Rig Veda 9.14.1: Mandala 9, Sukta 14, Mantra 1
Sukta 9.14
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shringara (love)
परि प्रासिष्यदत्कविः सिन्धोरूर्मावधि श्रितः । कारं बिभ्रत्पुरुस्पृहम् ॥
pári prā́siṣyadat kavíḥ síndhor ūrmā́v ádhi śritáḥ | kāráṃ bíbhrat puruspṛ́ham ||
ऋषि की ताकत चारों तरफ़ फैलती है और आगे बढ़ती है। वो समुंदर की लहरों पर है। यह शक्ति ऐसी बात ले कर आती है जो बहुत इच्छाओं को पूरा करती है।
Word by Word
- परि
- around, all aboutIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot परि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- प्र
- forth, forwardIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot प्र (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- असिष्यदत्
- flowed forth, streamedVerbलङ् (इम्पर्फेक्ट), परस्मैपद, 3rd person singularRoot स्यन्द् (स्यन्दते/स्यन्दति) + आ (उपसर्ग) ; desiderative base: सि-स्यन्द्
- कविः
- the seer/poet (Soma)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot कवि (प्रातिपदिक)
- सिन्धोः
- of the river/streamNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root सिन्धु (प्रातिपदिक)
- ऊर्मौ
- on/in the waveNounपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (वैदिक रूप: ऊर्मौ = ऊर्मौ/ऊर्मे ‘in/on the wave’)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot ऊर्मि (प्रातिपदिक)
- अधि
- upon, overIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot अधि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- श्रितः
- resting, having taken refuge/settledParticipleभूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (with कविः; predicate participle)Root श्रि (धातु) → कृदन्त: श्रित (PPP)
- कारम्
- song of praise/chantNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot कार (प्रातिपदिक)
- बिभ्रत्
- bearing, carryingParticipleवर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (agreeing with कविः; concomitant action)Root भृ (धातु) → वर्तमान कृदन्त: बिभ्रत्
- पुरुस्पृहम्
- much-desired, greatly longed-forAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (विशेषणम् ‘कारम्’)Role Karma (as qualifier of ‘कारम्’)Root पुरु + स्पृह (प्रातिपदिक; बहुव्रीहि/कर्मधारय-समास)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: परि | प्र | असिष्यदत् | कविः | सिन्धोः | ऊर्मौ | अधि | श्रितः | कारम् | बिभ्रत् | पुरुस्पृहम् । 1) प्रासिष्यदत् = प्र + असिष्यदत् (उपसर्ग-सन्धि; अ + आ/प्र-पूर्वक रूप)
- 2) सिन्धोरूर्मौ = सिन्धोः + ऊर्मौ (विसर्ग-लोप/रू-आदेश: -ोः + ऊ- → -ोरू-)
- 3) ऊर्मावधि = ऊर्मौ + अधि (औ + अ → आव; वैदिक संधि)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The poet-seer moves around pressing forward, set upon the wave of the ocean-stream; it bears the creative utterance, rich in many desires.
Inner meaning
The ‘kavi’ is the seer-force in the Soma: a conscious inspiration moving and pressing through the currents of being (sindhu). Riding the wave (ūrmi) of the vast life-ocean, it carries ‘kāra’—the formative mantra/creative word—charged with many soul-desires (puru-spṛh): not craving, but manifold seeking for divine fulfilment.
Universal truth
When inspiration rides the vast movements of life without being drowned in them, it becomes creative speech-power that shapes experience toward fulfilment.
Themes
Soma-ritual, Mantric creation, Oceanic consciousness, Seerhood
The seer
Significance
The rishi here reveals Soma as kavi—an inspired intelligence within the flow of life, turning raw movement into creative word-power (kāra), a key Aurobindonian theme: mantra as formative consciousness.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Kavi (seer-like), Sindhu-śrita (resting on the ocean-stream), Kāra-bibhṛt (bearing the creative utterance)
- Related deities
- Sarasvatī (speech/flow), Agni (will that carries the offering), Bṛhaspati (lord of the word)
Cosmic role
Soma as inspirer of mantra and creator of forms; he moves in the cosmic waters and carries the word that builds worlds.
Inner power
Inspired delight that converts life-waves into rhythmic, meaningful formation (mantra-śakti).
In ritual
Where it is used
Pavamāna section in Soma yajña; chanted with the flowing Soma as it is purified
परि॒ प्रासि॑ष्यदत्क॒विः सिन्धो॑रू॒र्मावधि॑ श्रि॒तः । का॒रं बिभ्र॑त्पुरु॒स्पृह॑म् ॥
परि॑ । प्र । अ॒सि॒स्य॒द॒त् । क॒विः । सिन्धोः॑ । ऊ॒र्मौ । अधि॑ । श्रि॒तः । का॒रम् । बिभ्र॑त् । पु॒रु॒ऽस्पृह॑म् ॥
pari | pra | asisyadat | kaviḥ | sindhoḥ | ūrmau | adhi | śritaḥ | kāram | bibhrat | puru-spṛham
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3×8 syllables
Rolling, wave-like; first pāda circulates (pari), second rises (ūrmi), third releases (kāram).
Produces a sense of movement and creative surge; helpful for unlocking inspired speech and vision.
- kaviḥ
- Literal: poet, seer. Symbolic: seer-consciousness; inspired discernment in the flow
- pari...prāsiṣyadat
- Literal: moving all around, pressing forward. Symbolic: pervasive dynamic seeking; stirring of consciousness toward manifestation
- sindhu
- Literal: ocean/river. Symbolic: vast life-force and consciousness-current
- ūrmi
- Literal: wave. Symbolic: rising movement of energy/emotion used as vehicle, not disturbance
- kāram
- Literal: song/utterance, creative sound. Symbolic: mantric formation; speech that creates order in consciousness
- puru-spṛham
- Literal: much-desiring, rich in many longings. Symbolic: many-sided aspiration for divine completeness
Soma purification hymns accompanying the flow of Soma through waters/filter; recited/sung during pressing sequences.
During straining/flowing of Soma, when the ‘stream’ imagery is immediate
Accompanies the movement of Soma; supports the ‘kāra’ (stotra/chant) as creative force
For writers/teachers/creatives: chant before speaking or composing to align speech with deeper inspiration rather than surface emotion.
kavi: from √kū/√kav in Vedic usage ‘to see/know/compose’ → inspired seer. sindhu: ‘river, ocean’ (vast moving mass). ūrmí ‘wave’ (loc. ūrmau). śrita: past participle of √śri ‘to lean on, rest upon’. kāra: from √kṛ ‘to make’ → ‘that which makes/forms’, hence a ‘formative utterance/chant’. bibhrat: pres. participle of √bhṛ ‘to bear’.
mantra as creative formation (kāra), inspired sight (kavi), progressive unfolding (pra)
Right speech (kāra) is a vehicle of ṛta when carried by purified Soma.
Inspired utterance expresses satya when it arises from the seer-force rather than ego.
Creation through vibration/word riding the cosmic waters.
Vedic mantra-ontology (Aurobindo): vāc as creative consciousness; soma as ananda supporting revelation.
Ocean = vast subconscious/life-field; wave = emotions/energies; kavi = inner witness-seer; kāra = mantra that shapes and steadies the waves.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Soma as the inspired Kavi riding the cosmic waters (sindhu/ūrmi), carrying the creative Word. Mythically: the god borne on the wave; psychologically: the illumined mind lifted on the surge of being, sustaining mantra that shapes experience.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √bhṛ ‘bear’ (PIE *bher-), √kṛ ‘make’ (PIE *kwer-/ *ker- complex; Indo-Iranian productive), and √śri ‘lean/rest’ (often linked with notions of support) show inherited verbal architecture; the compound puru-spṛh- uses puru ‘many’ (PIE *pl̥h₁u-) and √spṛh ‘desire/long for’ (Indo-Iranian shared semantic field of yearning).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi recognizes Soma as ‘kavi’—the very power of inspired seeing within the human. The hymn frames Soma as the bearer of kāra (formative speech): the seer’s utterance aligns with the deity’s own creative vibration, enabling the seeker’s ‘many desires’ to be transmuted into right fulfillments.
Observe life-waves without suppression; invite the seer-force to ride them and form a true utterance (inner mantra).
Viśuddha (creative word) supported by Svādhiṣṭhāna (waters/flow)
Ujjāyī (gentle) to create an ‘oceanic’ inner sound; chant on exhale, feel waves smoothing.
Flow-state with witnessing intelligence; inspired creativity.
Sit with a felt ‘current’ in the body; let a single true phrase arise (kāra). Repeat it softly after chanting, keeping it free from agitation.
Accents partially marked (e.g.,,, :); complete svara rendering requires śākhā-specific notation.
Let ‘pari’ be light and circling; ‘prāsiṣyadat’ forward-pressing; broaden on ‘sindhor ūrmau’; release gently on ‘kāram’.
prāsiṣyadat: articulate ‘ṣy’ and dental ‘d’, sindhoḥ: visarga at end, not silent, ūrmau: long ū; au diphthong, śritaḥ: retroflex ṛ; crisp ‘taḥ’, puru-spṛham: retroflex ṛ; avoid turning spṛh into ‘sprih’
Flowing, resonant, slightly rolling like waves.
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