Rig Veda 8.26.22: Mandala 8, Sukta 26, Mantra 22
Sukta 8.26
- Devata
- Vāyu
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
त्वष्टुर्जामातरं वयमीशानं राय ईमहे । सुतावन्तो वायुं द्युम्ना जनासः ॥
tváṣṭur jāmātaraṃ vayám ī́śānaṃ rāyá īmahe | sutā́vanto vāyúṃ dyumnā́ jánāsaḥ ||
हम सोम का रस निकाल चुके हैं। अब वायु को बुला रहे हैं जो त्वष्ट्र का दामाद है। वो धन और संपत्ति का मालिक है। हम लोग चमक और ताकत चाहते हैं, जीत की चाह रखते हैं।
Word by Word
- त्वष्टुः
- of TvaṣṭṛNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (gen.), एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitival relation)Root त्वष्टृ- (प्रातिपदिक; देवता-नाम)
- जामातरम्
- son-in-lawNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (acc.), एकवचनRole कर्म (object)Root जामातृ- (प्रातिपदिक)
- वयम्
- wePronounत्रिलिङ्ग (सर्वनाम), प्रथमा (nom.), बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (subject)Root अस्मद्- (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ईशानम्
- the lord, the rulerAdjective (used substantively)पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (acc.), एकवचनRole कर्म (object; apposition to जामातरम्)Root ईशान- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘ruling, lordly’)
- रायः
- of wealth, of richesNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (gen.), एकवचन (Vedic form: रायः = रयेः/रय्याः-type gen.)Role सम्बन्ध (genitival qualifier)Root राय्/रयि- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘wealth’)
- ईमहे
- we seek / we strive forVerbलट् (present), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचन, आत्मनेपदRole क्रिया (verbal action)Root यम् (धातु; आत्मनेपद)
- सुतावन्तः
- having pressed Soma, Soma-pressersAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (nom.), बहुवचनRole कर्तृ-विशेषण (qualifier of subject)Root सुत- (PPP of √सु ‘to press (Soma)’) + -वत् (मतुप्)
- वायुम्
- Vāyu (the Wind-god)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (acc.), एकवचनRole कर्म (object; understood with a verb of calling/praising/approaching)Root वायु- (प्रातिपदिक)
- द्यु्म्ना
- glories, brilliant powersNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (acc.), बहुवचन (Vedic: -ā as acc.pl. neut.)Role कर्म (object; ‘glories’ as what is sought/desired)Root द्यु्म्न- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘splendour, glory’)
- जनासः
- men, peopleNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (nom.), बहुवचन (Vedic nom.pl. in -āsas > -āsः)Role कर्तृ (subject; in apposition to वयम् / sutāvantaḥ)Root जन- / जनास- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘people, men’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: त्वष्टुः | जामातरम् | वयम् | ईशानम् | रायः | ईमहे | सुतावन्तः | वायुम् | द्युम्ना | जनासः || 1) त्वष्टु॒र्जामा॑तरम् = त्वष्टुः + जामातरम् (विसर्ग-सन्धि: ः + ज → र्)
- 2) रा॒य ई॑महे = रायः + ईमहे (विसर्गः पदान्ते लोप/प्रगृह्य-स्वर-संयोग; संहितायां ‘राय’ इति रूपं दृश्यते)
- 3) द्यु॒म्ना जना॑सः = द्युम्ना + जनासः (सन्धि-परिवर्तन नहीं; केवल संहिता-उच्चारण)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Those who have pressed Soma seek Vāyu, Tvaṣṭṛ’s son-in-law, master of riches; humans (seek) dyumnas—luminous powers.
Inner meaning
The ‘pressed Soma’ is inner distillation—joy extracted from experience and offered upward. Vāyu is sought as īśāna of rāyas: breath becomes master of plenitudes (capacities, wideness, force) when it is linked to delight. ‘Dyumnā’ are not mere worldly glories but illuminations—victorious brightnesses of consciousness that arise when prāṇa carries Soma into the nervous-mind.
Universal truth
When delight is consciously cultivated and offered, the life-force becomes sovereign in us and opens luminous capacities and victorious clarity.
Themes
Communal invocation, Soma offering, Luminous power, Plenitude
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 1.134, RV 4.46, RV 9 (Soma hymns; thematic linkage)
Family tradition
Soma-pressing hymnic style: linking Soma (ānanda) with Vāyu (prāṇa) to generate dyumna (illumination).
Significance
The verse describes the yogic sequence: distill delight (Soma) → invoke prāṇa (Vāyu) → gain mastery of inner riches → manifest illumination (dyumna).
The deity
- Devata
- Vāyu
- Epithets
- tvaṣṭuḥ jāmātaram, īśānam rāyaḥ
- Related deities
- Soma, Tvaṣṭṛ, Indra
Cosmic role
Bearer of Soma to the gods; distributor of vitality and motion that sustains luminous action.
Inner power
Breath-force that becomes sovereign and releases inner plenitudes and radiant mind-force.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma rite; aspiration for dyumna through Vāyu after Soma pressing
त्वष्टु॒र्जामा॑तरं व॒यमीशा॑नं रा॒य ई॑महे । सु॒ताव॑न्तो वा॒युं द्यु॒म्ना जना॑सः ॥
त्वष्टुः॑ । जामा॑तरम् । व॒यम् । ईशा॑नम् । रा॒यः । ई॒म॒हे॒ । सु॒तऽव॑न्तः । वा॒युम् । द्यु॒म्ना । जना॑सः ॥
tvaṣṭuḥ | jāmātaram | vayam | īśānam | rāyaḥ | īmahe | suta-vantaḥ | vāyum | dyumnā | janāsaḥ
Likely Triṣṭubh (two half-lines; typical 11-syllable cadence)
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4 pādas × ~11 syllables (approx.)
Aspiring, upward-leaning rhythm; balanced between seeking and receiving.
Creates a sense of upward quest; breath naturally lengthens and brightens attention.
- सुता-वंतः (sutāvantaḥ)
- Literal: having pressed (Soma). Symbolic: those engaged in concentrated practice, extracting essence from life
- ईशानम् (īśānam)
- Literal: lord/master. Symbolic: sovereign control—breath no longer driven by impulses but governing them
- रायः (rāyaḥ)
- Literal: riches, plenitudes. Symbolic: inner wealth: strength, wideness, capacities, supportive energies
- द्यु्म्ना (dyumnā)
- Literal: splendours, luminous powers. Symbolic: illuminations, victorious clarity, radiant mind-force
- जनासः (janāsaḥ)
- Literal: people/humans. Symbolic: the embodied seeker-nature aspiring upward
Soma-pressing context explicitly marked by suta-vantaḥ; communal seeking of Vāyu’s presence and his lordship over rayi and dyumna.
After Soma is prepared/pressed; during invitations to deities
Offer Soma; invoke Vāyu; seek blessings of rāyas and dyumnas
A mantra to pair with journaling/intent-setting after meditation: ‘May breath become master of my energies; may illumination increase.’
rāyá (rayi) from √/√ ‘to give, bestow’ (wealth as ‘that which flows/is given’). dyumná from dyu ‘shine, sky’ (PIE *dyeu- ‘bright sky/day’), hence ‘luminous power’. īmahe from √/ ‘go, seek’ (movement → aspiration).
Rayi as plenitude of being, Dyumna as luminous force, Divine governance (īśāna)
Right movement of prāṇa is the channel through which Soma becomes dyumna in mind.
Truth appears as effective mastery (īśāna) and luminous outcome (dyumna).
Transmutation: delight distilled becomes light and power through the mediator-force (Vāyu).
Integral/psychological Vedism: forces of consciousness transform lower nature.
morning (Soma + Vāyu invitations commonly morning-oriented)
Soma = bliss-essence; wind = prāṇa-carrier; sky-radiance = illumined mind.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The pressed Soma draws the god who rules plenitude: the community, having prepared the offering, ‘goes toward’ Vāyu for dyumna. Innerly, when the essence is expressed (suta), the life-force can be mastered and made a channel for luminous power.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- dyumna from dyu continues PIE *dyeu- ‘sky/daylight’, central to Indo-European sacral vocabulary. The semantic pairing of ‘seeking/going’ (√i/√ī) with ‘light’ (dyu) is a common archaic poetic pattern.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The sacrificers present themselves as suta-vantaḥ (qualified by offering) and therefore claim a right to approach the deity as īśāna of rayi. The relationship is transactional only on the surface; inwardly it is alignment: the human collective seeks to be governed by the right life-breath that yields dyumna.
Feel the ‘pressed Soma’ as a subtle sweetness in awareness; invite breath to become its carrier and master of energies.
manipura (mastery/īśāna over energies)
kapālabhātī (gentle) followed by slow breathing to stabilize and ‘offer’ the inner sweetness
widened vitality with luminous clarity
First evoke a quiet joy (Soma) in the heart; then guide breath smoothly up the spine on inhale, spreading dyumna in the forehead on exhale. Keep the sense of sovereign calm, not strain.
Maintain Vedic accentuation as per RV recitation; highlight long compounds without rushing.
Pause lightly after īmahe; keep ‘sutāvantaḥ’ clear as a practice-identity word.
(īśānam): long ī; ś soft palatal, (rāyaḥ): ‘āy’ diphthong; visarga audible but light, (dyumnā): ‘dyu’ as one unit; don’t insert extra vowel, (tvaṣṭuḥ): retroflex ṣṭ
clear, aspirational, slightly brightened on ‘dyumnā’
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