Rig Veda 4.49.3: Mandala 4, Sukta 49, Mantra 3
Sukta 4.49
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Indra-Bṛhaspati with emphasis on Indra
- Chandas
- Tr̥ṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
आ न इन्द्राबृहस्पती गृहमिन्द्रश्च गच्छतम् । सोमपा सोमपीतये ॥
ā́ na indrābṛhaspatī gṛhám índraś ca gacchatam | somapā́ sómapītaye ||
इंद्र और बृहस्पति, हमारे पास आओ। हमारे घर आओ, यहाँ बैठो। इंद्र, तुम भी आओ। तुम दोनों सोम पीते हो, तो आओ और सोम पियो। हमारे लिए यह रस तैयार है।
Word by Word
- आ
- hither; towardsIndeclinableनिपात/उपसर्ग; गत्यर्थे ‘आ’ = ‘towards, hither’Root आ (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- नः
- of us; ourPronounषष्ठी (genitive), बहुवचन (plural) — ‘our’ (enclitic)Role Sampradāna (हित/लाभ-सम्बन्धः) / सम्बन्धRoot अस्मद्
- इन्द्रा
- O Indra (as part of ‘Indra-and-Bṛhaspati’)Noun (proper)सम्बोधन (vocative), द्विवचन (dual) — (dual member of a dvandva address)Role सम्बोधन (addressed deity)Root इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- बृहस्पती
- O Bṛhaspati (as part of ‘Indra-and-Bṛhaspati’)Noun (proper)सम्बोधन (vocative), द्विवचन (dual) — (dual member of a dvandva address)Role सम्बोधन (addressed deity)Root बृहस्पति (प्रातिपदिक)
- गृहम्
- the house; homeNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (accusative), एकवचन (singular)Role Karma (destination/object of motion) / अधिकरण-गत्यर्थेRoot गृह (प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्रः
- IndraNoun (proper)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (nominative), एकवचन (singular)Role Kartā (subject)Root इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- च
- andIndeclinableसमुच्चयार्थक अव्ययRoot च (निपात)
- गच्छतम्
- (you two) go; comeVerbलोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), द्विवचन (dual), परस्मैपदRole क्रिया (addressed action)Root गम् (गच्छ-)
- सोमपाः
- Soma-drinkersNoun/Adjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (nominative), बहुवचन (plural) — ‘Soma-drinkers’ (epithet of the invoked gods)Role Kartā/विशेष्य-विशेषणभावः (apposition to the deities)Root सोमपा (सोम + पा ‘to drink’ → ‘Soma-drinker’)
- सोमपीतये
- for Soma-drinking; for drinking SomaNoun (action noun)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (dative), एकवचन (singular)Role Sampradāna / प्रयोजन (purpose)Root सोमपीति (सोम + पीति ‘drinking’ < √पा ‘to drink’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: आ | नः | इन्द्रा-बृहस्पती | गृहम् | इन्द्रः | च | गच्छतम् | सोमपाः | सोमपीतये । 1) ‘इन्द्राबृहस्पती’ = इन्द्रा + बृहस्पती (द्वन्द्व-सम्बोधन-द्विवचन; संधिः: अ + ब → आब). 2) ‘गृहमिन्द्रश्च’ = गृहम् + इन्द्रः + च (म् + इ → मि; विसर्गः ‘इन्द्रः’ + च → ‘इन्द्रश्च’). 3) ‘सोमपा सोमपीतये’ पदद्वयम्
- उच्चारणे संहितायां सन्निकर्षः मात्रम्, न विशेष-संधिः।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Come to us, O Indra and Bṛhaspati; come to the home—Indra too—drinkers of Soma, for the drinking of Soma.
Inner meaning
The ‘home’ (gṛha) is the inner dwelling of consciousness—the heart and embodied being prepared as a seat for the gods. Indra and Bṛhaspati are invited not merely to a ritual house but to inhabit the practitioner’s nature. As Soma-drinkers, they come to take in Ananda within us, meaning: illumination and inspired truth establish themselves by feeding on the offered delight, transforming the house of the being into a temple of awakened mind and living mantra.
Universal truth
Spiritual realization is not distant: the divine powers must be welcomed into the ‘home’ of one’s life. When joy is offered inwardly, higher clarity and truth can abide and act continuously.
Themes
Invocation, Soma-ritual, Divine descent, Hospitality to the gods
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 4.49.1-2, RV 4.1 (Agni as guest in the house; thematic parallel)
Family tradition
Invitational verses in Vāmadeva’s hymns often shift the altar outward into the heart inward—turning ‘gṛha’ into a psychic residence for the gods.
Significance
The seer’s stress on ‘gṛham’ marks the yogic pivot: the sacrifice becomes interiorized; the divine is asked to dwell and drink within the practitioner.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra-Bṛhaspati (dual) with emphasis on Indra
- Epithets
- Somapā (Soma-drinkers), Guests of the sacrifice, Illuminer and Truth-Word
- Related deities
- Agni (as house-guest), Soma, Sarasvatī
Cosmic role
They descend to the human sphere to accept offerings and establish victorious light and right speech.
Inner power
Indwelling illumination (Indra) and indwelling mantra-intelligence (Bṛhaspati) that stabilize the inner life around Ananda.
In ritual
Where it is used
Āhvāna to Indra-Bṛhaspati in Soma context; welcoming to the ritual ‘house’
आ न॑ इन्द्राबृहस्पती गृ॒हमिन्द्र॑श्च गच्छतम् । सो॒म॒पा सोम॑पीतये ॥
आ । नः॒ । इ॒न्द्रा॒बृ॒ह॒स्प॒ती॒ इति॑ । गृ॒हम् । इन्द्रः॑ । च॒ । ग॒च्छ॒त॒म् । सो॒म॒ऽपा । सोम॑ऽपीतये ॥
ā | naḥ | indrābṛhaspatī iti | gṛham | indraḥ | ca | gacchatam | soma-pā | soma-pītaye
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4 pādas of ~11 syllables; repeated ‘come’ creates a strong anaphoric pull
Invitational and insistent, yet controlled; repetition gives a steady knocking-at-the-door cadence.
Creates a felt ‘arrival’; strengthens receptivity and the sense of inner hospitality.
- आ (ā)
- Literal: come. Symbolic: invocation of descent/approach of higher consciousness
- गृहम् (gṛham)
- Literal: house, home. Symbolic: inner dwelling—heart, embodied life, the field of practice
- सोमपा (soma-pā)
- Literal: Soma-drinkers. Symbolic: powers that assimilate Ananda and convert it into strength and truth
- सोमपीतये (soma-pītaye)
- Literal: for Soma-drinking. Symbolic: for inward reception of bliss as a stable practice
Āvāhana (invocation) within Soma liturgy: inviting the devatā to the ‘gṛha’ (sacrificial seat/space; inwardly the prepared consciousness)
When inviting deities to the offering seat/house; before Soma is offered/drunk
Invitation to approach and sit; presentation of Soma
Home-as-ashram practice: recite at the start of meditation to invite clarity and inspired speech into daily life; especially before difficult conversations or teaching.
√gam ‘to go’ (gacchatam, 2du impv.) is PIE *gʷem- ‘to come/go’ (cf. Greek baínō is different; but Tocharian/Latin venio relate to *gʷem-). gṛha ‘house’ from √gṛh/√grah ‘to seize, take’ > ‘that which holds’; psychologically the holding-structure of embodiment. soma-pā: pā ‘drink’ (PIE *peh₃-).
Descent of higher consciousness into the embodied ‘house’, R̥ta as hospitality: right preparation enabling divine presence
The gods entering the house symbolizes ṛta entering embodied existence—order becoming lived reality.
Bṛhaspati’s presence in the gṛha implies truth-speaking and truth-thinking as a domestic, continuous law.
Indwelling divinity: the human vessel becomes a created temple where delight sustains light and word.
Interiorized sacrifice (antar-yajña) trajectory; anticipates Upaniṣadic inwardness while retaining Vedic deity-psychology.
House = heart-body complex; threshold = transition from outer to inner; Soma-drinking = steady assimilation of bliss that supports illumination.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘coming of the gods to the sacrifice’: a core Vedic mythic-liturgical action. Innerly it is the descent of illumined force and truth-word into the human vessel prepared as a home.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Imperative dual gacchatam from √gam reflects archaic Indo-European verbal morphology and the inherited root *gʷem- ‘go/come’. The compound soma-pā shows productive compounding typical of early Indo-European poetics.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer offers ‘hospitality’—a prepared inner home and Soma—while requesting the devatā’s actual presence. The relationship is functional: the gods are not distant objects but powers that enter and operate when invoked with right preparation.
Make the heart a home for illumination and true speech; invite them to ‘sit’ in the inner space.
Anāhata (inner home)
Breath with a gentle pause after inhale, feeling ‘arrival’; exhale offering sweetness (Soma) into the heart-space.
Hospitable receptivity; stable, quietly bright awareness.
Visualize a small flame or light in the heart as the prepared seat. Recite the mantra, then sit in silence as if welcoming honored guests. Conclude by offering gratitude and a few moments of still ‘Soma-drinking’—resting in simple joy.
Repetition of ā should be clear and uplifting; maintain accent integrity on indrābṛhaspatī; keep somapā as a distinct compound.
Give a gentle but definite rise on each ‘ā’; slight pause after gṛham to mark ‘arrival into the home’.
(gṛham): vocalic ṛ—short, crisp; not ‘griham’, (somapā): long ā; compound stress even, (gacchatam): double cch audible; avoid ‘gachatam’
Warm, inviting, and steady; not forceful—like calling revered guests.
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