Rig Veda 9.63.25: Mandala 9, Sukta 63, Mantra 25
Sukta 9.63
- Rishi
- Pavamāna Soma seer-poets
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- Jagatī
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
पवमाना असृक्षत सोमाः शुक्रास इन्दवः । अभि विश्वानि काव्या ॥
pávamānā asṛkṣata sómāḥ śukrā́sa índavaḥ | abhí víśvāni kā́vyā ||
सोम की चमकती बूँदें निकली हैं जो सबको साफ करती हैं। यह बूँदें इतनी चमकदार हैं जैसे मोती हो। रिशियों के जो बोल गए थे, उस सब सच को यह बूँदें आगे ले जा रही हैं।
Word by Word
- पवमानाः
- the purifying (ones)Adjective (participle)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot पवमान- (√पू ‘to purify’, present middle participle stem)
- असृक्षत
- they streamed/flew forthVerbलुङ् (aorist), परस्मैपद, 3 पुरुष, बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot √सृज् ‘to let flow, send forth’
- सोमाः
- Soma (drops)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (पवमानाः इति विशेषणेन सह)Root सोम-
- शुक्रासः
- bright, clearAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (सोमाः इति विशेषणम्)Root शुक्र-
- इन्दवः
- drops (of Soma)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (सोमाः इत्यस्य पर्याय/विशेषण-रूपेण)Root इन्दु-
- अभि
- towards; over; uponIndeclinable (preverb/preposition)उपसर्ग/उपपद (अभिमुख्ये/व्याप्तौ)Root अभि
- विश्वानि
- all (things)Adjective (used substantively)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot विश्व-
- काव्यानि
- poetic works; inspired (utterances)Adjective (used substantively)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्म (विश्वानि इति विशेषणम्/समन्वयः)Root काव्य-
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: पवमानाः | असृक्षत | सोमाः | शुक्रासः | इन्दवः | अभि | विश्वानि | काव्यानि ।
- ‘सोमा:’ इत्यत्र विसर्गः पदान्तः (पाठभेदे ‘सोमाः’). ‘पवमानाः’ = √पू धातोः वर्तमान-मध्यम-कर्तरि कृदन्तः (पवमान) + प्रथमा बहुवचनः।
The meaning
Outer meaning
The bright, purifying Soma-drops are released and surge forward, pressing upon (pervading/activating) all inspired utterances (kāvya).
Inner meaning
The purified current of Soma—divine Ananda distilled in consciousness—breaks free within the seeker and begins to act upon all formations of inspired speech and insight (kāvya), quickening mantric intuition and making the inner word luminous and effective.
Universal truth
When delight (Ananda) is purified of mixture and obstruction, it naturally presses into every layer of expression—thought, speech, creativity—turning them into vehicles of truth rather than instruments of ego.
Themes
revelation through purification, seer-poetry, luminous flow
The seer
- Rishi
- Pavamāna Soma seer-poets (Soma Pavamanas)
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 9.63.1-30 (context hymn), Rig Veda 9.61 (Pavamāna motifs: purification and illumination), Rig Veda 9.62 (Soma as seer-force and purifier)
Family tradition
Ninth Maṇḍala Soma hymns—collective seer-tradition of the Soma-pressing and its inner mysticism; verses often attributed to poet-families but voiced here as the Soma-seers.
Significance
The ‘seer-poets of Soma’ represent a yogic lineage where inspired speech is born from purified delight; the rishi-function here is the hearing of Ananda as mantra—truth expressed as luminous word.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Pavamāna (self-purifying), Indu (bright drop), Śukra (luminous)
- Related deities
- Agni (will that offers and leads), Indra (illumined mind that receives Soma), Sarasvatī (inspired speech), Bṛhaspati (lord of the Word)
Cosmic role
Soma is the celestial delight that, when purified through the ‘filter’ (pavitra), becomes fit for the gods—supporting Indra’s illumination and the universal rite (ṛta).
Inner power
Ananda-śakti that clarifies mind and speech, turning inspiration into effective truth; it ‘presses’ upon all kāvya to make it mantric rather than mental.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma Pavamāna chants in Soma-yajña (especially the purification/pressing sequences)
पव॑माना असृक्षत॒ सोमा॑: शु॒क्रास॒ इन्द॑वः । अ॒भि विश्वा॑नि॒ काव्या॑ ॥
पव॑मानाः । अ॒सृ॒क्ष॒त॒ । सोमाः॑ । शु॒क्रासः॑ । इन्द॑वः । अ॒भि । विश्वा॑नि । काव्या॑ ॥
pavamānāḥ | asṛkṣata | somāḥ | śukrāsaḥ | indavaḥ | abhi | viśvāni | kāvyā
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4 pādas of ~12 syllables each (Jagatī norm); cadence supports forward ‘pressing’ movement.
Longer, rolling gait; a streaming, wave-like propulsion suited to Soma’s flow.
Produces a sense of widening and pervasion—good for feeling Soma’s pressure entering thought and speech.
- pavamānāḥ
- Literal: purifying, being purified (Soma). Symbolic: the self-clarifying flow of consciousness/bliss that removes admixture and obscurity
- asṛkṣata
- Literal: they were released/let loose. Symbolic: the inner energies are freed from knots, inhibitions, and subconscious holding
- somāḥ
- Literal: Soma-juices. Symbolic: divine Ananda, the nectar of immortal consciousness
- śukrāsaḥ
- Literal: bright, shining. Symbolic: luminous purity; clarity that carries truth-force
- indavaḥ
- Literal: drops (of Soma). Symbolic: discrete currents of delight/illumination entering mind and life
- abhi
- Literal: towards, upon, over. Symbolic: a pervading pressure of higher consciousness upon lower instruments
- viśvāni
- Literal: all. Symbolic: the totality of inner faculties and their expressions
- kāvyā
- Literal: poetic/inspired utterances. Symbolic: mantric speech, seer-vision in word; intuitive formulations of truth
Description of the Soma streams released through purification; stotra during filtering/flow
During Soma pressing and filtration (pavamāna) recitations; linked with offering to Indra and other deities.
Chanting while Soma is purified through the filter; mentally ‘releasing’ the luminous current toward the gods.
Use before study/teaching/creative work: invoke purified delight to illumine speech and writing; short japa to ‘make the word true’.
asṛkṣata: aorist of √sṛj ‘release, emit’; śukra: from √śuc ‘shine, be bright/pure’; indu: ‘drop, spark’ (Soma drop); kāvya: from kavi ‘seer’ (possibly from √kū/√kav ‘to see/compose’ in traditional derivations) → inspired poetic truth.
kāvya as revealed truth-word, multiplicity of Soma currents (plural) as many powers of delight
Soma’s purification is the movement from mixture to ṛta—clarity that aligns expression with cosmic order.
Kāvya becomes satya-vāk (truth-speech) when pressed by luminous Soma.
Descent of higher delight into formulated word—creation through inspired vibration.
Proto-Vedāntic / Aurobindonian psychological reading: Soma as Ananda shaping mind and speech.
A bright, purified stream of delight moving through the mind’s channels and energizing inspired speech (kāvya) into mantra.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘bright drops’ of Soma are released and move upon ‘all kāvya’—the mythic picture of divine nectar activating the seer-word. Innerly, purified delight energises and illumines the entire field of inspired expression and truth-perception.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √sṛj ‘send forth’ aligns with PIE *sreǵ-/*ser- ‘flow, let go’ in broad semantic space; śukra from √śuc relates to Indo-Iranian brightness/purity vocabulary (Avestan suxra- ‘bright’ is a close cognate), indicating inherited poetic diction.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi recognises Soma as the activating principle of kāvya: when Soma is released in purity, the seer’s total inspired repertoire is awakened and intensified—Soma becomes the inner fuel of revelation.
Feel a cool-luminous current (Soma) rising and then pressing into speech/thought; let words form from silence rather than effort.
viśuddha (throat)
Gentle nāḍī-śodhana or slow exhale while mentally repeating ‘pavamāna’ to sense purification.
Quietly illumined inspiration (mantra-dṛṣṭi)
Before speaking, teaching, or writing: 9 slow repetitions; pause after each to listen inwardly for the ‘kāvya’ that arises when delight becomes clear.
Use standard Rigvedic accenting as marked: udatta on accented syllables, svarita on falling tones; maintain clear distinction of pitch steps.
Honor the marked accents in pávamānā / ásṛkṣata / sómāḥ / śukrā́saḥ / índavaḥ; avoid flattening ‘abhi víśvāni kā́vyā’.
Keep ‘pavamānā’ with clear va (not ba)., śukrāsaḥ: pronounce śu-kraa-saḥ with long ā., indavaḥ: short i, dental d, clear vaḥ., kāvyā: long ā; ‘vy’ as a conjunct (kāv-ya).
Bright, flowing, slightly nasal resonance to evoke ‘streaming’ clarity.
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