Rig Veda 9.110.5: Mandala 9, Sukta 110, Mantra 5
Sukta 9.110
- Rishi
- Pavam01na Soma hymn tradition
- Devata
- Soma Pavam01na
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
अभ्यभि हि श्रवसा ततर्दिथोत्सं न कं चिज्जनपानमक्षितम् । शर्याभिर्न भरमाणो गभस्त्योः ॥
abhy e0bhi h ed 5br e1vas01 tatardithabcts e1 43 n e1 k e1 43 cid jana-p01d6anam e1k 63itam d6 5b e1ry01bhir n e1 bh e1ram01 47o g e1bhastyo 25 d6
汝は幾たびも、霊感ある聴聞の力によって突き出でる。泉のごとく、民の飲みものとして尽きることがない。矢に運ばれるのではない。汝は手のうちに担われる――汝の光線を担うその手に。
Word by Word
- अभि
- towards, uponIndeclinableउपसर्ग (preverb)Root अभि (उपसर्ग)
- अभि
- towards, uponIndeclinableउपसर्ग (preverb)Root अभि (उपसर्ग)
- हि
- indeed, forIndeclinableनिपात (emphatic/causal particle)Root हि (निपात)
- श्रवसा
- with fame/renown (with glorious power)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot श्रवस् (प्रातिपदिक) < √श्रु
- ततर्दिथ
- thou hast pierced/broken throughVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परोक्श), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद (वैदिक रूप: -थ)Root √तृद्/√तर्द् (to pierce, break through) + (परस्मैपद)
- उत्सम्
- a spring, fountainNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचनRole KarmaRoot उत्स (प्रातिपदिक)
- न
- like, asIndeclinableउपमानार्थक निपातRoot न (उपमा/निपात)
- कम्
- someone, anyonePronounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचनRole KarmaRoot क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- चित्
- evenIndeclinableनिपात (emphasis: even)Root चित् (निपात)
- जनपानम्
- (a place/means) for people’s drinking; common drinking-placeNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचनRole KarmaRoot जनपान (प्रातिपदिक) = जन + पान
- अक्षितम्
- imperishable, unexhaustedAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नञ्-प्रत्ययRole KarmaRoot अ-क्षि-त (कृदन्त) < √क्षि (to perish, waste) / √क्षय
- शर्याभिः
- with swift courses/streams (rushes)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया बहुवचनRole KaraṇaRoot शर्या (प्रातिपदिक)
- न
- notIndeclinableनिषेधार्थक निपातRoot न (निषेध)
- भरमाणः
- rushing/moving aboutVerbवर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ), प्रथमा एकवचन, पुंलिङ्गRole KartāRoot √भ्रम् (to roam, whirl) / वैदिक: ‘to rush, move’
- गभस्त्योः
- in the two hands / in the two rays (grasping beams)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी/सप्तमी द्विवचन (वैदिक रूप; ‘in/at the two hands/rays’)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot गभस्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सम्भाव्य): अभि | अभि | हि | श्रवसा | ततर्दिथ | उत्सम् | न | कम् | चित् | जनपानम् | अक्षितम् || शर्याभिः | न | भरमाणः | गभस्त्योः || 1) कं चित् → कम् + चित् (अनुस्वार/व्यञ्जन-सन्धि)
- 2) ततर्दिथोत्सम् → ततर्दिथ + उत्सम् (अ + उ → ओ; संधि-रूप ‘थोत्सम्’)
- 3) जनपानमक्षितम् → जनपानम् + अक्षितम् (म् + अ → मअ; लेखन में संयुक्त)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Soma, by the force of śravas (renown/inspired hearing), breaks forth again and again like an inexhaustible spring for people to drink; he is not borne by arrows but is carried in the hands, in the bearers of his rays.
Inner meaning
The purified Soma (divine Ananda) repeatedly bursts through inner resistances by the soul’s receptive “hearing” (śravas as inspired receptivity). It becomes an inexhaustible well of delight and sustaining force for the inner being. The movement is not a violent propulsion (not ‘by arrows’), but a conscious upbearing by the powers of the hands—i.e., the effective faculties of action that carry and distribute the rays of illumination born of bliss.
Universal truth
When consciousness becomes receptive to higher inspiration, an inexhaustible source of renewal opens within. True transformation is stabilized not by force, but by steady, embodied faculties that can hold and distribute the gained light and joy.
Themes
Soma as inexhaustible spring, Revelation through hearing, Luminous carriage (gabhasti), Community nourishment
The seer
- Rishi
- Pavamāna Soma hymn tradition (Ascribed in the Rigveda to Soma-pavamāna seers)
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda Book 9 (Soma Pavamāna corpus, especially adjacent verses in 9.110)
Family tradition
Soma-Pavamāna mandala (Book 9) liturgical-seer tradition centered on purification and ascent of Soma.
Significance
The Book 9 seers specialize in the yoga of purification: Ananda clarified through the ‘filter’ of discernment, becoming a stable force that feeds the gods (illumined powers) and the human journey.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Pavamāna (self-purifying), Indu (drop), Soma (delight), Madhu (honeyed)
- Related deities
- Agni, Indra, Savitṛ, Aśvins
Cosmic role
Purifying current that links heaven and earth; the pressed and clarified essence that empowers the gods and sustains ṛta.
Inner power
Ananda as a conscious force: it clarifies the mind, strengthens will, and releases hidden light by softening and dissolving inner knots.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing and purification (pavamāna recitations during Soma-yajña)
अ॒भ्य॑भि॒ हि श्रव॑सा त॒तर्दि॒थोत्सं॒ न कं चि॑ज्जन॒पान॒मक्षि॑तम् । शर्या॑भि॒र्न भर॑माणो॒ गभ॑स्त्योः ॥
अ॒भिऽअ॑भि । हि । श्रव॑सा । त॒तर्दि॑थ । उत्स॑म् । न । कम् । चि॒त् । ज॒न॒ऽपान॑म् । अक्षि॑तम् । शर्या॑भिः । न । भर॑माणः । गभ॑स्त्योः ॥
abhi-abhi | hi | śravasā | tatarditha | utsam | na | kam | cit | jana-pānam | akṣitam | śaryābhiḥ | na | bharamāṇaḥ | gabhastyoḥ
Appears as two pādas in the provided line-break but original verse is typically 4-pāda.
Forward-driving, ‘breaking-forth’ cadence typical of Soma-pavamāna verses.
Energizes receptivity and a sense of inner release; supports a felt perception of ‘fountain-like’ upsurge.
- श्रवसा (śravasā)
- Literal: by hearing/renown. Symbolic: inspired receptivity; the soul’s capacity to receive the higher Word and guidance
- ततर्दिथ (tatarditha)
- Literal: you pierce/burst through. Symbolic: breakthrough of higher consciousness through coverings/resistances
- उत्सम् (utsam)
- Literal: spring, fountain. Symbolic: inexhaustible inner source of Ananda/strength
- जनपानम् (janapānam)
- Literal: people’s drink. Symbolic: universal nourishment of the nature by delight and inspiration
- अक्षितम् (akṣitam)
- Literal: undiminishing, imperishable. Symbolic: Ananda that does not exhaust by giving
- शर्या (śaryā)
- Literal: arrows/darts. Symbolic: violent impulsion, rajasic drive; coercive means
- गभस्ति (gabhasti)
- Literal: hand; also ray of light. Symbolic: executive powers that hold, shape, and distribute the illumination
Soma praised as inexhaustible source for the community; corresponds to communal drinking/receiving Soma and its inspiration.
During Soma sacrifice while Soma is flowing through the filter and offered.
Chanting to accompany purification, collection, and offering; invoking inexhaustible flow and distribution.
Use as a meditation-chanted affirmation for opening an inner source of joy and sustaining clarity, especially when feeling depleted.
tatarditha from √tṛd/tard 'to pierce, thrust through' (Vedic perfective). utsa 'spring' symbolizes a source of consciousness. ak 63ita from a- + k 63i (√k 63i 'to waste away') inexhaustible. śravas is both 'fame' and 'that which is heard' (revelation); inner: inspired audition. gabhasti means 'hand' and also 'ray' a characteristic Vedic double sense enabling psychological reading: Soma is carried in rays/hands (channels of luminous energy), not by physical weapons.
Śravas as revelation (heard truth), Inexhaustible source (akṣita) as perennial consciousness, Non-violent force (not by arrows)
Soma’s ‘inexhaustible spring’ supports ṛta by continuously renewing the powers that uphold harmony.
Akṣitam points to the imperishable reality of delight when aligned with truth.
Emergence of hidden plenitude as a spring breaking through the earth—symbol of manifestation from the concealed.
Proto-Vedāntic and integral-yogic reading (Aurobindo/Kashyap): Ananda as a fundamental plane of consciousness.
A welling current of Ananda rises when receptivity replaces strain; action becomes a ‘carrying’ of light rather than a forcing.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Soma as an inexhaustible spring for the people: a perennial source that bursts through repeatedly. Inwardly, the mantra describes a renewable well of inspiration (śravas) that breaks through inner hardness and becomes drinkable knowledge-delight for the collective being.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The spring-image (utsa) belongs to an inherited IE poetic complex where waters/springs represent inspiration and life-power. akṣita as privative + wasting root parallels common IE morphology of negation. The semantic doubleness of gabhasti (hand/ray) reflects archaic poetic polysemy typical of IE sacred diction.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rṣi relies on Soma as a communal resource of revelation: Soma breaks through by śravas and becomes jana-pānam. The reciprocity is distributive: Soma offers inexhaustible inspiration; the community receives and is strengthened, carrying Soma in hands/raystheir conscious channels.
Feel the ‘spring’ of delight rising from within; practice receptive listening (śravas) to the higher guidance.
Anahata (for sweetness/expansion) and Sahasrara (for descent of nectar)
Gentle nāḍī-śodhana or slow inhalation with a pause (kumbhaka) to sense the upwelling, then exhale distributing ‘rays’ through the hands.
Receptive, luminous quietude with a subtle upward surge.
Chant softly; on ‘utsam’ imagine a clear fountain in the heart. On ‘gabhastyoḥ’ feel the hands as instruments of conscious offering—carry the gained peace into action.
Exact svara requires Śākala accent text; generally maintain Vedic udātta peaks on key verbs/nouns and avoid flattening cadences.
Let the primary lift occur on the breakthrough verb (tatarditha) and the source-word (utsam); soften on qualifiers (akṣitam).
śravasā: keep śra- clear, short a in -sa-, tatarditha: dental t, crisp rd cluster, utsam: short u, clear -tsam conjunct, gabhastyoḥ: hard g, bha aspirated, yoḥ with visarga-like ending quality depending on recensional style
Clear, flowing, slightly bright tone as if ‘pouring’ the sound.
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