Rig Veda 9.20.3: Mandala 9, Sukta 20, Mantra 3
Sukta 9.20
- Rishi
- Pavamāna Soma seer tradition
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
परि विश्वानि चेतसा मृशसे पवसे मती । स नः सोम श्रवो विदः ॥
pári víśvāni cetásā mṛśáse pávase matī́ | sá naḥ soma śrávo vidaḥ ||
सोम तुम सब चीज़ों के पास जाते हो, अपनी सोच से। तुम साफ करते हो, हमारे खयालों को भी ठीक करते हो। हे सोम, हमारे लिए वो कामयाबी लाओ जो लोग सुन सकें और सच फैल सकें।
Word by Word
- परि
- around, all aroundIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्यय (परितः, सर्वतः) ; क्रियापद ‘मृशसे/पवसे’ के साथRole Adhikaraṇa (व्याप्ति/परितः-भाव) / क्रियाविशेषणRoot परि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- विश्वानि
- all (things), everythingAdjective (used substantively)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole Karma (object) (मृशसे के कर्म)Root विश्व (सर्व) (प्रातिपदिक)
- चेतसा
- with (your) mind/intent, by awarenessNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole Karaṇa (instrument/means)Root चेतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- मृशसे
- you touch/handle; you pervade/seek (Vedic nuance)Verbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपदRole Kriyā (मुख्य क्रिया); कर्ता = (त्वम्) सोमःRoot मृश् (धातु)
- पवसे
- you purify yourself, you flow (as purified Soma)Verbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपदRole Kriyā (सह-क्रिया); कर्ता = (त्वम्) सोमःRoot पू (पवते) (धातु)
- मती
- by thought, by inspired insightNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (ऋग्वैदिक रूप: मती = मत्या)Role Karaṇa (instrument/means) / सहकारक (चेतसा के साथ युग्म)Root मति (प्रातिपदिक)
- स
- he (that one = Soma)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचनRole Kartā (कर्ता) (विदः का कर्ता)Root तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- नः
- to us; ourPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी-एकवचन बहुवचन-भाव (enclitic) = ‘our / to us’ (प्रयोगानुसार)Role Sampradāna (beneficiary) (विदः के लिए ‘to us’) / सम्बन्ध (our)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- सोम
- O SomaNoun (vocative address)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole Sambodhana (address)Root सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- श्रवः
- fame, glory, renownNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole Karma (object) (विदः के कर्म)Root श्रवस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- विदः
- grant/provide; find (for us)Verbलोट्/विधिलिङ्-सम्भाव्य (ऋग्वैदिक आज्ञार्थ/प्रार्थनार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद (√विद् ‘to find/give/obtain’ वैदिक प्रयोग) रूप: विदःRole Kriyā (आशीर्वचन/प्रार्थना); कर्ता = त्वम् (सोम) ; कर्म = श्रवः ; सम्प्रदान = नःRoot विद् (धातु)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सन्धि-निरसन): परि | विश्वानि | चेतसा | मृशसे | पवसे | मती | स | नः | सोम | श्रवः | विदः । विशेष: ‘मती’ ऋग्वैदिक तृतीया एकवचन (मत्या) का छन्दोबद्ध रूप
- ‘नः’ एन्क्लिटिक सर्वनाम ‘to us/our’
- ‘विदः’ वैदिक आज्ञार्थ/प्रार्थनार्थ मध्यमपुरुष एकवचन रूप (√विद्) — अर्थ ‘देहि/प्रापय’ के निकट।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Soma moves about all things with consciousness, purifying as it touches and shapes our thoughts; may Soma obtain for us śravas (renown/hearing).
Inner meaning
Soma as the power of Ananda-consciousness pervades the whole being (pari viśvāni) with awakened awareness (cetasā). By its purifying contact (mṛśase, pavase) it refines and re-forms the mental movements (matī) into luminous intuition; from that clarified mind arises śravas—not social fame, but the ‘hearing’ of truth: the inspired receptivity by which the higher knowledge spreads in us and through us.
Universal truth
When delight-consciousness permeates experience with wakeful awareness, thought becomes purified into intuition; true ‘renown’ is the radiance of truth that becomes audible and communicable in life.
Themes
Pervasive purification, Refinement of mind, Śravas (inspired hearing/fame)
The seer
- Rishi
- Pavamāna Soma seer tradition (RV 9)
- Other hymns
- RV 9.20.1-7 (same sūkta), RV 9.1-114 (Pavamāna collection)
Family tradition
Ninth Maṇḍala is a liturgical-seer tradition of Soma-pavamāna hymns transmitted through multiple families; the ‘rishi’ is often the Soma-current itself as seen by the seers.
Significance
The seer-vision centers on inner purification: Soma as Ananda becomes the refining stream that converts ordinary mentation into inspired hearing (śruti-like receptivity).
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Pavamāna (self-purifying), Indu (bright drop), Pavitra-gā (going to the filter)
- Related deities
- Agni, Indra, Sarasvatī, Bṛhaspati
Cosmic role
The blissful essence pressed and purified, sustaining gods and worlds; the clarifier of consciousness and giver of inspired power.
Inner power
Ananda that purifies mind and life, turning thought into revelation and establishing luminous receptivity (śravas).
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing and purification (pavamāna) in Soma-yajña
परि॒ विश्वा॑नि॒ चेत॑सा मृ॒शसे॒ पव॑से म॒ती । स न॑: सोम॒ श्रवो॑ विदः ॥
परि॑ । विश्वा॑नि । चेत॑सा । मृ॒शसे॑ । पव॑से । म॒ती । सः । नः॒ । सो॒म॒ । श्रवः॑ । वि॒दः॒ ॥
pari | viśvāni | cetasā | mṛśase | pavase | matī | saḥ | naḥ | soma | śravaḥ | vidaḥ
24
3 pādas of 8 syllables
compact, swift, luminous cadence
Creates a clear ‘forward’ movement suited to purification and inward listening; supports quickened attention without agitation.
- परि (pari)
- Literal: around, all about. Symbolic: pervasion of consciousness through all parts of the being
- विश्वानि (viśvāni)
- Literal: all things. Symbolic: all movements and planes—body, life, mind, and their activities
- चेतसा (cetasā)
- Literal: with consciousness, by mind/heart. Symbolic: awakened inner awareness that can hold and transform experience
- मृशसे (mṛśase)
- Literal: you touch, wipe, handle. Symbolic: purifying contact that kneads/refashions the substance of thought
- पवसे (pavase)
- Literal: you purify/flow as purified. Symbolic: self-purification of delight into clarity and power
- मती (matī)
- Literal: thoughts, inspirations. Symbolic: mental formations becoming intuitive illuminations
- श्रवः (śravaḥ)
- Literal: fame, glory; hearing. Symbolic: inspired hearing/receptivity; truth that is heard and made effective
Soma’s pervasive purification is invoked to refine thought and to grant śravas—ritually ‘fame’ and success, inwardly the capacity to receive and transmit true inspiration.
During the Pavamāna-stotra/recitations as Soma is filtered and offered
Chanting while Soma is strained, collected, and prepared for offering
Use as a short meditation mantra for ‘pervasive awareness’ and purification of thought before study, japa, or contemplative work.
cetas from √cit ‘to perceive, be conscious’ → consciousness-force. mṛś from √mṛś ‘to touch, stroke, handle’ → intimate shaping touch; inner: Soma refines thought by contact. śravas from √śru ‘to hear’ (PIE *ḱlewos ‘fame, that which is heard’; cf. Greek kléos) → ‘renown’ but inwardly ‘the heard truth’ that circulates in the being.
consciousness (cetas) as operative power in purification, thought-formation refinement (matī) by divine contact, śravas as ‘heard truth’ (PIE *ḱlewos) linking inspiration and tradition
Soma’s purification restores right arrangement of the inner movements, aligning thought with Ṛta.
Śravas as ‘truth-hearing’—the mind becomes a channel for Satya.
Pervasion of consciousness through ‘all things’ suggests the delight-principle as a hidden builder of harmony.
Proto-Vedāntic/Vedantic-psychological reading (Aurobindo/Kashyap): Soma as Ananda shaping mind into higher knowledge.
The ‘flow’ is the descent/circulation of delight-energy that clarifies mental substance into receptive illumination.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Soma as the all-pervading conscious purifier who ‘touches’ and shapes thought, granting śravas. Psychologically, the delight-force circulates through the whole being, refines mental formations by conscious contact, and yields the ‘heard fame’—the living reception and transmission of truth.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- śravas directly corresponds to PIE *ḱlewos ‘fame/what is heard’ (Greek kléos, Old Irish clú). This underlines the Indo-European poetic ideology where truth and immortality are preserved through ‘hearing’ and renown—here internalized as inspired audition.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi asks Soma to act within cognition itself: not merely to ‘give’ but to pervade (pari) and shape (mṛśase) the matī. The return sought is śravas—an inspired capacity for true hearing and effective utterance that furthers the r̥ta-work.
Let Ananda-awareness pervade the whole field of experience; watch thoughts being ‘touched and reshaped’ into quiet intuition.
Anahata–Ajna axis (heart-delight rising to illumined mind)
Gentle nāḍī-śodhana or slow 1:1 breathing while listening inwardly after each recitation
Pratyāhāra into a receptive, luminous mind; beginning dhyāna through inner ‘hearing’
Recite, then pause in silence to ‘hear’—not to think. Allow delight to soften mental formations; note the shift from thought to intuitive reception.
Use the transmitted Vedic accents: udatta on marked syllables, anudatta on unmarked, svarita following udatta where indicated (as in pada text with accent marks).
Keep udatta as a clear raised pitch; do not over-musicalize—aim for steady Vedic recitation with crisp pitch steps.
viśvāni: keep ‘śv’ conjunct clean (viś-vā-ni), cetasā: dental ‘t’, and long ‘ā’ in -sā, mṛśase: vocalic ṛ (mṛ), and ś as palatal, pavase: short ‘a’ in pa-, clear ‘v’, śravo: palatal ś; avoid ‘s’
clear, flowing, ‘washed’ tone—like a stream; end with a soft resolve on vidaḥ
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
