Rig Veda 9.107.20: Mandala 9, Sukta 107, Mantra 20
Sukta 9.107
- Devata
- Soma as companion enabling transcendence
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
उताहं नक्तमुत सोम ते दिवा सख्याय बभ्र ऊधनि । घृणा तपन्तमति सूर्यं परः शकुना इव पप्तिम ॥
utā́haṃ náktam utá sóma te divā́ sakhyā́ya babhro ū́dhani | ghṛṇā́ tápantam áti sū́ryaṃ paráḥ śakunā́ iva paptimá ||
सोम, मैं रात को भी तुम्हारी दोस्ती ढूंढता हूँ, दिन को भी। मैं उस काले आधार पर खड़ा हूँ। लेकिन मैं और आगे उड़ना चाहता हूँ, सूरज के उस पार, जैसे चिड़ियाँ उड़ जाती हैं।
Word by Word
- उत
- and; alsoIndeclinableconj./particleRoot उत
- अहम्
- IPronoun1st person pronoun, nominative singularRole KartāRoot अहम्
- नक्तम्
- by nightIndeclinableadverb (time)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot नक्तम्
- उत
- and; alsoIndeclinableconj./particleRoot उत
- सोम
- O SomaNounmasculine, vocative singularRole SampradānaRoot सोम
- ते
- to/for youPronoun2nd person pronoun, dative singular (enclitic)Role SampradānaRoot त्वद्
- दिवा
- by dayIndeclinableadverb (time)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot दिव्/दिवा
- सख्याय
- for friendship; for companionshipNounneuter, dative singularRole SampradānaRoot सख्य
- बभ्रः
- brown; tawnyAdjectivemasculine, nominative singularRole KartāRoot बभ्रु
- ऊधनि
- in the udderNounneuter, locative singularRole AdhikaraṇaRoot ऊधन्
- घृणा
- heat; glow; ardorNounfeminine, accusative singularRole KarmaRoot घृणा
- तपन्तम्
- heating; burningVerb-participlepresent active participle, accusative singular masculine/neuter (agreeing with implied object)Role KarmaRoot तप्
- अति
- over; beyondIndeclinablepreverb/adverbRoot अति
- सूर्यम्
- the SunNounmasculine, accusative singularRole KarmaRoot सूर्य
- परः
- far; beyondAdjectivemasculine, nominative singular (used adverbially: ‘far away’)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot पर
- शकुनाः
- birdsNounmasculine, nominative pluralRole KartāRoot शकुन
- इव
- like; asIndeclinableparticle of comparisonRoot इव
- पप्तिम
- flight; flyingNounfeminine, accusative singularRole KarmaRoot पप्ति
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (pada-wise): उ॒ताहम् → उत + अहम्
- नक्त॑मु॒त → नक्तम् + उत
- सो॑म ते॒ → सोम + ते
- दिवा॑ स॒ख्याय॑ → दिवा + सख्याय
- बभ्र॒ ऊध॑नि → बभ्रः + ऊधनि (visarga before vowel in saṃhitā)
- घृ॒णा तप॑न्तम् → घृणा + तपन्तम्
- तप॑न्त॒मति॒ → तपन्तम् + अति
- सूर्यं॑ प॒रः → सूर्यम् + परः
- शकु॒ना इ॑व → शकुनाः + इव
- पप्तिम (no sandhi). Accent marks are retained from the saṃhitā text but not re-assigned after pada-splitting
The meaning
Outer meaning
By night and by day, for Soma’s friendship, the singer takes his place on the dusky foundation; yet he would fly beyond, past the burning sun, like birds in far flight.
Inner meaning
The aspirant remains faithful through alternating states—night (inner obscurity) and day (clarity). Even when stationed on the ‘dusky foundation’ (the vital-physical base still shaded), the soul aspires not merely to mental illumination (the sun that burns with heat—dry brilliance) but to a farther transcendence, a freer flight in the vast like birds: beyond mind into a higher consciousness sustained by Soma’s Ananda.
Universal truth
True progress is continuity across light and darkness; and the goal is not only bright intelligence but a freer, vaster mode of being beyond the burning limits of ordinary mind.
Themes
Beyond-the-sun ascent, Night/day perseverance, Soma companionship, Tapas and flight
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 9.107.19-23 (immediate sequence), RV 9.86 (Soma as winged, uplifting power—parallel imagery)
Family tradition
Pavamāna corpus compiled for Soma ritual chanting; individual rishi names often omitted in such sequences.
Significance
The seer-voice models integral perseverance: remaining in the work even when the base is ‘dusky,’ while keeping the aim of ‘beyond the sun’ transcendence.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma (Indu) as companion enabling transcendence
- Epithets
- Soma, Indu, Friend (sakhā implied through sakhyāya)
- Related deities
- Sūrya (truth-light of mind), Uṣas (dawn transitions between night and day), Indra (breaker of coverings enabling higher flight)
Cosmic role
Soma mediates between darkness and light, feeding the gods and empowering the ascent beyond the solar (mental) realm.
Inner power
Bliss that gives wings—ananda becomes a force of liberation, not merely consolation; it supports flight beyond the burning mind.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma purification chant within Soma-yajña sequences
उ॒ताहं नक्त॑मु॒त सो॑म ते॒ दिवा॑ स॒ख्याय॑ बभ्र॒ ऊध॑नि । घृ॒णा तप॑न्त॒मति॒ सूर्यं॑ प॒रः श॑कु॒ना इ॑व पप्तिम ॥
उ॒त । अ॒हम् । नक्त॑म् । उ॒त । सो॒म॒ । ते॒ । दिवा॑ । स॒ख्याय॑ । ब॒भ्रो॒ इति॑ । ऊध॑नि । घृ॒णा । तप॑न्तम् । अति॑ । सूर्य॑म् । प॒रः । श॒कु॒नाःऽइ॑व । प॒प्ति॒म॒ ॥
uta | aham | naktam | uta | soma | te | divā | sakhyāya | babhro iti | ūdhani | ghṛṇā | tapantam | ati | sūryam | paraḥ | śakunāḥ-iva | paptima
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4 × ~12 syllables
Alternating weight and lift—mirrors night/day continuity and then a ‘take-off’ motion toward the end.
Stabilizes the listener through oscillations (night/day) and then evokes an upward surge (‘paraḥ… paptima’).
- नक्तम् (naktam)
- Literal: night. Symbolic: periods of obscurity, tamas, subconscious pressure
- दिवा (divā)
- Literal: day. Symbolic: clarity, conscious illumination
- बभ्र ऊधनि (babhra ūdhani)
- Literal: on the dusky foundation/udder-bed. Symbolic: the shaded vital-physical support where energies are nourished but still mixed with obscurity
- घृणा तपन्तम् सूर्यं (ghṛṇā tapantam sūryam)
- Literal: the sun burning with heat. Symbolic: mental truth-light that can be dry/intense; the limit of ordinary illumination
- परः (paraḥ)
- Literal: beyond, farther. Symbolic: trans-mental or supramental beyondness
- शकुनाः इव (śakunā iva)
- Literal: like birds. Symbolic: free movements of the soul-forces in vast consciousness
Aspirational verse within Soma hymn: expresses continuous (night/day) reliance on Soma and the urge to surpass even the solar/mental limit; ritually compatible with Soma as the means to higher states.
During pressing/straining, especially as Soma is invoked to uplift and vitalize
Recitation accompanying the flow of Soma through the filter; aspiration for Soma’s elevation beyond limiting planes
For practitioners facing alternating moods: chant morning and night as a vow of continuity; use it to shift from ‘dry mental effort’ to joyful, spacious ascent.
naktá: ‘night’ (PIE *nokʷts; cf. Latin nox, Greek nyx). divā́: ‘by day’ (PIE *dyeu- ‘sky/daylight’). ghṛṇā́/táp: heat/burning from √tap ‘to heat’ → ascetic fire/pressure; here the ‘burning sun’ as a limit to be surpassed. paptimá: from √pat ‘to fly’ → transcendence imagery. ū́dhan: base/support; the word’s range allows ‘support’ (psychological foundation) rather than literal ‘udder’ here.
transcendence beyond mental light (beyond sūrya), tapas/heat (tap), sakhya (divine friendship)
R̥ta is continuity: the seeker holds the thread of aspiration in both night and day.
The ‘beyond the sun’ indicates a higher satya than mental brilliance—truth as vast being.
From the mixed foundation to free flight in the beyond; evolution from base nature to vast consciousness.
Integral/psychological Vedism: Sūrya as mind-light; Soma as ananda enabling supramental transcendence.
night and day
Night/day = alternating consciousness states; Sun = mental illumination/ego-centered clarity; Birds = liberated soul-forces moving in the vast; Dusky foundation = physical-vital base.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘flight beyond the sun’ mythologem: like birds, the seeker would pass beyond the burning sun. Innerly, Soma-friendship supports a transcendence beyond the merely solar/mental illumination to a farther luminous truth (suggesting the supramental bṛhat).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- naktá and divā preserve classic PIE time-pairs (*nokʷts / *dyeu-). √pat ‘fly’ is PIE *pet- (cf. Greek petomai ‘I fly’, Latin penna ‘feather’ in the same family). The verse thus uses inherited lexicon to express a spiritualized ascent.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi positions his entire cycle of consciousness (night/day) within Soma’s friendship and asks for a surpassing movement. Soma is not only comfort but the enabling power for radical transcendence beyond ordinary light.
Practice equanimity across ‘night’ and ‘day’; then release the mind’s ‘heat’ and feel a cool, vast ascent supported by Soma.
Manipura/Ajna to Sahasrara movement (from heat of effort to vast openness)
4-4-6 breathing: inhale 4 (receive Soma), hold 4 (steady through night/day), exhale 6 (fly beyond the sun’s heat).
From alternation to vast, winged freedom (expansive awareness)
Chant once at night and once at dawn. During ‘ghṛṇā tapantam sūryam,’ observe any ‘burning’ mental strain; on ‘paraḥ… śakunā iva,’ imagine awareness gliding beyond thought into open sky.
Rigvedic tri-svara (udātta/anudātta/svarita); exact placements require RV svara text for 9.107.20.
Mark invocations (sóma) and aspiration markers (áti, paráḥ) with clear udātta lift; keep connective particles light.
naktam (kt cluster) crisp, no extra vowel, ghṛṇā (ghṛ) with syllabic r̥; avoid ‘girana’, śakunā iva: keep śa- clear, and iva short
Begin grounded and steady (night/day), then brighten and lighten tone on the ‘flight’ phrase.
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