Rig Veda 9.5.1: Mandala 9, Sukta 5, Mantra 1
Sukta 9.5
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
समिद्धो विश्वतस्पतिः पवमानो वि राजति । प्रीणन्वृषा कनिक्रदत् ॥
samíddho viśvátas-pátiḥ pávamāno ví rājati | prīṇán vṛ́ṣā kaníkradat ||
जब सोम पूरा जल उठा है, वो सब जगह का मालिक बन के चमकता है। वो अपने आप को साफ करता है और अंदर की खुशी बढ़ाता है। वो ताकत के साथ आवाज़ करता है और जान में जान लाता है।
Word by Word
- समिद्धः
- kindled, well-litAdjective (past passive participle used predicatively)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (with implied ‘सः/अग्निः/सोमः’ as subject; agrees with subject)Root सम्-इध् (धातु) → समिद्ध (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
- विश्वतस्पतिः
- lord of all sides / lord of allNoun (compound)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot विश्वतः (अव्यय) + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
- पवमानः
- purifying, flowing (Soma)Adjective/Noun (present participle, used as epithet of Soma)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (apposition to the subject)Root पू (धातु ‘पवते’ = to purify/flow) → पवमान (वर्तमान कृदन्त)
- वि
- apart, forth; intensifierIndeclinable (preverb)Role (verb-modifier)Root वि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- राजति
- shines, reigns, is resplendentVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole (finite verb; governs the clause)Root राज् (धातु) → राजति
- प्रीणन्
- gladdening, pleasingParticiple (present active)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (नपुंसक/अन्य-सम्भावना न; here agrees with subject)Role Kartā (concomitant action of the same subject)Root प्री (धातु) → प्रीणत्/प्रीणन् (वर्तमान कृदन्त)
- वृषा
- the bull; the vigorous oneNoun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (apposition to the subject)Root वृषन् (प्रातिपदिक) / वृष (strength, bull) → वृषा
- कनिक्रदत्
- crying aloud, roaringParticiple (present active)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (concomitant action of the same subject)Root कनिक्रद् (धातु; intensive/iterative ‘to cry out, roar’) → कनिक्रदत्
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-resolved): समिद्धः | विश्वतस्पतिः | पवमानः | वि | राजति || प्रीणन् | वृषा | कनिक्रदत् || 1) ‘विश्वतस्पतिः’ is a compound (विश्वतः + पतिः) with internal sandhi: -तः + पति → -तस्पति
- 2) ‘कनिक् 8दत्’ represents the Vedic form कनिक्रदत् (present participle) with the RV orthography/recitation showing the consonant cluster
The meaning
Outer meaning
The self-purifying Soma, kindled, shines as the lord of the whole; delighting, the bull cries out.
Inner meaning
Soma is described in Agni-like terms (‘samiddha’): when the delight-principle is fully kindled in the being, it becomes the master of the many-sided totality (viśvatas patiḥ)—governing mind, life, and body from within. As it purifies (pavamāna), it radiates outward (‘vi rājati’). The bull-power (vṛṣā) is the strong, creative surge of consciousness-force; its ‘cry’ is the awakening call that stirs dormant energies and confirms the victory of joy over inertia.
Universal truth
When inner delight is awakened and purified, it becomes a sovereign integrator of the personality, radiating clarity and energizing growth; true power announces itself as an uplifting awakening, not as coercion.
Themes
Soma-ritual, inner purification, radiance/sovereignty, force as fecund power (vṛṣan-symbolism)
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 9.5.2, RV 9.5.3, RV 9.5.4
Significance
The seer-vision here bridges Soma and Agni imagery (samiddha), indicating the Vedic insight that delight and will are allied powers in the inner sacrifice—bliss kindles and governs the totality.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Pavamāna, Viśvatas Patiḥ, Vṛṣā
- Related deities
- Agni (kindling imagery), Indra (illumined power), Maruts (awakened energies)
Cosmic role
Purifier and intensifier of divine powers; Soma’s flow establishes luminous sovereignty in the worlds and feeds the gods.
Inner power
Ananda-force that becomes sovereign integration; a dynamic joy that awakens and increases spiritual energies.
In ritual
Where it is used
Pavamāna stotra in Soma sacrifice sequences
समि॑द्धो वि॒श्वत॒स्पति॒: पव॑मानो॒ वि रा॑जति । प्री॒णन्वृषा॒ कनि॑क्रदत् ॥
सम्ऽइ॑द्धः । वि॒श्वतः॑ । पतिः॑ । पव॑मानः । वि । रा॒ज॒ति॒ । प्री॒णन् । वृषा॑ । कनि॑क्रदत् ॥
sam-iddhaḥ | viśvataḥ | patiḥ | pavamānaḥ | vi | rājati | prīṇan | vṛṣā | kanikradat
Likely Gāyatrī (typical for many Pavāmāna verses)
24
3 x 8 (approx.)
Bright, emphatic, with a ‘kindled’ lift; the final cadence supports the ‘cry’ (kanikradat).
Energizes and uplifts; supports awakening and confident concentration.
- समिद्धः (samiddhaḥ)
- Literal: kindled, fully lit. Symbolic: inner ignition—awakening of conscious force and aspiration
- विश्वतः पतिः (viśvataḥ patiḥ)
- Literal: lord/master from all sides; of the totality. Symbolic: integrating sovereign consciousness that holds the whole nature together
- पवमानः (pavamānaḥ)
- Literal: self-purifying (Soma). Symbolic: the delight-current that clarifies, refines, and uplifts mixed movements
- वि राजति (vi rājati)
- Literal: shines forth. Symbolic: illumination spreading through mind and life
- प्रीणन् (prīṇan)
- Literal: rejoicing, satisfying, gladdening. Symbolic: increasing inner contentment and soul-satisfaction (ānanda)
- वृषा (vṛṣā)
- Literal: bull. Symbolic: strong generative force; dynamic spiritual power
- कनिकradat् (kanikradat)
- Literal: cries aloud repeatedly. Symbolic: awakening call of energy; mantra-vibration stirring the prāṇa and mind
Soma-pavamāna sequence in the Soma sacrifice; chanted during pressing/purification (pavamāna-stotra context, general).
During purification/filtration and offering of Soma
Chant as Soma flows through the pavitra; invoke shining and strengthening
Morning practice for ‘igniting’ inner joy and integration; useful before work/effort to unify scattered energies.
samíddhaḥ: sam + √idh (edh/idh) ‘to kindle, blaze’ → ‘fully enkindled’ (past participle). viśvátas-pátiḥ: viśvátas ‘on all sides’ + páti ‘lord’; epithet of Soma as universal master of the field of consciousness. pávamānaḥ: present participle middle of √pū ‘purify’ with -māna, ‘purifying himself/being purified’—Soma in the sieve as inner clarification. ví rājati: √rāj ‘shine, rule’; vi- suggests outward manifestation of radiance (inner sovereignty becoming explicit). prīṇán: pres. participle of √prī ‘gladden, satiate’; indicates Soma’s function of increasing ānanda/refreshment in the being. vṛ́ṣā: from √vṛṣ ‘rain, be virile/potent’; in Soma hymns, the ‘bull’ is the force that pours and fertilizes—psychologically, the descending plenitude that energizes mind-life. kaníkradat: intensive/frequentative of √krand ‘cry, roar’; the repeated sound suggests the ecstatic proclamation of the clarified force (also echoing the audible rush of pressed Soma).
Ṛta as ordered manifestation (radiance ‘vi rājati’ as right-ordered shining), clarification/purification of consciousness, ānanda (delight) as a power that increases the being (√prī)
Viśvatas patiḥ implies governance by right order—holding multiplicity in harmony.
Shining (vi rājati) expresses truth-light manifesting through purification.
From kindling to radiance: emergence of a governing consciousness from within the mixed nature.
Integral-Vedic psychology (Aurobindo): delight as a power that organizes and reveals.
dawn/morning (typical Soma-pressing associations; also fits ‘kindled’ awakening)
Ignition of inner delight produces a sunlike clarity; the ‘bull-cry’ is the surge of prāṇa awakened by purified joy.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is the epiphany of Soma as the universal lord who becomes ‘kindled’ and shines forth while purifying—an inner rite of manifestation: the clarified essence rises and proclaims itself (kanikradat). The ‘Bull’ is the archetype of overflowing potency that fertilizes the worlds; psychologically, it is the released force of delight and luminous power after purification.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Key lexemes preserve inherited Indo-European patterns: √rāj ‘shine/rule’ aligns with the widespread IE linkage between kingship and radiance (sovereignty as brilliance). páti ‘lord’ is a classic IE title (*pótis) seen across Indo-Iranian. The intensive kanikradat (from √krand) reflects an old expressive morphology (reduplication/intensive) used cross-linguistically to mark repeated sound/action. √pū ‘purify’ continues an Indo-Iranian ritual-lexicon where physical cleansing encodes moral/psychic clarification.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer does not bargain for outer goods; he witnesses and invokes a reciprocal process: Soma’s purification becomes the human being’s purification. The rishi’s utterance ‘kindles’ the god (samiddhaḥ) by attention and praise, while the god answers by shining widely (vi rājati) and filling the vessel with delight-force (prīṇan vṛṣā). The reciprocity is thus illumination for offering: speech and aspiration intensify Soma; Soma returns as clarified power establishing ṛta in the inner worlds.
Kindle inner delight until it becomes the ‘lord of the totality’—a unifying governance over thoughts and impulses.
Maṇipūra (kindling) rising to Anāhata (joy) and Ājñā (sovereign clarity)
Bhastrikā-light or kapalabhāti (gentle) to ‘kindle’, followed by calm breathing to let Soma ‘shine’.
Wakeful, luminous, joyful strength.
Invoke a steady inner flame of aspiration; then feel a cool-bright joy (Soma) spreading through the system. Let the ‘bull-cry’ be an inner affirmation that wakes dull parts—without aggression, with glad strength.
Rigvedic accenting with clear udātta lifts on marked syllables; keep ‘vi rājati’ bright and even; ‘kanikradat’ articulated crisply.
Divide: samiddho | viśvatas patiḥ | pavamāno vi rājati || prīṇan | vṛṣā | kanikradat || (maintain a slight pause at pāda ends).
‘samiddho’: double consonant feel—sam-id-dhaḥ (no heavy pause, but clear articulation), ‘viśvataḥ’: ś is palatal; final ḥ lightly aspirated, ‘kanikradat’: keep short vowels light; final -t crisp
Resonant, forward, invigorating.
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