Rig Veda 4.49.6: Mandala 4, Sukta 49, Mantra 6
Sukta 4.49
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Indra-Bṛhaspati
- Chandas
- Tr̥ṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Shringara (love)
सोममिन्द्राबृहस्पती पिबतं दाशुषो गृहे । मादयेथां तदोकसा ॥
sómam indrābṛhaspatī píbataṁ dāśúṣo gṛhé | mā́dayethāṁ tádokasā ||
インドラよ、ブリハスパティよ。施与する者の家にてソーマを飲め。そこ、その住まいにおいて歓喜せよ—それを汝らの定座とし、われらの内にも定住せよ。
Word by Word
- सोमम्
- Soma (the pressed ritual drink)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्रा
- O Indra (addressed together with another)Noun (proper)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-प्रथमाविभक्ति (vocative); द्विवचन (Vedic: voc. du. in -ā)Role सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- बृहस्पती
- O Bṛhaspati (addressed together with Indra)Noun (proper)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-प्रथमाविभक्ति (vocative); द्विवचन (Vedic: voc. du. in -ī)Role सम्बोधनRoot बृहस्पति (प्रातिपदिक)
- पिबतम्
- drink (you two)!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); परस्मैपद; मध्यमपुरुष; द्विवचनRole (क्रिया)Root पा (धातु) ‘पिबति’
- दाशुषः
- of the worshipper / of the giverNoun/Adjective (participle used substantively)पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति; एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive: ‘of’)Root दाशुष् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √दाश्/दश् ‘to worship, give, serve’)
- गृहे
- in the houseNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति; एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot गृह (प्रातिपदिक)
- मादयेथाम्
- be exhilarated / rejoice (you two)!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); आत्मनेपद; मध्यमपुरुष; द्विवचनRole (क्रिया)Root मद् (धातु) ‘to be exhilarated, rejoice’ (caus./denom. stem मादय-)
- तत्
- thatPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्म (with implied ‘reach/attain’ or as object of rejoicing) / or deictic with followingRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ओकसा
- with (its) dwelling / at homeNoun (used adjectivally in compound-like sense)नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन (instrumental: ‘with/at home’)Role करण/अधिकरण (instrumental of circumstance: ‘in/with that dwelling’)Root ओकस् (प्रातिपदिक) ‘dwelling, home’
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution: (1) सोम॑म् + इन्द्रा-बृहस्पती → सोमम् इन्द्राबृहस्पती (vocative dual addressed as a pair)
- (2) पिब॑तम् is independent imperative (2nd du.)
- (3) दा॒शुषो॑ गृ॒हे = ‘in the house of the dāśuṣ (worshipper)’
- (4) मा॒दये॑थाम् is imperative 2nd du. Ātmanepada
- (5) तद् + ओकसा → तदो॑कसा (external sandhi: final -d before vowel o- becomes -d- and coalesces in pronunciation; written as तदो-)
- Accents as in Saṃhitā: सोम॑म्, पिब॑तम्, दा॒शुषो॑, गृ॒हे, मा॒दये॑थाम्, तदो॑कसा
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra and Bṛhaspati are asked to drink Soma in the house of the giver and rejoice there, making it their dwelling.
Inner meaning
The ‘giver’ (dāśuṣ) is the aspiring soul offering itself. Its ‘house’ (gṛha) is the purified inner being. The mantra invites illumination (Indra) and truth-word (Bṛhaspati) to drink the Soma-delight within this inner home, to rejoice (mādayethām) and become established there (tad-okasā): the higher powers take their settled seat in our consciousness, turning the psyche into a permanent sanctuary of light and guidance.
Universal truth
When the being becomes an offering, higher consciousness can inhabit it stably; delight is the cement of this indwelling.
Themes
Indwelling, Soma assimilation, Reciprocity of offering, Stabilization of powers
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 4.26-4.27 (Vāmadeva’s self-realization themes, traditional attributions vary), Rig Veda 4.50 (Bṛhaspati as guardian of formation)
Family tradition
The Gautama seers emphasize the ‘inner sacrifice’ where gods are invited to inhabit the human vessel.
Significance
This verse is a compact formula of indwelling: invocation → drinking of Soma → settled divine residence in the seeker.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra-Bṛhaspati (dual)
- Epithets
- Indra (illuminer, breaker of obstruction), Bṛhaspati (truth-priest, guardian of right formation)
- Related deities
- Soma, Agni (who prepares the inner home/altar)
Cosmic role
They enter the human ‘home’ to energize it with Soma and establish a stable divine governance within the individual microcosm.
Inner power
Divine mind-force and truth-word become resident faculties; the psyche becomes a living altar.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma offering and hospitality to the gods (atithi motif)
सोम॑मिन्द्राबृहस्पती॒ पिब॑तं दा॒शुषो॑ गृ॒हे । मा॒दये॑थां॒ तदो॑कसा ॥
सोम॑म् । इ॒न्द्रा॒बृ॒ह॒स्प॒ती॒ इति॑ । पिब॑तम् । दा॒शुषः॑ । गृ॒हे । मा॒दये॑थाम् । तत्ऽओ॑कसा ॥
somam | indrābṛhaspatī iti | pibatam | dāśuṣaḥ | gṛhe | mādayethām | tat-okasā
44
4 × ~11
Warm, invitational opening; concluding phrase ‘tadokasā’ gives a settling cadence.
Moves from invocation to an inward ‘settling’ sensation—good for sealing meditation.
- दा॒शुषः (dāśuṣaḥ)
- Literal: of the giver/offerer. Symbolic: the surrendered part of the being; the soul that offers itself
- गृहे (gṛhe)
- Literal: in the house. Symbolic: inner home—heart, mind-life body made fit for the divine
- पिबतम् (pibatam)
- Literal: drink (dual). Symbolic: assimilate Ananda into the instruments
- मादयेथाम् (mādayethām)
- Literal: rejoice, be exhilarated. Symbolic: let divine delight energize and harmonize the nature
- तदो॑कसा (tad-okasā)
- Literal: having that as dwelling. Symbolic: make the inner being your established seat; permanent indwelling
Soma invitation at the sacrificer’s ‘house’ (altar-space); inwardly a request for indwelling of the powers after receiving Soma
In Soma rites as invitation to drink; in personal practice at the start of meditation to invite indwelling.
Offer Soma/oblations; inwardly offer attention, breath, and delight to the higher powers.
Use as a ‘make this being your home’ prayer—especially during transitions (new practice, new phase of life).
dāśuṣ ‘giver’ from √dāś/√daṃś ‘to offer, worship, give’ (Vedic): denotes the sacrificer as one who gives of himself. okas ‘house, dwelling’ relates to ‘abode’ (semantic field of settling/residing); tat-okasā implies ‘with that as dwelling’. √mad in mādayethām again indicates uplifted rapture; √pā in pibatam is inherited PIE *peh₃-.
Indwelling (deities as resident powers in the psyche), Self-giving (dāśuṣ) as condition for divine entry, Ānanda (Soma) leading to effective action (Indra) and true formulation (Bṛhaspati)
Indwelling of the gods establishes ṛta in the personal nature—right rhythm of thought, speech, and action.
Bṛhaspati’s residence implies truth-governed expression; Indra’s implies truth-seeing mind.
The human being as a formed dwelling for the divine—microcosmic temple.
Integral Yoga resonance: transformation by descent/indwelling of higher powers supported by Ananda.
Dwelling/seat motif (okas) as ‘settling’ of force after storm-like movement
Home = inner psychic space; drinking = assimilation; rejoicing = harmonized energized nature; dwelling = stable realization.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The gods ‘drink and rejoice’ at the sacrificer’s seat: the mythic hospitality that results in divine residence. Innerly, it is the stabilization of illumined force and truth-word within the seeker after the Soma-delight is assimilated.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The imperative dual pibatam preserves archaic number and command morphology. √pā (drink) is PIE *peh₃-. The semantic pairing of ‘house/dwelling’ with divine presence is an inherited Indo-European poetic structure (abode of gods within the ordered space).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi frames the sacrificer as dāśuṣ—one who gives—so the devatā may take the offering and ‘make the place their home’. The relationship is transformative: the offering aims at an enduring inner presence, not a momentary boon.
Consecrate the inner home; invite indwelling of illumination and truth-guidance nourished by Ananda.
Anāhata (inner home/heart) with Ājñā (illumination)
4-4-6 breathing (inhale-hold-exhale) gently; chant on the 6-count exhale; feel ‘settling’ after tadokasā.
Quiet joy; protected inwardness; stable clarity.
Visualize the heart as a lamp-lit house. Offer a cup of Soma (cool luminous bliss). Invite Indra-Bṛhaspati to drink and remain seated there as permanent guides.
Keep the imperative pibatam with a clear lift; let mādayethām be slightly elongated; land firmly and calmly on tadokasā.
Avoid rushing dāśuṣo gṛhe—keep retroflex ṣ in dāśuṣaḥ clear; articulate tat-okasā as a compound with a gentle internal pause.
dāśuṣo: ṣ as retroflex ‘sh’, gṛhe: vocalic ṛ, short e, mādayethām: long ā, aspirate th softly
Warm, inviting, inward; end with a settled resonance.
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