Soma/Haoma lexicon of extraction/pressing, preserving an archaic ritual-poetic register shared with Avestan Haoma traditions.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The verse presents Soma as an active agent who accomplishes the inner work for the human vessel: it is Soma who drives to the goal and expresses thought from the Real. The implied reciprocity is that the seer offers the right act of purification/pressing (outer and inner discipline), and Soma returns as the awakened force of truth-born inspiration (mati) and victorious plenitude (vāja).
Contemplate ‘sataḥ… matim’: let thought arise from depth, not from surface mind. After chanting, sit and watch for a single clear intention to form and move toward its kāṣṭhā (goal).
ājñā (mati as illumined thought)
inhale gently ‘receive from sat’; exhale ‘let mati stream’—no retention if restless
dynamic aspiration settling into clear intuition
When confused, do not multiply thoughts; chant, then wait until one thought has the stamp of sat (quiet certainty, wideness, and right direction).
Vedic tri-svara as per śākhā; if untrained, keep a steady reciting tone with slight lift on key words (kāṣṭhām, sataḥ, matim).
Break at the caesura ‘…akrata | sataḥ…’; let ‘sataḥ’ be clearly articulated to mark the source.
kāṣṭhām: retroflex ṣṭh cluster—articulate ‘kāṣ-ṭhām’, vājino: long ā; soft j, asāviṣuḥ: keep ‘ṣuḥ’ with retroflex ṣ, matim: short a, dental t (not retroflex)
forward-moving, bright, controlled
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