Rig Veda 8.9.7: Mandala 8, Sukta 9, Mantra 7
Sukta 8.9
- Rishi
- Kāṇva
- Devata
- Aśvinau
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
आ नूनमश्विनोॠषिः स्तोमं चिकेत वामया । आ सोमं मधुमत्तमं घर्मं सिञ्चादथर्वणि ॥
ā nūnám aśvínoḥ ṛ́ṣiḥ stómaṃ ciketa vāmayā́ | ā sómaṃ mádhumattamaṃ gharmáṃ siñcād átharvaṇi ||
अब अश्विन के रिशि तुम्हारे लिए गीत गाएँ खुशी से। वो सोम रस निकालें, जो मीठा है और गरम है। यह सब अग्नि के जाननेवाले की तरह सही तरीके से हो।
Word by Word
- आ
- hither; towardsIndeclinableउपसर्ग/निपातRoot आ (उपसर्ग) / ā (preverb)
- नूनम्
- now; indeedIndeclinableकाल/निश्चयार्थक अव्ययRoot नूनम् (अव्यय)
- अश्विनो
- the two AśvinsNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-द्विवचन (वैदिक रूप: -ओ = -औ)Role KartāRoot अश्विन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- ऋषिः
- seer; sageNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचनRole Kartā (सहकर्तृ/समनाधिकरण: अश्विनो … ऋषिः)Root ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक)
- स्तोमम्
- hymn; praiseNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-एकवचनRole KarmaRoot स्तोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- चिकेत
- has perceived; takes noticeVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट), परस्मैपद, 3 पुरुष, एकवचनRole (क्रिया)Root चित् (धातु) / cit ‘to perceive, notice’
- वाम्
- for you two; of you twoPronounषष्ठी/द्वितीया-द्विवचन (वैदिक एन्क्लिटिक रूप ‘वाम्’ = ‘of you two / you two’)Role Sampradāna (लाभार्थ/प्राप्त्यर्थ: ‘for you two’)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अया
- by this; with thisPronoun/Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-एकवचन (निर्देश: ‘by/with this’)Role KaraṇaRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) / aya- (वैदिक निर्देश)
- आ
- hither; towardsIndeclinableउपसर्ग/निपातRoot आ (उपसर्ग) / ā (preverb)
- सोमम्
- Soma (juice)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-एकवचनRole KarmaRoot सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- मधुमत्तमम्
- most honey-sweet; sweetestAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-एकवचन (सोमम् इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role Karma (विशेषणरूपेण)Root मधुमत् (विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक) + तमप् (superlative)
- घर्मम्
- hot drink/oblation; gharmáNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-एकवचनRole KarmaRoot घर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
- सिञ्चात्
- let (him) pour; may he pourVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), परस्मैपद, 3 पुरुष, एकवचनRole (क्रिया)Root सिच् (धातु) / sic ‘to pour, sprinkle’
- अथर्वणि
- in/at Atharvan (the Atharvan-priest/lineage)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-एकवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot अथर्वन् (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सन्धि-निरसन): आ | नूनम् | अश्विनो | ऋषिः | स्तोमम् | चिकेत | वाम् | अया | आ | सोमम् | मधुमत्तमम् | घर्मम् | सिञ्चात् | अथर्वणि । 1) ‘अश्विनो’ वैदिक प्रथमा-द्विवचन (क्लासिकल ‘अश्विनौ’). 2) ‘वामया’ = ‘वाम्’ (युष्मद्-द्विवचन एन्क्लिटिक) + ‘अया’ (तृतीया-एकवचन ‘इदम्’/निर्देश), सन्धि में अ + आ → आ. 3) ‘सिञ्चादथर्वणि’ = ‘सिञ्चात्’ + ‘अथर्वणि’
- त् + अ → द (जश्त्व) के कारण संहितापाठ में ‘सिञ्चाद…’
The meaning
Outer meaning
The seer of the Aśvins is urged to set awake (make manifest) the hymn for the twin gods with a glad force, and to pour out the Soma—most honeyed—together with the warm libation (gharma), in the Atharvan manner, i.e., with right fire-knowledge and procedure.
Inner meaning
The awakened inner Seer (ṛṣi) calls the Aśvins—powers of swift help, right discernment, and healing—to energize the yogic offering. The ‘stoma’ is the formulated aspiration and praise that shapes consciousness; it must be ‘ciketa’—made conscious, luminous, and effective—by vāmayā, a glad, harmonizing force of the soul. Soma is the descent of delight (ānanda) into the being; ‘madhumattama’ signals the richest sweetness of that bliss. ‘Gharma’ (warm libation) becomes the heat of tapas, the warmed and ripened offering of life-force; ‘atharvaṇi’ points to the Atharvan fire-wisdom: the right inner kindling and ordered will (Agni) that makes the bliss-offering safe, exact, and transformative.
Universal truth
Spiritual progress requires (1) conscious aspiration (hymn), (2) joyful, harmonized energy (vāmayā), and (3) a disciplined inner fire-knowledge (Atharvan) so that the nectar of delight (Soma) can be received and integrated without distortion.
Themes
Soma-ritual (innerized), mantric awakening, Aśvin descent, delight and heat
The seer
- Rishi
- Kāṇva
- Lineage
- Kaṇva
- Other hymns
- RV 8.9.1-12 (Aśvin hymn context), RV 8.2 (Kaṇva hymns to Indra), RV 1.47-50 (Aśvin-related themes in other families; comparative study)
Family tradition
Kaṇva seers are noted for hymns of effective aspiration and practical yogic invocation, often emphasizing the operative power of mantra and the descent of help from luminous forces.
Significance
The Kāṇva voice here functions as the inner officiant: awakening aspiration and preparing the bliss-offering with Atharvan exactitude—an image of integral sādhanā where delight descends through disciplined will.
The deity
- Devata
- Aśvinau (Nāsatyā) with Soma as offering-substance
- Epithets
- Aśvinā, Nāsatyā (the true, unfailing), swift helpers, healers, wonder-workers
- Related deities
- Uṣas, Agni, Soma, Indra, Sūrya
Cosmic role
Twin powers that arrive swiftly at dawn-like moments of transition, restoring harmony, health, and right movement; mediators between night and day, inertia and awakening.
Inner power
Rapid discernment and remedial force in the subtle body—bringing alignment of prāṇa and mind so Soma (delight) can be received safely.
In ritual
Where it is used
Aśvina-stotra / Soma offering within Soma-yajña sequences (general)
आ नू॒नम॒श्विनो॒ॠषि॒: स्तोमं॑ चिकेत वा॒मया॑ । आ सोमं॒ मधु॑मत्तमं घ॒र्मं सि॑ञ्चा॒दथ॑र्वणि ॥
आ । नू॒नम् । अ॒श्विनोः॑ । ऋषिः॑ । स्तोम॑म् । चि॒के॒त॒ । वा॒मया॑ । आ । सोम॑म् । मधु॑मत्ऽतमम् । घ॒र्मम् । सि॒ञ्चा॒त् । अथ॑र्वणि ॥
ā | nūnam | aśvinoḥ | ṛṣiḥ | stomam | ciketa | vāmayā | ā | somam | madhumat-tamam | gharmam | siñcāt | atharvaṇi
44
4 pādas of ~11 syllables each (Padapāṭha suggests a standard triṣṭubh cadence).
Forward-driving yet balanced; suited to invocation and effective calling.
Creates an uplift of will and a steady ‘heat’ of aspiration, preparing the listener for a felt descent of sweetness (Soma).
- ऋषिः (ṛṣiḥ)
- Literal: seer. Symbolic: the awakened inner witness and knower that can shape aspiration into effective mantra-consciousness
- स्तोम (stoma)
- Literal: hymn of praise. Symbolic: structured aspiration; a thought-form of devotion that organizes the inner sacrifice
- चिकेत (ciketa)
- Literal: perceive/awaken/make known. Symbolic: to illumine and render conscious; to make the mantra-power operative
- वामया (vāmayā)
- Literal: with pleasant/glad force. Symbolic: harmonizing soul-delight that makes effort luminous rather than strained
- सोम (soma)
- Literal: Soma-juice. Symbolic: divine delight (ānanda) distilled in consciousness
- मधुमत्तम (madhumattama)
- Literal: most honeyed. Symbolic: the densest sweetness of bliss that heals and unifies the being
- घर्म (gharma)
- Literal: warm libation / heat. Symbolic: tapas-heat; ripened offering of life-energy warmed by inner fire
- अथर्वणि (atharvaṇi)
- Literal: in the Atharvan manner. Symbolic: by right fire-knowledge and exact inner procedure; the will guided by sacred science (Agni as priest)
Soma pressing/pouring with Aśvin invitation; Atharvan-style fire-rite connotation (proper kindling and distribution of warm Soma/gharma)
Invocations to summon the Aśvins and empower the Soma-pouring; dawn-associated recitations are common for Aśvin hymns.
Awakening the stoma and pouring Soma/gharma as offering into the fire.
Use as a pre-meditation ‘inner kindling’ mantra: awaken aspiration, then consciously ‘pour’ gratitude and delight into the heart-fire.
ciketa: desiderative/perfect-like injunctive from √cit ‘notice, perceive, make conscious’—the hymn is an awakened cognition, not mere recitation. madhumat-tama: superlative of madhumat ‘honeyed’ (madhu: sweetness/delight; PIE *medʰu ‘mead, honey’). gharmá: ‘heat/warm drink’; links to inner heat/tapas as transformative warmth of the offering. siñcāt: optative/imperative nuance from √sic ‘pour’—ritual act as symbol of releasing delight-force.
Tapas (inner heat as transformative force, hinted by gharma), Ananda (Soma-madhu as delight essence), Mantra as cognition (√cit)
Atharvan ‘right fire-knowledge’ implies exact conformity to ṛta in inner and outer offering.
Nāsatyā (truth-powers) support satya in action—help that does not fail.
Delight (Soma) descends into the warmed field of tapas, enabling a new ordering of consciousness.
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral Yoga reading (Aurobindo-Kashyap): ascent by aspiration + descent of ānanda through disciplined will.
dawn/early morning (Aśvin association, implicit)
Heat = tapas that ripens the being; honeyed Soma = bliss-substance; pouring = conscious offering and descent.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The seer ‘awakens’ the hymn and ‘pours’ the Soma: the mythic pattern of calling down divine twins through the prepared delight-offering. The gods come when the right warmth (gharma) and sweetness (madhu) of consciousness are made ready.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- madhu is a classic Indo-European inheritance (PIE *medʰu), showing the shared poetic lexicon of sweetness/intoxicating delight. The root √sic ‘pour’ reflects an old ritual action vocabulary comparable across IE traditions (libation semantics).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi is an active mediator: by awakening cognition (√cit) into mantra and by releasing Soma (delight) through the rite, he creates the inner conditions for the Aśvins’ approach—divine help is invited through conscious formulation and offered essence.
Awaken the inner seer; offer the day’s energies into the heart-fire; invite a descent of sweetness (ānanda).
Anāhata (heart) as the ‘honeyed’ center; Maṇipūra as tapas-heat (supportive).
Gentle nāḍī-śodhana for 6–12 rounds, then a slow exhale ‘pouring’ sensation into the heart (no strain).
Quietly uplifted, receptive, warm—prepared for descent rather than effortful ascent.
Begin with a clear intention (stoma), kindle steady will (gharma/tapas), then rest in receptivity for Soma (sweet delight) to pervade mind and prāṇa.
Standard Rigvedic accentuation with udatta/anudatta/svarita; follow pada text for word boundaries and apply śākhā-specific svara in recitation practice.
Keep the main lift (udātta) clear on accented syllables; avoid flattening compounds like madhumattamaṃ; maintain caesura after pāda breaks (|).
Maintain aspiration in ‘gharmaṃ’ (gh-), not ‘garma’, Retroflex ṛ in ‘ṛṣiḥ’ and ‘atharvaṇi’ clarity (thar-), Lengthen vowels: ā in ‘ā nūnam’, ī in ‘siñcāt’ is short i but nasal cluster must be clean
Warm, steady, slightly bright; let ‘madhumattamam’ be voiced with softness to evoke sweetness.
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