Rig Veda 9.46.5: Mandala 9, Sukta 46, Mantra 5
Sukta 9.46
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
स पवस्व धनंजय प्रयन्ता राधसो महः । अस्मभ्यं सोम गातुवित् ॥
sá pavasva dhanaṁ-jaya prāyantā́ rādhaso maháḥ | asmábhyaṁ soma gātú-vit ||
हे सोम, तू साफ हो के बह। तू धन और संपत्ति जीता है। तू बड़ी खुशियाँ लाने वाला है। हमारे लिए रास्ता ढूँढ़ और हमें भी ले चल।
Word by Word
- सः
- he (that one)Pronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → स-
- पवस्व
- purify yourself / flow forth (as purified Soma)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्; आत्मनेपदम्Role (क्रिया) — कर्तृ: सोमःRoot √पू (पूञ् पवने) / √पु (पुनाति) — ‘to purify, to flow (as Soma)’
- धनंजय
- O wealth-winner / conqueror of richesNoun (epithet/vocative)पुंलिङ्गः, सम्बोधन, एकवचनम्Role सम्बोधनRoot धनं + √जि (जये) → धनंजय (समास-प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रयन्ता
- the forward-goer / impeller (advancer)Noun (agent)पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृ (सः/सोमः के विशेषणरूपेण)Root प्र + √या (याने) → प्रयन्तृ (कर्तृ-नाम) ‘one who goes/advances’
- राधसः
- of bounty / of wealthNounनपुंसकलिङ्गम्, षष्ठी, एकवचनम्Role सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root राधस् (नपुंसकलिङ्ग-प्रातिपदिक) ‘bounty, gift, wealth’
- महतः
- greatAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्गम्, षष्ठी, एकवचनम् (राधसः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive; qualifier)Root महत् (विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक) ‘great’
- अस्मभ्यम्
- to usPronounत्रिलिङ्गम्, चतुर्थी, बहुवचनम्Role सम्प्रदानRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सोम
- O SomaNoun (vocative)पुंलिङ्गः, सम्बोधन, एकवचनम्Role सम्बोधनRoot सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- गातुवित्
- finder/knower of the path (guide)Noun/Adjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम् (सोमस्य विशेषणम्)Role कर्तृ (as epithet of Soma)Root गातु (path/way, course) + √विद् (विदँ ज्ञाने) → -वित् ‘knower/finder’ (बहुव्रीहि/तत्पुरुष-समास)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (Vedic): सः | पवस्व | धनंजय | प्रयन्ता | राधसः | महतः | अस्मभ्यम् | सोम | गातुवित् । 1) स प॑वस्व → सः पवस्व (विसर्ग-लोपः पदान्ते)
- 2) राध॑सो म॒हः → राधसः महतः (ओ/अः-प्रयोगः संहितायाम्; महः इति संहितापाठ-रूपं, पदपाठे महतः)
- 3) अस्मभ्यं॑ सोम → अस्मभ्यम् सोम (अनुस्वारः/म्-परिवर्तनम् पदान्ते)
- Accent marks are retained in the Saṃhitā but not required for morphological segmentation
The meaning
Outer meaning
Flow purified, O winner of wealth; bringer-forward of great gifts—O Soma, finder of the path, for us.
Inner meaning
Soma as purified Ananda is invoked to ‘win plenitude’ (dhanaṃjaya): not mere material gain but fullness of being. As prayantā, it leads forward the great rādhas (felicities, powers of harmony). As gātuvit, it discovers the inner path through confusion and resistance—bliss becomes a guide, not an escape.
Universal truth
When delight is purified, it becomes both abundance and guidance: it opens the way, brings harmonizing powers, and leads life forward in truth.
Themes
boon request, guidance, Soma as wealth-winner, inner path
The seer
- Rishi
- Ascribed to the Soma Pavamāna collection; specific rishi not securely identified for this verse in the provided metadata.
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 9.46
Significance
The rishi-vision here is practical and yogic: Soma is not only ecstasy but the ‘path-finder’—a key Aurobindonian theme of Ananda as a guiding power of transformation.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Dhanaṃjaya (winner of plenitude), Gātuvit (path-finder), Pavamāna (purifying)
- Related deities
- Agni (leader of sacrifice), Indra (illumined mind)
Cosmic role
Soma carries the essence of life upward, distributing felicities and opening passages between planes of consciousness.
Inner power
A purified delight that both empowers and directs—Ananda as guide-force toward wideness (mahas).
In ritual
Where it is used
Pavamāna Soma hymn in Soma-yajña context
स प॑वस्व धनंजय प्रय॒न्ता राध॑सो म॒हः । अ॒स्मभ्यं॑ सोम गातु॒वित् ॥
सः । प॒व॒स्व॒ । ध॒न॒म्ऽज॒य॒ । प्र॒ऽय॒न्ता । राध॑सः । म॒हः । अ॒स्मभ्य॑म् । सो॒म॒ । गा॒तु॒ऽवित् ॥
saḥ | pavasva | dhanam-jaya | pra-yantā | rādhasaḥ | mahaḥ | asmabhyam | soma | gātu-vit
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4×8 (probable)
Supplicatory yet firm; the vocatives (soma) and epithets create a steady ascent.
Centers the mind and gives a sense of being led—useful for entering a guided inner movement.
- पवस्व (pavasva)
- Literal: flow purified. Symbolic: let Ananda stream in a clarified, transforming form
- धनंजय (dhanaṃjaya)
- Literal: winner of wealth. Symbolic: bringer of plenitude—fullness of force, joy, and capacity
- प्रयन्ता (prayantā)
- Literal: one who brings forward. Symbolic: leader that advances the soul’s movement; forward-driving joy
- राधसः (rādhasaḥ)
- Literal: gifts, bounties, felicities. Symbolic: harmonies, attainments, luminous powers that support growth
- महः (mahaḥ)
- Literal: great. Symbolic: vastness—expanded consciousness and large delight
- गातुवित् (gātu-vit)
- Literal: knower/finder of the path. Symbolic: inner guide that reveals workable routes through the being
Petition within Soma-purification hymns: Soma is invoked as bestower of rādhas (bounty) and as guide (gātu-vit) for the sacrificer’s progress.
During purification flow (pavamāna) and offerings seeking prosperity and right passage.
Recitation while Soma flows/filters; invocation for boons and guidance.
Chant when seeking clarity in life decisions: ‘Soma as gātuvit’—let purified joy reveal the next step.
dhanam-jaya: bahuvrīhi ‘winning dhana’; √ji ‘conquer’ (PIE *gʷyeh₃- ‘live’ is different; √ji is Indo-Iranian ‘win’). rādhas ‘bounty’ from √rādh ‘to succeed, accomplish, grant’—implies effective fruition, not mere material. gātu ‘path, passage’ from √gā ‘go’ (PIE *gʰeh₁- ‘go’), and -vit from √vid ‘know’ (PIE *weyd- ‘see/know’; cf. Lat. vidēre). Symbolic justification: ‘path-finder’ indicates Soma as the luminous guide through inner passages, establishing access to higher states.
rādhas as spiritual felicity (accomplishing fullness), path (gātu) as inner passage toward Truth-Consciousness, victory (jaya) over obstruction/poverty of being
Gātu (path) implies the Ṛta-way—right passages opened by purified delight.
True guidance arises when joy is purified of desire and agitation.
Emergence of vastness (mahas) through purified flow; felicities as formative powers.
Vedantic-inclined symbolism: Ananda as a plane/power leading to wideness (mahas) and right becoming.
Flow = continuous Ananda-current; path = inner nerve-channels of progress, the ‘way’ through levels of consciousness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Soma as ‘wealth-winner’ and ‘path-finder’—the divine drink that both grants abundance and reveals the way. Psychologically, Soma is the force of clarified delight that opens inner passages and brings effective richness (rādhas) into the life.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- gātu (going/path) from √gā aligns with IE ‘go’ roots; vid ‘know/see’ reflects PIE *weyd-. The compound gātu-vit is a classic Vedic nominal strategy mapping cognition (‘know’) onto movement (‘path’), i.e., knowledge as passage—an archaic IE poetic linkage.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi asks Soma to act directly ‘for us’: not only to purify itself but to lead and to bestow accomplished riches. The reciprocity is aspirational: the hymn offers speech and attention; Soma returns guidance and fulfilled power.
Rest in a purified joy and ask it to show the next inner step (gātu).
Sahasrāra/Ājñā (guidance) with heart support (Ananda)
Nadi-śodhana (alternate nostril) to purify; then natural breath while feeling a ‘bright path’ ahead.
Clear, guided, quietly expansive.
Chant 12 times; after each round, pause and feel: (1) purified joy, (2) widening (mahas), (3) a simple next action revealed without strain.
Notated svara unavailable; keep a calm udātta lift on key epithets (dhanaṃjaya, gātuvit) and a soft fall at line ends.
Do not rush; let ‘pavasva’ be the opening cue, then articulate epithets distinctly.
(dhanaṃjaya): anusvāra before ‘j’—nasalize lightly (dha-naṃ-ja-ya)., (prayantā): clear ‘y’ glide; long ā at end., (gātuvit): long ā; keep ‘vit’ crisp dental ‘t’.
Warm, steady, inwardly smiling clarity.
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