Rig Veda 9.9.9: Mandala 9, Sukta 9, Mantra 9
Sukta 9.9
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
पवमान महि श्रवो गामश्वं रासि वीरवत् । सना मेधां सना स्वः ॥
pávamāna máhi śrávo gā́m áśvaṃ rāsi vī́ravat | sánā médhāṃ sánā svàḥ ||
हे सोम, जो सब को साफ करता है, हमें बड़ा ज्ञान दे। हमारे लिए धन और ताकत ला, जैसे वीरों के पास होती है। हमेशा के लिए बुद्धि दे और अंदर की रोशनी दे।
Word by Word
- पवमान
- O purifying (Soma)Adjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (सम्बोधनार्थे प्रयुक्तः)Role सम्बोधन (vocative use; कर्तृ-सम्बन्धी)Root पवमान- (प्रातिपदिक; √पू ‘पवने/शोधने’ से वर्तमान कृदन्त)
- महि
- great, greatlyIndeclinable (adverbial)अव्यय; ‘महद्/मह’ अर्थे ‘greatly/very’Role विशेषण-सम्बन्ध (श्रवः-विशेषणम्)Root महि (अव्यय/विशेषण; ‘मह्’ भाव)
- श्रवः
- fame, gloryNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (रासि का)Root श्रवस्- (प्रातिपदिक)
- गाम्
- a cowNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (वेदिक रूप ‘गाम्’)Role कर्म (रासि का)Root गो- (प्रातिपदिक)
- अश्वम्
- a horseNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (रासि का)Root अश्व- (प्रातिपदिक)
- रासि
- you giveVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रिया (यजमान-प्रार्थना; ‘त्वम्’ कर्ता)Root √रा (रास्) ‘दाने’
- वीरवत्
- hero-filled, with heroesAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (श्रवः-विशेषणम्)Role विशेष्य-विशेषण (श्रवः का)Root वीरवत्- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘वीर’ + मतुप्)
- सना
- always, from of oldIndeclinableअव्यय; ‘सदा/पुरा/चिरम्’ अर्थेRole क्रियाविशेषण (रासि/देहि-भाव)Root सना (अव्यय)
- मे
- to me / for mePronounषष्ठी (genitive) / चतुर्थी (dative) एकवचन; अत्र ‘मे’ = मम/मह्यम् (प्रार्थनायाम् दातृ-सम्बन्धः)Role सम्प्रदान (प्राप्ता/हितग्राही ‘to me’)Root अस्मद्- (सर्वनाम)
- मेधाम्
- wisdom, intelligenceNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (देय-वस्तु)Root मेधा- (प्रातिपदिक)
- सना
- alwaysIndeclinableअव्यय; पुनरुक्त्या ‘नित्यं’ बलवत्तरम्Role क्रियाविशेषणRoot सना (अव्यय)
- स्वः
- heaven, the sky-worldNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (वेदिक ‘स्वः’ = ‘स्वर्गम्/द्युलोकम्’)Role कर्म (देय-वस्तु)Root स्वर्/स्वः (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (अक्षर-सम्बन्ध): पवमान | महि | श्रवः | गाम् | अश्वम् | रासि | वीरवत् || सना | मे | मेधाम् | सना | स्वः || 1) ‘गामश्वम्’ = ‘गाम्’ + ‘अश्वम्’ (अम् + अ- संयोगे संधि-लोप/संयोगः; पदपाठे पृथक्). 2) ‘सना मेधाम्’ तथा ‘सना स्वः’ में संधि नहीं, केवल पद-सीमा. 3) उच्चारण-चिह्न (॑, ॒) ऋग्वैदिक स्वर-चिह्न हैं
- यहाँ पद-विश्लेषण में मूल पद-रूप रखे गए हैं, पर स्वर-स्थान पदपाठानुसार ग्रहणीय।
The meaning
Outer meaning
A prayer to Soma in his purifying flow: grant great fame/hearing, cows and horses with heroic force; grant enduring intelligence and enduring heaven (svah).
Inner meaning
To Soma Pavamāna (the Bliss-consciousness in purification): grant the vast capacity to receive inspired revelation (mahi śravaḥ); release the rays of illumination (go) and the swift executive energies (aśva) empowered by the heroic soul-force (vīravat); establish stable discerning intelligence (medhā) and a lasting access to the luminous plane of consciousness (svaḥ) within.
Universal truth
When delight (ānanda) is purified and made conscious, it naturally brings: (1) receptivity to higher guidance, (2) illumination and energy for action, (3) steady discernment, and (4) an abiding inner sunlight that outlasts changing moods and circumstances.
Themes
Boons, Illumination and strength, Knowledge-symbolism (cows as rays)
The seer
Significance
The anonymity fits the Soma-book’s collective yogic labor: the ‘seer’ is often the awakened instrument of the Soma-current itself—vision arising from repeated inner pressing, filtering, and offering of delight to the gods (higher faculties).
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Pavamāna (Purifier), Indu (bright drop), Suta (pressed)
- Related deities
- Agni, Indra, Uṣas, Sūrya
Cosmic role
The divine delight that is pressed out and purified, building the gods’ strength and establishing the luminous order in the human being.
Inner power
Ananda as a conscious current that cleanses obscurity, intensifies aspiration, and stabilizes illumined intelligence (medhā) leading to suvar (inner heaven).
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing and purification (pavamāna-stotra context)
पव॑मान॒ महि॒ श्रवो॒ गामश्वं॑ रासि वी॒रव॑त् । सना॑ मे॒धां सना॒ स्व॑: ॥
पव॑मान । महि॑ । श्रवः॑ । गाम् । अश्व॑म् । रा॒सि॒ । वी॒रऽव॑त् । सना॑ । मे॒धाम् । सना॑ । स्वः॑ ॥
pavamāna | mahi | śravaḥ | gām | aśvam | rāsi | vīra-vat | sanā | medhām | sanā | svaḥ
Two pādas shown
A compact imperative rhythm—short invocations followed by a cadence of ‘sanā … sanā …’ that produces insistence and continuity.
Builds a felt sense of steady accumulation: first receptivity (śravaḥ), then light and energy (go/aśva), then settled wisdom and inner sky (medhā/svaḥ).
- pavamāna
- Literal: purifying, flowing clear. Symbolic: the Bliss-force refining the nature, clarifying mind-life-body into a transparent channel
- mahi śravaḥ
- Literal: great hearing/fame. Symbolic: vast inspired receptivity—śruti as inner audition of truth
- gām (go)
- Literal: cow. Symbolic: rays of light/knowledge released into the mind
- aśvam
- Literal: horse. Symbolic: swift vital energies and powers of execution
- vīravat
- Literal: heroic, full of heroes. Symbolic: strength of the inner warrior—courage, tapas, victorious will
- medhām
- Literal: intelligence, wisdom, right understanding. Symbolic: integrative discernment that holds truth in action
- svaḥ
- Literal: heaven, luminous world. Symbolic: inner sun-world—plane of illumined consciousness (suvar)
Typical boon-request in Soma-purification hymns: asks Soma to bestow śravas, medhā, and svar—mapped ritually to successful offering and inwardly to illumination and strength.
During Soma-yajña sequences where Pavamāna hymns accompany the flowing/filtered Soma.
Chanting while Soma is pressed, filtered, and poured—invoking purification and increase of divine powers.
Used as a meditative affirmation for ‘purifying delight’: before study, sādhanā, or creative work—invoking receptivity, illumination, energy, discernment, and inner brightness.
pavamāna from √pū ‘purify’ with -māna participial formation. śravas from √śru ‘hear’ (PIE *ḱleu̯- ‘hear’ cf. Greek κλύω, English loud). go ‘cow’ as Vedic symbol of light (root √gā/√gam ‘go’ also interacts poetically; lexeme go- is inherited Indo-Iranian). aśva ‘horse’ (PIE *h₁éḱwos cf. Latin equus). medhā from √medh ‘be wise/measure/understand’ (cognate field with ‘meditate’ in later Sanskrit; PIE links debated). svàr/svaḥ linked to luminous heaven (cf. Avestan xvar ‘sun’ in Iranian phonology; broader IE solar lexicon).
Medhā (luminous intelligence), Śravas (revelatory hearing), Svar (truth-light plane; Satyam Ritam Brihat implied as ascent)
Soma’s ‘purifying’ action restores ṛta in the being—ordering energies (aśva) under light (go) and true hearing (śravaḥ).
‘Mahi śravaḥ’ as access to satya-śruti: hearing that comes from truth-plane rather than opinion.
From pressed essence to luminous world: the inner creation proceeds by extracting delight, clarifying it, and establishing suvar (inner heaven).
Proto-Vedāntic / integral-yogic reading (Aurobindo): ascent to suvar through purified ananda and illumined intelligence.
A current of clarified delight rises like a bright stream, releasing ‘rays’ (go) and ‘speeds’ (aśva) and opening a stable inner daylight (svaḥ).
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘gift of cows and horses’ transposed inwardly: Soma grants rays of knowledge (go) and swift life-forces (aśva), together with heroic energies, culminating in medhā and svar—the ascent to luminous consciousness.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- aśva < PIE *h₁éḱwos is a strong IE isogloss (equus, ἵππος is different root). śravas (√śru) matches PIE *ḱleu̯- ‘hear’ (Greek kleos ‘fame’ is a close semantic parallel to śravas as ‘glory/heard renown’).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi petitions Soma as the inner giver: the offering of Soma is reciprocated by Soma’s bestowal of illumination (go/svaḥ) and dynamic force (aśva/vīra), enabling the seeker’s growth into discerning intelligence (medhā).
Let delight become clear and conscious; receive higher guidance; invite light and force; stabilize discernment; rest in inner sun.
Anāhata to Ājñā axis (delight-heart rising to illumined mind); Sahasrāra as ‘svaḥ’ openness (optional mapping).
Gentle nāḍī-śodhana or slow 1:1 breathing while repeating ‘sanā medhāṃ sanā svaḥ’ on the exhale.
From vital uplift to illumined clarity (sattvic, receptive, bright).
Begin with 3 minutes of quiet ‘inner pressing’ (offer emotions into the heart), then chant; after chanting, sit and ‘listen’ for mahi śravaḥ—subtle guidance without mental forcing.
Use Saṃhitā svara as marked (udātta/anudātta/svarita); key lift on the udātta syllables in pávamāna, śrávo, rā́si, svàḥ (exact pattern depends on the recensional notation).
Keep udātta as the tonal ‘rise’; do not over-stress consonants—let the vowel carry the pitch. The double ‘sanā’ should be even and steady, not hurried.
pavamāna: ‘va’ soft, ‘mā’ long (ā), śravo: ‘śra’ as palatal ‘shra’, ‘vo’ clear ‘o’, gām: long ā with nasalization (ṃ), aśvam: ‘śv’ cluster clean, no extra vowel, vīravat: long ī, light ‘t’ at end, medhām: ‘dh’ voiced aspirate, long ā, svaḥ: ‘sv’ cluster; final ḥ audible as a light breath
Clear, flowing, and bright; slightly more force on vīravat, then soften into sanā…sanā…
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