Rig Veda 9.59.2: Mandala 9, Sukta 59, Mantra 2
Sukta 9.59
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
पवस्वाद्भ्यो अदाभ्यः पवस्वौषधीभ्यः । पवस्व धिषणाभ्यः ॥
páv asvā́dbhyo adā́bhyaḥ páv asvauṣádhībhyaḥ | páv asva dhiṣáṇābhyaḥ ||
हे सोम, पानी से खुद को साफ कर। घास-पत्तों से साफ कर। अपने अंदर की शक्ति से भी साफ कर।
Word by Word
- पवस्व
- purify yourself / flow forth (as Soma)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदRole (क्रिया) —Root √पू (पवते) / पव- (धातु-प्रातिपदिक)
- अद्भ्यः
- from the watersNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (अपादान), बहुवचनRole ApādānaRoot अप्- (जल)
- अदाभ्यः
- unharmed, inviolableAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन (सम्बोधनार्थे/कर्तरि विशेषणम्) — सोमस्य विशेषणम्Role Kartā (विशेषण) / Sambodhana-भावRoot अ-दाभ्य- (दाभ्य < √दभ् ‘to harm/deceive’), नञ्-समास
- पवस्व
- purify yourself / flow forthVerbलोट्, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदRole (क्रिया) —Root √पू (पवते)
- ओषधीभ्यः
- from the plants / herbsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (अपादान), बहुवचनRole ApādānaRoot ओषधि-
- पवस्व
- purify yourself / flow forthVerbलोट्, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदRole (क्रिया) —Root √पू (पवते)
- धिषणाभ्यः
- from the Dhīṣaṇās (inspirations / divine powers of thought; also personified goddesses)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (अपादान), बहुवचनRole ApādānaRoot धिषणा-
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: पवस्व | अद्भ्यः | अदाभ्यः | पवस्व | ओषधीभ्यः | पवस्व | धिषणाभ्यः । 1) अद्भ्यः = अप्- (स्त्री) पञ्चमी-बहुवचन ‘अद्-’ (वेदिक रूप; अप् → अद् before भ्यः). 2) अदा॑भ्यः (accented) = अ- (नञ्) + दाभ्य- (from √दभ्), ‘not-to-be-harmed’. 3) पवस्व is repeated imperative (लोट्) addressing Soma
- the following पञ्चमी-बहुवचन forms mark sources (‘from …’)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Purify yourself from the invincible waters; purify yourself from the plants; purify yourself from the inspirings (dhī-powers).
Inner meaning
Soma is asked to purify himself ‘from waters’ and ‘from plants’—not as physical washing, but as separation from mixed lower movements: the waters are the life-flows/emotions, the plants are the growth-forces of nature (habits, impulses, ingrained vitality). Beyond these, he must purify from the dhiṣaṇās—the inner inspirers/intelligences—meaning: even the instruments of thought must be clarified from distortion, preference, and ego-mix so that inspiration becomes transparent to truth.
Universal truth
Purification is progressive: first the emotional currents, then the habitual vital nature, and finally even the mind’s inspirations must be cleansed so that truth and joy can act without mixture.
Themes
Soma-ritual, elements-as-supports, clarification-of-consciousness
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 9.59.1
Significance
Shows a three-tier psychology: life-waters, vital-nature growth, and mental inspiration—each must be purified for Soma (ananda) to become fully divine in the human system.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Pavamāna (purifying)
- Related deities
- Apas (waters), Oṣadhis (plants), Sarasvatī (inspiration), Agni (purifying will)
Cosmic role
Purifier that separates the essence from mixture, enabling offerings to reach the gods and powers to descend to man.
Inner power
Discriminating bliss: a joy that clarifies rather than intoxicates, making emotions, vitality, and thought transparent.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma filtration (pavamāna) emphasizing purification from admixtures
पव॑स्वा॒द्भ्यो अदा॑भ्य॒: पव॒स्वौष॑धीभ्यः । पव॑स्व धि॒षणा॑भ्यः ॥
पव॑स्व । अ॒त्ऽभ्यः । अदा॑भ्यः । पव॑स्व । ओष॑धीभ्यः । पव॑स्व । धि॒षणा॑भ्यः ॥
pavasva | at-bhyaḥ | adābhyaḥ | pavasva | oṣadhībhyaḥ | pavasva | dhiṣaṇābhyaḥ
Likely Triṣṭubh (imperative repetition suits 11-syllable cadence)
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4 pādas × ~11, with repeated pavasva creating a mantra-like triplet emphasis
Incantatory and cleansing; repetition acts like successive washings through subtler layers.
Induces a felt ‘clearing’—useful for settling agitation and refining perception.
- adbhyah adābhyaḥ
- Literal: from waters, invincible/unassailable. Symbolic: deep life-currents and subconscient energies that resist change; powerful emotional-vital movements
- auṣadhībhyaḥ
- Literal: from plants/herbs. Symbolic: organic growth-forces: habits, impulses, inherited patterns of vitality
- dhiṣaṇābhyaḥ
- Literal: from dhiṣaṇās (inspirations, thought-powers). Symbolic: inner faculties of intuition/inspiration that must be purified of ego and error
- pavasva (repeated)
- Literal: purify yourself. Symbolic: self-clarification of consciousness; the yoga of separating truth from mixture
Mantra for Soma’s purification through elemental supports: water (washing/flow), plants (source material), and dhiṣaṇā (inspiration guiding the rite).
As Soma is strained and clarified; thematically linked to removing plant/water admixture in pressing
Chant during straining; invocation of purity before offering
Use as a daily inner-cleansing chant before meditation: emotions → habits → thoughts.
adābhya from √dabh ‘to harm, deceive’ → ‘unassailable’, suggesting the waters’ pure force. oṣadhī ‘herb’ (oṣa- ‘burning/quickening’ + dhī?) is traditional; here treated as life-forces that nurture Soma’s embodiment. dhiṣaṇā relates to dhī (vision-thought) and the seat of inspiration; purification ‘from’ them indicates Soma’s emergence through and beyond these supports into a clarified essence.
purification as ascent of essence, invincibility of truth-force (adābhya), dhī (inspiration) as a channel of revelation
Purification restores right movement in the life-flows and thought-flows.
Dhiṣaṇā purification is purification of truth-perception itself.
Evolution from mixed nature to clarified divine nature through successive refinements.
Yoga/Integral: purification of the instruments (antaḥkaraṇa-like) as prerequisite for stable ananda.
Waters = emotions/subconscient currents; plants = habitual vital growth; dhiṣaṇā = inspired mind—each becoming transparent to higher consciousness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Soma’s birth/purification through the triple matrix—waters, plants, and inspirings—echoes the myth of the god pressed out of nature and raised into divine potency. Inwardly, delight-consciousness emerges by refining the life-flow, the vital-vegetative base, and even the thought-inspirations into a clear essence.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The elemental triad (waters/plants/mental powers) is expressed through ablatives (-bhyaḥ), a classical IE syntactic strategy for ‘source/origin’. √dabh has Indo-Iranian continuity (Avestan dab- ‘to deceive/harm’), supporting adābhya ‘not to be deceived/overcome’.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi directs Soma’s self-purification as a process mirrored in the practitioner: the rite and the inner yoga both require the refining of life (waters), embodiment (plants), and cognition/inspiration (dhiṣaṇā) so the deity’s clarified presence can act unhindered.
Three-step inner purification: (1) calm the waters (emotions), (2) quiet the plant-growth (habits/impulses), (3) clarify inspirations (thought) into transparent intuition.
Svādhiṣṭhāna (waters/emotion) → Maṇipūra (vital habits) → Ājñā (inspiration/clarity)
On three successive exhalations repeat pavasva; feel cleansing descending: belly-water region → navel-fire region → forehead-light region.
Quiet, clear, receptive purity.
Do not suppress; ‘strain’ the movements: watch them pass through awareness until only the clear essence remains.
Rigvedic svara; treat each pavasva as a distinct cleansing stroke, with a gentle rise on the repeated imperative.
Pause lightly after each clause: adbhyah… | auṣadhībhyaḥ… | dhiṣaṇābhyaḥ… to mark progressive subtlety.
adbhyah: cluster ‘dbhy’ articulated smoothly; in recitation often realized with slight epenthetic ease but keep the consonant integrity, adābhyaḥ: long ā, retroflex ḍ not present; keep ‘bhyaḥ’ aspirated, auṣadhībhyaḥ: ‘au’ diphthong clear; ‘ṣ’ retroflex; long ī in -dhī-, dhiṣaṇābhyaḥ: aspirate ‘dh’; retroflex ‘ṣ’; long ā in -ṇā-; retroflex ṇ
Soft, purifying, even; let the sound feel like a gentle wash.
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