Rig Veda 9.14.2: Mandala 9, Sukta 14, Mantra 2
Sukta 9.14
गिरा यदी सबन्धवः पञ्च व्राता अपस्यवः । परिष्कृण्वन्ति धर्णसिम् ॥
girā́ yadī́ sávandhavaḥ páñca vrā́tā apasyávaḥ | paríṣkṛṇvanti dharṇasím ||
जब शब्द के साथ पाँच ग्रुप मिल के काम करते हैं। वो सोम की ताकत को सही बनाते हैं और उसकी जाँच करते हैं। यह लोग उसे ठीक से तैयार करते हैं।
Describes cooperative ritual/inner faculties ‘preparing’ Soma; aligns with pressing, filtering, and the coordinated chants/acts.
mantra (gir) as formative power, ordered collectivity (vrāta) as inner discipline, support (dhṛ) as stability in ṛta
Refining dharṇasi is restoring right function so action can follow ṛta.
Truth must be ‘borne’ (dharṇasi) by a prepared instrument; otherwise it spills into distortion.
Creation as craftsmanship: powers shaped by word into stable capacity.
Integral yoga psychology: harmonization of parts under higher guidance; stabilization of force.
Five companies = fivefold energies; refining = purification of habits; sustaining power = nervous-mental capacity to hold higher intensity without imbalance.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘five companies’ as collaborative powers that prepare the divine drink. Mythic-ritual surface: priests/teams; inner myth: fivefold powers of the being disciplined into a single work to refine Soma (delight/clarity) into a sustaining force.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- dharṇasi from √dhṛ ‘hold’ continues PIE *dher- ‘support’. √kṛ ‘make’ is an Indo-Iranian workhorse root for formation/creation; the compositional use with preverbs (pari-) is a hallmark of early IE poetics.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi frames Soma’s coming-to-power as dependent on right formation by gir (inspired speech) and coordinated inner ‘workers’. The deity is not distant: Soma’s manifestation increases as the human being organizes its faculties into a disciplined offering.
Bring the fivefold instrument into one rhythm under a chosen inner word (girā): breath, senses, mind, heart, will.
Maṇipūra (dharṇa/holding power) supported by Viśuddha (girā)
Box breathing 4-4-4-4 for steadiness; silently repeat ‘girā’ on inhale and ‘dharṇasim’ on exhale.
Collected, integrated, capable of sustained aspiration.
Before chanting, set an intention: ‘All parts cooperate.’ After chanting, do 5 minutes sense-withdrawal (pratyāhāra) to feel the ‘five’ gather inward.
Accents marked (e.g., गि॒रा, सब॑न्धवः, व्राता॑, अप॒स्यव॑:); full svara melody requires śākhā-specific notation.
Keep a steady cadence; emphasize the collective terms ‘pañca vrātāḥ’ and the refining verb ‘pariṣkṛṇvanti’; land calmly on ‘dharṇasim’.
girā: soft ‘g’ with long ā, sab-andhavaḥ: clear ‘ndh’ cluster, pañca: nasal ‘ñ’, vrātāḥ: long ā; aspirate ‘th’ in visarga context, pariṣkṛṇvanti: retroflex ṣ; conjunct ‘kṛ’ with vocalic ṛ, dharṇasim: retroflex ṛ; avoid turning into ‘dharnasim’ with plain r
Even, disciplined, slightly warm; avoid dramatic force.
14
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