Rig Veda 9.110.3: Mandala 9, Sukta 110, Mantra 3
Sukta 9.110
- Rishi
- Pavam01na Soma hymn tradition
- Devata
- Soma Pavam01na
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
अजीजनो हि पवमान सूर्यं विधारे शक्मना पयः । गोजीरया रंहमाणः पुरंध्या ॥
aj2bd6jano h ed pavam01na s fary e1 43 vi-dh01d6re 5b e1kman01 p e1ya 25 d6 go-j2bd6ray01 ra 43h e1m01 47a 25 p farandhy01 d6
Engkau sungguh, wahai Pavamāna, telah melahirkan Surya; demi penopang yang luas engkau menempatkan susu yang menyehatkan itu dengan kekuatanmu. Melaju cepat oleh dorongan-sapi, engkau datang dengan kepenuhan yang menyempurnakan segala.
Word by Word
- अजीजनः
- you generated / you caused to be bornVerbलुङ् (aorist), परस्मैपद, 2nd person singularRole (क्रिया) मुख्य क्रियाRoot √जन् (jan) / caus. √जन् → जनयति
- हि
- indeed, forIndeclinableनिपात (emphatic/causal particle)Root हि (particle)
- पवमान
- O Pavamāna (self-purifying Soma)Noun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन एकवचनRole सम्बोधन (addressed)Root पवमान- (< √पू (pū) ‘to purify’, pres. mid. participle)
- सूर्यम्
- the SunNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचनRole कर्म (object)Root सूर्य-
- विधारे
- for support / for sustainingNounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी एकवचन (दातृ/प्रयोजन)Role सम्प्रदान (purpose/for)Root विधार- (वि + √धृ ‘to hold, support’ → ‘support/arrangement’)
- शक्मना
- with might, by strengthNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया एकवचनRole करण (instrument/means)Root शक्मन्- (strength, might)
- पयः
- milk; sap/juiceNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन (Vedic: acc.=nom. possible)Role कर्म (object; ‘milk/juice’ as what is produced/obtained)Root पयस्-
- गोजीरया
- with the cow-quickening (power/stream); with ‘gōjīrā’Adjective (used substantively) / Noun-epithetस्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया एकवचनRole करण (means/attendant quality)Root गोजीर- (गो- + जीर- ‘quick, lively’; epithet)
- रंहमाणः
- hastening, speedingParticiple (Adjective)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole कर्तृ-विशेषण (qualifier of the agent ‘you’/Pavamāna)Root रंहमाण- (< √रंह्/रह् ‘to hasten, speed’, pres. mid. participle)
- पुरंध्या
- with bounty, with liberalityNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया एकवचनRole करण (means/with bounty) / सहचर्यRoot पुरंधि- (पुरं- + √धा ‘to place/provide’ → ‘bounty, liberality’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-resolved): अजीजनः | हि | पवमान | सूर्यम् | विधारे | शक्मना | पयः | गोजीरया | रंहमाणः | पुरंध्या । प्रमुख संधि: (1) अजीजनो॒ हि → अजीजनः + हि (visarga before हि; RV saṃhitā shows -o)
- (2) पवमान॒ सूर्यं॑ → पवमान + सूर्यम् (acc.)
- (3) शक्म॑ना॒ पय॑: → शक्मना + पयः (visarga at end)
- (4) रंह॑माण॒: पुरं॑ध्या → रंहमाणः + पुरंध्या (visarga before p-)
The meaning
Outer meaning
You, O Pavamāna, have brought forth the Sun; for wide holding you have set the nourishing milk by your power. Swiftly moving with the cow-impulsion, you come with the fullness that accomplishes.
Inner meaning
Purified Soma gives birth to Sūrya—the inner Sun of illumination—by clearing the field for its manifestation. It establishes ‘milk’ (payaḥ) as the nourishing essence of consciousness for wide receptivity (vi-dhāra). Moving swiftly with the ‘cow-impulsion’ (go-jīrā)—the drive of the rays of knowledge—it arrives with purandhi: the power of integral fullness and right accomplishment.
Universal truth
When delight is purified, it generates illumination, nourishes the being with a subtle sustenance, and hastens the movement toward complete, harmonious accomplishment.
Themes
Cosmic illumination, Soma as creator-force, Nourishing essence, Go symbolism (rays/knowledge)
The seer
- Rishi
- Pavamāna Soma hymn tradition (RV 9.110)
- Other hymns
- RV 9.110.1, RV 9.110.2, RV 9.110.4
Significance
The Soma seer here reveals a key Aurobindonian motif: Soma (ānanda) generates Sūrya (illumination) and releases the ‘cows’ (rays of knowledge) for swift perfection (purandhi).
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Pavamāna, Gojīra (cow-impelled), Raṃhamāṇa (swift)
- Related deities
- Sūrya, Uṣas, Indra, Sarasvatī
Cosmic role
Brings forth the Sun, establishes nourishment, and hastens the perfectioning fullness in the worlds.
Inner power
Delight-force that births illumination and sustains the widened being with subtle nourishment.
In ritual
Where it is used
Pavamāna Soma chanting during filtration
अजी॑जनो॒ हि प॑वमान॒ सूर्यं॑ वि॒धारे॒ शक्म॑ना॒ पय॑: । गोजी॑रया॒ रंह॑माण॒: पुरं॑ध्या ॥
अजी॑जनः । हि । प॒व॒मा॒न॒ । सूर्य॑म् । वि॒ऽधारे॑ । शक्म॑ना । पयः॑ । गोऽजी॑रया । रंह॑माणः । पुर॑न्ध्या ॥
ajījanaḥ | hi | pavamāna | sūryam | vi-dhāre | śakmanā | payaḥ | go-jīrayā | raṃhamāṇaḥ | purandhyā
44
4 × ~11 (probable)
Expansive opening (birth of Sun) followed by swift cadence (raṃhamāṇaḥ)
Creates a felt widening in the chest/head, then a quickening of aspiration and clarity.
- सूर्यम् (sūryam)
- Literal: the Sun. Symbolic: inner illumination, truth-light in the mind
- वि धारे (vi-dhāre)
- Literal: for wide holding/support. Symbolic: widened receptivity and stable foundation in consciousness
- पयः (payaḥ)
- Literal: milk. Symbolic: nourishing essence: sweetness of knowledge and sustaining delight
- शक्मना (śakmanā)
- Literal: by power, by capability. Symbolic: effective spiritual force that establishes the higher state
- गो जीरया (go-jīrayā)
- Literal: with cow-swiftness/impulsion. Symbolic: with the driving rays of knowledge (go) that hasten progress
- रंहमानः (raṃhamāṇaḥ)
- Literal: rushing, swift-moving. Symbolic: accelerated yogic movement of the purified current
- पुरंध्या (purandhyā)
- Literal: abundance; she who fills/fulfils. Symbolic: integral fullness, right discernment and perfecting capacity
Soma praise during purification, linking Soma to cosmic manifestation (sun, nourishment) and to the seers attainment of sustaining light.
At moments emphasizing Soma’s ‘making luminous’ and ‘nourishing’ power
Chant with visualization of light emerging and spreading
Meditation for ‘bringing out the inner sun’: chant at dawn or before study/contemplation to awaken clarity and right discrimination.
ajījanaḥ from √jan 'to generate, beget' (aorist/perfective). s6brya from √svar/solar root complex: light/illumination. payas 'milk' as nurturing essence (inner: luminous nourishment). go in Vedic is polyvalent: cow/ray of light/knowledge; go-j2bra suggests a swiftening that is driven by the rays (go) rather than animal imagery. purandhi (purandhy01 instr.) from puram-dh2b? traditionally 'bounty, abundance'; inwardly: the faculty that fills and completes the work of consciousness.
Manifestation of illumination (Sūrya as knowledge), Support of the wide (vi-dhāra) as stable consciousness, Go (rays/knowledge) recovered and mobilized
Illumination establishes right order in perception and action.
Sūrya as the unveiling of satya—things seen as they are.
Birth of the Sun from the purified essence: manifestation of light from refined delight.
Vedic yoga of revelation: ananda → light → fullness/perfection.
dawn/morning (implied by Sūrya’s emergence)
Illumination arises in the mind; nourishing sweetness sustains the widened consciousness; rays of knowledge accelerate perfection.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Soma as a cosmogonic agent: he generates the Sun and establishes the nourishing essence for the wide holding of the world. Inwardly, the purified delight brings forth illumination (Sūrya) and installs sustaining nourishment (payaḥ) in the expanded consciousness.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √jan (generate) continues PIE *ǵenhǝ- 'to beget' (cf. Greek gen-). sūrya belongs to an Indo-Iranian solar lexicon with IE solar correspondences (though exact derivations vary). The semantic shift of go to ray/knowledge parallels broader IE poetic usage where cattle/wealth imagery codes for luminous goods.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rṣi recognizes Soma not merely as offering but as the very power that brings illumination and sustenance into manifestation. The hymn frames Soma as the inner worker of realization: by his purification, the Sun of knowledge is generated in the seeker and the sustaining milk of consciousness is established.
Invoke a luminous sweetness in the heart; let it rise to the brow as a ‘sun’ of clear seeing; then widen awareness to hold more without strain.
Ājñā (inner sun) supported by Anāhata (sweet nourishment)
Slow inhalation imagining ‘milk-like’ soma rising; brief pause to ‘kindle the sun’; exhale widening the field (vi-dhāra)
Clear, widened, quietly joyful illumination
After chanting, sit in stillness and watch for the first emergence of ‘sunlight’—a simple, self-evident clarity. Feed it with calm delight rather than mental effort.
Preserve Vedic accents; obtain exact udatta/svarita placements from an accented RV text for this verse.
Give ‘sūryam’ a clear bright tone; keep ‘gojīrayā raṃhamāṇaḥ’ flowing quickly but distinct.
: ‘a-jī-ja-naḥ’ with long ī, : separate vi-dhāre, aspirate dh, : long ī in jī, roll lightly into rā, : retroflex ṇḍhy cluster—articulate slowly at first
Bright, clear, slightly smiling resonance; light forward placement
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