Rig Veda 9.2.7: Mandala 9, Sukta 2, Mantra 7
Sukta 9.2
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
गिरस्त इन्द ओजसा मर्मृज्यन्ते अपस्युवः । याभिर्मदाय शुम्भसे ॥
gíras ta inda ójasā marmṛ́jyante apasyúvaḥ | yā́bhir mádāya śúmbhase ||
हे इन्दु, तेरी गिरः ओज से मर्जित होती हैं—कर्म-उत्सुक। जिनसे तू मद के लिए शोभित होता है।
Word by Word
- गिरः
- hymns, songsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot गिर्- (स्त्री) / √गॄ (गिरति) इति व्युत्पत्तिः
- ते
- of you, yourPronounषष्ठी एकवचन (एन्क्लिटिक ‘ते’ = तव)Role सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- इन्दो
- O Indu (Soma)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्दु- (पुं) ‘सोम’
- ओजसा
- with strength, by mightNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया एकवचनRole करणRoot ओजस्- (नपुं)
- मर्मृज्यन्ते
- are being cleansed/purifiedVerbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot √मृज् (मार्जने) [वेदिक-गुणित/पुनरुक्त-आधार ‘मर्मृज्’]
- अपस्युवः
- active, industrious, eager in workAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (गिरः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Root अपस्यु- (विशेषण) < अपस् ‘कार्य/कर्म’
- याभिः
- by which (ones)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया बहुवचनRole करणRoot यद् (सर्वनाम)
- मदाय
- for exhilaration, for intoxicationNounपुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot मद- (पुं) ‘उन्माद/हर्ष/मद’
- शुम्भसे
- you adorn yourself, you become splendidVerbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √शुभ् (दीप्तौ/शोभने) — ‘शुम्भते’
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: गिरः | ते | इन्दो | ओजसा | मर्मृज्यन्ते | अपस्युवः | याभिः | मदाय | शुम्भसे || 1) ‘गिर॑स्त’ = ‘गिरः ते’ (विसर्ग-सन्धि: ḥ + t → st). 2) ‘इन्द॒ ओज॑सा’ इत्यत्र पदान्त ‘इन्दो’ (सम्बोधन) + ‘ओजसा’ (तृतीया) — संधिः न विशेषः
- उच्चारणे पदविभागः। 3) ‘याभिर्मदाय’ = ‘याभिः मदाय’ (विसर्ग-सन्धि: ḥ + m → r m; ऋग्वैदिके ‘-भिः’ + म- इत्यत्र ‘-भिर्म-’ रूपम्)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Your words, O Indu, are cleansed by power—those eager for the work; by them you are adorned for exhilaration (mada).
Inner meaning
Soma as Indu (luminous drop) is also mantra-force: the inspired words (giraḥ) are purified by ojas (spiritual vigor). ‘Apasyuvaḥ’ are the forces in us that love the work—energies that consent to transformation. When speech/thought is cleansed, it becomes an ornament (śumbhase) of ecstasy: delight is not chaotic; it is shaped by purified mantra into luminous power.
Universal truth
Purified speech and thought become instruments of spiritual force; when word is true and charged with inner energy, it naturally flowers into stable joy.
Themes
Mantric purification, Force and rapture, Work-energies, Inner adornment
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Lineage
- Vasiṣṭha (Maitrāvaruṇa)
- Other hymns
- RV 7.33 (Vasiṣṭha’s self-revelatory hymn, power of speech), RV 7.97 (Soma hymn, thematic), RV 9.2.1-9.2.10
Family tradition
A line emphasizing effective mantra: word as power aligned with ṛta; purification (mṛj) is a recurrent motif.
Significance
In Vasiṣṭha’s yoga, the ‘giraḥ’ are not mere praise but vehicles of force; when cleansed, they become instruments for the ecstasy that transforms life.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Indu (bright drop), Pavamāna (purifying)
- Related deities
- Bṛhaspati (lord of mantra), Agni (will in speech), Indra (illumined mind)
Cosmic role
Refines inspiration into effective mantra; makes speech a channel for delight and power.
Inner power
Mantric Ananda: bliss that organizes thought and speech into luminous efficacy.
In ritual
Where it is used
Pavamāna recitation during soma filtration; also supports the sanctification of stotra/śastra (chants)
गिर॑स्त इन्द॒ ओज॑सा मर्मृ॒ज्यन्ते॑ अप॒स्युव॑: । याभि॒र्मदा॑य॒ शुम्भ॑से ॥
गिरः॑ । ते॒ । इ॒न्दो॒ इति॑ । ओज॑सा । म॒र्मृ॒ज्यन्ते॑ । अ॒प॒स्युवः॑ । याभिः । मदा॑य । शुम्भ॑से ॥
giraḥ | te | indo iti | ojasā | marmṛjyante | apasyuvaḥ | yābhiḥ | madāya | śumbhase
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3×8
Workmanlike and incisive; fits ‘apasyu’ (eager for work) and polishing imagery
Encourages disciplined energy; makes the mind feel ‘sharpened and cleaned’.
- गिरः (giraḥ)
- Literal: songs, words, hymns. Symbolic: mantric thought-speech; formative vibrations of consciousness
- इन्दो (indo)
- Literal: O Indu (bright drop). Symbolic: luminous Soma; concentrated delight-force
- ओजसा (ojasā)
- Literal: by force, vigor. Symbolic: spiritual strength; tapas-charged energy that purifies
- मर्मृज्यन्ते (marmṛjyante)
- Literal: are being cleansed/polished. Symbolic: refinement of mental-vocal formations into clarity
- अपस्युवः (apasyuvaḥ)
- Literal: eager for work/service. Symbolic: parts of nature consenting to sadhana; willing energies
- मदाय (madāya)
- Literal: for intoxication/rapture. Symbolic: ecstatic uplift of consciousness (not sensory intoxication)
- शुम्भसे (śumbhase)
- Literal: you are adorned/shine. Symbolic: delight becomes beautiful, ordered, luminous through mantra
Chanted as Soma is clarified: the hymn itself (giras) is presented as a purifying force; mantra and Soma mutually refine each other in the rite.
As soma is purified and as hymns are intoned to accompany the flow
Chant while focusing on clarity of sound and intention
Use before japa/teaching/speaking: ‘let my words be polished by inner strength and become instruments of joy.’
giras from √gṛ/√gir ‘sing, utter’. ojas ‘vigor’ related to strength/juice imagery. √mṛj ‘polish/cleanse’ repeated form suggests iterative purification. apas ‘work’ is central Vedic category (sacral action); apasyu ‘desirous of apas’ indicates energies that want effective realization. mada from √mad ‘be exhilarated’—not gross intoxication but divine rapture. √śubh ‘shine/adorn’ indicates luminous beautification.
Mantra as force (ojas) not mere speech, Apas (sacral work) as inner discipline
Purified ‘giraḥ’ become ṛta-vāc—speech that carries right order into life.
Truthful vibration is what allows ecstasy to be luminous rather than delusive.
Creation through the Word: refined vibration shapes consciousness and experience.
Vedic mantra-ontology: word as a formative power; aligned with later Upaniṣadic vāc/brahman intimations.
Cleansing = refinement of mental-vocal currents; ‘work-eager’ energies = prāṇa and mind consenting to discipline; ornament = harmonized resonance.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mutual purification of Soma and hymn: the ‘words’ themselves are cleansed and become energised, adorning Soma for madá. Psychologically, inspired speech is refined into power; that power prepares the being for divine rapture.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √mad (rapture) has Indo-Iranian parallels (Avestan mad-), indicating a shared sacral psychology of exaltation. apas ‘work’ echoes an archaic IE valuation of effective ritual/action, later internalised into discipline.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi offers not objects but ‘giras’—speech-forces—claiming they actively polish Soma. The devatā is thus co-created in experience: Soma becomes splendid through the seeker’s disciplined utterance, and returns madá as heightened consciousness.
Listen inwardly to the ‘word-current’ in the mind; purify it by steady strength (ojas) until it becomes clear, luminous, and joy-bearing.
Viśuddha (speech purification) with support from Maṇipūra (ojas)
Ujjāyī (gentle) or bhrāmarī (soft) to refine inner vibration; then silent japa.
Mantric clarity leading to ecstatic steadiness (mada as luminous uplift).
Before speaking or chanting, pause: feel energy in the navel (ojas), lift it to the throat, let words arise only when they feel ‘polished’ and true.
Standard Rigvedic accenting; keep the udātta lifts clean on semantic peaks (giráḥ, ójasā, índo).
Articulate consonant clusters without hurry; let ‘marmṛjyante’ be smoothly connected, not chopped.
giraḥ: hard ‘g’, short i; final ḥ light, indo: dental n, not retroflex, ojasā: o longish, j soft; final ā long, marmṛjyante: both ṛ vocalic; ‘jy’ cluster clear, apasyuvaḥ: ‘syu’ as s + yu, not ‘shu’, madāya: long ā, śumbhase: ś palatal; bh aspirated
Focused, ‘polished’ tone; slightly emphatic on the first two pādas, then brighten on ‘madāya śumbhase’.
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