Rig Veda 9.6.5: Mandala 9, Sukta 6, Mantra 5
Sukta 9.6
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
यमत्यमिव वाजिनं मृजन्ति योषणो दश । वने क्रीळन्तमत्यविम् ॥
yám átyam iva vājínaṃ mṛjánti yóṣaṇo dáśa | váne krī́ḷantám átyavim ||
सोम को साफ करते हैं जैसे कोई तेज़ घोड़ा को साफ करते हैं। दस शक्तियाँ इस काम में लगी हैं। सोम जंगल में खेलता है और बहुत तेज़ दौड़ता है। जब तक वो चमक नहीं जाता, तब तक साफ करते रहते हैं।
Word by Word
- यम्
- whom / that (him)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → य
- अत्यम्
- a steed, swift horseNounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot अत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- इव
- like, asIndeclinableउपमा-अव्यय (तुलना)Root इव
- वाजिनम्
- the prize-winning one; racer/steedNoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot वाजिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- मृजन्ति
- they cleanse, they polishVerbलट् (वर्तमान); परस्मैपद; प्रथमा; बहुवचन; 3 पुरुषRoot मृज्
- योषणः
- women, maidensNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot योषणा (प्रातिपदिक)
- दश
- tenNumeral(प्रायः अव्ययवत्) ‘ten’ — here qualifying the subjectRole कर्तृ (विशेषणरूपेण)Root दशन्/दश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
- वने
- in the wood/forestNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी; एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot वन (प्रातिपदिक)
- क्रीळन्तम्
- playing, sportingParticiple (Present)वर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ); पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्म (यम्/अत्यम् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Root क्रीळ्
- अत्यविम्
- the swift one; steed (epithet)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्म (यम् इत्यस्य समानाधिकरण/अप्पोज़िशन)Root अत्यवि (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: यम् | अत्यम् | इव | वाजिनम् | मृजन्ति | योषणः | दश | वने | क्रीळन्तम् | अत्यविम् । 1) यमत्य॑मिव = यम् + अत्यम् + इव (म् + अ → मत्य…; ततः ‘इव’ संधिः). 2) क्रीळ॑न्त॒मत्य॑विम् = क्रीळन्तम् + अत्यविम् (म् + अ → मत्य…). 3) उच्चारण-चिह्नाः (॑/॒) वैदिकस्वर-निर्देशकाः
- पदच्छेदे मूलशब्दरूपं स्वरचिह्नविना दर्शितम्।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Ten maidens cleanse him like a swift, prize-winning steed; he plays in the wood, the surpassing runner.
Inner meaning
The Soma-consciousness is polished and clarified by the many working powers of the sacrifice (the ‘ten maidens’—purifying faculties/energies). As a swift horse (vital force) he becomes a victorious dynamism; ‘in the wood’ he delights in the field of growth (vanā—life/nature), and as the overpassing runner he exceeds ordinary limits, carrying the seeker beyond habitual mind.
Universal truth
When multiple inner faculties cooperate in purification, the life-force becomes a luminous, disciplined speed that surpasses limitation and turns nature itself into a field of play for the spirit.
Themes
Soma purification, Ten maidens motif, Dynamic force (horse imagery), Inner instrumentation
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 9.6.1-9.6.10
Significance
The seer emphasizes the cooperative inner work (many ‘maidens’) required to refine Soma into a victorious, swift life-force—an image central to Aurobindo’s psychological reading of the sacrifice.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Pavamāna, Indu, Hari (often ‘tawny’ in Soma imagery, conceptually)
- Related deities
- Indra, Maruts (forces of dynamic movement), Aśvins (swift helpers)
Cosmic role
Soma is the energizing delight that, once purified, becomes fit for the gods and for victorious action in the worlds.
Inner power
Transforms raw vitality into illumined speed; makes nature a playful field rather than a bondage.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma purification at the strainer; associated with pressing and filtering
यमत्य॑मिव वा॒जिनं॑ मृ॒जन्ति॒ योष॑णो॒ दश॑ । वने॒ क्रीळ॑न्त॒मत्य॑विम् ॥
यम् । अत्य॑म्ऽइव । वा॒जिन॑म् । मृ॒जन्ति॑ । योष॑णः । दश॑ । वने॑ । क्रीळ॑न्तम् । अति॑ऽअविम् ॥
yam | atyam-iva | vājinam | mṛjanti | yoṣaṇaḥ | daśa | vane | krīḷantam | ati-avim
24
3×8 (approx.)
Lithe, quick, ‘galloping’ feel matching horse imagery.
Stimulates dynamic clarity and coordinated effort; good for energizing yet purifying recitation.
- अत्य (atya)
- Literal: swift horse/steed. Symbolic: vital energy made swift and obedient to the inner aim
- वाजिनम् (vājinam)
- Literal: prize-winning, strong. Symbolic: force that carries the ‘victory’ of illumination into action
- मृजन्ति (mṛjanti)
- Literal: they cleanse/polish. Symbolic: refinement of consciousness; removal of dullness and turbulence
- योषणः दश (yoṣaṇaḥ daśa)
- Literal: ten maidens. Symbolic: the many purifying powers—often read as ten fingers/ten energies; psychologically, coordinated faculties of the being shaping the flow
- वने (vane)
- Literal: in the wood/forest. Symbolic: in the field of nature and growth; the vital-world where energies move
- क्रीळन्तम् (krīḷantam)
- Literal: playing. Symbolic: spontaneous, free delight in the movement of life once purified
- अत्यविम् (ati-avim)
- Literal: overpassing runner. Symbolic: conscious force that exceeds the ordinary track; transcending habit
Refers to the manual cleansing/pressing and straining of Soma—often done with hands (‘ten maidens’). In stotra context, it accompanies the polishing/clarifying phase.
While Soma is being cleansed/strained and prepared for offering
Accompanies the polishing/clarifying of Soma; invokes fitness and speed for the offering
For practitioners: use when refining habits—invoke coordinated faculties to ‘polish’ life-force into disciplined, joyful action.
√mṛj ‘wipe, cleanse’ is central to Soma purification vocabulary. ‘ten maidens’ is a classic Vedic image: outwardly the ten fingers preparing Soma; inwardly the complete set of operative energies/faculties that refine consciousness. atya ‘steed’ and atyaví- ‘swift runner’ express the dynamic, surpassing movement of the clarified force.
purification as polishing of consciousness (√mṛj), complete instrumentation of the human worker (ten powers/fingers), play (līlā-like krīḍ) as spontaneous movement of the divine force
The ‘cleansing’ establishes right functioning of energies; speed becomes lawful, not chaotic.
Purification makes movement transparent to truth—no distortion in action.
Culture of the vital: nature’s energies reshaped into instruments of the divine play.
Integral/psychological Vedism: transformation of prāṇa (horse) by ananda (Soma).
The ‘horse’ is the purified prāṇic drive; the ‘forest’ is the living field of impulses; cleansing is the discipline that turns impulse into luminous movement.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘ten maidens cleansing Soma’ mythologem: a recurrent image where feminine worker-powers refine Soma like grooming a racehorse. Psychologically, the total operative faculties (symbolised as ten) polish the delight-force so it can become a swift carrier of consciousness beyond limitation.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √mṛj ‘wipe/cleanse’ is an old Indo-Iranian purification verb (Avestan marəz- ‘cleanse’ is sometimes compared). The decadic symbolism (daśa ‘ten’) is culturally widespread but in Vedic often maps to embodied instrumentation (ten fingers), reflecting an archaic poetical concretisation.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer interprets the rite as an inner craftsmanship: Soma is not passively given; he is ‘made fit’ by the worker-powers. The reciprocity is practical—human faculties labour in purification, and Soma responds by revealing greater speed and force for the soul’s journey.
Refine prāṇa into a steady, victorious momentum; feel inner faculties cooperating like ‘ten maidens’.
Maṇipūra (vital power disciplined) rising toward Ājñā (directed speed as illumined will)
Kapalabhāti (mild) or brisk coherent breathing (e.g., 4-4) followed by quiet sitting to feel ‘polished’ energy.
Energized clarity; joyful mastery of movement.
Chant with a light, quick cadence; after recitation, visualize scattered impulses being combed into one bright current of action.
Exact svara accents not provided (needs svara-text).
Let the rhythm ‘trot’ on ‘atyaṃ iva vājinam’; keep consonant clusters crisp (mṛjanti, krīḷantam).
: ṛ is vocalic ‘r’ (mṛ-), not ‘mir’, : retroflex ṣ; keep ‘yo-ṣa-’ distinct, : long ī; retroflex ḷ (ḻ) in Vedic recitation traditions—articulate carefully, : split as ati-avim; do not swallow the vowel at the junction
Bright, forward, rhythmic; avoid heaviness.
7
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.
