Rig Veda 9.16.8: Mandala 9, Sukta 16, Mantra 8
Sukta 9.16
- Rishi
- Kāṇva
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
त्वं सोम विपश्चितं तना पुनान आयुषु । अव्यो वारं वि धावसि ॥
tváṃ soma vipaścítaṃ tánā punānā́ ā́yuṣu | avyó vā́raṃ ví dhāvasi ||
हे सोम, तुम अपने आप को साफ करते हो। अपनी ताकत से तुम ऊन के कपड़े से हो के गुज़रते हो। तुम लोगों की ज़िन्दगी में चमक लाते हो। उनकी सोच को और क्लियर बना देते हो।
Word by Word
- त्वम्
- youPronounपुंलिङ्ग/स्त्रीलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (सर्वनाम), प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सोम
- O SomaNoun (vocative)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (प्रथमा-सम्बोधन), एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- विपश्चितम्
- the discerning/wise (one)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (कर्मणि विशेषणम्)Role कर्मRoot वि-पश्चित् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘विशेषेण पश्यति/जानाति’)
- तना
- continually, in due courseIndeclinableअव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण)Root तना (अव्यय; तन्-धातोः निपात/प्रयोगः)
- पुनानः
- purifying oneself / being purifiedParticiple (present middle)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; वर्तमानकालिकः शानच् (आत्मनेपद), ‘स्वयं शुद्ध्यन्/शोधयन्’Role कर्तृRoot पू (धातु) → पुनान (शानच्-वर्तमान कृदन्त, आत्मनेपदी)
- आयुषु
- in (our) lives, in lifetimesNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole अधिकरणRoot आयुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- अव्यः
- woollen (made of sheep’s wool)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (वारम् इति शब्दस्य विशेषणम्)Role कर्तृ (विशेषण-रूपेण)Root अव्य (प्रातिपदिक; ‘अविः’/‘अव्य’ = sheep/wool; here ‘woollen’)
- वारम्
- covering/strainer (filtering cloth)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot वार (प्रातिपदिक)
- वि
- apart, forth, thoroughlyIndeclinable (preverb)उपसर्गः (क्रियायाः अर्थविस्तारकः: ‘विभागेन/विशेषेण’)Root वि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- धावसि
- you run/flow (through)Verbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, मध्यम? (न) → उत्तम? (न) → मध्यम? (न); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन: ‘धावसि’ = 2nd sg in classical, but Vedic allows -सि as 2nd sg; here addressed to Soma: मध्यमपुरुष एकवचन, लट्, परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot धाव् (धातु)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: त्वम् | सोम | विपश्चितम् | तना | पुनानः | आयुषु | अव्यः | वारम् | वि | धावसि । Sandhi/phonetics: (1) ‘सो॑म’ is vocative
- no external sandhi with ‘त्वम्’. (2) ‘विप॒श्चितं॒ तना॑’ shows simple word-junction without phonetic change. (3) ‘पुना॒न आ॒युषु॑’ = ‘पुनानः आयुषु’ with visarga loss in saṃhitā (ḥ → Ø before vowel) and vowel coalescence avoided by pada-text
- restored as ‘पुनानः आयुषु’. (4) ‘अव्यो॒ वारं॒’ = ‘अव्यः वारम्’ with visarga loss before voiced consonant (ḥ → Ø) in saṃhitā
- restored as ‘अव्यः वारम्’. (5) ‘वि धा॑वसि’ is preverb + verb (no sandhi change). Accents: udātta/svarita marks in saṃhitā are retained in the given text
- pada restoration does not alter lexical accent positions
The meaning
Outer meaning
O Soma, self-purifying by your own nature, you run through the woollen strainer, making the life-powers more discerning.
Inner meaning
Soma (the delight-principle) refines itself by its inherent truth (tanā) as it passes through the inner ‘filter’ (vāra/pavitra): the mixed movements of life (āyuṣu) become vipaścit—luminous, discriminating, capable of right perception. The mantra describes the inner alchemy where delight, once clarified, educates and illumines the vital being rather than intoxicating it.
Universal truth
Consciousness becomes wise when joy is purified: refined delight naturally clarifies the life-force, turning impulse into discernment and energy into luminous action.
Themes
Discernment, Vital purification, Soma as inner intelligence
The seer
- Rishi
- Kāṇva (Kāṇva tradition)
- Lineage
- Kāṇva
- Other hymns
- RV 9.16, RV 9.17, RV 1.3 (Kāṇva family hymns to Indra/Agni)
Family tradition
Kāṇvas are prominent seers of Soma-Pavamāna hymns, emphasizing purification, ascent, and luminous mind through the Soma-current.
Significance
The Kāṇva vision often presents Soma as an inner process: delight clarified into truth-consciousness, supporting the ascent from vital turbulence to illumined mind.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Pavamāna (self-purifying), Indu (bright drop), Madhu (honeyed)
- Related deities
- Agni, Indra, Uṣas, Sarasvatī
Cosmic role
Purifier and intensifier of life and mind; bearer of immortality (amṛta) through the sacrificial current.
Inner power
Ananda-shakti that, when purified, becomes a discerning light within the prāṇa and manas.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing and purification (Pavamāna-stotras)
त्वं सो॑म विप॒श्चितं॒ तना॑ पुना॒न आ॒युषु॑ । अव्यो॒ वारं॒ वि धा॑वसि ॥
त्वम् । सो॒म॒ । विपः॒ऽचित॑म् । तना॑ । पु॒ना॒नः । आ॒युषु॑ । अव्यः॑ । वार॑म् । वि । धा॒व॒सि॒ ॥
tvam | soma | vipaḥ-citam | tanā | punānaḥ | āyuṣu | avyaḥ | vāram | vi | dhāvasi
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3 pādas of ~8 syllables
Quick, lucid, forward-moving cadence suited to ‘flowing/purifying’ imagery.
Builds a bright, concentrated current; supports steady attention while the sense of inner cleansing ‘moves’ through the listener.
- सोम (soma)
- Literal: Soma-juice, pressed libation. Symbolic: Divine Ananda; nectar of consciousness that uplifts and clarifies
- पुनानः (punānaḥ)
- Literal: purifying oneself. Symbolic: Self-refinement of consciousness; progressive inner purification
- तना (tanā)
- Literal: by one’s own nature/continuity. Symbolic: Intrinsic law of being; self-existent truth-force guiding purification
- विपश्चित् (vipaścit)
- Literal: discerning, wise. Symbolic: Illuminated discrimination; awakened intelligence in the life-movements
- आयुषु (āyuṣu)
- Literal: in the life-powers/lives. Symbolic: Vital planes and life-energies (prāṇa-vyāhāras) to be made luminous
- अव्य (avya)
- Literal: wool. Symbolic: The subtle filtering medium—inner discipline, sattvic refinement
- वार (vāra)
- Literal: strainer/covering/filter. Symbolic: Purificatory sieve separating truth-essence from mixture
- वि धावसि (vi dhāvasi)
- Literal: you run through/spread running. Symbolic: Swift pervasion of refined delight through the being
Soma filtration through wool (āvya vāra); inner reading: discernment (vipaścit) infused into āyus (life-force)
During Soma-yajña sequences when Soma is filtered and offered
Straining through wool, collecting in vessels, chanting stotras to accompany purification
Use as a mantra for inner cleansing before meditation: ‘let delight become discerning in my life-energies’.
vipaścit-: vi- ‘widely’ + paś ‘see’ (√paś) + -cit ‘knowing’ (√cit), ‘widely seeing/wise’; āyu- ‘life, vital duration’ from √i ‘to go’ → ‘life as movement’; avya- ‘woollen’ from avi ‘sheep’; vāra- ‘strainer’ possibly from √vṛ ‘choose, cover’ semantic field → ‘selecting sieve’; dhāvati (here dhāvasi) from √dhāv ‘run, wash/flow’.
Viveka-like discrimination (vi- as differentiation), Illumined perception (vipaścit), Purification of life-force (āyus)
Soma’s ‘self-purifying’ movement is ṛta in action—ordering the life-force into truth-rhythm.
Vipaścit indicates satya-buddhi: truth-discrimination emerging in the vital nature.
Refinement of the waters/delight into luminous force that sustains the worlds within.
Proto-Vedāntic / Integral (Aurobindonian) reading: Ananda as a power of consciousness that evolves into knowledge.
unspecified
unspecified
The ‘filter’ is inner discipline and clarity; the flowing Soma is the stream of purified joy moving through prāṇa, making it luminous.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The wool-filter (āvya vāra) as the mythic instrument of transformation: Soma becomes ‘vipaścit’ by passing through a medium of selection. Psychologically, it is the conversion of raw delight-energy into discerning luminous force within the life-powers.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √paś ‘see’ and √cit ‘know’ form a compound expressing ‘wide-seeing wisdom’, a common IE heroic/poetic epithet type. āyu- as ‘life’ from motion-root √i parallels the IE association of life with going/flowing.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi addresses Soma as the agent who can make life itself discerning. The offering is the prepared strainer/ordered process; Soma reciprocates by pervading the āyus with clarified intelligence and delight.
Let refined joy illumine the life-force; observe how ‘delight’ can become discrimination rather than excitement.
Anāhata (heart) to Ājñā (clarity of mind)
Gentle nāḍī-śodhana or slow equal breathing while repeating the mantra mentally
Sattvic clarity; quiet uplift; luminous discernment in the vital.
Begin with attention in the heart (Ananda), then ‘filter’ reactions by witnessing; invite Soma to pervade prāṇa with vipaścit light before action or speech.
Vedic accents vary by śākhā; chant with clear udatta peaks on principal words (e.g., sóma, punānáḥ) and let svarita fall naturally after.
Keep each pada distinct; emphasize the verb ‘vi dhāvasi’ with a light forward push; avoid dragging consonant clusters.
tvam (not tavam), soma: long ‘o’, vipaścitam: ‘paś’ with clear ś, punānaḥ: long ‘ā’, āyuṣu: ‘ṣ’ retroflex, short ‘u’, avyaḥ: ‘vy’ conjunct cleanly, vāram: long ‘ā’
Clear, cool, flowing tone; minimal vibrato; sense of ‘streaming’ continuity.
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