Rig Veda 1.5.2: Mandala 1, Sukta 5, Mantra 2
Sukta 1.5
- Rishi
- Madhucchandas Vaiśvāmitra
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
पुरूतमं पुरूणामीशानं वार्याणाम् । इन्द्रं सोमे सचा सुते ॥
purūtamáṃ purūṇām īśā́naṃ vā́ryāṇām | índraṃ sóme sacā suté ||
Indra—yang paling berlimpah di antara yang banyak, penguasa atas anugerah-anugerah pilihan—kami memanggilnya agar menyertai Soma yang diperas (suta).
Word by Word
- पुरूतमम्
- most abundant / most bountifulAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole Karma (विशेष्य: इन्द्रम्) / विशेषणRoot पुरु-तम (प्रातिपदिक: पुरु ‘many’ + तमप् प्रत्यय ‘superlative’)
- पुरूणाम्
- of many (men/things)Noun/Adjective (genitive plural used substantively)(सामान्यतः) पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive of relation) — ‘of many’Root पुरु- (प्रातिपदिक)
- ईशानम्
- the lord / rulerAdjective (used as substantive)पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole Karma (विशेष्य: इन्द्रम्) / विशेषणRoot ईशान- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘ruling, lordly’)
- वार्याणाम्
- of choice boons / treasuresNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive of domain) — ‘of desirable boons/treasures’Root वार्य- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘choice, excellent, desirable goods/boons’)
- इन्द्रम्
- IndraNoun (proper)पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole Karma (object of implied ‘we invoke/praise’)Root इन्द्र- (प्रातिपदिक)
- सोमे
- in/at the Soma (pressing/rite)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति, एकवचनRole Adhikaraṇa (locative: ‘in/at the Soma [rite/drink]’)Root सोम- (प्रातिपदिक)
- सचा
- together withIndeclinableअव्यय (विभक्त्यन्तररहित)Role सह (associative) — ‘together with’Root सच् (अव्यय; Vedic adverb/preposition meaning ‘together with, in company with’)
- सुते
- in the pressed (Soma) / when Soma is pressedKṛdanta (past passive participle used substantively)पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति, एकवचनRole Adhikaraṇa (locative: ‘when/where it is pressed’)Root सु- (धातु ‘to press/extract’ → क्त/क्तवत्-भावे; here locative of ‘suta’ ‘pressed’)
Sandhi Notes
- ‘सोमे सचा सुते’ इति त्रयाणां पदानां संयोगः सन्ध्यभावेन (पदपाठानुसार) एव।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra is praised as most abundant and sovereign of desirable riches; he is invoked to be present with the pressed Soma.
Inner meaning
The illumined Mind is the master of many powers and plenitudes in the being. ‘Soma pressed’ is the extracted delight/essence from experience offered upward; when that bliss is made available, Indra comes ‘together with it’—illumination naturally accompanies purified delight. The mantra teaches that true abundance (vāryāṇi) is an inner sovereignty: the mind becomes lord of its riches when it is allied with Soma (ānanda).
Universal truth
Highest clarity and right mastery arise when joy is refined and offered—illumination and bliss are mutually reinforcing in spiritual life.
Themes
Soma-ritual, Invocation, Inner plenitude, Victory-force (Indra), Companionship with the Divine (sacā)
The seer
- Rishi
- Madhucchandas Vaiśvāmitra
- Lineage
- Vaiśvāmitra
- Other hymns
- RV 1.1, RV 1.2, RV 1.3, RV 1.4, RV 1.5
Family tradition
Early Vaiśvāmitra hymnic cycle where Indra and Soma are paired as power and delight in the ascent.
Significance
The seer frames abundance not as external gain but as the many-sided plenitude of consciousness when illumined mind drinks the Soma of delight.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Purūtama (most abundant), Īśāna (sovereign), Maghavan (bountiful)
- Related deities
- Soma, Agni, Bṛhaspati
Cosmic role
Receives Soma and in return releases powers—light, strength, victorious increase.
Inner power
Capacity for decisive insight plus expansive plenty: the mind that can hold many truths and act rightly from them.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma offering to Indra
पु॒रू॒तमं॑ पुरू॒णामीशा॑नं॒ वार्या॑णाम् । इन्द्रं॒ सोमे॒ सचा॑ सु॒ते ॥
पु॒रु॒ऽतम॑म् । पु॒रू॒णाम् । ईशा॑नम् । वार्या॑णम् । इन्द्र॑म् । सोमे॑ । सचा॑ । सु॒ते ॥
puru-tamam | purūṇām | īśānam | vāryāṇam | indram | some | sacā | sute
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3×8
Even and luminous; the repeated ‘puru-’ creates a swelling sense of abundance.
Builds a feeling of wideness and richness; supports a meditative sense of inner plenty rather than urgency.
- purūtamam (पुरूतमम्)
- Literal: most abundant, most manifold. Symbolic: the widest capacity of illumined mind to bring many forms of power and solution
- īśānam (ईशानम्)
- Literal: sovereign, lord. Symbolic: inner mastery; governance of nature by higher intelligence
- vāryāṇām (वार्याणाम्)
- Literal: of the choicest desirable things. Symbolic: true values—light, strength, harmony, wideness, right joy
- soma (सोम)
- Literal: Soma-juice. Symbolic: divine bliss/ānanda distilled from aspiration and experience
- sute (सुते)
- Literal: pressed, expressed. Symbolic: bliss made active and available in consciousness through discipline
- sacā (सचा)
- Literal: together with, accompanying. Symbolic: inseparability of illumination and bliss in integral realization
Soma pressing context (Somayāga/Agnistoma family): invitation to Indra to partake of the pressed Soma; recitation aligned with Soma-libation sequences
At Soma pressing (savana) when Indra is invited to drink; also suitable at the start of offerings of food/breath as ‘Soma’ in daily practice.
Praise and invitation linked to Soma-libation.
Before creative work or problem-solving, invoke ‘purūtama’ to widen the mind; pair with a gratitude practice (Soma as refined joy).
Key terms: (1) purūtamá-: superlative of purú ‘many, much’ (< PIE *pl̥h₁u- ‘many’), indicating maximal plentitude; here read as many-sided spiritual abundance. (2) īśā́na-: present participial/agentive from √īś ‘to rule, possess’, ‘sovereign’—the governing capacity of Indra over inner movements. (3) vā́rya-: desiderative/choice-worthy from √vṛ ‘choose’; ‘select, excellent’—not gross wealth but chosen attainments of truth-force-delight. (4) sóma: from √su ‘press/extract’; the ‘pressed’ is also the expressed essence of delight/illumination in consciousness. (5) sacā: indeclinable adverb ‘together, in company’, from √sac; signals yoga-like conjunction of the human and the divine.
R̥ta (right order) as governed movement under īśāna (sovereignty), Satyam–R̥tam–Br̥hat as the ‘choice plenitudes’ (vāryāṇi) sought through Soma-inspired clarity, inner sacrifice (yajña) as extraction/pressing (√su) of essence from life
Right order becomes effective when the sovereign mind governs the many movements (purūṇām).
Truth is ‘choicest’ (vārya) and must be selected and lived, not merely known.
From pressed essence (Soma) arises a governing light—delight becomes a creative principle of order.
Integral/psychological Veda: Soma as ānanda-substance; Indra as illumined mind.
thunderstorm-force (Indra as energizing power); intoxicating/exhilarating Soma (plant-juice as outer sign of inner delight)
midday pressing context (often Indra’s Soma-drinking), though not explicit
Pressing = concentration and extraction of essence; juice = distilled joy that feeds illumination.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘Soma-invitation’ mythologem: Indra, the victorious lord of powers, is summoned to companionship in the pressed Soma. In inner terms, the energizing illumined Mind is invited to enter the clarified delight-essence extracted by aspiration, so that the seeker’s many capacities (purūṇām) become ordered and empowered toward plenitude (purūtama).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- purú ‘many’ aligns with PIE *pl̥h₁u- ‘many’ (cf. Greek polús). īśāna from √īś ‘rule/own’ reflects an inherited Indo-Iranian semantic field of sovereignty/possession. The Soma complex centers on √su ‘press/extract’, a ritual verb that becomes a cognitive metaphor: extraction of essence (delight/illumination) from experience—an Indo-European poetic strategy of mapping physical process to inner attainment.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- Reciprocity is framed as sacā (‘in companionship’): the seer does not merely petition but offers a prepared inner substance (sute soma—essence extracted by discipline). Indra responds as īśāna, the master who can govern and amplify the seeker’s many movements into ‘choice plenitudes’ (vāryāṇi). The exchange is thus: human pressing/clarification → divine entry/empowerment → ordered abundance under R̥ta.
Unite clarity (Indra) with joy (Soma): let delight become the fuel for insight.
svādhiṣṭhāna (refined joy) rising to ājñā (illumination)
Inhale on ‘purūtamam’, exhale on ‘indraṃ some sacā sute’; feel a sweet widening on exhale.
Widened, glad, lucid (ānanda-sattva).
Recall a pure gratitude; ‘press’ it by concentration until it becomes a calm sweetness. Offer that sweetness upward; then wait for a clear directive insight to arise.
Gāyatrī; maintain crisp accenting on the ‘puru-’ sequence; recension-specific udatta/anudatta apply.
Do not rush the compound sounds: īśānam (long ī, long ā), vāryāṇām (long ā).
purūtamam: roll ‘r’; long ū, īśānam: ‘ś’ palatal, not ṣ, vāryāṇām: ‘ry’ conjunct; long ā, indraṃ: anusvāra as nasal before consonant, sacā: ‘c’ as ‘ch’ in ‘church’ (unaspirated palatal), long ā, sute: ‘t’ dental; short e
Warm, full, slightly rounded tone to evoke Soma’s sweetness.
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