Rig Veda 9.41.5: Mandala 9, Sukta 41, Mantra 5
Sukta 9.41
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
स पवस्व विचर्षण आ मही रोदसी पृण । उषाः सूर्यो न रश्मिभिः ॥
sá pavasva vi-carṣaṇe ā́ mahī́ rodasī pṛṇa | uṣā́ḥ sū́ryo na raśmíbhíḥ ||
सोम, बह कर आ। दोनों दुनिया को भर दे। जैसे सुबह सूरज निकलता है और रोशनी फैलाता है, वैसे ही तू भी रोशनी फैला।
Word by Word
- सः
- he (that Soma)Pronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → स
- पवस्व
- purify yourself / flow (as purified Soma)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, आत्मनेपदम्Role (क्रिया)Root √पू (पवते) / √पु (to purify, flow as Soma)
- विचर्षणे
- O far-seeing one (epithet)Noun (vocative epithet)पुंलिङ्गः, सम्बोधन, एकवचनम्Role सम्बोधनRoot वि-चर्षणि (प्रातिपदिक; ‘widely-seeing/active among men’)
- आ
- towards, up toIndeclinableउपसर्गः/निपातःRole (क्रियाविशेषण/दिशा)Root आ (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- मही
- the two greatAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, द्विवचनम् (रोदसी इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role कर्मRoot मही (स्त्री-प्रातिपदिक; from मह्/महत् ‘great’)
- रोदसी
- the two worlds: Heaven and EarthNounस्त्रीलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, द्विवचनम्Role कर्मRoot रोदसी (द्विवचन-प्रातिपदिक; ‘heaven-and-earth’)
- पृण
- fill, make fullVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role (क्रिया)Root √पॄ/पृ (पृणाति ‘to fill, satisfy’)
- उषाः
- DawnNounस्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृ (उपमान-वाक्ये)Root उषस् (स्त्री-प्रातिपदिक)
- सूर्यः
- the SunNounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृ (उपमान-वाक्ये)Root सूर्य (पुं-प्रातिपदिक)
- न
- like, asIndeclinableउपमानार्थक-अव्ययम्Role (उपमा-सूचक)Root न (निपात; उपमा)
- रश्मिभिः
- with raysNounपुंलिङ्गः, तृतीया, बहुवचनम्Role करणRoot रश्मि (पुं-प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: सः | पवस्व | विचर्षणे | आ | मही | रोदसी | पृण | उषाः | सूर्यः | न | रश्मिभिः । 1) स पवस्व → सः पवस्व (विसर्ग-लोपः पदान्ते संहितायाम्). 2) विचर्षण॒ आ → विचर्षणे आ (सम्बोधन-एकवचन ‘-e’). 3) न रश्मिभिः: ‘न’ उपमायाम्
- रश्मिभिः तृतीया-बहुवचनम्. (स्वरचिह्नाः संहितापाठानुसारं; पदपाठे सामान्यतः उदात्त/अनुदात्त-चिह्न-भेदः दृश्यते)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Flow, O discerner, fill the two vast worlds; as Dawn and Sun with their rays, so with beams.
Inner meaning
Soma is addressed as vicarṣaṇa—one who moves through and discerns the peoples/planes, i.e., a universal clarifier. The ‘two worlds’ (rodasī) are the inner heaven-and-earth: mind and life/body, or higher and lower nature. Soma’s purified flow fills both, like Uṣas and Sūrya flooding with rays—awakening and truth-light pervading the whole being.
Universal truth
Spiritual transformation is integral: illumination must descend into both higher mind and embodied life; the awakened delight must permeate the entire system, not remain a peak experience.
Themes
Illumination, Integration of planes, Soma pervasion, Dawn-Sun symbolism
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 9.41.1-6
Significance
The seer’s stress on ‘filling the two worlds’ is a hallmark of inner yoga in the Veda: the experience is not escapist ascent but a pervasion of the whole nature by Soma’s clarified delight and light.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Vicarṣaṇa (universal discerner), Pavamāna (purifier)
- Related deities
- Uṣas, Sūrya, Indra, Agni
Cosmic role
Mediator that carries illumination and delight between realms, completing the circuit between dawn-awakening and sun-truth.
Inner power
Pervasive clarity that can enter both mind and vital; it awakens and then stabilizes illumination.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma purification chants during pressing/filtration
स प॑वस्व विचर्षण॒ आ म॒ही रोद॑सी पृण । उ॒षाः सूर्यो॒ न र॒श्मिभि॑: ॥
सः । प॒व॒स्व॒ । वि॒ऽच॒र्ष॒णे॒ । आ । मा॒ही इति॑ । रोद॑सी॒ इति॑ । पृ॒ण॒ । उ॒षाः । शूर्यः॑ । न । र॒श्मिऽभिः॑ ॥
saḥ | pavasva | vi-carṣaṇe | ā | māhī iti | rodasī iti | pṛṇa | uṣāḥ | sūryaḥ | na | raśmi-bhiḥ
48
4 × 12 (approx.)
Broad, flooding rhythm; supports imagery of pervasion and fullness.
Encourages expansive breathing and a sense of filling the whole inner space with light.
- विचर्षण (vicarṣaṇa)
- Literal: moving among men; universal. Symbolic: all-pervading discernment; the clarifying power that ranges through planes
- रोदसी (rodasī)
- Literal: the two worlds (heaven and earth). Symbolic: higher and lower nature; mind and life/body to be filled with light
- पृण (pṛṇa)
- Literal: fill, make full. Symbolic: saturate the being; replace lack with plenitude
- उषाः (uṣāḥ)
- Literal: Dawn. Symbolic: awakening illumination; first opening of consciousness
- सूर्यः (sūryaḥ)
- Literal: Sun. Symbolic: truth-light; steady supramentalizing clarity (in Aurobindonian sense: higher illumination)
- रश्मि (raśmi)
- Literal: ray. Symbolic: currents of knowledge-force and luminous energy
Invokes Soma’s pervasion during purification; aligns Soma’s flow with dawn/sun imagery to indicate progressive illumination during the rite.
During Pavamāna recitations while Soma is made fit for offering to the gods.
Accompany the flowing Soma with words that ‘fill’ the ritual space; inwardly, fill the two worlds of the practitioner.
Use in meditation to bring light into both thinking mind and emotional-vital life; helpful when one feels split between insight and habit-energy.
rodasī ‘the two worlds’ is a standing Vedic dyad; inner reading maps it to the polarity of higher and lower nature needing to be ‘filled’ with one light. √pṝ ‘fill’ indicates plenary occupation by Soma-force. uṣas/sūrya are not mere celestial bodies but stages: dawn (first opening) and sun (full revelation), both by raśmi (rays) = channels of illumination.
pervasion/filling (pūrṇa), two-world integration (rodasī), progressive revelation (uṣas → sūrya)
When both worlds are filled, the being becomes a single ordered field aligned with ṛta.
Sūrya’s rays signify truth-knowledge organizing the nature.
A repeated creation: dawn opens, sun establishes, Soma pervades—renewal and stabilization of consciousness.
Integral Vedic psychology: descent of illumination into embodied life (a key Aurobindonian motif).
dawn-to-sunrise
Dawn = first awakening; Sun = established truth-light; rays = streams of knowledge; two worlds = mind and embodied nature to be unified.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘filling of the two worlds’ by Soma, analogized to dawn and sun spreading rays: a cosmological-pervasive myth that becomes an inner yogic instruction—let the purifying delight-light occupy both higher and lower nature.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- uṣas (dawn) has PIE *h₂éwsōs (Greek Ēōs, Latin Aurora). sūrya relates to the Indo-Iranian solar lexicon (often connected with PIE *sóh₂wl̥ ‘sun’ in broader etymological discussions, though the exact pathway is complex). raśmi ‘ray’ belongs to an ancient light-thread imagery common in IE poetics.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi calls Soma ‘vi-carṣaṇi’ (universal), asking not for a partial help but for total pervasion: the devatā’s gift is an all-filling illumination that must occupy both worlds of the practitioner.
Visualization of two inner spaces (above head/behind forehead and heart/abdomen) being filled by a single luminous stream.
Ājñā (Sūrya rays) and Anāhata (pervasion/wholeness)
Two-phase breathing: inhale up to brow (dawn opening), exhale down into heart/belly (filling the lower world).
Unified awareness; tranquil luminosity.
After chanting, sit for 2–5 minutes sensing ‘rodasī’ as two inner fields; invite the Soma-current to equalize them until a single calm brightness is felt.
Vedic accents per recension; obtain svara-marked pada text for exact udātta/svarita placement.
Keep vicarṣaṇe as a single flowing unit; emphasize the filling action in ‘pṛṇa’ with clarity, not force.
vicarṣaṇe: caṛ (with retroflex ṣ) and ṇ; avoid ‘sh’ for ṣ, rodasī: long ī at end, uṣāḥ: retroflex ṣ; visarga audible but light, sūryo: long ū; ry cluster smooth, raśmibhiḥ: śmi cluster clear; final ḥ light
Even, luminous, unhurried; sustain vowels to evoke ‘rays’.
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