Rig Veda 9.98.4: Mandala 9, Sukta 98, Mantra 4
Sukta 9.98
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
स हि त्वं देव शश्वते वसु मर्ताय दाशुषे । इन्दो सहस्रिणं रयिं शतात्मानं विवाससि ॥
sá hí tvaṃ deva śáśvate vásu mártāya dāśúṣe | índo sahásriṇaṃ rayíṃ śatá-ātmānaṃ vivāsasi ||
हे देवता इन्दु, तुम वोह हो जो भक्त को ऐसा देना जानते हो जो सदियों तक चले। जो इंसान तुम्हे पूजा के साथ समर्पित करता है, तुम उसको हज़ार गुना धन देते हो। सौ शक्तियों वाला संपत्ति तुम उसको देते हो। तुम उसको बड़े घर में और खुशाली में बसाते हो।
Word by Word
- सः
- hePronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- हि
- indeed, forIndeclinableअव्ययम्Root हि (निपात)
- त्वम्
- youPronounउत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- देव
- O godNoun (vocative) / Epithetपुंलिङ्गः, सम्बोधन, एकवचनम्Role सम्बोधनRoot देव (प्रातिपदिक) < दिव् (धातु, ‘to shine’)
- शश्वते
- to the ever-lasting/continual (one)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गे/नपुंसकलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी, एकवचनम् (दातृ-सम्प्रदानार्थे)Role SampradānaRoot शश्वत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- वसु
- wealth, goodNounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot वसु (प्रातिपदिक)
- मर्ताय
- to a mortalNounपुंलिङ्गः, चतुर्थी, एकवचनम्Role SampradānaRoot मर्त (प्रातिपदिक) < मृ (धातु, ‘to die’)
- दाशुषे
- to the worshipper/giverParticiple (perfect/possessive sense) used as nounपुंलिङ्गः, चतुर्थी, एकवचनम्Role SampradānaRoot दाश्वस्/दाशुष् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक), √दाश्/√दश् (‘to worship, give, serve’)
- इन्दो
- O Indu (Soma)Noun (vocative) / Epithetपुंलिङ्गः, सम्बोधन, एकवचनम्Role सम्बोधनRoot इन्दु (प्रातिपदिक)
- सहस्रिणम्
- thousand-fold, having thousandsAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot सहस्रिन् (प्रातिपदिक) < सहस्र
- रयिम्
- wealth, treasureNounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot रयि (प्रातिपदिक)
- शतात्मानम्
- of a hundredfold nature / hundred-souled (very manifold)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot शत-आत्मन् (समास-प्रातिपदिक)
- विवाससि
- you cause (it) to abide / you bestowVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपदम्, मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Role KriyāRoot वि + √वास् (धातु, ‘to dwell/shine’; in causative/denominative-like Vedic usage ‘to make dwell, to bestow, to cause to abide’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: सः हि त्वम् देव शश्वते वसु मर्ताय दाशुषे । इन्दो सहस्रिणम् रयिम् शतात्मानम् विवाससि ॥ बाह्यसन्धिः: (1) स + हि → सः हि (विसर्ग-सन्धि) । (2) त्वं देव → त्वम् देव (अनुस्वार/मकार-परिवर्तनः; पदान्त-ं → म् परे दकारे) ।
- ‘शतात्मानम्’ समासपदम् (शत + आत्मन्)।
The meaning
Outer meaning
O divine Indu (Soma), you grant to the mortal sacrificer enduring good—thousand-fold wealth and a many-powered prosperity—so that he dwells in wideness and well-being.
Inner meaning
Indu as the purified Delight-Consciousness (ānanda) answers the sincere offering (dāśuṣ) by pouring into the human being an expansive, many-streamed plenitude: not mere possessions, but a widening of consciousness and a multiplication of inner powers. “Thousand-fold” indicates abundant currents of force and joy; “hundred-souled” indicates a personality no longer cramped in one narrow ego-line but supported by many faculties and planes of being.
Universal truth
When aspiration and self-giving are constant, the higher Delight responds by enlarging life: true prosperity is breadth of consciousness and the awakening of many powers that can hold and express the Truth.
Themes
Boon-giving, Rayi as spiritual wealth, Reciprocal sacrifice, Stabilization of being
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 9.98.1-11 (contextual hymn unit, Pavamāna Soma)
Significance
The anonymous voice here represents the collective Soma-seers: the emphasis is experiential—Soma as an inner force that rewards offering with wideness (uru) and many-powered being, a hallmark of the psychological reading of the Ninth Maṇḍala.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna (Indu)
- Epithets
- deva, indu, pavamāna (implied: self-purifying)
- Related deities
- Indra, Agni, Uṣas
Cosmic role
The purifying current that moves through the filters, establishing clarity, vitality, and harmonious increase in the worlds.
Inner power
Ānanda-śakti: the delight-force that widens consciousness, strengthens the faculties, and supports the ascent toward Truth.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma Pavamāna pressing and purification (pavamāna-stotra context)
स हि त्वं दे॑व॒ शश्व॑ते॒ वसु॒ मर्ता॑य दा॒शुषे॑ । इन्दो॑ सह॒स्रिणं॑ र॒यिं श॒तात्मा॑नं विवाससि ॥
सः । हि । त्वम् । दे॒व॒ । शश्व॑ते । वसु॑ । मर्ता॑य । दा॒शुषे॑ । इन्दो॒ इति॑ । स॒ह॒स्रिण॑म् । र॒यिम् । श॒तऽआ॑त्मानम् । वि॒वा॒स॒सि॒ ॥
saḥ | hi | tvam | deva | śaśvate | vasu | martāya | dāśuṣe | indo iti | sahasriṇam | rayim | śata-ātmānam | vivāsasi
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables (probable)
Firm, forward-driving cadence suited to affirmation and granting.
Builds confidence and receptivity; supports a feeling of inner expansion and settled largeness after the offering.
- इन्दो (indo)
- Literal: Soma/Indu, the bright drop. Symbolic: purified delight, luminous ānanda flowing in consciousness
- देव (deva)
- Literal: god, shining one. Symbolic: the divine principle of light active within
- शश्वते (śaśvate)
- Literal: everlasting, perennial. Symbolic: steady aspiration and enduring inner good (not transient gain)
- दाशुषे (dāśuṣe)
- Literal: to the giver/offerer. Symbolic: the soul that offers itself and its works into the inner yajña
- सहस्रिणम् (sahasriṇam)
- Literal: thousand-fold. Symbolic: innumerable streams of force/joy/insight
- रयिम् (rayim)
- Literal: wealth, treasure. Symbolic: spiritual riches: capacities, energies, and fulfilled consciousness
- शतात्मानम् (śatātmānam)
- Literal: hundred-souled / hundred-powered. Symbolic: multiplicity of awakened faculties; a broadened being with many supports
- विवाससि (vivāsasi)
- Literal: you cause to dwell, make abide. Symbolic: establishing the seeker in wideness (urū) and stable well-being
Gift-request formula: Soma rewards the dāśuṣ (offerer) with rayi and enduring vasu; typical Soma economy of offering and return.
During Soma extraction/pressing and flowing through the filter before offering
Praising the purified Soma to increase his flow and efficacy; inviting prosperity and wideness for the sacrificer
Use as a meditation-chant for invoking inner abundance: repeat while visualizing a clear, luminous flow widening the mind and heart.
dāśúṣ- from √dāś ‘serve, worship, offer’ → the giver who aligns with the rite. vasu ‘good/wealth’ resonates with ‘essential being’. śata-ātmānam: ātmán in RV often ‘vital essence/self’ → ‘hundred powers of self’. vi-√vas suggests ‘to cause to dwell widely’—inner establishment in wideness.
reciprocity of offering (yajña) and grace, multiplication of inner powers (śata-ātmānam), endurance (śaśvat) as stabilized attainment
Soma’s ‘granting’ follows ṛta: right offering and right aspiration yield right increase.
Enduring good (śaśvata vasu) points to stable truth-based prosperity, not fluctuating desire.
Increase through purification: the delight-current becomes a formative power that builds a larger being.
Proto-Vedāntic / Integral-Vedāntic (Aurobindonian) reading: ascent to the Vast through Ananda.
The pressed-and-purified Soma is the clarified delight-current; its ‘wealth’ is the inner increase of powers and wideness of consciousness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘gift-return’ mythologem: Soma rewards the offerer with enduring wealth and multiplied powers. Innerly, disciplined offering to the clarifying delight produces a stable expansion of capacities (‘hundred-souled’).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- mártya ‘mortal’ is an Indo-Iranian formation; the mortal/divine polarity is a common IE poetic axis. The numerative hyperbole (hundred/thousand) is also a recurrent archaic IE intensifier to mark superabundance.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- Explicit reciprocity: the human is dāśuṣ (one who offers), Soma is the one who ‘makes dwell’ the human in abundance. The relationship is pedagogical—offering aligns the mortal nature to receive a multiplied, enduring inner wealth.
Receive the ‘Indu-flow’ as widening delight that multiplies inner capacities.
Anahata (expansion, joy) and Sahasrara (thousand-fold wideness)
Slow nasal breathing with a gentle lengthened exhale; imagine a cool luminous stream descending and spreading.
Quiet receptivity leading to spaciousness (bṛhat/uru-bhāva).
Offer one habitual tension or desire into the inner fire of sincerity; then sit and ‘let Soma grant’: feel wideness in the chest and forehead, and allow new capacities to arise without strain.
Mixed udatta/anudatta/svarita as per Rigvedic recitation; consult śākhā-specific notation for exact svaras.
Keep the natural word-accent clear on deva, śaśvate, dāśuṣe, indo, sahasriṇam, rayim, śatātmānam, vivāsasi; avoid flattening compounds.
Indo: short i, dental n, long o, śaśvate: keep both ś sounds crisp (palatal ś), śatātmānam: articulate the retroflex ṭ? (here śata- is dental t), and long ā in ātmānam, vīvāsasi: maintain v + long ā, avoid turning into ‘b’
Clear, bright, gently expansive; let the end of the line open into silence.
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