Rig Veda 2.41.1: Mandala 2, Sukta 41, Mantra 1
Sukta 2.41
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada
- Devata
- Vāyu
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
वायो ये ते सहस्रिणो रथासस्तेभिरा गहि । नियुत्वान्त्सोमपीतये ॥
vā́yo yé te sahasríṇo ráthāsas tébhir ā́ gahi | niyútvānts sómapītaye ||
हे वायु, तुम्हारे पास हज़ारों रथ हैं जो बहुत ताकतवर हैं। उन सबके साथ यहाँ आओ। सोम पीने के लिए आओ ताकि हमारे अंदर जान आए और हम खुश रहें।
Word by Word
- वायो
- O VāyuNoun (proper, देवता-नाम)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-एकवचन (Voc. sg.)Role सम्बोधन (address)Root वायु- (प्रातिपदिक)
- ये
- which / whoPronounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Nom. pl.)Role कर्तृ/विशेष्य-संबन्ध (relative pronoun referring to ‘रथासः’)Root यद्- (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ते
- of you / yourPronounषष्ठी-एकवचन (Gen. sg.)Role सम्बन्ध (possessor)Root त्वद्- (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सहस्रिणः
- thousand-fold / having a thousand (teams, powers)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Nom. pl.)Role विशेषण (of ‘रथासः’)Root सहस्रिन्- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘having a thousand’)
- रथासः
- chariotsNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Nom. pl.)Role कर्तृ (subject of implied ‘are/come’ with relative clause)Root रथ- (प्रातिपदिक)
- तेभिः
- with thosePronounतृतीया-बहुवचन (Instr. pl.)Role करण (means/instrument)Root तद्- (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- आ
- hither / towards (us)Indeclinable (preverb/particle)Role क्रियाविशेषण (directional: ‘hither’)Root आ (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- गहि
- comeVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); मध्यम-पुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपद (imperative 2sg) — वैदिक रूप ‘गहि’Role क्रिया (मुख्य विधेय)Root गम् (धातु)
- नियुत्वान्
- having yoked teams (niyuts)Adjective (participial stem)पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचन (Nom. sg.)Role विशेषण (of implied subject ‘त्वम्’ = Vāyu)Root नियुत्वन्त्- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘having niyuts/teams’)
- सोमपीतये
- for Soma-drinkingNoun (action/occasion)स्त्रीलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी-एकवचन (Dat. sg.)Role सम्प्रदान (purpose/for)Root सोमपीति- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘Soma-drinking’)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolved as: वायो | ये | ते | सहस्रिणः | रथासः | तेभिः | आ | गहि | नियुत्वान् | सोमपीतये । Notable: ‘वायो’ is vocative sg. of वायु-
- ‘गहि’ is Vedic imperative (लोट्) 2sg of √गम्
- ‘नियुत्वान्त्सोमपीतये’ splits to ‘नियुत्वान् सोमपीतये’ (final -न् + initial स-)
The meaning
Outer meaning
O Vāyu, with those thousand-powered chariots of yours come here, yoked with your teams, for the drinking of Soma.
Inner meaning
Vāyu is the life-breath and master of prāṇa, the first receiver and carrier of Soma’s delight in many Vedic sequences. The ‘thousand-powered chariots’ are the myriad movements and capacities of the life-force—its swift currents, impulses, and dynamic energies. The rishi calls Vāyu to come ‘yoked with niyut’—disciplined teams—so that prāṇa is not scattered but harnessed for Soma-drinking: the inward reception of bliss that clarifies and uplifts. Psychologically, when the life-breath is rightly yoked (regulated), it can receive the Soma within and distribute it through the system as luminous vitality, making the whole nature fit for higher illumination.
Universal truth
Breath is the bridge between body and consciousness. When life-energy is harnessed and brought to the inner offering, it becomes capable of receiving delight and turning it into clarity, strength, and calm dynamism.
Themes
Soma invitation, Vāyu, Vital opening, Arrival
The seer
- Rishi
- Gṛtsamada
- Lineage
- Bhārgava (traditionally associated with the Gṛtsamada lineage)
- Other hymns
- RV 1.2–1.3 (Vāyu invited first for Soma; thematic parallel), RV 2.40.6 (dhī, Soma, Aditi—preparing inner instrument), RV 2.41 (Vāyu sequence)
Family tradition
In Māṇḍala 2, invitations to deities frequently stress right arrival and right receiving—here prāṇa (Vāyu) is invited as the indispensable carrier for Soma (delight).
Significance
The seer recognizes that delight cannot be stably held without a disciplined life-force; Vāyu must be ‘yoked’ so Soma becomes transformative rather than merely stimulating.
The deity
- Devata
- Vāyu
- Epithets
- niyutvān (yoked with teams), swift-goer (implied by chariot imagery), prathama-somapā (often first Soma-drinker in Vedic tradition; thematic)
- Related deities
- Indra (often paired with Vāyu in Soma drinking), Soma (delight-essence offered), Agni (purifier preparing the offering)
Cosmic role
Cosmic wind and breath; mover of worlds; carrier between realms; first to receive Soma in many offerings.
Inner power
Regulated prāṇa that can receive ananda and distribute it as steady vitality, clarity, and uplift.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma-yajña invitation (āhvāna) to Vāyu for Soma-drinking; common in morning pressing contexts.
वायो॒ ये ते॑ सह॒स्रिणो॒ रथा॑स॒स्तेभि॒रा ग॑हि । नि॒युत्वा॒न्त्सोम॑पीतये ॥
वायो॒ इति॑ । ये । ते॒ । स॒ह॒स्रिणः॑ । रथा॑सः । तेभिः॑ । आ । ग॒हि॒ । नि॒युत्वा॑न् । सोम॑ऽपीतये ॥
vāyo iti | ye | te | sahasriṇaḥ | rathāsaḥ | tebhiḥ | ā | gahi | niyutvān | soma-pītaye
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3 pādas of 8 syllables each
Light, quick, and inviting; ideal for ‘ā gahi’ (come!).
Immediately energizes and gathers breath; naturally synchronizes with inhalation/exhalation cycles.
- वायो (vāyo)
- Literal: O Vāyu (Wind-god). Symbolic: Prāṇa, life-breath; vital energy that carries consciousness-movements
- सहस्रिणः (sahasriṇaḥ)
- Literal: thousand-fold/powerful. Symbolic: Multiplicity of prāṇic currents and capacities; abundant dynamism
- रथासः (rathāsaḥ)
- Literal: chariots. Symbolic: Vehicles of prāṇa—modes of vital action and movement
- नियुत्वान् (niyutvān)
- Literal: having teams/yoked with niyuts. Symbolic: Harnessed life-force; regulated breath/energy under discipline
- सोमपीतये (somapītaye)
- Literal: for Soma-drinking. Symbolic: Receiving inner delight (ānanda) that illumines and refines the vital nature
Early Soma pressing invitations: Vāyu is classically invited first to Soma (vāyav ā yāhi), reflecting prāṇa/vital opening to the delight before other gods.
At the start of Soma offering sequences; especially as an inviting gāyatrī to bring the deity near.
Calling Vāyu to the Soma; offering and reception of Soma in the rite.
Use as a short prāṇa-invocation before pranayama or meditation: call the breath to become disciplined and ready to receive inner delight.
vāyu from √vā ‘blow’ (PIE *h₂weh₁- ‘blow’; cf. Lat. ventus). sahasra ‘thousand’ is an inherited hyperbolic numeral in IE poetics. niyut: Vedic term for teams/harnessings, possibly from ni- + √yut/√yu ‘to yoke/attach’ (connected to √yuj semantics).
prāṇa as carrier of delight, Soma as illuminative rapture entering the vital
‘Niyutvān’ implies r̥ta in the vital—breath and energy made orderly and fit for higher reception.
When prāṇa is gathered, perception becomes clearer; truth-seeing is supported by calm vitality.
Movement as foundational: breath/wind as the animator of forms; Soma as the delight that sustains and uplifts movement.
Yoga-oriented Vedic psychology: prāṇa-regulation as prerequisite for stable ananda and illumination.
morning (typical Soma-invitation sequences; also psychologically ‘beginning’ state)
Wind corresponds to prāṇa; chariots to channels of movement; yoking to regulation; Soma-drinking to inward assimilation of bliss.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘first arrival for Soma’ mythologem: Vāyu, as breath/vital mover, is summoned with his teams to drink Soma. Psychologically, the vital force is invited to receive delight and become a vehicle for higher illumination rather than a field of restless desire.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- vāyu (√vā) aligns with PIE *h₂weh₁- ‘blow’ (cf. ventus). The chariot-team imagery is classic inherited IE poetic technology for depicting divine approach and power-in-motion.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi calls Vāyu into proximity with the offering: the devatā is asked to enter the human-ritual space to partake of Soma. This expresses a collaboration: when Vāyu ‘drinks’, the vital currents in the seeker become capable of carrying the Soma-force.
Invite prāṇa to ‘come’ inwardly and become yoked; then receive Soma as a cool joy in the heart and head.
Anāhata (breath-heart link) and Viśuddha (breath and mantra vibration)
6–8 slow breaths: on inhale mentally ‘ā gahi’; on exhale ‘somapītaye’. Keep breath smooth and yoked (niyutvān).
Fresh, awake, quietly energized.
Chant 9 or 27 times before meditation. Feel the life-force gather from dispersion, align with aspiration, and become a clear carrier for inner delight.
Gāyatrī with Vedic accents as marked; keep the imperative ‘ā gahi’ crisp. If chanting non-vedically, maintain a steady 3-beat pāda flow.
Three short pādas: (1) address and chariots, (2) come here, (3) yoked—for Soma. Pause lightly between pādas.
vāyo: clear long ā (vā-), and yo as a single syllable., sahasriṇo: retroflex ṇ in -riṇ-; do not nasalize excessively., niyutvān: articulate ‘ni-yut-vān’ with clear yut., somapītaye: keep long ī in pīt-.
Light, bright, breath-synchronized; avoid heaviness.
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