Rig Veda 9.63.7: Mandala 9, Sukta 63, Mantra 7
Sukta 9.63
- Rishi
- Pavamāna Soma hymns
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
अया पवस्व धारया यया सूर्यमरोचयः । हिन्वानो मानुषीरपः ॥
ayā́ pavasva dhā́rayā yayā́ sū́ryam árocayaḥ | hinvānáḥ mā́nuṣīr apáḥ ||
हे सोम, उस धारा के साथ बहता रह जिससे तू सूरज को चमकाता है। तू इंसान के पानी को आगे बढ़ा रहा है और चमका रहा है।
Word by Word
- अया
- by this (stream/way)Pronoun (demonstrative)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole करणRoot इदम् (प्रातिपदिक: अय- < इ- ‘this’), स्त्री. इन्स्ट्रु. एकव.
- पवस्व
- purify yourself; flow forthVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपदRole (क्रिया) —Root √पू (पवते) ‘to purify, flow (as Soma)’
- धारया
- with a stream; by the currentNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole करणRoot धारा (प्रातिपदिक) < √धृ ‘to hold, to flow/stream’
- यया
- by whichPronoun (relative)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole करणRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सूर्यम्
- the SunNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot सूर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- अरोचयः
- you made (him/it) shine; you illuminedVerbलुङ् (अorist), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद (causative sense)Role (क्रिया) —Root √रुच् (प्रेरण) ‘to shine; to cause to shine’
- हिन्वानः
- impelling; urging onParticiple (verbal adjective)वर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचनRole कर्ताRoot √हि/ह्वि (हिनोति) ‘to impel, set in motion’ (present participle)
- मानुषीः
- human (belonging to men)Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot मानुषी (प्रातिपदिक) < मनु ‘Man; human’
- अपः
- watersNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot अप्/आप् (प्रातिपदिक) ‘water’
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद: अया | पवस्व | धारया | यया | सूर्यम् | अरोचयः | हिन्वानः | मानुषीः | अपः । बाह्यसन्धि न्यून: ‘सूर्यमरोचयः’ = ‘सूर्यम् अरोचयः’ (म् + अ → म + अ, अनुस्वार/मकार-सन्धि)
- अन्यत्र पदसीमा पर विराम।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Flow, O Soma, by that stream by which you made the Sun shine, driving forward the human waters.
Inner meaning
Soma is invoked to flow in the specific current (dhārā) that awakens the inner Sun (sūrya)—the solar truth-light in consciousness. By impelling the ‘human waters’ (mānuṣīr apaḥ)—the streams of our mixed nature, emotions, and life-movements—Soma sets them moving toward illumination rather than dispersion or obscurity.
Universal truth
A higher delight-force, when rightly directed, awakens inner truth-perception and reorganizes the emotional-vital life into a clear, forward-flowing movement toward light.
Themes
illumination, Soma as awakener, inner waters, Sun symbolism
The seer
- Rishi
- Pavamāna Soma seers (RV 9; traditional attribution varies)
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 9.63.1-11, Rig Veda 9.76, Rig Veda 9.97
Family tradition
Pavamāna visionary tradition focusing on Soma as illuminator and purifier of human nature.
Significance
This verse is a direct yogic instruction in Vedic form: choose the stream that lights the Sun, and let it drive the whole human current toward that illumination.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Pavamāna, Indu, Soma
- Related deities
- Sūrya, Uṣas, Agni
Cosmic role
Illuminator and purifier who links the earthly waters to the solar truth-light.
Inner power
Ananda that becomes a luminous flow capable of awakening the inner Sun and governing the lower currents.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma purification chants
अ॒या प॑वस्व॒ धार॑या॒ यया॒ सूर्य॒मरो॑चयः । हि॒न्वा॒नो मानु॑षीर॒पः ॥
अ॒या । प॒व॒स्व॒ । धार॑या । यया॑ । सूर्य॑म् । अरो॑चयः । हि॒न्वा॒नः । मानु॑षीः । अ॒पः ॥
ayā | pavasva | dhārayā | yayā | sūryam | arocayaḥ | hinvānaḥ | mānuṣīḥ | apaḥ
24
8|8|8
Invocatory and directive; the second pāda carries a bright ‘solar’ lift.
A felt upward brightening; helps ‘turn’ emotional energy toward clarity and aspiration.
- pavasva
- Literal: purify yourself, flow. Symbolic: Let the delight become clarified and active as a conscious current
- dhārayā
- Literal: by the stream/flow. Symbolic: A definite channel of sādhana—right direction of force
- sūryam arocayaḥ
- Literal: you made the Sun shine. Symbolic: You awaken the inner solar consciousness—truth-illumination
- hinvānaḥ
- Literal: impelling, driving forward. Symbolic: Dynamic activation; pushing nature beyond inertia
- mānuṣīḥ apaḥ
- Literal: human waters. Symbolic: Our psychological currents—emotion, desire, life-energy, subconscious flow
Pavamāna flow as illuminator; linked to purification streams and awakening of inner ‘waters’
During filtration/flow, especially when emphasizing Soma’s brightening power.
Chant while Soma runs; mentally ‘offer’ the flow to awaken Sūrya/illumination.
Meditation for emotional regulation: chant while visualizing a clear stream in the spine that brightens a sun in the heart/forehead and calms turbulent feelings.
arocayaḥ: causative from √ruc (to shine, be bright). hinvāna: from √hi/√hinv (to impel, set in motion). apas (waters): Vedic polyvalent symbol—physical waters and inner currents of life and consciousness.
illumination (sūrya) as manifestation of truth-consciousness, waters (āpaḥ) as life-consciousness currents, purification as awakening
The ‘stream that makes the Sun shine’ is ṛta’s pathway: right movement yields illumination.
Sūrya here is Satya’s visible power in consciousness—truth made luminous.
Emergence of light from waters: a recurring Vedic cosmogonic motif enacted inwardly.
Vedic Yoga / inner sacrifice psychology; anticipates Upaniṣadic light symbolism.
dawn-to-sunrise transition (symbolic)
A purified current of delight awakens truth-light and redirects emotional-vital energies into a luminous order.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Soma as the illuminator who ‘makes the Sun shine’ and sets the waters moving: the mythic awakening of light and release of waters is internalized as awakening of illumined consciousness and mobilization of human life-currents.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √ruc ‘shine’ fits the Indo-European light lexicon (compare Latin rutilus ‘reddish-golden’ as a later parallel; the PIE light vocabulary is broad, and Vedic preserves multiple ‘shine’ roots). The symbolic ‘waters’ complex parallels Indo-Iranian cosmology where waters are prime carriers of life and order.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi asks Soma to repeat in the practitioner what Soma does cosmically: the same stream that reveals the Sun should drive the human waters. The bond is imitative and transformative—cosmic action becomes yogic method.
Visualize Soma as a clear stream; awaken an inner sun of truth; guide emotions and life-currents forward.
anāhata (sun in heart) or ājñā (sun of illumination)
inhale: feel ‘stream rising’; exhale: feel ‘sun brightening’ and waters settling into rhythm.
From mixed emotional flow to luminous, ordered movement.
Chant 9 times; then sit 5 minutes watching the ‘human waters’ (feelings, impulses) move under a quiet solar light—no suppression, only guidance by illumination.
Observe udātta on key invocatory words (pavasva, sūryam); keep the second pāda bright and slightly lifted.
Sustain ‘dhārayā’ smoothly; give a clear rise on ‘sū́ryam’; soften into the final pāda while keeping forward momentum.
ayā: open ‘a-yā’ (long ā), arocayaḥ: ‘ro’ clear, ‘c’ as ‘ch’ in Vedic phonetics (palatal), final ḥ audible, mānuṣīḥ: long īḥ; retroflex ṣ distinct, apaḥ: final ḥ lightly breathed
Clear and luminous; let tone ‘shine’ on sūryam.
9
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.
