Rig Veda 4.49.5: Mandala 4, Sukta 49, Mantra 5
Sukta 4.49
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Indra-Bṛhaspati
- Chandas
- Tr̥ṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
इन्द्राबृहस्पती वयं सुते गीर्भिर्हवामहे । अस्य सोमस्य पीतये ॥
indrābṛ́haspatī vayaṁ suté gī́rbhir havāmahe | asyá sómasya pītáye ||
Wahai Indra dan Bṛhaspati, kami memanggil kalian dengan kidung-kidung ilham ketika Soma diperas, demi meminum dan menyerap ke dalam diri kenikmatan Soma ini.
Word by Word
- इन्द्रा
- O IndraNoun (proper)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (Vedic voc. in -ā)Role सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- बृहस्पती
- O BṛhaspatiNoun (proper)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (Vedic voc. in -ī)Role सम्बोधनRoot बृहस्पति (प्रातिपदिक)
- वयम्
- wePronounप्रथमाप्रयोगः, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सुते
- in/at the pressed (Soma); when Soma is pressedNoun/Adjective (substantivized)पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot सुत (ppp of √सु ‘to press/extract’)
- गीर्भिः
- with hymns/voicesNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचनRole करणRoot गिर् (स्त्रीलिङ्ग प्रातिपदिक)
- हवामहे
- we invoke/callVerbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot √ह्वा (ह्वयति/हवते) ‘to call, invoke’
- अस्य
- of thisPronounषष्ठी, एकवचन (नपुंसक/पुं-स्त्री सामान्य-रूप)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सोमस्य
- of SomaNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- पीतये
- for drinkingNoun (verbal noun)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole सम्प्रदान (purpose/dative)Root पीति (स्त्रीलिङ्ग; action-noun from √पा ‘to drink’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: इन्द्रा | बृहस्पती | वयम् | सुते | गीर्भिः | हवामहे | अस्य | सोमस्य | पीतये । 1) इन्द्रा॒बृह॒स्पती॑ = इन्द्रा + बृहस्पती (सम्बोधन-द्वन्द्व; संहितायां संयोगः)
- 2) गी॒र्भिर्ह॑वामहे = गीर्भिः + हवामहे (विसर्गस्य ‘र्’ आदेशः परे ‘ह’)
- 3) अ॒स्य सोम॑स्य = अस्य + सोमस्य (सन्धि-रहितं)
The meaning
Outer meaning
We invoke Indra and Bṛhaspati with hymns when the Soma is pressed, for drinking this Soma.
Inner meaning
When the delight of consciousness (Soma) is prepared and made available by inner effort (“pressed”), the seeker calls Indra (illumination) and Bṛhaspati (truth-word) through inspired utterance (gīḥ). The aim is not outer intoxication but inward assimilation (pītaye): to take the divine Ananda into the mind and speech so illumination and right guidance can act powerfully.
Universal truth
True transformation requires both aspiration expressed as mantra/word and the capacity to receive delight inwardly; illumination and truth-guidance grow by the ‘drinking’ of a higher joy.
Themes
Mantric invocation, Soma pressing, Speech-power (gīḥ), Divine response
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 4.1 (Agni as inner will), Rig Veda 4.50 (Bṛhaspati as protector of the womb of truth)
Family tradition
Gautama hymns frequently join mantra (gīḥ) with Soma as inner substance, emphasizing the psycho-spiritual yajña.
Significance
The rishi’s method: invoke higher powers through inspired speech precisely at the moment inner delight becomes available—linking mantra, offering, and realization.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra-Bṛhaspati (dual)
- Epithets
- Indra (lord of luminous mind), Bṛhaspati (lord of the Word, brahman)
- Related deities
- Soma, Agni, Sarasvatī (inspired speech, later association)
Cosmic role
They preside over the ascent: Indra opens light; Bṛhaspati forms and directs by truth-speech; together they drink Soma to empower their working in the human vessel.
Inner power
Illumination and true guidance are strengthened by Ananda; the gods ‘drink’ in us when we allow delight to feed the higher faculties.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing and invitation (āvāhana)
इन्द्रा॒बृह॒स्पती॑ व॒यं सु॒ते गी॒र्भिर्ह॑वामहे । अ॒स्य सोम॑स्य पी॒तये॑ ॥
इन्द्रा॒बृह॒स्पती॒ इति॑ । व॒यम् । सु॒ते । गीः॒ऽभिः । ह॒वा॒म॒हे॒ । अ॒स्य । सोम॑स्य । पी॒तये॑ ॥
indrābṛhaspatī iti | vayam | sute | gīḥ-bhiḥ | havāmahe | asya | somasya | pītaye
44
4 × ~11
Invocatory and clear; the second half tends toward a receptive cadence (pītaye).
Creates a call-and-response feeling: call with speech, then open into receiving.
- गीर्भिः (gīrbhiḥ)
- Literal: with songs/utterances. Symbolic: inspired speech; mantra as vibration shaping consciousness
- सुते (sute)
- Literal: when pressed (Soma). Symbolic: when inner delight is extracted by discipline and offering
- सोमस्य (somasya)
- Literal: of Soma. Symbolic: of divine bliss-substance supporting higher consciousness
- पीतये (pītaye)
- Literal: for drinking. Symbolic: for inward reception, assimilation, and stabilization of Ananda
Soma-pressing (Savanas) invocation: calling the devatā at the moment of pressing with gīḥ (stotra/mantra)
At Soma pressing times; also as a daily inner practice before meditation.
Recitation while offering Soma/oblations; inwardly, offering speech and attention to invite higher forces.
Use before meditation as an ‘invocation + receptivity’ formula: speak aspiration, then receive delight silently.
suta from √su ‘press’ (Indo-Iranian Soma/Haoma complex): inner ‘pressing’ is concentration/ardor extracting essence. gīr ‘song/utterance’ from √gṛ/√gir ‘to sing, utter’; in Vedic psychology speech is a power that forms consciousness. √hū/√hav ‘to call, invoke’ (havāmahe, 1pl middle): indicates mutuality—invocation that draws the power into action. pītaye again from √pā ‘drink’ (PIE *peh₃-).
Mantra as formative speech (vāc shaping inner reality), Tapas/pressure producing Soma (essence), Reciprocity of invocation (middle voice)
Pressing Soma ‘rightly’ means preparing delight without distortion; the gods are invoked to keep the process aligned to ṛta.
Bṛhaspati’s presence ensures the delight serves truth, not desire.
Delight as a sustaining substance for the evolution of mind and speech.
Integral/Upanishadic trajectory: Ananda as a support for higher knowledge (conceptual continuity).
Pressing/extraction imagery (outer: Soma plant; inner: essence of consciousness)
Pressing = extracting essence through tapas; drinking = assimilating higher joy into the system.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘pressing of Soma’ and the summoning of gods by hymn: the archetypal cooperation of human speech (mantra) and divine power. Innerly, the extracted delight is offered through inspired formulation to draw down illumination-force and truth-guidance.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The inherited ritual lexicon around √su (press) is Indo-Iranian (Soma/Haoma). The middle voice in preserves archaic Indo-European valency where the subject participates in and benefits from the action (invocation as mutual engagement).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi uses gīḥ as an instrument to call the devatā at the precise inner-ritual moment (sute). The devatā are approached as powers that ‘drink’ (assimilate) the offering and thereby act to transform the seeker.
Mantric invocation followed by inward reception of Ananda.
Viśuddha (mantra/utterance) flowing to Ājñā (illumination) and heart (Ananda)
Chant on exhale; after each recitation, pause 2–4 seconds in natural kumbhaka to ‘taste’ Soma inwardly.
Receptive clarity; sweet, luminous quietude.
1) Chant once or thrice. 2) Feel speech becoming subtle. 3) Imagine Soma as a cool radiance descending and being ‘drunk’ by the inner gods—illumination and truth-guidance.
Maintain clear udatta rises on key invocatory words; keep pītaye gently falling to suggest receptivity (as per traditional accenting).
Do not clip final -e in pītaye; keep havāmahe flowing (ha-vā-ma-he).
bṛhaspatī: long ī at end, gīrbhir: conjunct rbhi—roll lightly, keep i short, somasya: pure ‘o’ (not diphthong)
Clear, prayerful, then softer on the second half.
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