Rig Veda 8.2.1: Mandala 8, Sukta 2, Mantra 1
Sukta 8.2
- Rishi
- Medhyātithi Kāṇva
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
इदं वसो सुतमन्धः पिबा सुपूर्णमुदरम् । अनाभयिन्ररिमा ते ॥
idáṃ vaso sutám ándhaḥ píba supū́rṇam udáram | anā́bhayin rarimā́ te ||
この搾り出されたソーマの甘露を、ヴァス（富なる神）よ、飲め――内なる器を満ち満ちて満たせ。恐れなき者よ、われらは汝に捧げる。汝の豊穣がわれらのうちに確かな増益として動き広がれ。
Word by Word
- इदम्
- thisPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (पिबा इत्यस्य) / विषय-निर्देशRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वसो
- O good one / O Vasu (Indra)Noun (vocative epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधन (आह्वान)Root वसु (प्रातिपदिक) / वस् (धातु) → वसु (सम्बोधन)
- सुतम्
- pressed (soma)Adjective/Participleनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (पिबा)Root √सु (सुनोति) → सुत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
- अन्धः
- soma-juiceNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (वैदिके -स्/ः रूपान्तर)Role Karma (पिबा) (सुतम् इत्यस्य विशेष्य/अप्पोजिशन)Root अन्धस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- पिबा
- drink!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot √पा (पिबति)
- सुपूर्णम्
- well-filledAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (पिबा) (उदरम् इत्यस्य विशेषण)Root सु- (उपसर्ग) + पूर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
- उदरम्
- belly / stomachNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (पिबा) (लक्ष्य-रूपेण: ‘उदरं’ = ‘उदरं यावत्’)Root उदर (प्रातिपदिक)
- अनाभयिन्
- O fearless oneAdjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (इन्द्रस्य विशेषण)Role सम्बोधन (आह्वान) / विशेषणRoot अन्- (नञ्) + आभयिन् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘भय’ से)
- अरिमा
- let not the enemy…Noun + Indeclinableअरि-: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; मा: अव्ययRole Kartā (अभिप्रेत-क्रिया: ‘मा …’ निषेध-वाक्ये) / निषेधRoot अरि (प्रातिपदिक) + मा (निषेध/आशंसार्थक अव्यय ‘मा’)
- ते
- of you / yourPronounषष्ठी, एकवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive: ‘of you/your’)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सम्भाव्य): इदम् | वसो | सुतम् | अन्धः | पिबा | सुपूर्णम् | उदरम् | अनाभयिन् | अरि मा | ते । (1) ‘सुतम् अन्धः’ इत्यत्र सुतम् (क्त-कृदन्त) + अन्धः (अन्धस्) = ‘pressed soma-juice’ (अप्पोजिशन/विशेष्य-विशेषणभाव). (2) ‘अरि॒मा’ पाठः ‘अरि मा’ (अरिः + मा) इति पदच्छेदः
- वैदिक-संहितायां संयोगलेखनम्। (3) ‘अन्धः’ रूपं वैदिके अन्धस्-शब्दस्य संहितारूप (विसर्गान्त) इव दृश्यते। (4) उच्चारण-स्वरचिह्ना (॒, ॑) संहितापाठानुसारं
- पदपाठे सामान्यतः स्वर-चिह्न-विन्यास भिन्नः भवति।
The meaning
Outer meaning
O Vasu, drink this pressed Soma-juice; fill full the belly/vessel. Fearless, we give to you; may your abundance come to us.
Inner meaning
Indra as Vasu (the luminous Wealth) is invited to drink the pressed delight (Soma) within the seeker. ‘Fill full the udaram’ becomes the yogic act of letting bliss-consciousness saturate the inner vessel—body, life, and mind—so the divine Mind-force can act without fear (anābhayin). The offering is our self-giving; the return is Indra’s increase (rarimā) moving in us as secure growth and victorious capacity.
Universal truth
When we offer purified delight to the higher consciousness, it fills the inner being and replaces fear with strength; divine abundance then circulates as a stable increase in life.
Themes
Soma-ritual, invitation to drink, inner vessel fullness
The seer
- Rishi
- Medhyātithi Kāṇva
- Lineage
- Kāṇva
- Other hymns
- RV 8.2.2, RV 8.2.3, RV 8.1
Family tradition
Kāṇva Gāyatrī openings are compact, imperative, and mantric—excellent for direct invocation of Indra’s Soma-drinking (inner assimilation of bliss).
Significance
The seer teaches the fundamental exchange of the sacrifice: self-offering of delight → descent of fearless strength and increase.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Vasu, Maghavan, Vṛtrahan, Purandara (fort-breaker, later epithet)
- Related deities
- Soma, Agni, Maruts, Bṛhaspati
Cosmic role
Receives Soma, increases the powers, breaks the coverer, establishes the wide luminous spaces.
Inner power
Illumined, victorious mind-force that grows by delight and makes the being fearless.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma offering to Indra at pressing (abhiṣava) and libation moments.
इ॒दं व॑सो सु॒तमन्ध॒: पिबा॒ सुपू॑र्णमु॒दर॑म् । अना॑भयिन्ररि॒मा ते॑ ॥
इ॒दम् । व॒सो॒ इति॑ । सु॒तम् । अन्धः॑ । पिब॑ । सुऽपू॑र्णम् । उ॒दर॑म् । अना॑भयिन् । र॒रि॒म । ते॒ ॥
idam | vaso | iti | sutam | andhaḥ | piba | su-pūrṇam | udaram | anābhayin | rarima | te
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3 pādas × 8 syllables (with Vedic licenses)
Quick, bright, invocatory; intimate and direct.
Immediately lifts energy and aspiration; good as a daily call to fearless fullness.
- वसो (vaso)
- Literal: O Vasu (wealthy one). Symbolic: Indra as luminous abundance; the power that gives inner riches
- सुतम् अन्धः (sutam andhaḥ)
- Literal: pressed Soma-juice. Symbolic: pressed delight/bliss extracted by discipline from experience
- पिब (piba)
- Literal: drink. Symbolic: receive/assimilate into consciousness
- सुपूर्णम् उदरम् (supūrṇam udaram)
- Literal: a well-filled belly/vessel. Symbolic: the inner receptacle (life-body-mind) made full of bliss-force
- अना॑भयिन् (anābhayin)
- Literal: fearless. Symbolic: state free of anxiety through divine support
- ररिमा (rarimā)
- Literal: abundance, bounty (increase). Symbolic: the flowing increase of power and joy in the system
Soma libation invitation (pāna) to Indra in Soma sacrifice
At Soma-stotra/śastra sequences; also adaptable as daily invocation before meditation.
Offering Soma; inviting Indra to drink and to increase the sacrificer.
A short mantra for beginning meditation: invite ‘fullness within’ and fearless inner expansion before practice.
andhas ‘Soma juice’ is the pressed essence; innerly the distilled delight/energy of experience offered upward. √pā ‘drink’ is assimilation—deity taking the offering becomes the power’s entry into the being. udára ‘belly’ as vessel: the inner space that can be filled with force. an-ābhaya ‘fearless’ indicates removal of shrinking/contracting movements that block reception.
offering and assimilation, fearlessness as openness to divine influx
Right giving (offering) brings right receiving (increase): the rhythm of ṛta in inner life.
Fearlessness is a sign of truth-contact; falsehood contracts into fear.
Increase through delight: the gods grow by Soma and then enlarge the human field.
Integral yoga psychology: ānanda as a power that transforms mind and life.
Pressed Soma = distilled delight; vessel = psycho-physical system capable of being filled with consciousness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Indra (as Vasu) invited to drink Soma: the god’s ‘drinking’ is the mythic sign of receiving the offering. Innerly, it is the assimilation of the distilled delight-force into the divine dynamism within, filling the inner vessel to plenitude.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √pā ‘drink’ is PIE *peh₃- (cf. Latin pōtāre ‘to drink’ via related formations; English potable). The imperative style is a common IE ritual-poetic performative: speech acts intended to effect presence.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi offers the pressed essence and commands the divine assimilation (‘drink!’), indicating intimacy and confidence. Fearlessness (anābhayin) is the human condition for reciprocity: the being opens without contraction, so the god’s fullness can enter and increase within.
Offer the day’s experiences into the inner press; invite Indra to ‘drink’—to take up the delight and convert it into fearless strength.
Manipura (vessel/udara)
Gentle kapalabhati (if suitable) then quiet breathing; mentally ‘pibā’ on inhale, ‘supūrṇam’ on exhale.
Energetic fullness; confident clarity.
Before action, fill the inner vessel with calm delight; then act from fearlessness, not compulsion.
Gāyatrī-style crisp accenting; keep udatta prominence on key imperatives like ‘pibā’.
Three clear pāda pulses; avoid dragging—let it feel like a clean invitation.
‘sutam andhaḥ’: keep anusvāra and visarga distinct; do not drop final ḥ., ‘supūrṇam’: long ū and retroflex ṇ., ‘anābhayin’: maintain long ā; pronounce bh as voiced aspirate.
Clear, bright, inviting.
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