Rig Veda 1.23.1: Mandala 1, Sukta 23, Mantra 1
Sukta 1.23
- Rishi
- Medhātithi Kāṇva
- Devata
- Vāyu
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shringara (love)
तीव्राः सोमास आ गह्याशीर्वन्तः सुता इमे । वायो तान्प्रस्थितान्पिब ॥
tīvrāḥ somāsa ā gahy āśīr-vantaḥ sutā ime | vāyo tān pra-sthitān piba ||
वायु, आओ और यह सोम रस पियो। यह रस ताज़ी ताकत वाला है, अभी निचोड़ा गया है। आओ और इसको पी के अपनी शक्ति बढ़ाओ।
Word by Word
- तीव्राः
- strong, potentAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्Role विशेषणम् (कर्तृपद-विशेषणम्) — ‘सोमासः’Root तीव्र- (प्रातिपदिक; √तिव्/√तिव्र् ‘to be sharp/strong’ > adj. stem)
- सोमासः
- Soma-juicesNounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्Role कर्तृ (आगच्छन्ति/गच्छन्ति इति अध्याहारः) तथा ‘सुताः’ इत्यस्य विशेष्यःRoot सोम- (प्रातिपदिक)
- आ
- hither, towardsIndeclinableउपसर्गः (गत्यर्थे, ‘towards/unto’)Role क्रियाविशेषणम् (गत्यर्थ-निर्देशकः)Root आ (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- गह्य
- having come/approachedVerb (non-finite)ल्यपन्त (अव्ययभावः), ‘having come/approached’Role पूर्वकालक्रिया (मुख्यक्रियायाः ‘पिब’ इत्यस्य पूर्वकर्म)Root √गम् (गच्छ्) + ल्यप् (Vedic absolutive/gerund; RV form ‘गह्य’)
- आशीर्वन्तः
- blessing-bearing, benedictiveAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्Role विशेषणम् — ‘सोमासः/इमे’Root आशीर्वन्त् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘with blessing/benediction’)
- सुताः
- pressed (out)Adjective/Participleपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम् (कर्मणि कृदन्तः; ‘pressed’)Role विशेषणम् — ‘सोमासः/इमे’Root √सु (सुनोति ‘to press’) → सुत- (PPP)
- इमे
- thesePronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्Role कर्तृ/उद्देश्य (निर्देशः) — ‘these (Somas)’Root इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वायो
- O VāyuNoun (vocative)पुंलिङ्गः, सम्बोधन, एकवचनम्Role सम्बोधन (आह्वानः)Root वायु- (प्रातिपदिक)
- तान्
- thosePronounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम्Role कर्म — ‘पिब’Root तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रस्थितान्
- set forth, placed (for offering)Adjective/Participleपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम् (कर्मणि कृदन्तः; ‘set forth/placed/served’)Role विशेषणम् — ‘तान्’ (कर्म-विशेषणम्)Root प्र + √स्था (तिष्ठति) → प्रस्थित- (PPP)
- पिब
- drinkVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role क्रिया; कर्म = ‘तान्’Root √पा (पिबति ‘to drink’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: तीव्राः | सोमासः | आ | गह्य | आशीर्वन्तः | सुताः | इमे | वायो | तान् | प्रस्थितान् | पिब || विशेष-सन्धि/रूप-टिप्पणी: (1) ‘गह्य’ RV-विशेषः: √गम्-धातोः ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund) रूपम्
- परवर्ती ‘आ’ उपसर्गः पृथक् पदरूपेण दृश्यते (‘आ गह्य’ = ‘आगत्य/आगम्य’). (2) ‘तान् प्रस्थितान्’ मध्ये पदसन्धिः न
The meaning
Outer meaning
Come, O Vāyu; these Soma draughts—keen, pressed, and full of blessing—drink them as they are set forth.
Inner meaning
Vāyu is the life-force and prāṇa-power that moves between worlds; invited, it comes to the inner offering to drink Soma—divine bliss/nectar. ‘Tīvrāḥ’ indicates an intense, potent delight-force; ‘sutāḥ’ (pressed) suggests the bliss extracted by disciplined practice; ‘āśīrvantaḥ’ indicates they carry the power of aspiration and benediction. When prāṇa drinks Soma, the vital being is purified, energized, and made a vehicle for higher light rather than desire.
Universal truth
The life-energy becomes luminous and harmonious when it receives and assimilates higher joy; true vitality is fed by conscious delight, not restless craving.
Themes
Soma invitation, Vāyu prāṇa, intensified force, ritual intake as inner assimilation
The seer
- Rishi
- Medhātithi Kāṇva
- Lineage
- Kāṇva
- Other hymns
- RV 1.23.2-10 (Vāyu/Indra-Soma sequences, traditional)
Family tradition
Kāṇva soma hymns often begin with invitations to deities to ‘drink’—psychologically, to bring divine powers into the human instrument for transformation.
Significance
The rishi’s approach is practical: call the life-force to partake of Soma so the vital nature is converted into a force of yoga rather than disturbance.
The deity
- Devata
- Vāyu
- Epithets
- swift (implied by Vāyu’s nature), drink-first of Soma (traditional association in soma rites)
- Related deities
- Indra, Soma, Agni
Cosmic role
Mover of the mid-world; carrier of offerings and breaths; first receiver of Soma in many rites, preparing the field for Indra.
Inner power
Regulated prāṇa that can receive bliss and circulate it through the being; purifier and harmonizer of vital currents.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma offering invitation to Vāyu at the beginning of pressing/oblation sequences (often Vāyu receives early libation).
ती॒व्राः सोमा॑स॒ आ ग॑ह्या॒शीर्व॑न्तः सु॒ता इ॒मे । वायो॒ तान्प्रस्थि॑तान्पिब ॥
ती॒व्राः । सोमा॑सः । आ । ग॒हि॒ । आ॒शीःऽव॑न्तः । सु॒ताः । इ॒मे । वायो॒ इति॑ । तान् । प्रऽस्थि॑तान् । पि॒ब॒ ॥
tīvrāḥ | somāsaḥ | ā | gahi | āśīḥ-vantaḥ | sutāḥ | ime | vāyo iti | tān | pra-sthitān | piba
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3 pādas × 8 syllables
Quick, bright, inviting; suited to an opening call and the swift movement of Vāyu.
Energizes prāṇa; creates a crisp, uplifting momentum and receptivity.
- वायो (vāyo)
- Literal: O Vāyu (Wind). Symbolic: life-breath/prāṇa; vital dynamism that can be yoked to yoga
- सोमासः (somāsaḥ)
- Literal: Soma draughts. Symbolic: divine delight/bliss essence; nectar of higher consciousness
- तीव्राः (tīvrāḥ)
- Literal: keen, strong, intense. Symbolic: concentrated potency of delight/aspiration
- सुताः (sutāḥ)
- Literal: pressed out. Symbolic: extracted by effort (tapas), refined experience
- आशीर्वन्तः (āśīrvantaḥ)
- Literal: blessing-bearing. Symbolic: charged with aspiration and grace-power
- प्रस्थितान् (prasthitān)
- Literal: set forth/placed in front. Symbolic: offered consciously in the foreground of awareness
- पिब (piba)
- Literal: drink. Symbolic: assimilate; let prāṇa take in and circulate the bliss
Soma offering (especially early cups for Vāyu/Indra-Vāyu in agniṣṭoma-type sequences): invitation to the deity to drink the pressed Soma set forth on the barhis/at the pressing place.
At soma-yajña openings/invitations; before offering to Indra in some sequences.
Āvāhana (invocation) and offering of soma; recitation as cups are ‘set forth’.
Before prāṇāyāma: chant to consecrate breath and invite a higher delight to infuse the vital system.
vāyú from √vā ‘to blow’ → life-breath, dynamic movement. soma from √su ‘to press’ → expressed delight-essence. tīvrá ‘sharp, strong’ conveys intensified force. āśīḥ ‘wish, blessing’ from √śās/√āśās? (semantic: benediction/aspiration). pra-sthita from pra-√sthā ‘set forth’ (PIE *steh₂ ‘stand’). Inner sense: Vāyu as prāṇa-force is invited to take in Soma—delight that intensifies movement toward truth.
prāṇa as carrier of divine force, Soma as ananda-substance fueling ascent, aspiration (āśīḥ) as charge in the offering
When prāṇa drinks Soma, life-movements align with ṛta rather than impulsive desire.
Vital truthfulness: energies move cleanly, without distortion, when fed by higher delight.
Life as mediator: Vāyu links higher delight to embodied existence.
Integral yoga psychology: transformation of the vital by ānanda; prāṇa as instrument of ascent and descent.
morning (typical soma invitation mood)
Wind/breath = prāṇa currents; soma = delight-substance; pressing = disciplined extraction of essence from experience.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The divine drinking of Soma: Vāyu is summoned to partake of the pressed draught. Mythically, the god receives the offering; psychologically, the life-force (vāyu/prāṇa) is invited to assimilate the intensified delight so the being’s movements become swift and upward.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- pra-sthita from √sthā reflects PIE *steh₂ ‘stand’ (English stand). √pā ‘drink’ (piba) aligns with PIE *peh₃- ‘drink’ (cf. Latin pōtāre, English potable via Latin). vāyu from √vā ‘blow’ corresponds to IE wind/breath semantics (cf. Latin ventus ‘wind’, though not a direct cognate form).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi offers a prepared, charged essence (Soma ‘sutāḥ’, ‘āśīḥ-vantaḥ’) and calls Vāyu to come and drink—i.e., to enter the practitioner’s life-movement. The reciprocity is assimilation: the offering becomes divine energy in the breath-force, aiding the inner journey.
Offer the breath to the divine: feel inhalation as ‘coming’ (ā gahi) of higher life-force; feel exhalation as prāṇa ‘drinking’ soma-bliss.
Maṇipūra (vital energy regulation)
Gentle ujjāyī or lengthened exhale; synchronize 3-pāda Gāyatrī with inhale/hold/exhale (light, comfortable).
Bright, energized, bliss-touched prāṇic field; readiness for deeper meditation.
Chant 9 times, then do 12 slow breaths imagining a cool, luminous nectar filling the chest and navel; end with quiet gratitude and steadiness.
Gāyatrī svara: keep crisp udatta on vocative/invocation points (vāyo, ā gahi); avoid flattening—maintain clear rises and falls per Śākala accents.
Make a clean call on ‘ā gahi’; slight pause after it; keep ‘vāyo’ vocative clear and resonant.
tīvrāḥ: long ī; visarga ḥ audible, somāsaḥ: long ō; final ḥ light, āśīrvantaḥ: long īr; cluster rv; final ḥ, prasthitān: pr + sth cluster—do not insert extra vowel, piba: short i, not ‘peeba’
Light, swift, inviting; airy resonance suitable for Vāyu.
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