Rig Veda 9.56.2: Mandala 9, Sukta 56, Mantra 2
Sukta 9.56
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
यत्सोमो वाजमर्षति शतं धारा अपस्युवः । इन्द्रस्य सख्यमाविशन् ॥
yát sómo vā́jam árṣati śatáṃ dhā́rā apasyúvaḥ | índrasya sakhyám ā-viśán ||
Quand Soma s’élance vers le vāja, la plénitude de la force, ses cent courants à l’œuvre entrent dans la fraternité d’Indra.
Word by Word
- यत्
- when/that whichPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (सम्बन्धसूचक/यद्-सम्बन्ध)Role सम्बन्ध (यद्-तद्-सम्बन्ध; वाक्य-प्रवर्तक)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) / यद्-शब्द
- सोमः
- SomaNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- वाजम्
- prize/strength (vigor)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot वाज (प्रातिपदिक)
- ऋषति
- rushes/streamsVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot ऋष् (धातु)
- शतम्
- a hundredNumeralनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (परिमाण/संख्या)Role विशेषण (संख्याविशेषण)Root शत (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
- धाराः
- streamsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (ऋषति-क्रियायाः सह; ‘धाराः’ = streams)Root धारा (प्रातिपदिक)
- अपस्युवः
- active, industrious (busy at work)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (धाराः इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role कर्तृ-विशेषणRoot अपस्यु (प्रातिपदिक; ‘अपस्’=कर्म/कार्य + यु-प्रत्ययः)
- इन्द्रस्य
- of IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी-सम्बन्धः)Root इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- सख्यम्
- friendship, companionshipNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot सख्य (प्रातिपदिक; सखि-सम्बन्धः)
- आविशन्
- entered, came intoVerbलुङ् (अनद्यतन-भूत/आओरिस्ट), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot आ-विश् (धातु)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution: यत्सोमो → यत् + सोमः (त् + स → त्स्)
- वाजमर्षति → वाजम् + ऋषति (म् + ऋ → मर्ष्-प्रकृति; ‘अ’ प्रगृह्य/सन्ध्यनुसार ‘म’ + ‘ऋ’ = ‘मृ/मर्ष’ लेखन)
- सख्यमा॑विशन् → सख्यम् + आविशन् (म् + आ → मा). Accent marks in the input (॒, ॑) indicate Vedic svara
- analysis given on resolved pada-forms
The meaning
Outer meaning
When Soma flows toward vāja (prize/strength), his hundred industrious streams enter the friendship of Indra.
Inner meaning
As Soma (purified delight) moves toward vāja—plenitude of effective force—its many currents (hundred streams) become apasyuvaḥ, powers of right work. They enter Indra’s sakhyam: the illumined mind’s comradeship. Delight and illumination unite; Ananda becomes organized energy and skill in action under the guidance of the enlightened intelligence.
Universal truth
When joy is purified and directed, it becomes productive power; aligned with illumination, it turns into many effective capacities working in harmony.
Themes
Soma-Indra synergy, Empowerment, Victory-force, Ritual as inner work
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 9.56.1, Rig Veda 9.56.3-4
Significance
A classic Aurobindonian motif: Soma (Ananda) does not remain mere ecstasy; it organizes into vāja (force) and joins Indra (illumined mind) for the battle and the work.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna (in relation to Indra)
- Epithets
- Pavamāna, Vāja-kṛt (force-bringer, implied), Śatadhārā (hundred-streamed, implied)
- Related deities
- Indra, Agni, Maruts
Cosmic role
Soma empowers Indra’s victories by feeding illumination with delight; together they release force and right action.
Inner power
Ananda turning into multi-channel energy under illumined intelligence; capacity for sustained, skillful spiritual work.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma filtration/pressing chants emphasizing Indra’s share
यत्सोमो॒ वाज॒मर्ष॑ति श॒तं धारा॑ अप॒स्युव॑: । इन्द्र॑स्य स॒ख्यमा॑वि॒शन् ॥
यत् । सोमः॑ । वाज॑म् । अर्ष॑ति । श॒तम् । धाराः॑ । अ॒प॒स्युवः॑ । इन्द्र॑स्य । स॒ख्यम् । आ॒ऽवि॒शन् ॥
yat | somaḥ | vājam | arṣati | śatam | dhārāḥ | apasyuvaḥ | indrasya | sakhyam | ā-viśan
48
4 × ~12 syllables
Converging, gathering rhythm—many streams entering one alliance
Creates a sense of integration and empowered clarity; good for energizing practice without agitation.
- vāja
- Literal: prize, strength, plenitude. Symbolic: effective force, capacity, and victorious energy in life and sadhana
- śataṃ dhārāḥ
- Literal: a hundred streams. Symbolic: many channels of consciousness/energies released by purified delight
- apasyuvaḥ
- Literal: eager for work, industrious. Symbolic: right-functioning powers that execute the divine intention in mind-life-body
- indrasya sakhyam
- Literal: friendship/comradeship of Indra. Symbolic: alliance with illumined mind; joy working with light and discernment
- āviśan
- Literal: they enter. Symbolic: integration: energies are taken into the higher mental governance
Pavamāna recitation during Soma filtration; emphasizes Soma’s energizing alliance with Indra for victory and right action.
When Soma is prepared for Indra’s offering portion
Recitation to direct Soma toward vāja and Indra’s companionship
Use before focused work or disciplined practice: align joy with clarity to become effective action.
vājá is semantically multivalent: ‘prize’ in contest, ‘food’ as sustenance, and ‘strength/impetus’—grounded in the idea of vigorous potency; hence ‘plenitude of force’. apasyú from áp-as ‘work, deed’ + -yu ‘desiring’ → ‘desirous of effective action’. sakhyá from sakhā ‘friend/companion’ indicates functional alliance of divine powers in the sacrifice/inner yoga.
Vāja (plenitude of force), Cooperation of divine powers (sakhya), Effective work (apas)
apasyuvaḥ indicates energies that obey right law, not impulsive desire.
Indra’s friendship implies truth-guided intelligence rather than mixed mental preference.
Many become one: diversified energies converge into a higher organizing principle.
Integral yoga reading: transformation of energies by Ananda under illumined mind.
Multiple currents of purified joy entering the luminous mind to become coordinated force and right work.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The alliance of Soma and Indra: Soma’s many streams ‘enter’ Indra’s comradeship, a repeated RV motif where the drink of delight empowers the warrior-force that wins light and abundance.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The verb √viś ‘enter’ has wide IE parallels (e.g., Latin vīsere/visitare are not direct, but the root *weik̑/*wis has broad distribution in ‘settle/enter’ semantics). Indo-Iranian continuity is especially visible in the ritual lexicon: dhārā ‘stream’ (√dhṛ ‘hold’ → ‘continuous holding/flow’) and apas ‘work’ (cf. Avestan apah- ‘work’).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The poet frames Soma as consciously ‘aiming’ at vāja and coordinating with Indra. The human aspiration (pressing/purifying) becomes the condition for divine collaboration: delight (Soma) joins force (Indra) to accomplish the soul’s victory-work.
Feel many inner energies (body, breath, emotion, thought) converge into one clear will under a luminous mental center.
Manipura (vāja/force) guided by Ajna (Indra/illumination)
Kapalabhati (gentle, 3 rounds of 30) followed by quiet repetition to ‘enter Indra’s friendship’
Collected power with lucid direction
Invoke Soma as sweetness; then offer that sweetness upward to clarity; let actions proceed from the joined state—joyful, precise, and steady.
Observe Vedic accents; keep continuity across yat…arṣati; articulate śataṃ dhārāḥ distinctly.
Stress vā́jam and índrasya sákhyam; keep ā́viśan as a settling cadence.
vājam: long ā, arṣati: retroflex ṣ, śataṃ: dental ś + short a; final anusvāra light, sakhyam: kh aspirated; avoid ‘sak-yam’ break
Bright, focused, slightly uplifting on Indra-related words
18
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
