Rig Veda 10.25.6: Mandala 10, Sukta 25, Mantra 6
Sukta 10.25
- Rishi
- Kakṣīvān Dairghatamasa
- Devata
- Soma
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
पशुं नः सोम रक्षसि पुरुत्रा विष्ठितं जगत् । समाकृणोषि जीवसे वि वो मदे विश्वा सम्पश्यन्भुवना विवक्षसे ॥
paśúṃ naḥ soma rakṣasi puru-trā́ ví-sthitaṃ jágat | sam-ā́kṛṇoṣi jīváse ví vo máde víśvā sam-páśyan bhúvanā vivákṣase ||
सोम, तुम जैसे किसान अपने जानवर की रक्षा करता है, वैसे ही हमारी रक्षा करो। यह दुनिया बहुत तरीके से फैली हुई है। तुम हमारे लिए पूरा कर देते हो ताकि हम जीते रहें। तुम अपने नशे में सब दुनिया को देख लेते हो और हमारे लिए जगह बढ़ा देते हो।
Word by Word
- पशुम्
- cattle; a beast (as the protected object)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot पशु- (प्रातिपदिक)
- नः
- of us; ourPronounषष्ठी, बहुवचन (enclitic)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- सोम
- O SomaNoun (vocative)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot सोम- (प्रातिपदिक)
- रक्षसि
- you protectVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, मध्यम? → actually 2nd?; here: उत्तम?; correct: द्वितीयपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √रक्ष्
- पुरुत्रा
- in many places; widelyIndeclinableअव्ययRole अधिकारण (देश/विस्तार)Root पुरुत्रा (अव्यय)
- विष्ठितम्
- set/placed; establishedParticiple/Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (past passive participle)Role विशेषण (कर्मणः)Root √स्था (वि- + स्था) → विष्ठित- (कृदन्त)
- जगत्
- the moving world; the living creationNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (apposition to पशुम्)Root जगत्- (प्रातिपदिक; from √गम् with reduplication/derivation)
- सम्
- together; completelyIndeclinable (preverb)अव्ययRole क्रियाविशेषणRoot सम् (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- आकृणोषि
- you make; you effectVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, द्वितीयपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √कृ (आ-)
- जीवसे
- for living; for lifeVerbal noun (purpose)चतुर्थी-एकवचन (दातिव/तुमर्थे), नपुंसकभावRole प्रयोजन (सम्प्रदान-तुल्य)Root √जीव् → जीवस्- (दातिव/infinitival dative)
- वि
- apart; forth; distinctlyIndeclinable (preverb)अव्ययRole क्रियाविशेषणRoot वि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- वः
- of you (pl.); yourPronounषष्ठी, बहुवचन (enclitic)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- मदे
- in exhilaration; in intoxication (rapture)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकारण (भाव/अवस्था)Root मद- (प्रातिपदिक)
- विश्वा
- all (things)Adjective (substantive)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot विश्व- (प्रातिपदिक)
- सम्पश्यन्
- seeing fully; beholdingParticipleवर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (विशेषण of implied ‘त्वम्’)Root √पश् (सम्-)
- भुवना
- worlds; beings; realmsNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्म (object of ‘सम्पश्यन्’)Root भुवन- (प्रातिपदिक)
- विवक्षसे
- you wish/intend to speak; you utter distinctlyVerbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, द्वितीयपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √वच् (वि-)
Sandhi Notes
- पशुं नः (anusvāra before dental)
- सोम रक्षसि (vocative + verb, no sandhi change). पुरुत्रा विष्ठितं जगत्: pada-split as पुरुत्रा | विष्ठितम् | जगत् (final -t of जगत् is pausa). समाकृणोषि = सम् + आकृणोषि (preverb sandhi: सम् + आ- → समा-). वि वो मदे: separate enclitic pronoun वः after particle वि. सम्पश्यन्भुवना = सम्पश्यन् + भुवना (n + bh → nbh in saṃhitā writing)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Soma guards us like a herdsman guarding cattle amid the widely spread world; he restores our wholeness for living, and in ecstasy, seeing all worlds, he widens our being into fullness.
Inner meaning
Soma (divine Ananda) is the protecting consciousness that shepherds the scattered powers of the soul through the many-branching movements of life (jagat purutrā viṣṭhitam). By the pressure of bliss (mada), the being is gathered (sam-ākṛṇoṣi) from dispersion into integrality and then expanded (vivakṣase) into a luminous, many-worlded awareness—an inner universality that can ‘see’ (sampaśyan) the planes of consciousness without losing the psychic center.
Universal truth
When consciousness is supported by a stable joy and inner sweetness, it both protects and integrates life; true bliss does not intoxicate into escape, but widens perception and restores wholeness amid complexity.
Themes
Divine guardianship, Wholeness of the being, Vision of many worlds/planes
The seer
- Rishi
- Kakṣīvān Dairghatamasa
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 1.18, Rig Veda 1.126-1.127 (traditional attribution cluster), Rig Veda 10.25 (this hymn)
Family tradition
Angirasa-related seer-poet tradition; linked in later memory with Dīrghatamas lineages and luminous hymn-craft.
Significance
Kakṣīvān’s voice often moves between human struggle and supramental help; here he receives Soma not merely as a ritual draught but as the guardian-Ananda that integrates and enlarges the seeker’s being.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma
- Epithets
- rakṣasi (protector), viśvato gopā (all-surrounding guardian, implied by hymn context), indu (bright drop, in later verses), rājan (king, in next mantra context)
- Related deities
- Indra, Agni, Aśvins
Cosmic role
Soma is the immortalizing delight that sustains the gods, strengthens Indra, and nourishes the worlds by its clarifying rapture.
Inner power
Ananda that both protects and unifies; it gathers scattered parts of the personality and opens integral vision across ‘worlds’ (bhuvanā).
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing and offering (Soma-yajña) praise-verse to Soma as protector and increaser.
प॒शुं न॑: सोम रक्षसि पुरु॒त्रा विष्ठि॑तं॒ जग॑त् । स॒माकृ॑णोषि जी॒वसे॒ वि वो॒ मदे॒ विश्वा॑ स॒म्पश्य॒न्भुव॑ना॒ विव॑क्षसे ॥
प॒शुम् । नः॒ । सो॒म॒ । र॒क्ष॒सि॒ । पु॒रु॒ऽत्रा । विऽस्थि॑तम् । जग॑त् । स॒म्ऽआकृ॑णोषि । जी॒वसे॑ । वि । वः॒ । मदे॑ । विश्वा॑ । स॒म्ऽपश्य॑न् । भुव॑ना । विव॑क्षसे ॥
paśum | naḥ | soma | rakṣasi | puru-trā | vi-sthitam | jagat | sam-ākṛṇoṣi | jīvase | vi | vaḥ | made | viśvā | sam-paśyan | bhuvanā | vivakṣase
44
4 pādas of ~11 syllables each
Forward-driving, expansive cadence suited to exhortation and widening vision.
Builds a sense of protective strength and gradual enlargement; the repeated ‘vi vo made… vivakṣase’ motif carries the listener from safety to expansion.
- paśu
- Literal: cattle/animal. Symbolic: the soul’s powers and energies that must be guarded and gathered
- gopā (implicit herdsman-idea)
- Literal: herdsman/guardian. Symbolic: the protecting awareness that keeps inner energies from scattering
- soma
- Literal: pressed soma-juice. Symbolic: divine bliss (Ananda), immortalizing delight that clarifies and protects
- purutrā
- Literal: in many places/ways. Symbolic: the many directions of life-force and mind; dispersion of consciousness
- jagat
- Literal: moving world. Symbolic: the field of becoming; the mobile play of states
- samākṛṇoṣi
- Literal: you make complete/put together. Symbolic: integration of the being; recollection into unity
- made
- Literal: in ecstasy/intoxication. Symbolic: uplift of consciousness by Ananda, intensifying vision
- sampaśyan
- Literal: seeing together, comprehensively. Symbolic: integral vision across planes
- bhuvanā
- Literal: worlds/realms. Symbolic: levels of consciousness (physical-vital-mental and beyond)
- vivakṣase
- Literal: you make (us) widen/expand. Symbolic: expansion into universality; growth of consciousness into fullness
Protective (rakṣā) invocation within Soma rite; supports the sacrificer’s wholeness and guarded passage through the ‘spread-out’ world.
During Soma libations and stotras/śastras praising Soma’s guarding and strengthening power.
Pressing, filtering, offering; recitation to invite Soma’s ‘mada’ (uplift) and protection.
Used as a meditation-chant for protection amid complexity, and for integrating scattered attention into a unified, widened awareness.
rakṣ: √rakṣ ‘guard, protect’; jagat: present participial noun from √gam ‘move’ → ‘that which moves’; vi-sthita: vi- + √sthā ‘stand’ → ‘spread out’; sam-ā-kṛ: ‘make together’ → inner integration; sam-paś: ‘see together’ → integral vision; bhuvana: from √bhū ‘become’ → planes of becoming.
Integration (samākṛṇoṣi), Integral vision (sampāśyan), Protection of embodied life (paśu as life-force)
Soma’s guarding and ‘seeing together’ supports ṛta by preventing dispersion and restoring wholeness.
Integral perception (sampaśyan) is a movement toward satya—truth that holds many worlds together.
Expansion (vivakṣase) echoes the Vedic motif of widening the inner world to match the cosmic order.
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral (Aurobindonian) reading: Ananda as a fundamental power of consciousness enabling unity and universality.
The ‘herd’ is the dispersed faculties; Soma is the cool, luminous delight that protects them and expands awareness into multiple planes without fragmentation.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘god as herdsman/guardian’ mythologem: Soma guards the ‘paśu’ (the vulnerable embodied life) through the manifold moving world, and simultaneously effects an inner reintegration (sam-ā-kṛ) that enables safe and luminous living.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- jagat from √gam ‘go’ reflects PIE *gʷem- ‘to go, come’; √rakṣ ‘guard’ belongs to an old protective semantic field; √paś ‘see’ is cognate with PIE *peḱ- ‘see’ (cf. Latin specio), supporting ‘sampāśyan’ as integral seeing.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The poet asks not only for outer protection but for an inner operation: Soma’s guardianship is fulfilled by making the being ‘together’ (integrated) and granting a widened vision of bhuvanas, implying that true safety is achieved by consciousness, not by exclusion.
Resting in a ‘protective bliss’ that gathers attention and then expands it into panoramic awareness.
Anāhata (heart: integrative sweetness) and Ājñā (integral seeing).
Gentle nāḍī-śodhana or slow 1:1 breathing while feeling ‘guarded’ on inhale and ‘widened’ on exhale.
From centered composure to open, witness-like universality.
Begin by invoking Soma as inner sweetness around the heart; then contemplate ‘sampaśyan bhuvanā’—seeing thoughts, sensations, and subtle moods as ‘worlds’ held in one field.
Triṣṭubh recitation with Vedic accents: maintain udatta lift on accented syllables; observe svarita falls especially around compounds like sampaśyan/bhuvanā.
Keep clear stress on: sóma, rákṣasi, purutrā́, jagát, samākṛṇóṣi, jīváse, máde, víśvā, sampáśyan, bhúvanā, vivákṣase.
ṣ in paśuṃ: retroflex ‘ṣ’ (pa-śuṃ), v in viṣṭhitam: light labio-dental ‘v’, not ‘w’, ṃ (anusvāra) before consonants: nasalize (paśuṃ naḥ), kh/gh not present here; focus on clear ‘kṣ’ in vivakṣase (vi-vak-ṣa-se)
Cool, steady, protective tone; broaden resonance on ‘vi… vivakṣase’ to embody widening.
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