Rig Veda 9.18.4: Mandala 9, Sukta 18, Mantra 4
Sukta 9.18
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
आ यो विश्वानि वार्या वसूनि हस्तयोर्दधे । मदेषु सर्वधा असि ॥
ā́ yó víśvāni vā́ryā vásūni hástayor dadhé | mádeṣu sarva-dhā́ asi ||
ನಮ್ಮ ಕೈಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಎಲ್ಲ ಬಯಸಬಹುದಾದ ಸಂಪತ್ತುಗಳನ್ನು (ವಸುಗಳನ್ನು) ಇಡುವವನು—ಅವನು ನೀನೇ, ಸೋಮ; ಆನಂದದ ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಂದು ಮದದಲ್ಲಿ ನೀನು ಎಲ್ಲ ರೀತಿಯಿಂದಲೂ ಸರ್ವತ್ರ ಇರುವೆ.
Word by Word
- आ
- hither; untoIndeclinableउपसर्ग (क्रियायोगे ‘आ-’ = ‘towards, hither, unto’)Root आ (उपसर्ग) / ā (preverb)
- यः
- who (he who)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- विश्वानि
- allAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन (कर्मपदं ‘वार्यानि वसूनि’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role KarmaRoot विश्व (विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक)
- वार्यानि
- choice; desirableAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot वार्य (विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक; √वृ/√वर् ‘to choose, desire’ से ‘desirable/choice’)
- वसूनि
- goods; richesNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot वसु (नाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- हस्तयोः
- in the two handsNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी/सप्तमी, द्विवचन (Vedic: ‘in/at the two hands’—locative-dual sense common; formally identical with genitive-dual)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot हस्त (नाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- दधे
- has placed; has putVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot √धा (धातु) ‘to put, place’
- मदेषु
- in the exhilarations; in the intoxications (of Soma)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot मद (नाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सर्वधा
- in every way; alwaysIndeclinableअव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण)Root सर्वधा (अव्यय; सर्व + धा ‘in every way’)
- असि
- thou artVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot √अस् (धातु) ‘to be’
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (pada-splitting): आ | यः | विश्वानि | वार्यानि | वसूनि | हस्तयोः | दधे | मदेषु | सर्वधा | असि ।
- ‘हस्तयोः’ is a dual form (gen./loc. syncretism in Vedic usage, here best taken as locative ‘in the two hands’)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Soma is he who places in our hands all desirable riches; in every rapture he is present wholly.
Inner meaning
Purified Ananda bestows ‘vārya vasu’—desirable riches—not merely outer goods but inner attainments: clarity, strength, right joy, luminous capacities. ‘In our hands’ indicates practical possession: bliss becomes workable power in life, not a distant ideal. In every uplifted delight, Soma is present as the giver and the gift—Ananda translating into effective capacities.
Universal truth
True wealth is the capacity to act from joy and clarity; when delight is purified, it becomes usable power placed into one’s hands.
Themes
Soma-ritual, Bestowal of riches (inner plenitudes), Empowerment, Refrain
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 9.18.2, Rig Veda 9.18.3, Rig Veda 9.18.5, Rig Veda 9.18.6
Significance
The rishi-impulse here is pragmatic: realization must become ‘in the hands’—a stable embodied possession, not a passing experience.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Dātā (giver), Vasudā (giver of riches), Pavamāna
- Related deities
- Bhaga (portion/fortune), Indra (power), Agni (will)
Cosmic role
Distributor of boons and plenitudes; the nectar that converts sacrifice into abundance.
Inner power
Ananda as bestower of siddhi-like capacities: steadiness, luminous intelligence, effective force, right enjoyment.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma purification and offering; boon-invocation within Soma sequences
आ यो विश्वा॑नि॒ वार्या॒ वसू॑नि॒ हस्त॑योर्द॒धे । मदे॑षु सर्व॒धा अ॑सि ॥
आ । यः । विश्वा॑नि । वार्या॑ । वसू॑नि । हस्त॑योः । द॒धे । मदे॑षु । स॒र्व॒ऽधाः । अ॒सि॒ ॥
ā | yaḥ | viśvāni | vāryā | vasūni | hastayoḥ | dadhe | madeṣu | sarva-dhāḥ | asi
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4 x 8 with refrain; the first half is declarative, second half refrain.
Gift-like cadence: statement then refrain as seal.
Suggests receiving and grounding; the refrain functions like a ‘mudrā’ that fixes the gain in consciousness.
- vāryā vasūni
- Literal: choice/desirable riches. Symbolic: inner treasures: light, strength, harmony, wideness, right enjoyment
- hastayoḥ
- Literal: in the two hands. Symbolic: practical mastery; capacity to hold and apply realizations in action
- dadhe
- Literal: places, establishes. Symbolic: fixes attainments स्थिरतया; makes them stable possessions
- mada
- Literal: rapture. Symbolic: states of uplift where the gifts become tangible
- sarvadhā
- Literal: in every way. Symbolic: in all movements—knowledge, will, love, work
Soma praised as giver of vasu (riches) during offering; in inner sense, establishing capacities and excellences for right action.
During Soma flow/filtration and prior to offering, when benefits of Soma are invoked.
Chant while Soma is collected/distributed; symbolic ‘placing in hands’.
Use as an affirmation in sadhana for bringing spiritual experience into daily competence—work, relationships, service.
varya signals the ‘to-be-chosen’ (from √vṛ ‘choose’)—not mere material goods but selected excellences; vasu as ‘good substance’ becomes spiritual wealth; hands (hasta) symbolically represent executive power—Soma makes the riches effective and usable by placing them ‘in the hands’.
Rayi/vasu as fullness of being, Choice-worthy excellences (varya), Embodied efficacy (hands as action-power)
Right order includes right apportionment of powers/boons to the embodied seeker.
Truth becomes possession—stable ‘vasu’—not fleeting insight.
Plenitude arises when essence is purified and made distributable.
Integral Yoga orientation: realization must manifest as capacity in life.
The ‘hands’ as instruments of karma-yoga; Soma as bliss that empowers action and grants inner resources.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Soma as the giver who puts riches into the hands—mythic bestowal. Psychologically, Soma establishes usable inner wealth: capacities, strengths, and excellences that become operative in action.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √dhā (PIE *dʰeh₁-) ‘place’ is central: wealth is not abstract but ‘placed’ into agency (hands). √vṛ ‘choose’ in varya echoes a common IE valuation motif: the ‘chosen’ excellence as the true treasure.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi recognizes Soma not only as ecstasy but as practical empowerment: the devatā responds to offering by establishing inner riches in the seeker’s active instruments, converting delight into capability.
Receive Ananda as a ‘gift in the hands’: translate joy into steady capability and right action.
Maṇipūra (effective power) supported by Anāhata (joy)
Inhale: ‘ā… viśvāni vāryā’; exhale: ‘madeṣu sarvadhā asi’—feel energy settling into the palms.
Quiet strength with sweetness.
After meditation, pause with palms open; feel the inner ‘vasu’ (clarity/strength) placed there; then act from that steadiness during the day.
Vedic accents as per śākhā; maintain smooth flow into ‘hastayoḥ dadhe’.
Slight lift on ‘viśvāni’ and ‘vāryā’; keep ‘hastayoḥ’ clear and unhurried; refrain steady and sealing.
ā: long opening vowel, vāryā: long ā at end, vasūni: long ū, hastayoḥ: diphthong ‘oḥ’ with visarga-like ending quality depending on sandhi tradition, dadhe: aspirated dh; final e clear
Warm, receiving tone; end with firm softness.
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