Rig Veda 9.5.11: Mandala 9, Sukta 5, Mantra 11
Sukta 9.5
- Rishi
- Traditionally: Soma Pavamāna hymns are often attributed to seers of various families
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
विश्वे देवाः स्वाहाकृतिं पवमानस्या गत । वायुर्बृहस्पतिः सूर्योऽग्निरिन्द्रः सजोषसः ॥
víśve devā́ḥ svā́hā-kṛtiṃ pávamānasya ā́ gata | vāyúr bṛ́haspátiḥ sū́ryo ’gnír índraḥ sajóṣasaḥ ||
सारे देवता आएँ इस सोम की पूजा में जो स्वाहा के शब्द से शुरू होती है। वायु, बृहस्पति, सूर्य, अग्नि और इन्द्र, सब मिलकर आएँ और साथ में काम करें।
Word by Word
- विश्वे
- allAdjective (used substantively)पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचन (देवाः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role कर्तृ (समूह-कर्तृ; ‘देवाः’ इत्यस्य विशेषणत्वेन)Root विश्व (प्रातिपदिक) < PIE *wiḱs- / *wis- ‘all’ (विस्तृत सर्वत्वार्थ)
- देवाः
- the godsNounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot देव (प्रातिपदिक) < √दिव् ‘दीप्तौ/क्रीडायाम्’
- स्वाहाकृतिम्
- the ‘svāhā’-uttered offering/oblation-form (svāhā-made act)Noun (compound)स्त्रीलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनRole कर्मRoot स्वाहा (अव्यय/निपात) + कृति (स्त्री. प्रातिपदिक) < √कृ ‘करणे’
- पवमानस्य
- of Pavamāna (the purifying Soma)Adjective (substantivized epithet of Soma)पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी: ‘of the Pavamāna’)Root पवमान (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) < √पू ‘पवने/शोधने’ (पवते) + शानच्
- आ
- towards, untoIndeclinable (preverb)Root आ (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- गत
- go/come (approach)Verb (finite; Vedic injunctive/aorist form used as imperative-like)लुङ्/इञ्जङ्क्टिव-रूपम्, मध्यमपुरुष एकवचन (आ + √गम्) — ‘(त्वं) ग(तः)/गच्छ’ प्रकारेण प्रयोगःRole क्रिया (आह्वान/आदेशः)Root √गम् ‘गत्यर्थे’
- वायुः
- Vāyu (Wind-god)Nounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनRole कर्तृ (समुच्चित-कर्तृ)Root वायु (प्रातिपदिक) < √वा ‘गन्धने/वायौ’
- बृहस्पतिः
- BṛhaspatiNounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनRole कर्तृ (समुच्चित-कर्तृ)Root बृहस्पति (प्रातिपदिक) (बृह् ‘महान्’ + पति ‘lord’)
- सूर्यः
- Sūrya (Sun)Nounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनRole कर्तृ (समुच्चित-कर्तृ)Root सूर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- अग्निः
- Agni (Fire)Nounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनRole कर्तृ (समुच्चित-कर्तृ)Root अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक) < PIE *h₁n̥gʷnis
- इन्द्रः
- IndraNounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनRole कर्तृ (समुच्चित-कर्तृ)Root इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- सजोषसः
- in concord, together, of one accordAdjective (used predicatively/collectively)पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचन (समुच्चित-देवानां विशेषणम्)Role कर्तृ-विशेषणRoot सजोषस् (प्रातिपदिक) = स- (सह) + जोषस् ‘सन्तोष/अनुराग/सहभाव’
Sandhi Notes
- पाठे ‘देवा॒:’ = ‘देवाः’। ‘सूर्यो॒ऽग्निरिन्द्र॑:’ इति संधिः: सूर्यः + अग्निः → सूर्यॊऽग्निः (विसर्गस्य ओऽ-आदेशः), तथा अग्निः + इन्द्रः → अग्निरिन्द्रः (विसर्ग-लोपः/रुत्व-प्रभावः)। ‘पव॑मान॒स्या ग॑त’ = पवमानस्य + आ + गत (आ-उपसर्गः पृथक् पदत्वेन; मन्त्रभाषायां ‘आ गत’ = ‘आगच्छ’ अर्थे)।
The meaning
Outer meaning
May all the gods come to the offering shaped by the ‘svāhā’ of the purifying Soma; Vāyu, Bṛhaspati, Sūrya, Agni, Indra—may they arrive together in harmony.
Inner meaning
When Soma’s purified delight forms the true oblation (svāhā-kṛti: the self-giving cry and act), the whole pantheon of inner powers is summoned: Vāyu (prāṇa, life-breath), Bṛhaspati (revelatory word), Sūrya (truth-light), Agni (divine will), Indra (luminous mind). ‘Sajoṣasaḥ’ indicates not a crowd of separate forces but a harmonised collaboration in the sadhana—delight unifies the powers and prevents inner conflict.
Universal truth
A sincere, joy-filled self-offering draws forth integrated functioning of our highest faculties—breath, will, illumination, inspired speech, and victorious intelligence—so the being acts as one instrument of truth.
Themes
Soma-ritual, Invocation/Āvāhana, Purification, Harmonisation of divine powers, Inner sacrifice (psychological yajña)
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 9.5 (Pavamāna Soma collection; multi-family attributions)
Significance
The seer-vision here is synthetic: it reveals Soma as the unifier of the gods—delight as the principle of integrality, calling disparate powers into a single yoga.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna (invoking Viśve Devāḥ; named: Vāyu, Bṛhaspati, Sūrya, Agni, Indra)
- Epithets
- pavamāna (purifying), svāhā-kṛt (shaping the offering)
- Related deities
- Viśve Devāḥ, Vāyu, Bṛhaspati, Sūrya, Agni, Indra
Cosmic role
Soma is the oblation and the attractor; through him the gods are invited to participate in the sacrifice—cosmically, the powers of order gather around the essence of delight.
Inner power
A unifying Ananda that coordinates breath (Vāyu), word (Bṛhaspati), light (Sūrya), will (Agni), and victorious intelligence (Indra) into one movement.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing ritual: invitation to deities to partake of Soma/oblation
विश्वे॑ देवा॒: स्वाहा॑कृतिं॒ पव॑मान॒स्या ग॑त । वा॒युर्बृह॒स्पति॒: सूर्यो॒ऽग्निरिन्द्र॑: स॒जोष॑सः ॥
विश्वे॑ । देवाः॑ । स्वाहा॑ऽकृतिम् । पव॑मानस्य । आ । ग॒त॒ । वा॒युः । बृह॒स्पतिः॑ । सूर्यः॑ । अ॒ग्निः । इन्द्रः॑ स॒जोष॑सः ॥
viśve | devāḥ | svāhā-kṛtim | pavamānasya | ā | gata | vāyuḥ | bṛhaspatiḥ | sūryaḥ | agniḥ | indraḥ | sajoṣasaḥ
Likely Jagatī (Cadence appears longer than Triṣṭubh in pāda 1)
48
4 pādas × ~12 syllables (Jagatī-type flow; confirm by counting with Vedic sandhi)
Processional and invitational; a ‘gathering’ rhythm that names powers in sequence.
Creates a sense of summoning and alignment—listeners feel disparate energies ‘arrive’ and coordinate around a central offering.
- viśve devāḥ
- Literal: all the gods. Symbolic: the totality of awakened soul-powers and faculties
- svāhā-kṛti
- Literal: made into ‘svāhā’; offering-formula. Symbolic: the soul’s consenting self-giving; the inner ‘yes’ that releases energy to the divine
- pavamānasya
- Literal: of the purifying Soma. Symbolic: of the clarified delight-consciousness that makes offering effective
- ā gata
- Literal: come here. Symbolic: descent/arrival of higher powers into the active nature
- Vāyu
- Literal: wind. Symbolic: prāṇa, life-force that carries Soma and energizes practice
- Bṛhaspati
- Literal: lord of the expansive word. Symbolic: mantric inspiration; truth-formulating intelligence
- Sūrya
- Literal: sun. Symbolic: illumination, vision of Satya
- Agni
- Literal: fire. Symbolic: divine will, priest of the inner sacrifice
- Indra
- Literal: lord of luminous power. Symbolic: illumined mind-force that breaks coverings and establishes victory
- sajoṣasaḥ
- Literal: of one mind/accord. Symbolic: harmonised working of the powers; integral coherence
Soma-pavamāna context: chanted during Soma pressing/clarification (pavamāna-stotra sequences) in Soma sacrifices such as Agniṣṭoma; this verse functions as an invitation for deities to partake of the clarified offering.
During Pavamāna recitation/stotra sequences, especially when inviting multiple deities to the session
Anuvākyā/invitation style: calling devas to the svāhā-shaped offering
Use before meditation as an ‘inner invocation’: call breath, will, light, word, and mind into harmony around a single intention.
Key terms: (1) pávamāna- ‘purifying’ from √pū/√pav ‘to cleanse, clarify’; Soma as clarified consciousness-force. (2) svā́hā-kṛti-: svāhā (ritual exclamation) re-read inwardly as ‘self-offering/assent’ (su-āhā ‘well-said’ in later etymology; functionally a seal of consecration) + kṛti ‘making’ from √kṛ ‘to do, form’. (3) sajóṣasaḥ from sa- ‘together’ + jóṣa (delight/consent) from √juṣ ‘to enjoy, favour’; indicates concord of powers rather than mere assembly. (4) devá from √div ‘shine’ → ‘luminous power’, supporting the psychological reading.
ṛta (harmonised order implied by sajóṣasaḥ—powers acting in concord), satyam/illumination (Sūrya; Soma as truth-bearing clarity), yajña as inner self-offering (svāhā-kṛti)
‘Sajoṣasaḥ’ implies ṛta: right relation among powers; Soma’s purification restores lawful harmony.
Sūrya’s presence signals Satya-vision guiding the sacrifice.
Integration of powers is a microcosmic creation: the inner world is re-ordered around the offering.
Integral/psychological Veda: gods as functional powers of consciousness; Soma as Ananda-principle unifying them.
dawn-to-noon movement implied (sun’s presence; ritual session)
Wind=breath dynamics; Sun=truth-illumination; Fire=will; Soma=delight-essence; their harmony=integrated sadhana.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘summoning of the gods to Soma’ mythologem: the clarified Soma is the attractor that gathers the divine powers to a common seat. Psychologically, the purified consciousness-force (Soma Pavamāna) calls the faculties—breath-force (Vāyu), inspired word (Bṛhaspati), truth-vision (Sūrya), will-fire (Agni), victorious mind-force (Indra)—to cooperate in the inner work.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- devá- from √div ‘shine’ aligns with PIE *dei̯wós ‘celestial, shining’ (cf. Latin deus, Old Irish día). √gam ‘to go/come’ (gata) reflects PIE *gʷem- ‘to go/come’ (cf. Greek baínō is different root; but Sanskrit √gam is cognate with Tocharian käṃ- ‘come’ and Lithuanian žengti is not; primary PIE match is *gʷem- seen in Latin veniō via *gʷen- is debated; still, Indo-Iranian preserves √gam clearly). √juṣ (in sajóṣasaḥ) expresses ‘favour/enjoy’ with Indo-Iranian parallels (Avestan juš- ‘to enjoy’), supporting the sense of concord/consent as a shared poetic formula.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer positions himself as organiser of an inner yajña: by forming the ‘svāhā-made’ offering (an act of consecrated assent), he invites the Devas to enter and act ‘in one accord’. The reciprocity is implicit: the human gives self-offering/clarification (Soma’s purification), and the divine powers respond by descending as coordinated faculties that establish ṛta (right order) and intensify the inner illumination.
‘Inner svāhā’: offer the day’s mind/breath/will into a single flame; invite the aligned powers to work together.
Maṇipūra (Agni/will) + Ājñā (Indra/Sūrya illumination) with Vāyu support through Anāhata (breath harmony)
4-4-6 breathing (inhale-hold-exhale) while mentally invoking Vāyu→Agni→Sūrya→Indra→Bṛhaspati
Collected, harmonised, quietly uplifted
Start with one clear intention; on each deity-name, feel that faculty awaken and take its proper place around the central offering of Soma-delight.
Requires Rigvedic accent notation from a marked Saṃhitā; chant with preserved udātta peaks especially on deity-names.
Give clear separation between deity list items; keep ‘svāhā-kṛtim’ as one semantic unit; avoid rushing ‘sajoṣasaḥ’.
viśve: palatal ‘ś’ clear, devāḥ: long ā; visarga lightly aspirated, svāhā-kṛtim: long ā in svāhā; retroflex ṛ in kṛ, pavamānasya: long ā; ‘sy’ cluster clean, vāyuḥ: long ā; visarga gentle, bṛhaspatiḥ: retroflex ṛ; ‘sp’ cluster crisp, sūryo: long ū; ‘ry’ cluster light, agniḥ: hard ‘gn’, indraḥ: rolled ‘r’; visarga light, sajoṣasaḥ: ‘jo’ longish; retroflex? keep dental ‘s’ at ends
Clear, invitational, slightly elevated on udātta; end with a settling cadence
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