Rig Veda 9.45.6: Mandala 9, Sukta 45, Mantra 6
Sukta 9.45
- Rishi
- Ascription varies
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- To be verified for RV 9.45.1
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
तया पवस्व धारया यया पीतो विचक्षसे । इन्दो स्तोत्रे सुवीर्यम् ॥
tayā́ pavasva dhā́rayā yayā́ pītó vi-cákṣase | índo stótre su-vī́ryam ||
इस धारा से साफ हो के बह। जैसे पीने से आँखें खुल जाती हैं, वैसे ही तू सब देखने लगेगा। इन्दु, गाने में ताकत ला दे।
Word by Word
- तया
- with that (stream/means)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्गे तृतीया-एकवचनम् (instrumental sg.)Role करणRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → तया (तद्-शब्द)
- पवस्व
- purify yourself; flow (as the purifier)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे) मध्यमपुरुषः एकवचनम्; आत्मनेपदम्Role (क्रिया) — कर्तृ-आह्वानRoot √पू (पूञ् पवने) / √पु (पवते) — ‘to purify, to flow clear’
- धारया
- with a stream; by a currentNounस्त्रीलिङ्गे तृतीया-एकवचनम्Role करणRoot धारा (प्रातिपदिक) < √धृ ‘to hold, to bear’ (धार- ‘stream’)
- यया
- by whichPronoun (relative)स्त्रीलिङ्गे तृतीया-एकवचनम्Role करणRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → यया
- पीतः
- (when) drunk; having been drunkParticiple (past passive) used adjectivallyपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा-एकवचनम्; क्त (PPP) — ‘having been drunk’Role कर्म (अन्तर्भूत) / विशेषण-भावःRoot √पा (पा पाने) → पीत (क्त-प्रत्यय) ‘drunk’
- विचक्षसे
- you are seen clearly; you appear distinctlyVerbलट् (वर्तमान) मध्यमपुरुषः एकवचनम्; आत्मनेपदम्Role (क्रिया) — कर्ता (इन्दुः)Root वि-√चक्ष् (चक्षँ दर्शने) ‘to see, to appear/shine forth’
- इन्दो
- O Indu (Soma)Noun (vocative)पुंलिङ्गे सम्बोधन-एकवचनम्Role सम्बोधनRoot इन्दु (प्रातिपदिक) ‘Soma, drop’
- स्तोत्रे
- in/at the hymn of praiseNounनपुंसकलिङ्गे सप्तमी-एकवचनम् (locative sg.)Role अधिकरणRoot स्तोत्र (प्रातिपदिक) < √स्तु (स्तु॒ञ् स्तुतौ) ‘to praise’
- सुवीर्यम्
- good heroism; splendid strength/valorNounनपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया-एकवचनम् (accusative sg.)Role कर्मRoot सु-वीर्य (प्रातिपदिक) — सु ‘good’ + वीर्य ‘manly power, heroism’ (< वीर)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: तया | पवस्व | धारया | यया | पीतः | विचक्षसे | इन्दो | स्तोत्रे | सुवीर्यम् । 1) ‘तया … धारया … यया’—सर्वनाम-रूपाणि (तद्/यद्) स्त्री
- तृतीया-एकवचन, ‘धारा’ (स्त्री.) के साथ करण-सम्बन्धे। 2) ‘पीतो विचक्षसे’ में ‘पीतः’ (क्त-प्रत्यय) कर्तरि-विशेषणवत्: ‘पीतः (त्वम्) विचक्षसे’—‘पीतः’ का लिङ्ग-वचन ‘इन्दो’ (सम्बोधन, पुं. एक.) के आश्रय से। 3) ‘इन्दो स्तोत्रे’—सम्बोधन + सप्तमी: ‘हे इन्दो, स्तोत्रे (अधिकरणे)…’।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Flow purified by that stream by which, when drunk, you become wide-seeing; O Indu, bring into the hymn heroic power.
Inner meaning
Let Soma flow in the very current (dhārā) of purification that, when inwardly ‘drunk’ (pītaḥ), opens vi-cakṣas—wide, discerning vision. This is the yogic secret of Soma: clarified delight becomes a seeing-force. The rishi asks Indu to place into the stotra (hymn: the formed aspiration) su-vīrya (true heroic energy): a luminous courage and capacity to act from widened consciousness, not from egoic impulse.
Universal truth
True power is born from purified joy: when delight is clarified and assimilated, it becomes expansive vision and courageous, effective action aligned with truth.
Themes
Soma-ritual, vision, mantra as vessel, heroic potency (vīrya)
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 9.45 (hymn context)
Significance
The seer here speaks as a practitioner: not merely praising Soma, but requesting a specific siddhi—wide seeing (vicakṣas) and true heroic force (suvīrya). This is quintessential Aurobindonian ‘inner sacrifice’ language.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna (Indu)
- Epithets
- Indu, Pavamāna, Vicakṣas-kara (maker of wide seeing, implied)
- Related deities
- Sarasvatī (inspired speech, conceptual affinity with stotra), Indra (heroic force, receiver of Soma), Agni (carrier of offerings; inner will)
Cosmic role
Giver of vision and power through purified delight; sustainer of inspired speech (stotra) and divine action (vīrya).
Inner power
Ananda transforming into prajñā-like wideness and śakti-like force.
In ritual
Where it is used
Pavamāna Soma recitation connected with drinking/offerings of Soma.
तया॑ पवस्व॒ धार॑या॒ यया॑ पी॒तो वि॒चक्ष॑से । इन्दो॑ स्तो॒त्रे सु॒वीर्य॑म् ॥
तया॑ । प॒व॒स्व॒ । धार॑या । यया॑ । पी॒तः । वि॒ऽचक्ष॑से । इन्दो॒ इति॑ । स्तो॒त्रे । सु॒ऽवीर्य॑म् ॥
tayā | pavasva | dhārayā | yayā | pītaḥ | vi-cakṣase | indo iti | stotre | su-vīryam
To be verified (common Soma meters; exact meter requires syllable count from saṃhitā with proper pada division).
Two half-lines shown; exact metrical pādas to be verified.
Smooth, prayerful flow in first half; culminating energizing request in second half (suvīryam).
Settles the mind into a steady current, then kindles confident strength—useful for meditation followed by action.
- dhārā
- Literal: stream/current. Symbolic: the continuous flow of purified consciousness; steady channel of practice
- pavasva
- Literal: flow/purify yourself. Symbolic: let Ananda clarify and move through the being
- pītaḥ
- Literal: drunk/imbibed. Symbolic: assimilated inwardly—joy taken into substance of mind and life
- vicakṣase
- Literal: you become wide-seeing. Symbolic: expansive perception, truth-discernment, illumined understanding
- stotra
- Literal: hymn/praise. Symbolic: the soul’s formed aspiration and thought-mantra that shapes consciousness
- suvīryam
- Literal: good/true heroism, excellent strength. Symbolic: divine courage and effective force (shakti) acting from illumination
- Indu
- Literal: bright Soma. Symbolic: purified delight-consciousness
Soma purification and offering: the ‘stream’ (dhārā) is both the physical filter-flow and the invoked current of clarified consciousness feeding Indra and the gods.
In Soma rites where Soma is purified and then ritually consumed/offered; thematically tied to ‘pītaḥ’ (drunk).
Chant accompanying Soma flow and consecrated drinking/offering; invoking vision and strength.
Chant before study, decision-making, or courageous action: ‘drink’ the calm joy, then act from widened sight.
pavasva: imperative of √pū/√pav ‘to purify, cleanse, clarify’ (pavamāna = ‘self-purifying’). dhārā ‘stream’ from √dhṛ ‘to hold’ → that which ‘holds/carries’ the flow. vi-cakṣase: 2sg middle of √cakṣ ‘to see’ with vi- indicating widened vision (cf. Avestan čaša- ‘to see’). pītaḥ from √pā ‘drink’ (PIE *peh₃- ‘drink’). su-vīryam: su- ‘good’ + vīrya ‘heroic potency’ (vīra ‘man/hero’, PIE *wiHro- ‘man’).
expansion of sight/awareness (vi-cakṣas), Soma as ananda-illumination enabling knowledge, Ṛta through purification (pavamāna as right-clarifying movement)
Suvīrya is power in Ṛta—force that serves right order, not egoic conquest.
Vicakṣas is a Satya-function: seeing widely, discerning truly.
Inner alchemy: delight → vision → power; a microcosmic creation of a higher mode of being.
Integral Yoga/psychological Vedism: Ananda as transformative substance of consciousness.
Stream = continuous practice and purification; drinking = assimilation; wide seeing = opening of inner sight; heroic power = awakened śakti.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Soma’s purification produces ‘wide-seeing’ power: when the gods (and the inner faculties) drink Soma, vision expands. The mythic act is the consecrated flow and drinking; the psychological act is the descent of clarified delight that opens a comprehensive sight (vi-cakṣas) and yields vīrya (effective force).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √pā ‘drink’ continues PIE *peh₃- (Lat. pōtus ‘drunk’, Gk. πίνω via related formations). vīra ‘hero/man’ reflects PIE *wiHro- (Lat. vir). The hymn’s vi- prefixing (vi-cakṣ) is a productive Indo-European strategy for semantic extension (expansion/distribution), here mapped to widened consciousness.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi petitions Soma to adopt a particular mode of flowing (‘that stream’) so that the hymn itself becomes the receptacle of supramental energy: Soma’s gift is not material but ‘su-vīrya’—a force that makes the seer and the community wide-seeing and capable in the works of Ṛta.
Visualize a luminous stream descending through the subtle body; ‘drink’ it by letting it fill the heart and head with quiet joy.
Ajna (wide seeing) supported by Anahata (Ananda) and Manipura (heroic force).
Inhale as ‘receiving/imbibing’ Soma; exhale as ‘spreading’ wide seeing—slow coherent breathing (4–6 seconds each).
Widened, clear, quietly powerful; sattva infused with Ananda.
Chant slowly for a few rounds, then sit in silence noticing expansion behind the eyes/forehead. End by setting one courageous, truthful intention (suvīrya) to enact.
To be verified from Vedic accent; keep a gentle rise on udātta-marked syllables, especially around dhārayā and vicakṣase as indicated by the text’s accents.
Sustain the long vowels in tayā, dhārayā, yayā; give clear separation to vi-cakṣase (वि-चक्षसे).
vicakṣase: pronounce kṣ crisply, not as ‘ks’., indo: keep initial vowel short ‘i’, and ‘nd’ conjunct clear., suvīryam: maintain long ī and clear palatal y.
Cool, steady, inward; let the sound ‘flow’ like a stream.
108
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.
