Rig Veda 9.44.3: Mandala 9, Sukta 44, Mantra 3
Sukta 9.44
- Rishi
- Ascription varies
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- To be verified for RV 9.44.3
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
अयं देवेषु जागृविः सुत एति पवित्र आ । सोमो याति विचर्षणिः ॥
ayáṃ devéṣu jā́gṛviḥ sutá éti pavítrá ā́ | sómo yāti vícarṣaṇiḥ ||
Soma ini, yang terjaga di antara para dewa, setelah diperas, datang menuju penyaring (pavitra); ia bergerak sebagai kuasa yang meliputi dan memerintah luas (vicarsani), menata banyak kegiatan kodrat kita menuju cahaya.
Word by Word
- अयम्
- this (one)Pronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- देवेषु
- among the godsNounपुंलिङ्गः, सप्तमी, बहुवचनम्Role AdhikaraṇaRoot देव (प्रातिपदिक)
- जागृविः
- wakeful, vigilantAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot जागृवि (प्रातिपदिक; √जागृ ‘to be awake’ से)
- सुतः
- pressed (Soma)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot सुत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √सु ‘to press (Soma)’ + क्त)
- एति
- goes, movesVerbलट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Root √इ (गम्/इ ‘to go’)
- पवित्रे
- in/through the filter (sieve)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, सप्तमी, एकवचनम्Role AdhikaraṇaRoot पवित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- आ
- towards, untoIndeclinableअव्ययम् (गत्यर्थ-उपसर्गः)Root आ (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- सोमः
- SomaNounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- याति
- goes, proceedsVerbलट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Root √या (to go)
- विचर्षणिः
- far-seeing / widely active (epithet)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot विचर्षणि (प्रातिपदिक; वि- + √चर्ष्/चृ ‘to move/act, be active’ से व्युत्पन्न)
Sandhi Notes
- मन्त्रपाठः प्रायः पदपाठानुसारः। ‘पवित्र आ’ = ‘पवित्रे’ (सप्तमी एकवचन) + ‘आ’ (अव्यय/उपसर्ग) — यहाँ ‘पवित्र’ का पदरूप ‘पवित्रे’ (loc.) है
- संहिता में ‘पवित्र आ’ के रूप में पदविभाग दिखता है।
The meaning
Outer meaning
This Soma, wakeful among the gods, pressed out, comes to the filter; Soma goes as the wide-ruling one.
Inner meaning
The delight-force, once expressed (suta) from the depths, becomes consciously awake in the company of higher powers. It moves to the inner ‘filter’—discrimination and purification—so it may act as vicarṣaṇi, a wide-governing organizer of our many movements, bringing them under luminous order.
Universal truth
A purified joy becomes vigilant and governing: it disciplines and harmonizes the life-forces, making the whole nature obedient to light.
Themes
Soma purification, Awakening, Inner discernment
The seer
- Rishi
- Pavamāna Soma tradition (specific ṛṣi for RV 9.44.3 to be verified)
- Other hymns
- RV 9.44.1-2, 9.44.4
Family tradition
Mandala 9 Soma seers
Significance
Describes a key yogic transition: delight becomes ‘wakeful’ and ‘sovereign’ only after passing through purification—then it can govern the nature rather than be governed by it.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Jāgṛvi (wakeful), Suta (pressed), Pavitra-gā (going to the filter), Vicarṣaṇi (wide-ruling)
- Related deities
- Varuṇa (order/ṛta), Indra (governing illumination), Agni (purifying will)
Cosmic role
Soma as kingly essence that, purified, supports divine order and distributes harmony through the worlds.
Inner power
Vigilant Ananda that brings integration: it coordinates mind, life, and body under a luminous sovereignty.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma purification at the pavitra
अ॒यं दे॒वेषु॒ जागृ॑विः सु॒त ए॑ति प॒वित्र॒ आ । सोमो॑ याति॒ विच॑र्षणिः ॥
अ॒यम् । दे॒वेषु॑ । जागृ॑विः । सु॒तः । ए॒ति॒ । प॒वित्रे॑ । आ । सोमः॑ । या॒ति॒ । विच॑र्षणिः ॥
ayam | deveṣu | jāgṛviḥ | sutaḥ | eti | pavitre | ā | somaḥ | yāti | vi-carṣaṇiḥ
44
4 × ~11 syllables
Compact, authoritative, ‘sovereign’ cadence.
Produces alertness and inner vigilance; evokes governance and order.
- jāgṛviḥ
- Literal: wakeful, vigilant. Symbolic: conscious Ananda that does not fall into tamas or indulgence
- sutaḥ
- Literal: pressed out. Symbolic: the essence expressed from inner depths through practice
- pavitre
- Literal: to the filter. Symbolic: to inner discernment that separates truth from mixture
- deveṣu
- Literal: among the gods. Symbolic: in the field of higher faculties/powers active in us
- vicarṣaṇiḥ
- Literal: wide-ruling, all-ordering. Symbolic: a sovereign harmonizer that governs diverse energies toward the One
Explicitly tied to pavitra (filtering) stage of Soma rite; recited as Soma is led/strained for offering.
During straining/flowing of Soma in Soma-yajña
Chanted as Soma approaches/enters the filter
Use when seeking self-mastery: chant before decision-making to invoke vigilant joy that orders impulses.
√jāgṛ ‘to wake’ → jāgṛviḥ: Soma is depicted as conscious vigilance, supporting the inner discipline (tapas-like steadiness). pavitra ‘filter’ (from √pū ‘to purify’) is both ritual sieve and psychological discrimination that separates truth from mixture. vícarṣaṇi-: vi- ‘wide, manifold’ + carṣaṇi (often ‘men/peoples’, also ‘active domains’) → Soma as the power that can govern the multiplicity of human movements by a unifying light.
purification (pū), vigilance/awakening (jāgṛ), governance of multiplicity (vi-carṣaṇi)
Vicarṣaṇiḥ implies establishment of ṛta as governance of movements.
Wakefulness (jāgṛviḥ) is truth-awareness preventing fall into false delight.
Purification is the cosmic method by which essence becomes kingly law in manifestation.
Yoga of transformation: purification → integration → sovereignty of the inner being.
Pressing = extraction of essence through tapas; filter = viveka; wide-ruling = integrated personality under the psychic/divine guidance.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘wakeful Soma’ entering the pavitra: a mythic-technological image where the divine drink becomes purified and fit for gods. Innerly, it is the awakening delight-force passing through discrimination to become a governing light in the many parts of nature.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √pū ‘purify’ is Indo-Iranian and likely reflects an inherited cleansing semantic field; √jāgṛ aligns with wakefulness roots seen across Indo-European (cf. Greek egrēgor- in later formations, though not direct). The vi- prefix as distributive/manifold is a common Indo-European preverb strategy.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The ṛṣi points to Soma as immediately present (‘ayam’) and already operative among divine powers; by guiding Soma to the pavitra, the human act aligns with the divine vigilance, enabling Soma to rule the multiplicity within the practitioner.
Cultivate ‘wakeful joy’: a delight that stays conscious and discerning while moving through the day.
Maṇipūra (governance/inner kṣatra) harmonized by Anāhata (pure delight)
Brisker, steady breathing for a few rounds, then slow; chant with the feeling of alertness settling in the navel and spreading upward.
Vigilant equanimity; integrated will.
Notice where joy becomes excitement; offer it into the ‘pavitra’ (inner witness). Let the purified feeling become a steady authority that organizes speech, action, and desire.
Chant per Vedic accents from a svara text; keep ‘jāgṛviḥ’ clearly articulated with long ā.
Give slight emphasis to the turning points: ‘pavitre ā’ and ‘vicarṣaṇiḥ’.
ayaṃ: nasalized ‘ṃ’, jāgṛviḥ: long ā; ‘gṛ’ vocalic ṛ; final ḥ light, pavitre: short i; dental t, vicarṣaṇiḥ: ‘vi-car-ṣa-ṇiḥ’; retroflex ṣ; dental n; final ḥ
Bright, alert, steady; slightly firmer attack on consonants.
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