Rig Veda 9.67.30: Mandala 9, Sukta 67, Mantra 30
Sukta 9.67
- Devata
- Soma
- Chandas
- Likely Triṣṭubh/Jagatī type
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Raudra (fury)
अलाय्यस्य परशुर्ननाश तमा पवस्व देव सोम । आखुं चिदेव देव सोम ॥
alā́yyasya paráśur nanāśa támā́ pavasva deva soma | ākhúṃ cid evá deva soma ||
આળસુ અવરોધને કૂહાડીએ નાશ કર્યો છે; તેથી વહે, હે દેવ સોમ—હા, નાનકડી કોતરતી અંધકારરૂપ ‘ઉંદર’ને પણ, હે દેવ સોમ.
Word by Word
- अलाय्यस्य
- of the ‘Alāyya’ (one so named/characterized)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग?; षष्ठी एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive relation)Root अलाय्य (प्रातिपदिक; विशेषण/नाम)
- परशुः
- the axeNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot परशु (प्रातिपदिक)
- ननाश
- perished / was destroyedVerbलिट् (परोक्श/परफेक्ट), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot नश् (धातु)
- तम
- him / that onePronounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचनRole कर्मRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- आ
- hither, forth; (as preverb intensifying the verb)Indeclinableउपसर्ग (क्रियायोगे) / अव्ययRoot आ (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- पवस्व
- purify thyself / flow clearVerbलोट्, आत्मनेपद; मध्यमपुरुष एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot पू (धातु; ‘to purify/clarify’)
- देव
- O godNounपुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot देव (प्रातिपदिक)
- सोम
- O SomaNounपुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- आखुम्
- the mouse/ratNounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचनRole कर्मRoot आखु (प्रातिपदिक)
- चित्
- evenIndeclinableअव्यय (emphatic particle)Root चित् (निपात)
- एव
- indeed, justIndeclinableअव्यय (restrictive/emphatic)Root एव (निपात)
- देव
- O godNounपुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot देव (प्रातिपदिक)
- सोम
- O SomaNounपुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (pada-wise): अ॒लाय्य॑स्य = अलाय्यस्य (no external sandhi)
- पर॒शुर्न॑नाश = परशुः + ननाश (visarga before n → र् in saṃhitā)
- तमा प॑वस्व = तम् + आ + पवस्व (final m of तम् before vowel ā; written as तमा in saṃhitā)
- देव सोम kept as vocatives
- आ॒खुं चि॑दे॒व = आखुम् + चित् + एव (anusvāra before c; and cit + eva → cideva in saṃhitā). Accent marks are saṃhitā accents
- pada-forms given without accent marks
The meaning
Outer meaning
An axe has destroyed a sluggish obstruction; therefore Soma is urged to flow. Even the ‘mouse’ (ākhu) is mentioned as something to be overcome/destroyed, addressed again to divine Soma.
Inner meaning
The ‘axe’ (paraśu) is the sharp discriminative power—often Indra’s or the illumined will—that cleaves tamas and inertia (alāyya: sluggishness). Once resistance is cut, Soma can flow freely: Ananda streams when dull obstruction is broken. The ‘mouse’ symbolizes small, gnawing, petty movements—minor doubts, habits, and subconscious nibblings—that still sap energy; Soma is invoked to purify even these subtle leakages.
Universal truth
Major breakthroughs require a decisive cut through inertia, but lasting freedom also needs attention to small recurring erosions. Spiritual life is both heroic and meticulous.
Themes
obstacle-breaking, Soma purification, symbolic animal imagery
The seer
- Rishi
- Part of Pavamāna Soma hymn sequence.
- Other hymns
- RV 9.67 (context), RV 1.32 (Indra’s cleaving power—symbolic parallel to ‘axe’ cutting obstruction), RV 9.79 (Soma breaking obstacles—general parallel)
Significance
The seer insists on practical inner victory: not only invoking bliss, but first removing inertia and then cleansing subtle residual disturbances.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma (deva soma)
- Epithets
- deva, (implicit) pavamāna
- Related deities
- Indra (cutter of obstruction), Agni (burns residue), Mātariśvan (sets energies in motion)
Cosmic role
Soma releases the waters/streams of delight and vitality once obstruction is removed; he is the purifier and sweetener of existence.
Inner power
Ananda as a cleansing current that enters after decisive discrimination; also a subtler purifier that heals minor subconscious leakages.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma purification/flow chants; obstacle-removing intent within Soma rite
अ॒लाय्य॑स्य पर॒शुर्न॑नाश॒ तमा प॑वस्व देव सोम । आ॒खुं चि॑दे॒व दे॑व सोम ॥
अ॒लाय्य॑स्य । प॒र॒शुः । न॒ना॒श॒ । तम् । आ । प॒व॒स्व॒ । दे॒व॒ । सो॒म॒ । आ॒खुम् । चि॒त् । ए॒व । दे॒व॒ । सो॒म॒ ॥
alāyyasya | paraśuḥ | nanāśa | tam | ā | pavasva | deva | soma | ākhum | cit | eva | deva | soma
Likely Triṣṭubh with a shorter supplemental phrase
33
2 pādas; first narrates the cutting of obstruction and the command to flow; second adds emphatic ‘even the mouse’ clause.
Forceful and abrupt: a ‘cut’ then a ‘rush’; the second pāda is a sharp afterthought emphasizing thoroughness.
Energizing; gives a psychological sense of breaking through heaviness, then letting a bright current move.
- paraśu
- Literal: axe. Symbolic: decisive discriminative force; cutting power of illumined will/knowledge
- alāyya
- Literal: sluggish, inert (obstruction). Symbolic: tamas, inertia, lethargic resistance that blocks the flow of consciousness
- tam
- Literal: that (obstruction). Symbolic: the specific knot of resistance in one’s nature
- pavasva
- Literal: purify/flow (as Soma). Symbolic: let Ananda stream in purified currents through the being
- ākhu
- Literal: mouse/rat. Symbolic: small gnawing darkness—petty habits, doubts, subconscious nibbling that undermines progress
Soma purification/flowing; the verse contains striking imagery used to remove obstacles before offering.
When encouraging Soma to run strongly and purely; symbolically at moments of blockage in the rite
Recitation accompanying the flow from the filter; inwardly, cutting inertia then invoking free movement of delight
Use when stuck in lethargy or procrastination: first a brief resolve (‘axe’ of discrimination), then chant to restore flow and joy.
paráśu: ‘axe’ (instrument noun), used symbolically as discriminating force that cuts through obstruction. nanāśa: perfect of √naś ‘to perish, be destroyed’ with transitive perfect sense ‘has destroyed’. pavasva: middle imperative of √pū/√pav ‘to purify, to become clear’—standard Soma-Pavamāna verb ‘flow in purification’. ākhú: ‘mouse/rat’, likely used as vivid image for minor but persistent gnawing impediments.
removal of obstruction (nivāraṇa) to allow right flow, ignorance as gnawing diminishment (ākhú imagery)
Obstruction is a deviation from ṛta; cutting it restores right movement and right flow.
Discrimination (paraśu) is truth’s edge that separates real from inert habit.
From tamas to movement: liberation of hidden streams after the coverer is cut.
Vedic psychology of Vṛtra/covering (even if not named): resistance must be cleaved for Soma to circulate.
Axe = sharp insight; flow = restored prāṇa and joy; mouse = subtle subconscious nibbling tendencies.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Obstacle-clearing so that Soma may flow: a cutting power (paráśu) destroys inertia/obstruction, and Soma is urged to stream forth, overcoming even small persistent ‘gnawers’ (ākhú). It is a miniature version of the larger Vedic theme: breaking the cover to release the waters/light.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √naś ‘perish’ continues an old IE root for destruction/loss (cf. Greek nésis/Latin nexus are not direct cognates, but the semantic field is archaic). Instrument nouns like paráśu reflect inherited material-culture vocabulary that becomes mythic-psychological in Vedic poetics.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi identifies the removal of obstruction as already effected (nanāśa) and then commands Soma to perform its essential action—purifying flow—so the seeker’s nature can be freed from both gross and subtle impediments.
Cut inertia, then invite the free flow of Ananda; attend also to subtle ‘gnawing’ habits.
Maṇipūra (will to cut inertia) + Anāhata (flow of sweetness)
Kapalabhāti light (30 strokes) to break tamas, then slow exhale-focused breathing while chanting ‘ā pavasva’.
Clear, mobilized, victorious flow.
Name one ‘big block’ (alāyya) and one ‘small gnawer’ (ākhu). On ‘paraśur nanāśa’ imagine a clean cut; on ‘pavasva’ feel a cool bright stream filling the system; end with vigilance without anxiety.
Keep strong pitch contrast on the ‘cutting’ clause; preserve udātta placements from saṃhitā; the repeated ‘deva soma’ should retain its original accents each time.
Make a clear break after ‘nanāśa’ (the cut is done), then let ‘ā pavasva’ flow smoothly; slight emphasis on ‘ākhuṃ cid’ to mark ‘even the small one’.
‘paraśuḥ’ = pa-ra-śuḥ (clear ś)., ‘alāyyasya’ keep long ā; double y as a glide, not a hard consonant cluster., ‘ākhuṃ’ aspirate kh; nasalize ṃ lightly.
Firm, cutting at first; then fluid and bright on ‘pavasva’.
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