Rig Veda 1.149.2: Mandala 1, Sukta 149, Mantra 2
Sukta 1.149
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
स यो वृषा नरां न रोदस्योः श्रवोभिरस्ति जीवपीतसर्गः । प्र यः सस्राणः शिश्रीत योनौ ॥
sá yó vṛ́ṣā narā́ṃ ná rodasyoḥ śrávobhir ásti jīvápīta-sargaḥ | prá yáḥ sasrāṇáḥ śiśrīta yónau ||
अग्नि जैसे बड़े बलवान है, दोनों दुनिया में उसकी बड़ाई है। वो जीवन देने वाला है और ऐसे देता है जैसे पानी बहता हो। वो अपने स्रोत से निकल कर आया है और वहीं बस गया है।
Word by Word
- सः
- hePronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → स
- यः
- whoPronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot यद् (सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम) → य
- वृषा
- the bull; the mighty oneNoun (epithet)पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot वृषन् (प्रातिपदिक) / वृष (बलवत्त्वे) (परम्परया ‘वृषन्’ ‘bull/strong one’)
- नराम्
- of menNounपुंलिङ्गः, षष्ठी, बहुवचनम्Role Sambandha (genitive)Root नृ (प्रातिपदिक ‘man’)
- न
- like; asIndeclinableनिपातःRoot न (उपमा/निपात)
- रोदस्योः
- of Heaven and EarthNoun (dual compound sense)स्त्रीलिङ्गः, षष्ठी, द्विवचनम्Role Sambandha (genitive)Root रोदसी (द्विवचन-प्रातिपदिक; ‘heaven-and-earth’)
- श्रवोभिः
- with glories; by renownNounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, तृतीया, बहुवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot श्रवस् (प्रातिपदिक ‘fame, glory’)
- अस्ति
- isVerbलट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Root अस् (धातु ‘to be’)
- जीवपीतसर्गः
- the one whose outflow/issuing is life-giving drink (reviving draught)Noun (compound epithet)पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role Kartā (as predicate-nominative epithet)Root जीव-पीत-सर्ग (समास-प्रातिपदिक; सर्ग < सृज् ‘to send forth/emit’)
- प्र
- forth; forwardIndeclinable (preverb)उपसर्गःRoot प्र (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- यः
- whoPronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot यद् (सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम) → य
- सस्राणः
- flowing; having streamedParticipleपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot सृ (धातु ‘to flow/run’) → सस्राण (परस्मैपद-परम्परा; क्त/क्विप्-प्रायः भूत/स्थितिवाचक कृदन्त)
- शिश्रीत
- has rested; has taken refugeVerbलिट् (परोक्श/परफेक्ट), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Root श्रि (धातु ‘to lean on, rest, resort’)
- योनौ
- in the womb; in the seat/sourceNounपुं/स्त्रीलिङ्गः (RV usage), सप्तमी, एकवचनम्Role AdhikaraṇaRoot योनि (प्रातिपदिक ‘womb, seat, source’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: सः | यः | वृषा | नराम् | न | रोदस्योः | श्रवोभिः | अस्ति | जीवपीतसर्गः || प्र | यः | सस्राणः | शिश्रीत | योनौ || 1) स यो → सः यः (विसर्ग-लोपः, यकारादौ)
- 2) रोदस्यो: → रोदस्योः (विसर्ग/अवग्रह-चिह्नः)
- 3) श्रवोभिरस्ति → श्रवोभिः अस्ति (विसर्गः + अ-आदिः)
- 4) प्र यः: ‘प्र’ उपसर्ग/निपातः पृथक् पदम्
The meaning
Outer meaning
He is the Bull, manly in the two worlds, existing by powers of fame; he is the giver of the outflow of the life-drink. Streaming forth, he has settled himself in the womb-source.
Inner meaning
The deity (in this hymn’s movement, a fire-soma power) is ‘Bull’ (vṛṣā): the forceful generative potency of consciousness active in both worlds—inner (subjective) and outer (objective), or heaven and earth (mental and physical). His ‘fame’ (śravas) are luminous powers—capacities that manifest when the inner being aligns. He releases the ‘life-drink’ (jīvapīta): the sustaining rasa/ānanda that nourishes the being. This bliss-force streams and then establishes itself in the ‘womb-source’ (yoni): the foundational seat in us where the new consciousness can be born and stabilized.
Universal truth
True power is generative across all planes; it nourishes life with an outflow of essence and becomes stable when it finds its right source within.
Themes
fructifying power, outpouring of life-essence, establishment in the source, integral action in two worlds
The seer
- Rishi
- Dīrghatamas Aucathya (Anukramaṇī attribution for RV 1.149)
- Lineage
- Aucathya
- Other hymns
- RV 1.149, RV 1.164
Family tradition
Uses robust virile symbols (bull/stream) to indicate spiritual potency and stabilizing birth in the yoni of being.
Significance
Teaches that the true force must both flow (dynamic experience) and settle (stable realization) in its source.
The deity
- Devata
- Agni-Soma power (Agni as leader with Soma as life-essence)
- Epithets
- Vṛṣā (Bull), Jīvapīta-sarga (giver of life-drink outflow), Sasrāṇa (streaming one)
- Related deities
- Soma (rasa/ānanda), Indra (bull-force of illumined mind), Aditi (womb/source of wideness)
Cosmic role
Generates and nourishes life across planes; releases essence and establishes it in the source for further birth.
Inner power
Potent spiritual energy that both energizes (flow) and consolidates (settling in yoni).
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma offering and enjoyment by the gods; praise of the power that releases soma-flow
स यो वृषा॑ न॒रां न रोद॑स्यो॒: श्रवो॑भि॒रस्ति॑ जी॒वपी॑तसर्गः । प्र यः स॑स्रा॒णः शि॑श्री॒त योनौ॑ ॥
सः । यः । वृषा॑ । न॒रान् । न । रोद॑स्योः । श्रवः॑ऽभिः । अस्ति॑ । जी॒वपी॑तऽसर्गः । प्र । यः । स॒स्रा॒णः । शि॒श्री॒त । योनौ॑ ॥
saḥ | yaḥ | vṛṣā | narān | na | rodasyoḥ | śravaḥ-bhiḥ | asti | jīvapīta-sagarḥ | pra | yaḥ | sasrāṇaḥ | śiśrīta | yonau
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4 × ~11
Strong, virile, expansive; long vowels support ‘streaming’ feel.
Elicits strength with a soft undertone of nourishing sweetness; supports both vigor and settling.
- वृषा (vṛṣā)
- Literal: bull. Symbolic: generative spiritual force; potent mastery
- रोदस्योः (rodasyoḥ)
- Literal: the two worlds (heaven & earth). Symbolic: inner/outer planes; mind-body totality
- श्रवोभिः (śravobhiḥ)
- Literal: with powers of fame. Symbolic: luminous capacities and effective vibrations of truth
- जीवपीतसर्गः (jīvapītasargaḥ)
- Literal: outflow of the life-drink. Symbolic: release of sustaining rasa/ānanda into the system
- सस्राणः (sasrāṇaḥ)
- Literal: streaming, flowing. Symbolic: dynamic descent/flow of force or bliss
- योनि (yoni)
- Literal: womb, source. Symbolic: origin-seat in consciousness where the force can be housed and made fertile
Soma-related diction (jīvapīta, sarga, flowing/streaming) suggests recitation in Soma-press contexts; emphasizes the devata as outpourer of life-essence into the two worlds.
During Soma libations; when invoking sustaining force for the rite and sacrificer.
Libation/pressing; offering the flow; establishing the deity in the seat/source.
For vitality and integration: invoke a force that both energizes and grounds; useful when practice becomes dry or overly mental.
Key roots: (1) vṛṣan/vṛṣā from √vṛṣ ‘to rain, to pour, to be potent’ → bull as fructifier; psychologically, descending force that fertilizes consciousness. (2) rodasī ‘two worlds’ frames total field; (3) śravas ‘fame/glory’ from √śru ‘hear’: in Veda, śravas becomes luminous renown/power that is ‘heard’—inner affirmation and effective vibration. (4) sarga ‘sending forth’ from √sṛj ‘to release’; sasrāṇa from √sṛ ‘to flow’; yoni as source/matrix.
two-world integration (mind-life; heaven-earth), soma as life-essence and delight, yoni as matrix of manifestation
Right order is not only movement but right placement—force must ‘settle in yoni’.
Śravas as truth-power that becomes effective and sustaining.
Outflow of life-essence and its establishment in the womb-source for new birth.
Psychological Veda: soma as ānanda nourishing the system; bull as spiritual potency.
Bull = potent mastery; flow = descent of rasa; yoni = foundational center where experience becomes realization.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The fructifying ‘Bull’ who pours forth the life-drink (soma) and establishes himself in the yoni (source). Psychologically, it is the descent of potent force that releases inner delight and settles in the matrix of the being to sustain growth in both worlds.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The bull-as-potency symbol is widespread in IE traditions. The flow/release roots √sṛ/√sṛj are part of an IE hydrodynamic metaphor for power and inspiration. The two-world framing is a common archaic cosmological dual.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi recognizes the devata as the one who makes soma (life-essence) effectively flow and who can establish that potency within the practitioner’s own yoni (source-nature). The hymn is an alignment to receive and hold the fructifying force in both mind and life.
Receive a descending ‘nectar’ of calm strength; let it settle in the heart-source.
Svādhiṣṭhāna (rasa) → Anāhata (settling in yoni of the heart)
Inhale imagining a cool stream of light; exhale letting it pool in the heart/belly as steady warmth.
From energized expansion to integrated sweetness and stability.
If restless: emphasize the ‘settling in yoni’—after recitation, sit and feel the essence gathering at one center, not dispersing upward.
Three-tone; allow slightly elongated vowels on ‘vṛṣā’, ‘rodasyoḥ’, ‘yoni’ for the expansive feel.
Keep compound ‘jīvapītasargaḥ’ clearly segmented in mind while chanting; don’t rush it.
vṛṣā: vocalic ‘ṛ’ crisp; retroflex ‘ṣ’, rodasyoḥ: clear ‘yoḥ’ with visarga-like ending per sandhi tradition, śiśrīta: repeat ‘śi’ cleanly, avoid slurring
Full, resonant, grounded.
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