Rig Veda 8.2.28: Mandala 8, Sukta 2, Mantra 28
Sukta 8.2
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Likely Jagatī due to length
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shringara (love)
स्वादवः सोमा आ याहि श्रीताः सोमा आ याहि । शिप्रिन्नृषीवः शचीवो नायमच्छा सधमादम् ॥
svādávaḥ sómā ā́ yāhi śrītā́ḥ sómā ā́ yāhi | śiprinn ṛ́ṣīvaḥ śácīvo ná ayam ácchā sadha-mā́dam ||
Datanglah ke mari, wahai Indra, kepada tegukan Soma yang manis; datanglah ke mari kepada tegukan Soma yang telah dijernihkan dan bercahaya. Wahai yang berahang kuat, laksana resi, pemilik śacī (daya yang manjur)—datanglah ke perjamuan sukacita bersama ini, ke pesta batin kami.
Word by Word
- स्वादवः
- sweet (ones)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot स्वादु- (प्रातिपदिक) < √स्वद् (स्वादने)
- सोमाः
- Soma (draughts)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot सोम- (प्रातिपदिक)
- आ
- hither, towardsIndeclinableउपसर्ग (आगमनार्थे)Root आ (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- याहि
- come!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRoot √या (गत्यर्थे)
- श्रीताः
- pressed/laid down; preparedParticiple (Adjectival)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; भूतकर्मणि/भूतकृत् (क्त)Role KartāRoot √श्रि (आश्रये/संश्रये) → श्रीत (कृदन्त)
- सोमाः
- Soma (draughts)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot सोम- (प्रातिपदिक)
- आ
- hitherIndeclinableउपसर्ग (आगमनार्थे)Root आ (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- याहि
- come!Verbलोट्, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRoot √या (गत्यर्थे)
- शिप्रिन्
- O Shiprín (thick-lipped one; epithet of Indra)Noun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole SambodhanaRoot शिप्रिन्- (प्रातिपदिक)
- ऋषीवः
- O sage-like oneAdjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole SambodhanaRoot ऋषीव- (प्रातिपदिक)
- शचीवः
- O mighty/skillful oneAdjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole SambodhanaRoot शचीव- (प्रातिपदिक; शची- ‘might/skill’ + -व)
- न
- like, asIndeclinableउपमानार्थे/तुल्यार्थे निपातRoot न (निपात)
- आयम्
- this (one) herePronounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम) → अयम्; with preverb ā- in pada-text: आ + अयम्
- अच्छा
- towards, straight toIndeclinableगत्यर्थक/प्रत्यञ्चार्थक अव्ययRoot अच्छा (अव्यय)
- सधमादम्
- the common feast/banquet (soma-session)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot सधमाद- (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- संहिता-पाठ: स्वा॒दव॒: सोमा॒ आ या॑हि श्री॒ताः सोमा॒ आ या॑हि । शिप्रि॒न्नृषी॑व॒: शची॑वो॒ नायमच्छा॑ सध॒माद॑म् ॥ पद-विभाग (सन्धि-विच्छेद): स्वादवः | सोमाः | आ | याहि | श्रीताः | सोमाः | आ | याहि | शिप्रिन् | ऋषीवः | शचीवः | न | आयम् | अच्छा | सधमादम् | मुख्य सन्धयः: (1) शिप्रिन् + ऋषीवः → शिप्रिन्नृषीवः (न् + ऋ → न्नृ, अनुनासिक-समास/संयोग)
- (2) न + अयम् → नायम् (स्वर-सन्धि: अ + अ → आ)
- (3) अयम् + अच्छा → अयमच्छा (व्यञ्जन-सन्धि: म् + अ → मच्छ (छ्-आगम/प्रत्याहार-रूप), पदपाठे ‘आयम् | अच्छा’ इति पृथक्)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Come here, Indra, to the sweet Soma draughts; come to the brightened Soma draughts. O strong-jawed, sage-like, master of power, come to this our common feast.
Inner meaning
Repeated ‘ā yāhi’ intensifies the call for the illumined Mind to enter the prepared field of delight (Soma). ‘Sweet’ and ‘brightened’ indicate Soma refined into clarity—ānanda not mixed with tamas. Epithets (śiprin, ṛṣīvaḥ, śacīvaḥ) describe a forceful yet wise power: strong to break resistance, sage-like to guide, effective in action. The ‘sadhamādam’ is the shared inner feast where human aspiration and divine power meet in mutual joy.
Universal truth
Spiritual progress depends on inviting higher intelligence into a purified joy; when delight is clarified, power becomes both effective and wise, and life turns into a conscious communion.
Themes
Soma invitation, divine descent, shared ecstasy, effective power (śacī)
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 8.2.23-28
Significance
The seer teaches the double purification of Soma—sweetness and brightness—so that power (Indra) enters not as turbulence but as wise effectiveness, establishing a sustained inner communion.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- svādu-soma-priya (lover of sweet Soma), śiprin (strong-jawed), ṛṣīva (seer-like), śacīva (master of effective power)
- Related deities
- Soma, Agni, Bṛhaspati, Uṣas
Cosmic role
Receives Soma, enlarges force, and leads the victory of light; presides over the communal joy of the sacrifice.
Inner power
Wise strength: force guided by intuition and effective skill.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma offering invitation; communal ‘sadhamāda’ motif in Indra rites
स्वा॒दव॒: सोमा॒ आ या॑हि श्री॒ताः सोमा॒ आ या॑हि । शिप्रि॒न्नृषी॑व॒: शची॑वो॒ नायमच्छा॑ सध॒माद॑म् ॥
स्वा॒दवः॑ । सोमाः॑ । आ । या॒हि॒ । श्री॒ताः । सोमाः॑ । आ । या॒हि॒ । शिप्रि॑न् । ऋषि॑ऽवः । शची॑ऽवः । न । अ॒यम् । अच्छ॑ । स॒ध॒ऽमाद॑म् ॥
svādavaḥ | somāḥ | ā | yāhi | śrītāḥ | somāḥ | ā | yāhi | śiprin | ṛṣi-vaḥ | śacī-vaḥ | na | ayam | accha | sadha-mādam
Jagatī (probable due to longer line; requires syllable validation)
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4 pādas × ~12 syllables
Flowing, expansive; repetition (‘ā yāhi’) creates a wave-like beckoning.
Induces an inviting, gathering atmosphere; supports a sense of shared inner celebration and descent of bright joy.
- svādavaḥ somāḥ
- Literal: sweet Soma draughts. Symbolic: pure delight that nourishes without agitation
- śrītāḥ somāḥ
- Literal: brightened/beautified Soma draughts. Symbolic: clarified bliss illumined by understanding
- ā yāhi
- Literal: come hither. Symbolic: descent/arrival of higher consciousness into the active being
- śiprin
- Literal: strong-jawed. Symbolic: decisive force that can ‘bite through’ resistance and falsehood
- ṛṣīvaḥ
- Literal: seer-like. Symbolic: illumined discernment; intuitive guidance
- śacīvaḥ
- Literal: possessing śacī (power/skill). Symbolic: effective will; capacity to realize in action
- sadhamādam
- Literal: common feast/banquet. Symbolic: collective inner communion—harmonized powers sharing delight in the sacrifice
Direct invitation to the sadhamāda (Soma session/communal rite), calling Indra to the prepared Soma cups.
At Soma-drinking invitation and shared offering phases
Repeated call for Indra to come to the Soma and the assembly-feast
Use in group meditation or kīrtan-like settings to invoke a shared field of clarified joy and strength.
(svādu) ‘sweet’ from √ (svad ‘to taste, be sweet’; PIE *swād-). (śrīta) from √ (śri ‘to lean on, rest upon; also splendor in later usage’)—here ‘made firm/supported’, extended to ‘well-prepared/brightened’. (śiprin) epithet ‘strong-jawed’. (ṛṣi) seer; - (iva) ‘like’. (śacī) ‘power, skill’ (Indra’s effective energy). (sadha) ‘together’ + (māda) from √ ‘exhilaration’.
Ananda (Soma) as the meeting-ground of human and divine, stabilization of delight (śrīta) so power can act rightly (śacī)
Brightened Soma symbolizes delight aligned with right order; communion (sadhamāda) is harmony of powers under ṛta.
‘Śrītāḥ’ points to truth-illumined joy, not mere pleasure.
Descent of luminous bliss into the collective human field; transformation of life into conscious feast.
Integral-psychological; Soma as ānanda supporting effective divine action
Soma-pressing time (general)
Sweet Soma = pure joy; bright Soma = joy clarified by light; feast = integrated being (or community) sharing higher consciousness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The god’s arrival to the Soma-feast (sadhamāda): mythically Indra comes to drink; psychologically the illumined power is invited to partake of stabilized delight so that seer-vision (ṛṣīvaḥ) and effective action (śacī) may manifest in the practitioner.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √svad ‘taste/sweet’ continues PIE *swād-. √mad ‘exhilaration’ is part of an Indo-Iranian ecstatic lexicon. Repeated imperatives (ā yāhi … ā yāhi) are a formulaic IE poetic device for intensification.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi prepares and ‘stabilizes’ the Soma (śrīta) and calls Indra into the shared inner session (sadhamāda). The god responds by converting delight into skillful power (śacī) and seer-like clarity, advancing the soul from pleasure to truth-effective force.
Invite the illumined Mind into clarified joy; cultivate ‘sweetness’ (non-reactive delight) and ‘brightness’ (clear awareness) together.
anāhata (sweetness/joy) rising to ājñā (brightness/illumination)
Slow coherent breathing 5–5 for 5 minutes; chant on exhale, feel ‘ā yāhi’ as a descent on inhale after chant
Joyful, clarified, collective openness; receptive descent
First refine emotion into quiet sweetness; then add clarity by witnessing; chant with the double call; after chanting, sit and sense a shared inner ‘feast’ where strength and joy mingle without agitation.
Follow saṃhitā accenting: svā́davaḥ, somā́ḥ, ā́ yāhi, śrītā́ḥ, somā́ḥ, ā́ yāhi; epithets (śiprín, ṛṣī́vaḥ, śacī́vaḥ) as marked in recensional tradition.
Let the two ‘ā yāhi’ be identical calls—clear, lifted, and inviting; keep epithets crisp; broaden on ‘sadhamādam’ to convey communion.
svādavaḥ: long ā, dental d, śrītāḥ: śrī with long ī; aspirated th, śiprin: short i; pr cluster clean, ṛṣīvaḥ: retroflex ṛ, long ī, śacīvaḥ: long ī; keep v soft, sadhamādam: dh aspirated; long ā in mā
Warm, luminous, slightly elongated vowels to evoke sweetness and brightness.
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