Rig Veda 8.49.5: Mandala 8, Sukta 49, Mantra 5
Sukta 8.49
- Rishi
- Kaṇva
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Jagatī
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
आ नः स्तोममुप द्रवद्धियानो अश्वो न सोतृभिः । यं ते स्वधावन्त्स्वदयन्ति धेनव इन्द्र कण्वेषु रातयः ॥
ā naḥ stómam úpa drávad dhiyānáḥ áśvo na sotṛ́bhiḥ | yáṃ te svadhāvans svadáyanti dhenáva índra káṇveṣu rātáyaḥ ||
વિચારથી પ્રેરિત થઈ, અમારા સ્તોત્ર તરફ દોડી આવ—જેમ અશ્વ સોમ દબાવનારાઓ સાથે દોડે તેમ. હે સ્વધાવાન ઇન્દ્ર, કણ્વોમાં જાગતા દાન—પોષક ધારો—તને મધુર બનાવે છે.
Word by Word
- आ
- towards, hitherIndeclinableupasarga (preverb)Root आ (upasarga)
- नः
- of us / for usPronoungenitive pluralRole Sampradāna (beneficiary/for us)Root अस्मद्
- स्तोमम्
- hymn of praiseNounmasculine accusative singularRole KarmaRoot स्तोम (prātipadika)
- उप
- near, up toIndeclinableupasarga (preverb)Root उप (upasarga)
- द्रवत्
- running, hasteningVerbpresent participle active, nominative singular masculine (śatṛ)Role Kartā (with implied subject)Root द्रु (धावने/गत्यर्थः)
- धियानः
- thinking, inspired (in mind)Adjective/Participlepresent middle participle, nominative singular masculine (śānac)Role Kartā (qualifier of the runner)Root धी (prātipadika) / ध्यै (dhātu, ‘to think/meditate’)
- अश्वः
- a horseNounmasculine nominative singularRole Kartā (simile-base)Root अश्व (prātipadika)
- न
- like, asIndeclinableparticle of comparisonRoot न
- सोतृभिः
- by the Soma-pressersNounmasculine instrumental pluralRole KaraṇaRoot सोतृ (prātipadika; agent-noun from √सु ‘to press Soma’)
- यम्
- whom / whichPronounmasculine accusative singular (relative)Role KarmaRoot यद्
- ते
- of you, yourPronoungenitive singularRole Sampradāna/Śeṣa (possessor: ‘thy’)Root त्वद्
- स्वधावन्त्स्वदयन्ति
- (the) svadhā-possessing (ones) enjoy/sweetenAdjective + Verbस्वधावन्त्: masculine nominative plural (qualifying subject); स्वदयन्ति: present indicative active, 3rd pluralRole Kartā (subject: the cows) + KriyāRoot स्वधा-वन् (adj.) + √स्वद् (to taste/enjoy)
- धेनवः
- cowsNounfeminine nominative pluralRole KartāRoot धेनु (prātipadika)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNoun (vocative)masculine vocative singularRole SambodhanaRoot इन्द्र (prātipadika)
- कण्वेषु
- among the KaṇvasNounmasculine locative pluralRole AdhikaraṇaRoot कण्व (prātipadika)
- रातयः
- gifts, bestowalsNounfeminine nominative pluralRole Kartā (appositional/collective subject, ‘gifts’)Root राति (prātipadika)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution: न॒: → नः (asmat-gen.pl.)
- स्तोम॒मुप॑ → स्तोमम् + उप
- द्र॒वद्धि॑या॒नो → द्रवत् + धियानः (final -t before dh-; Vedic orthography shows assimilation)
- अश्वो॒ न → अश्वः + न (visarga before n in pada)
- सोतृ॑भिः unchanged
- यं ते॑ → यम् + ते
- स्वधावन्त्स्व॒दय॑न्ति → स्वधावन्त् + स्वदयन्ति (t + s cluster)
- धे॒नव॒ → धेनवः
- कण्वे॑षु unchanged
- रा॒तय॑: → रातयः
The meaning
Outer meaning
Come running to our hymn, impelled by thought, like a horse with the pressers. The nourishing streams make sweet for you the gifts among the Kaṇvas.
Inner meaning
The hymn (stoma) is a living formation of thought-force (dhī). Indra is called to it as a swift horse (aśva)—symbol of dynamic life-energy harnessed to the inner pressing (sotṛ). When Indra approaches, the ‘cows’ (dhenavaḥ) are not cattle but nourishing streams/rays of knowledge that sweeten the offering—turning aspiration into a potent delight for the illumined Mind. The ‘gifts’ (rātayaḥ) are awakenings of power and insight in the Kaṇva consciousness.
Universal truth
When thought is yoked to aspiration and offered with energy, higher illumination rushes in; knowledge-streams then sweeten life and become gifts that multiply in a community of practice.
Themes
invocation, Soma-pressing, power of mantra, gifts of Indra
The seer
- Rishi
- Kaṇva
- Lineage
- Kāṇva
- Other hymns
- RV 8.48 (Kaṇva Soma), RV 8.49.4, RV 8.49.6
Family tradition
Kāṇva hymns often portray Indra’s coming as swift and responsive to dhī (inspired thought), with strong Soma-pressing imagery.
Significance
Kaṇva practice is communal and transmissible—‘among the Kaṇvas’ suggests a lineage-field where gifts awaken through shared mantra and offering.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- svadhāvan, (implicit) āśu (swift)
- Related deities
- Soma, Agni, Maruts (swift forces)
Cosmic role
Swift responder to true invocation; awakener of knowledge-streams and giver of attainments.
Inner power
Illumined mind-force that rushes into prepared aspiration and turns it into sweetness and gifts.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra invitation at Soma pressing; stoma as accompaniment to offering
आ न॒: स्तोम॒मुप॑ द्र॒वद्धि॑या॒नो अश्वो॒ न सोतृ॑भिः । यं ते॑ स्वधावन्त्स्व॒दय॑न्ति धे॒नव॒ इन्द्र॒ कण्वे॑षु रा॒तय॑: ॥
आ । नः॒ । स्तोम॑म् । उप॑ । द्र॒वत् । हि॒या॒नः । अश्वः॑ । न । सोतृ॑ऽभिः । यम् । ते॒ । स्व॒धा॒ऽव॒न् । स्व॒दय॑न्ति । धे॒नवः॑ । इन्द्र॑ । कण्वे॑षु । रा॒तयः॑ ॥
ā | naḥ | stomam | upa | dravat | hiyānaḥ | aśvaḥ | na | sotṛ-bhiḥ | yam | te | svadhāvan | svadayanti | dhenavaḥ | indra | kaṇveṣu | rātayaḥ
48
4 × 12 (probable); the verse has a running, extended cadence typical of Jagatī.
Quick, forward-driving; mimics a horse’s run with compact consonant clusters (dravad, hiyānaḥ).
Energizes and mobilizes; helps shift from contemplation to active offering and invocation.
- स्तोमम् (stomam)
- Literal: hymn of praise. Symbolic: formed mantra-thought; organized aspiration
- धिया (dhiyā)
- Literal: by thought/vision. Symbolic: seer-intelligence that compels the higher power
- अश्वः (aśvaḥ)
- Literal: horse. Symbolic: vital force of action; swift energy under discipline
- सोतृभिः (sotṛbhiḥ)
- Literal: with the pressers. Symbolic: with inner workers of sacrifice—disciplines extracting Soma
- स्वधावन् (svadhāvan)
- Literal: possessing svadhā (own power). Symbolic: self-existent strength; autonomous spiritual capacity
- धे नवः (dhenavaḥ)
- Literal: nourishing ones/streams (lit. milch-cows). Symbolic: rays/flows of knowledge and delight that nourish the mind
- स्वदयन्ति (svadayanti)
- Literal: they make sweet. Symbolic: they render experience delightful and luminous
- रातयः (rātayaḥ)
- Literal: gifts. Symbolic: attainments of light, force, joy given by the higher consciousness
Indra-call during Soma pressing; stoma as invitation for the deity to ‘arrive’ at the offering
When calling Indra to the stotra/śastra sequence; energizing the rite’s momentum.
Recitation with pressing; ‘run to our hymn’ functions as direct āvāhana (invocation).
Use before study/work: invoke swift clarity; visualize energies (aśva) harnessed to disciplined practice (sotṛ).
: from √stu ‘praise’ → stoma ‘hymn’; in Vedic, speech-act as efficacious formation. : from dhī ‘vision-thought’ (√dhī ‘to think/ponder’), ‘moved by inspired intelligence’. √drū/drav ‘run’. : sva- + dhā ‘self-placement/own law’; ‘inherent potency’. √svad ‘to be sweet, relish’ (cf. Latin suāvis ‘sweet’ as a distant cognate set often discussed). : ‘milch-cow’, symbolically ‘nourishing flow’.
dhī as inspired intelligence, svadhā as self-law/inherent power, gift as increase of consciousness-force
Indra’s ‘right arrival’ to the stoma is the descent of higher order into human speech.
Stoma formed by dhī must be sincere/true to compel the divine response.
Invocation (Word) → descent (arrival) → manifestation as gifts (rātayaḥ).
Mantra-yoga orientation: sound-thought as a vehicle for descent of higher consciousness.
Horse = mobilized prāṇa; pressers = inner disciplines; cows/streams = rays of knowledge that ‘milk’ delight into the mind.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘coming of the god to the call’ (ā… úpa dravat): Indra is summoned to the stoma as to a prepared seat/feast. Mythically this is the descent of victorious power to the pressing; psychologically, the higher force responds to rightly-formed thought (dhī) and extraction (sotṛ).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The horse simile (áśva) and praise-word formation (stoma from √stu) are part of inherited Indo-European poetic formulae (praise-song + swift horse imagery). svadhā is a characteristically Indo-Aryan development (sva + dhā), showing productive compounding rather than a single PIE lexeme.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer does not flatter; he operationally ‘feeds’ Indra with sweetness made by the dhenu-streams (inner nourishments) and requests Indra’s presence at the hymn. The Kaṇva field is portrayed as a locus where Indra’s rātayaḥ (bestowals) become active and sweet—i.e., assimilable by the human system.
Invoke the ‘swift Indra’ to enter your mantra-thought; feel vital energy (horse) align with aspiration; receive ‘milk’ of insight as sweetness.
Maṇipūra (dynamic drive) harmonized with Ājñā (illumined direction)
Brisk nāḍī-śodhana 5 rounds, then chant once per exhale to ‘run’ the force into the mantra.
Activated, directed, and inwardly sweet.
Set a clear intention (dhī) before chanting; after 9 recitations, write one ‘gift’ (insight/action) received and enact it that day.
Keep strong udatta rises on invocatory openings (‘ā naḥ…’); maintain crisp consonants to preserve the ‘running’ feel.
Mark ‘द्रवत्’ with a slight forward push; give clear weight to ‘इन्द्र’ and ‘स्वधावन्’.
‘hiyānaḥ’: hi-yā-naḥ with long ā., ‘sotṛbhiḥ’: retroflex ṛ; avoid turning into ‘ri’., ‘kaṇveṣu’: pronounce ṇ retroflex; ‘ṣu’ soft but clear.
Bright, driving, rhythmic; avoid shouting—keep controlled power like a trained horse.
9
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