Rig Veda 9.102.4: Mandala 9, Sukta 102, Mantra 4
Sukta 9.102
- Rishi
- Soma Pavamāna corpus
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- Likely Triṣṭubh/Jagatī
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
जज्ञानं सप्त मातरो वेधामशासत श्रिये । अयं ध्रुवो रयीणां चिकेत यत् ॥
jajñānáṃ saptá mā́taro vedhā́m aśāsata śríye | ayáṃ dhrúvo rayīṇā́ṃ ciketa yát ||
जब यह पैदा हुआ, सात माओं ने उसे चमक के काम पे लगाया। यह वही है जो जाग के सच समझता है। फिर वो धन की नीव बन जाता है जो हिलता नहीं।
Word by Word
- जज्ञा॒नम्
- the born/produced one; the newly-generated (Soma)Adjective/Participleनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (of ‘अशासत’)Root √जन् (जनि) → क्त (जज्ञात/जज्ञा-), प्रातिपदिक: जज्ञा॒न-
- सप्त
- sevenNumeral(लिङ्ग-निरपेक्ष) बहुवचनार्थे, ‘seven’Role विशेषण (of ‘मातरः’)Root सप्तन् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
- मातरः
- mothersNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (of ‘अशासत’)Root मातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- वेधाम्
- the wise one; the ordainer (Soma)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (of ‘अशासत’)Root वेधस्/वेधा (प्रातिपदिक; ‘wise one/ordainer’)
- अशासत
- they instructed/ordainedVerbलङ् (अनद्यतनभूत), परस्मैपद, तृतीया पुरुष, बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot √शास् (शासने)
- श्रिये
- for splendor/prosperityNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole सम्प्रदान (purpose/beneficiary)Root श्री (प्रातिपदिक)
- अयम्
- thisPronounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ/विषय (of ‘ध्रुवः’)Root इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ध्रुवः
- firm; steadfastAdjective (used substantively)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (of ‘चिकेत’)Root ध्रुव (प्रातिपदिक)
- रयीणाम्
- of riches/wealthsNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive relation)Root रयि (प्रातिपदिक)
- चिकेत
- perceives; is manifest/recognizedVerbपरिपूर्णवर्तमाने (Vedic perfect with present sense), परस्मैपद, तृतीया पुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √चित् (चेतने) → परिपूर्ण/आवृत्त-प्रयोग (चिकेत)
- यत्
- that; whichIndeclinable/Relativeनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (here as relative ‘that which/that’)Role सम्बन्ध/अन्वय (relative connector)Root यद् (सर्वनाम/सम्बन्ध-निपात)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (sandhi-resolved): जज्ञा॒नम् | सप्त | मातरः | वेधाम् | अशासत | श्रिये | अयम् | ध्रुवः | रयीणाम् | चिकेत | यत् ।
- ‘रयी॒णां’ = रयि + आनाम् (षष्ठी बहुवचन), ‘चिके॑त’ वैदिक-परिपूर्ण (perfect) रूपम् √चित्।
The meaning
Outer meaning
At Soma’s birth, the seven Mothers appoint the inspired Knower (vedhā) to his work for splendor (śrī). When he becomes awake to “that” (yat), he stands as the firm foundation (dhruva) of riches (rayīṇām).
Inner meaning
When the delight-principle (Soma) is born in the seeker, the seven sustaining powers of consciousness (“Mothers”: the ordered energies that uphold the inner life) set the inner craftsman-seer (vedhā) to manifest śrī—harmony, beauty, right abundance. As awareness “awakens to That” (the stable truth of ṛta/satya behind experience), Soma becomes dhruva: a fixed poise of consciousness that can hold and organize the soul’s riches (rayaḥ = powers, capacities, luminous gains), not merely outer wealth.
Universal truth
Lasting abundance arises when consciousness is founded on awakened truth; the many supporting energies of life become fruitful only when guided by an inner knower and stabilized in a fixed center.
Themes
Seven Mothers, Birth of the luminous power, Stability of inner wealth
The seer
- Rishi
- Soma Pavamāna corpus (Commonly within the Soma hymns of the Pavāmāna Maṇḍala)
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda Book 9 (Pavamāna Soma hymns), especially themes of ‘Mothers/Waters’ nurturing Soma and Soma as ‘knower’ and ‘foundation’
Significance
The Pavāmāna seers speak from the yoga of purification: Soma as the descending/ascending delight that clarifies mind and vital, enabling stable realization (dhruva) and the true riches (rayaḥ) of the soul.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- pavamāna (self-purifying), indu (drop of ecstasy), madhu (honeyed delight), soma (nectar)
- Related deities
- Agni (will leading the sacrifice), Indra (illumined mind), Sarasvatī/Waters (streams of inspiration), Aditi (infinite consciousness)
Cosmic role
Purifier and exhilarator of the worlds; he circulates as the luminous essence that nourishes gods (powers) and sustains ṛta.
Inner power
Ananda (divine delight) that purifies thought and feeling, stabilizes the being, and founds abundance on truth-awareness.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma Pavāmāna chanting during Soma pressing/straining (pavamāna flow)
ज॒ज्ञा॒नं स॒प्त मा॒तरो॑ वे॒धाम॑शासत श्रि॒ये । अ॒यं ध्रु॒वो र॑यी॒णां चिके॑त॒ यत् ॥
ज॒ज्ञा॒नम् । स॒प्त । मा॒तरः॑ । वे॒धाम् । अ॒शा॒स॒त॒ । श्रि॒ये । अ॒यम् । ध्रु॒वः । र॒यी॒णाम् । चिके॑त । यत् ॥
jajñānam | sapta | mātaraḥ | vedhām | aśāsata | śriye | ayam | dhruvaḥ | rayīṇām | ciketa | yat
Likely Triṣṭubh (verification by pada syllable count recommended)
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables (Triṣṭubh norm)
Firm, forward-driving cadence with a stabilizing close—supporting the sense of ‘dhruva’ (fixed foundation).
Builds a grounded uplift: the listener feels a birth of clarity followed by settling into a steady inner center.
- सप्त मातरः (sapta mātaraḥ)
- Literal: seven mothers. Symbolic: the seven sustaining powers/streams of consciousness (often linked with the seven waters, seven rays, or ordered Shakti-forces that nurture the birth of illumination)
- वेधाम् (vedhām)
- Literal: the disposer/craftsman, knower. Symbolic: the inner formative intelligence—intuition that arranges experience into truth and beauty
- श्रिये (śriye)
- Literal: for splendor, prosperity, beauty. Symbolic: harmonious perfection and luminous abundance in the being
- ध्रुवः (dhruvaḥ)
- Literal: fixed, firm, pole. Symbolic: stable poise of realization; the unmoving foundation in consciousness
- रयीणाम् (rayīṇām)
- Literal: of riches, treasures. Symbolic: inner wealth: powers of knowledge, joy, force, and right action
- चिकेत (ciketa)
- Literal: he perceives/awakens/understands. Symbolic: the decisive awakening of discernment and recognition of Truth (satya/ṛta)
- यत् (yat)
- Literal: that (which). Symbolic: the Truth-principle to be realized; the right order (ṛta) behind phenomena
Soma ritual theology of ‘seven mothers’ (waters/streams) guiding Soma’s manifestation during purification.
During Soma yajña sequences while Soma is purified through the filter (pavitra) and offered
Chanting to accompany purification, elevation, and offering of Soma; invoking splendor and stable abundance
Use as a meditation verse for ‘stabilizing abundance’: establishing a steady inner poise before work, study, or service so that capacities (rayaḥ) organize around truth.
√jan ‘be born’ (jajñāna-). vedhā from √vidh ‘to arrange, assign, work artfully’ → the inner ‘fashioner’ intelligence. √śās ‘instruct, command’ → the powers regulate the manifestation. dhruva ‘fixed’ from √dhru/√dhr̥ ‘be firm’. √cit ‘perceive’ → awakening to knowledge; śrī as radiance/prosperity.
sevenfold energies, stable axis (dhruva), awakening of consciousness (cit), śrī as luminous fulfillment
Soma becomes ‘dhruva’ when consciousness recognizes and abides in ṛta—then riches are rightly founded.
Awakening (ciketa) to ‘yat’ signals the turn from mixed perception to truth-seeing.
Birth of the divine essence within the human; nurturing by the sevenfold powers; establishment of a stable axis for manifestation.
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral (Aurobindonian) reading: ananda as a fundamental principle supporting knowledge and being.
The ‘flow’ of delight is purified and then fixed as a steady axis in awareness; the seven waters become seven supportive currents of the inner life.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘seven Mothers’ who nurture and instruct the newborn divine power. Mythically these are the seven waters/streams; psychologically they are the seven supporting energies that shape the manifestation of Soma (inner delight/light) and establish it as dhruva—stable base—for the many forms of rayi.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- mātaraḥ continues PIE *méh₂tēr ‘mother’ (wide IE cognacy). dhruvá- parallels IE notions of firm/fixed axis (cf. Germanic *treww- ‘true/firm’ is not direct cognate but semantically comparable; dhru- is Indo-Iranian). ciketa (√cit) reflects archaic epistemic verbs of ‘noticing/knowing’ comparable to IE *ḱeyt- ‘perceive’ (often proposed for Indo-Iranian cit-).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi recognizes Soma as a consciously guided birth within the ordered energies (seven Mothers). The devotee’s work aligns with that guidance; Soma reciprocates by becoming a stable inner foundation (dhruvaḥ) for the practitioner’s plural fulfillments (rayīṇām), i.e., sustained states of luminous abundance.
Stabilize the mind in a ‘dhruva’ center and let purified delight organize the faculties into harmonious abundance (śrī).
Anāhata (heart: ananda/śrī) with support to Ājñā (inner knower/vedhā).
Moderate nāḍī-śodhana for 6–12 rounds, then soft internal retention while repeating the mantra mentally.
Settled, luminous equanimity with a quiet joy; ‘truth-recognition’ rather than mental analysis.
Begin with a felt sense of a pure, cool nectar rising; invoke the seven supportive currents (breath, attention, aspiration, sincerity, calm, clarity, devotion). Conclude by resting in a fixed inner point and offering the day’s actions to that truth.
Use standard Rigvedic three-tone: udatta (raised), anudatta (lowered), svarita (falling). Exact svara per śākhā requires a svara-text; chant with careful rise on marked udātta and glide on svarita.
Keep the main lift on content words (e.g., mātaraḥ, vedhām, śriye, dhruvaḥ, rayīṇām, ciketa); avoid flattening the cadence at the caesura.
- (jajñānaṃ): ‘jaj’ + ‘ñā’—palatal nasal ‘ñ’ clearly, (mātaraḥ): final visarga light, not ‘ha’, (dhruvo): aspirated ‘dh’ and clear ‘ru’ cluster, (rayīṇām): long ī; nasalization at -ām
Clear, steady, slightly resonant; let the final cadence ‘settle’ to convey dhruva.
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