Rig Veda 7.35.7: Mandala 7, Sukta 35, Mantra 7
Sukta 7.35
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Śam/Śānti
- Chandas
- Jagatī
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
शं नः सोमो भवतु ब्रह्म शं नः शं नो ग्रावाणः शमु सन्तु यज्ञाः । शं नः स्वरूणां मितयो भवन्तु शं नः प्रस्वः शम्वस्तु वेदिः ॥
śáṃ naḥ sómo bhavatu bráhma śáṃ naḥ | śáṃ no grā́vāṇaḥ śám u santu yajñā́ḥ | śáṃ naḥ svarū́ṇāṃ mitáyo bhavantu śáṃ naḥ prá-svaḥ śám u astu védiḥ ||
सोम देव हमें सही बात बोलें। यज्ञ के पत्थर और सारी क्रिया शांति से चलें। देवताओं की शक्तियाँ सही नाप में काम करें। हवा साफ चले और यज्ञ की वेदी शांति में बनी रहे।
Word by Word
- शम्
- auspiciously; for well-beingIndeclinableअव्यय (मङ्गल/कल्याणार्थे)Role (वाक्य-विशेषण; क्रियाविशेषणभावेन)Root शम् (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक) / √शम् (शमुँ) ‘शमने’ (अर्थ-आधार)
- नः
- of us; for usPronounषष्ठी (genitive), बहुवचन (enclitic)Role सम्बन्ध (possessor/for us)Root अस्मद्
- सोमः
- Soma (the sacred drink/deity)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot सोम
- भवतु
- may (he/it) be; let it becomeVerbलोट् (imperative/benedictive force), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole (मुख्य क्रिया)Root √भू (भू)
- ब्रह्म
- sacred utterance; hymn; holy powerNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (वेदे प्रायः ‘ब्रह्म’ = स्तोत्रम्/पवित्रं वचनम्)Role (सम्बन्ध/विशेष्यभावः; ‘सोमः … ब्रह्म’ = ‘सोमः (स्तोत्ररूपेण/ब्रह्मरूपेण) शं भवतु’)Root ब्रह्मन्
- शम्
- auspiciouslyIndeclinableअव्ययRole (वाक्य-विशेषण)Root शम् (अव्यय)
- नः
- for usPronounषष्ठी, बहुवचन (enclitic)Role सम्बन्धRoot अस्मद्
- शम्
- auspiciouslyIndeclinableअव्ययRole (वाक्य-विशेषण)Root शम् (अव्यय)
- नः
- for usPronounषष्ठी, बहुवचन (enclitic)Role सम्बन्धRoot अस्मद्
- ग्रावाणः
- pressing-stones (for Soma)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot ग्रावन्
- शम्
- auspiciouslyIndeclinableअव्ययRole (वाक्य-विशेषण)Root शम् (अव्यय)
- उ
- indeed; alsoIndeclinableनिपात (emphatic/asseverative)Role (निपात; अर्थ-बलवर्धक)Root उ
- सन्तु
- may they beVerbलोट्, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपदRole (मुख्य क्रिया)Root √अस् (असँ)
- यज्ञाः
- sacrifices; ritesNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot यज्ञ
- शम्
- auspiciouslyIndeclinableअव्ययRole (वाक्य-विशेषण)Root शम् (अव्यय)
- नः
- for usPronounषष्ठी, बहुवचन (enclitic)Role सम्बन्धRoot अस्मद्
- स्वरूणाम्
- of the svarū-implements (ritual wooden pins/pegs)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (of the svarū-implements)Root स्वरू (स्त्रीलिङ्ग प्रातिपदिक; ‘स्वरू’ = स्वरु/स्वरू-नाम्नी काष्ठ-कील/यूप-सम्बद्धा वस्तु; RV-प्रयोगः)
- मितयः
- measures; measured portions/limitsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot मिति
- भवन्तु
- may they become; may they beVerbलोट्, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपदRole (मुख्य क्रिया)Root √भू (भू)
- शम्
- auspiciouslyIndeclinableअव्ययRole (वाक्य-विशेषण)Root शम् (अव्यय)
- नः
- for usPronounषष्ठी, बहुवचन (enclitic)Role सम्बन्धRoot अस्मद्
- प्रस्वः
- impulse; furtherance; prosperityNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot प्रस्व (नपुंसकलिङ्ग प्रातिपदिक; RV ‘प्रस्वः’ = प्रसवः/प्रसव-सम्बद्धं ‘impulse, furtherance, prosperity’)
- शम्
- auspiciouslyIndeclinableअव्ययRole (वाक्य-विशेषण)Root शम् (अव्यय)
- वस्तु
- may it be; may it abideVerbलोट्/आशीर्लिङ्गार्थक-लोट्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole (मुख्य क्रिया)Root √वस् (वसँ) ‘निवासे/स्थितौ’ (वेदे ‘वस्तु’ = ‘अस्तु’ इव आशीर्लिङ्ग-प्रयोगः)
- वेदिः
- altar; sacrificial groundNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot वेदी
Sandhi Notes
- संहिता-पाठः: शं न॒: सोमो॑ भवतु॒ ब्रह्म॒ शं न॒: शं नो॒ ग्रावा॑ण॒: शमु॑ सन्तु य॒ज्ञाः । शं न॒: स्वरू॑णां मि॒तयो॑ भवन्तु॒ शं न॑: प्र॒स्व१॒॑: शम्व॑स्तु॒ वेदि॑: ॥ पद-विभाग/सन्धि-विच्छेदः: (1) शम् + नः (नः = अस्मदः षष्ठी बहु) । (2) ग्रावाणः + शम् + उ → ‘शमु’ (अव्यय ‘शम्’ + निपात ‘उ’ का संहितारूप) । (3) शम् + वस्तु → ‘शम्वस्तु’ (म् + व → म्व् संधि) । शेष पदाः प्रायः असन्धित/स्वर-चिह्नयुक्त संहिता-रूपे एव।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Peace for us: may Soma become brahman (inspired utterance); peace. Peace: may the pressing stones be peace; may the sacrifices be peace. Peace: may the measures of the luminous ones be peace; peace: may the forward-moving breath be peace; may the altar be peace.
Inner meaning
The verse turns the whole inner yajña into śānti: Soma (divine bliss) becomes brahman—an inspired word and luminous intuition in the mind; the grāvāṇaḥ (pressing stones) symbolize the disciplined tapas that extracts delight from experience; yajñāḥ are the ordered inner workings of offering; svarūṇām mitayaḥ are the right measures/limits of the luminous powers—harmonies that prevent excess and imbalance; prasvaḥ is the forward-impelling life-breath/urge that must be pacified and aligned; vedi is the stable inner seat where offerings are placed—body-mind as consecrated ground.
Universal truth
True peace is achieved when bliss, discipline, right measure, and the very engine of aspiration/breath are harmonized—so transformation proceeds with joy and precision.
Themes
Benediction/Śānti, Soma-ritual (inner and outer), Ritual-to-psychological transposition, Harmony/Measure (mā-)
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha (traditional for Maṇḍala 7; hymn attribution)
- Lineage
- Vasiṣṭha-gotra
- Other hymns
- RV 7.35, RV 7.33, RV 7.34
Family tradition
The Vasiṣṭha line often spiritualizes ritual implements into inner disciplines; here the entire soma-sacrifice becomes a psychology of bliss, measure, and offering.
Significance
A compact manual of inner yajña: bliss as mantra, discipline as extraction, right measure as harmony, breath-impulse as purified drive, and the vedi as stable consciousness.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma (as the central invoked power), with ritual powers (grāvāṇaḥ, yajñāḥ, vedi) treated as conscious forces; Śam as unifying aim
- Epithets
- brahma (as Soma becomes inspired Word)
- Related deities
- Agni (carrier of offering), Indra (drinker of Soma—illumination fed by bliss), Sarasvatī (inspired speech)
Cosmic role
Soma mediates immortality and delight; in the sacrifice he is pressed, offered, and shared—linking worlds.
Inner power
Ananda that turns into luminous intuition (brahman) and sustains perseverance; harmonizes prāṇa and mental speech.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma-yāga benediction and general śānti recitation; also for consecrating speech/mantra and ritual space.
शं न॒: सोमो॑ भवतु॒ ब्रह्म॒ शं न॒: शं नो॒ ग्रावा॑ण॒: शमु॑ सन्तु य॒ज्ञाः । शं न॒: स्वरू॑णां मि॒तयो॑ भवन्तु॒ शं न॑: प्र॒स्व१॒॑: शम्व॑स्तु॒ वेदि॑: ॥
शम् । नः॒ । सोमः॑ । भ॒व॒तु॒ । ब्रह्म॑ । शम् । नः॒ । शम् । नः॒ । ग्रावा॑णः । शम् । ऊँ॒ इति॑ । स॒न्तु॒ । य॒ज्ञाः । शम् । नः॒ । स्वरू॑णाम् । मि॒तयः॑ । भ॒व॒न्तु॒ । शम् । नः॒ । प्र॒ऽस्वः॑ । शम् । ऊँ॒ इति॑ । अ॒स्तु॒ । वेदिः॑ ॥
śam | naḥ | somaḥ | bhavatu | brahma | śam | naḥ | śam | naḥ | grāvāṇaḥ | śam | oṃ iti | santu | yajñāḥ | śam | naḥ | svarāūṇām | mitayaḥ | bhavantu | śam | naḥ | pra-svaḥ | śam | oṃ iti | astu | vediḥ
Jagatī (as given; consistent with many RV 7.35 verses)
48
4 pādas of ~12 syllables
Longer, flowing cadence—suitable to Soma’s ‘streaming’ quality and a comprehensive blessing.
Induces a smooth, continuous breath and a sense of nectar-like calm spreading through the system.
- सोमः (somaḥ)
- Literal: Soma. Symbolic: divine Ananda; delight that immortalizes consciousness
- ब्रह्म (brahma)
- Literal: sacred word, prayer, inspired utterance. Symbolic: mantric intuition; soul-inspired speech of truth
- ग्रावाणः (grāvāṇaḥ)
- Literal: pressing stones. Symbolic: tapas/discipline that presses out the essence (Ananda) from life
- यज्ञाः (yajñāḥ)
- Literal: sacrifices. Symbolic: inner offering—exchange between human and divine powers
- स्वरूणाम् (svarūṇām)
- Literal: of the luminous ones. Symbolic: powers of light/knowledge in the consciousness
- मितयः (mitayaḥ)
- Literal: measures, boundaries, right proportions. Symbolic: harmonic law of growth; right rhythm and limit that preserves balance
- प्रस्वः (prasvaḥ)
- Literal: forward impulse/breeding, impelling drive. Symbolic: prāṇic push of life-energy and aspiration needing purification
- वेदिः (vediḥ)
- Literal: altar. Symbolic: consecrated inner ground—body-mind as seat of offering
Śānti/āśīrvāda usage: recited as a general benediction in Soma contexts; suitable in Soma-yāga sequences (e.g., Agniṣṭoma) as an auspicious ‘peace’ formula before/after pressing and offering.
During soma pressing sequences (conceptually), at openings/closures, or as a peace-invocation over the ritual instruments.
Recitation while touching/mentally acknowledging instruments and altar; sealing the work in śam.
A mantra for harmonizing speech and breath: chant before teaching, chanting practice, or creative work to align inspiration (brahman) with calm prāṇa.
Key roots: √śam ‘to become calm/auspicious’ → śam ‘peace, ease’; √bhū ‘to become’ → bhavatu/bhavantu (benedictive imperatival). √as ‘to be’ → astu/santu. brahmán (neut. bráhma) from √bṛh ‘to grow, expand’ indicating the expanding word-force/mantric formulation. grā́van ‘pressing stone’ (instrument noun) tied to Soma-pressing; symbolically the inner “crushing” of obscurity into essence. mití/mitá ‘measure’ from √mā ‘to measure’ → right proportion/harmony. vedi- ‘altar’ from √vid/√ved? (traditional connection via ‘place of knowledge/arrangement’ is interpretive); in Vedic usage vedi is the prepared ritual ground—psychologically the prepared base of offering.
Ṛta as harmonious right-order implied through ‘mitayaḥ’ (right measures), Brahman as word-power (mantric force shaping consciousness), Śānti as integration of energies into a stable poise
Miti (measure) is ṛta in action—right proportion of powers.
Brahman as true speech arising from Soma-delight rather than ego.
Delight pressed out of experience becomes a creative word; ordered offering sustains worlds.
Aurobindonian: Ananda as causal power; mantra as expression of higher consciousness.
night-to-dawn transition (Soma/moon symbolism, suggestive)
Moon-nectar = bliss; stones = disciplined pressure; breath = life-impulse; altar = stable embodied awareness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Not a combat-myth but a ritual-cosmic integration mythologem: the Soma-pressing (grāvāṇaḥ) and yajña are invoked as powers that establish śam (harmonious peace). The ‘mythic action’ is the conversion of raw life-stuff into luminous delight (Soma) and inspired word (bráhma), producing right ‘measures’ (mitayaḥ) that stabilize the altar of consciousness (védiḥ).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √bhū ‘become’ (bhavatu/bhavantu) continues PIE *bʰuH- ‘to be, become’ (cf. English be, Latin fu- in fui). √mā ‘measure’ (mitayaḥ) reflects PIE *meh₁- ‘to measure’ (cf. Greek μέτρον via related formations; Latin metiri). The repeated śám is from √śam ‘quiet, pacify’, paralleled by Indo-Iranian calming/wholeness semantics (Avestan has cognate tendencies in words for peace/settlement though not a one-to-one lexical match here).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The ṛṣi does not bargain for external goods; he aligns the human vessel (‘naḥ’) with the divine operations of transformation: Soma (delight-knowledge), brahman (inspired formulation), yajña (disciplined offering), and vedi (stable base). The reciprocity is: the human offers ordered action (yajña) and receives ordered consciousness (śam) through the devas’ harmonizing measures (mitayaḥ), establishing ṛta inwardly.
Let inner delight (Soma) rise and transmute into mantra-like intuition (brahman); keep right measure (miti) in practice.
Sahasrāra/Ājñā (inspiration) with Anāhata (delight) and Viśuddha (speech).
Soma-breath: inhale gently imagining cool nectar rising; exhale with a soft internal ‘śam’ feeling; keep rhythm measured (miti).
Calm luminous delight (ānanda-śānti).
Chant, then sit silently: feel a cool sweetness in the heart; allow a single true sentence/intention to form without strain; commit to ‘right measure’—neither forcing nor slackening the practice.
Maintain clear udātta on and other marked syllables; keep the repeated ‘śaṃ naḥ’ as a steady refrain with slight lift at each start.
Because of Jagatī length, avoid rushing; let each pāda complete its 12-syllable wave; emphasize brahma, grāvāṇaḥ, mitayaḥ, prasvaḥ, vediḥ as semantic anchors.
somo: long o; keep anusvāra absent—clear vowel, brahma: aspirated bh; ‘hma’ cluster smooth, grāvāṇaḥ: long ā; retroflex ṇ, yajñāḥ: ‘jñ’ cluster (palatal) clean, not ‘gy’, svarūṇām: long ū; retroflex ṇ, mitayaḥ: dental t; final ḥ light, prasvaḥ: conjunct ‘sv’ clear, vediḥ: short e; visarga light
Soft, flowing, ‘cool’ tone; sustain continuity across pādas.
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