Rig Veda 9.20.4: Mandala 9, Sukta 20, Mantra 4
Sukta 9.20
- Rishi
- Pavamāna Soma seer tradition
- Devata
- Soma Pavamana
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
अभ्यर्ष बृहद्यशो मघवद्भ्यो ध्रुवं रयिम् । इषं स्तोतृभ्य आ भर ॥
ábhyàrṣa bṛhádyáśo maghávadbhyo dhruváṃ rayím | íṣaṃ stotṛ́bhya ā́ bhara ||
ಓ ಸೋಮ! ಮಹತ್ತಾದ ಯಶಸ್ಸಿನೊಂದಿಗೆ ನಮ್ಮತ್ತ ಅಭ್ಯರ್ಷ—ಹರಿದು ಬಾ; ಮಘವದ್ಭ್ಯಃ ಧ್ರುವ ರಯಿ (ಸ್ಥಿರ ಸಂಪತ್ತು) ಯನ್ನು ದಯಪಾಲಿಸು. ಮತ್ತು ಸ್ತುತಿಗೀತದಿಂದ ನಿನ್ನನ್ನು ಸ್ಥಾಪಿಸುವ ಸ್ತೋತೃಗಳಿಗೆ ವೃದ್ಧಿಯ ಇಷ್ (ಪ್ರೇರಕ ಶಕ್ತಿ) ಯನ್ನೂ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ತಂದುಕೊಡು.
Word by Word
- अभि
- towards, untoIndeclinableउपसर्ग (preverb), अव्ययRoot अभि (उपसर्ग) / PIE *h₂epi
- अर्ष
- flow! rush forth!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), मध्यम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole (क्रिया) —Root ऋष् (धातु) ‘गत्यर्थ/स्रवण’
- बृहद्
- great, loftyAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया, एकवचन (विशेषणम्)Role Karma (विशेष्य-विशेषणभावेन)Root बृहन्त् (प्रातिपदिक) < √बृह् ‘वर्धने’
- यशः
- glory, fameNounनपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot यशस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- मघवद्भ्यः
- to the bountiful ones (patrons)Noun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी, बहुवचनRole SampradānaRoot मघवत् (प्रातिपदिक) ‘दानशील/समृद्ध’
- ध्रुवम्
- firm, lastingAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया, एकवचन (विशेषणम्)Role Karma (विशेष्य-विशेषणभावेन)Root ध्रुव (प्रातिपदिक) < √ध्रु ‘स्थैर्ये’
- रयिम्
- wealth, treasureNounपुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot रयि (प्रातिपदिक)
- इषम्
- nourishment, refreshmentNounस्त्रीलिङ्गे, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot इष् (प्रातिपदिक) ‘बल/पोषण/आहार’
- स्तोतृभ्यः
- to the praisers (singers)Nounपुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी, बहुवचनRole SampradānaRoot स्तोतृ (प्रातिपदिक) < √स्तु ‘स्तुतौ’
- आ
- hither, forth; intensivelyIndeclinableउपसर्ग (preverb), अव्ययRoot आ (उपसर्ग) / PIE *h₂e-
- भर
- bring! bestow!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), मध्यम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole (क्रिया) —Root भृ (धातु) ‘धारण-पोषण’
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: अभि | अर्ष | बृहद् यशः | मघवद्भ्यः | ध्रुवम् रयिम् | इषम् | स्तोतृभ्यः | आ | भर । 1) बृहद् + यशः → बृहद्यशः (व्यञ्जन-सन्धि: द् + य → द्य). 2) अन्यत्र स्पष्ट सन्धि-परिवर्तनं न
- ‘अभ्यर्ष’ इति संहितायां अभि + अर्ष (उपसर्ग-योगः; इकारस्य यकारादेशः) ।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Flow toward us, Soma, with vast glory; for the generous offerers grant a steadfast wealth. Bring also nourishment/increase for the praising priests.
Inner meaning
Soma is asked to rush inward (abhy arṣa) as a wide luminous greatness (bṛhad yaśaḥ): the expansive radiance of purified Ananda. To the maghavat—those who can give and are open in offering—he brings dhruva rayi, a stable plenitude (not mere riches but firm inner substance: peace, force, clarity). He also brings iṣ, the impulsion and growth-power, to the stotṛ—our affirming speech and inner seer-will—so the mantra-force increases and the being becomes steady in Truth.
Universal truth
True increase is twofold: a stable inner foundation (dhruva rayi) and a living growth-impulse (iṣ) guided by inspired affirmation; both arise when delight is purified into luminous power.
Themes
Soma-ritual, inner purification, bestowal of plenitude (rayi), mantric empowerment of the seer (stotṛ)
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 9.20.1-7
Family tradition
Part of the Pavamāna corpus where attribution is sometimes to a seer-family but not preserved in the supplied data; the voice is that of the Soma-seer within the sacrificial tradition.
Significance
The seer asks not merely for ecstasy but for stable inner attainment (dhruva rayi) and progressive growth (iṣ) through mantra-affirmation.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Bṛhad-yaśas (of vast glory), Rayidā (giver of plenitude), Iṣadā (giver of increase)
- Related deities
- Indra (receives Soma, illumination), Agni (carrier of offering), Bṛhaspati (lord of mantra)
Cosmic role
Giver of wideness and stability; increases the powers that uphold the sacrifice and the worlds.
Inner power
Transforms delight into a steady foundation and an upward life-impulse aligned with truth-speaking.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma purification/pressing sequences
अ॒भ्य॑र्ष बृ॒हद्यशो॑ म॒घव॑द्भ्यो ध्रु॒वं र॒यिम् । इषं॑ स्तो॒तृभ्य॒ आ भ॑र ॥
अ॒भि । अ॒र्ष॒ । बृ॒हत् । यशः॑ । म॒घव॑य्त्ऽभ्यः । ध्रु॒वम् । र॒यिम् । इष॑म् । स्तो॒तृऽभ्यः । आ । भ॒र॒ ॥
abhi | arṣa | bṛhat | yaśaḥ | maghavat-bhyaḥ | dhruvam | rayim | iṣam | stotṛ-bhyaḥ | ā | bhara
Likely brisk ‘flow’ cadence typical of Pavamāna verses
Supports invocation of descent and increase; energizes aspiration while maintaining steadiness.
- अभि अर्ष (abhi arṣa)
- Literal: flow towards. Symbolic: descent/approach of the purified current into the adhara (our nature)
- बृहत् यशः (bṛhat yaśaḥ)
- Literal: vast glory. Symbolic: expansive luminous consciousness, greatness of being
- मघवद्भ्यः (maghavadbhyaḥ)
- Literal: to the bountiful/possessors of gifts. Symbolic: those who can offer and receive—inner generosity and capacity
- ध्रुवम् रयिम् (dhruvam rayim)
- Literal: firm wealth. Symbolic: stable plenitude: fixed peace, strength, right resources of consciousness
- इषम् (iṣam)
- Literal: refreshment, nourishment, impulsion. Symbolic: evolutionary push of the life-force uplifted and guided
- स्तोतृभ्यः (stotṛbhyaḥ)
- Literal: to the praisers. Symbolic: to the affirming word and the inner ‘chanter’—our soul’s consent
Soma-pavamāna context: verses used in the Soma pressing/purification sequence (pavamāna-stotras) to invoke Soma’s flow through the filter and his bestowal of rayi and iṣ to the sacrificer and chanters.
While Soma is made to flow and is offered to the gods; accompanying stotra/śastra recitations
Calling Soma to stream forth, to grant rayi and iṣ to the sacrificers/chanters
Chant for inner stability plus growth: before creative work, sādhanā intensification, or when seeking steady progress without agitation.
(√ṛṣ/√arṣ) ‘to flow, stream’ (esp. Soma); imperative 2sg. from √bṛh ‘to grow, expand’ → Vast. from √yaś ‘to shine forth / be renowned’ → glory as radiance. ‘bountiful’ from maghá ‘gift, bounty’; dative plural. from √dhṛ ‘to hold, sustain’ → fixed/steady. ‘wealth’ possibly from √rā/√rai ‘to give, bestow; abundance’—in RV often a concrete+spiritual plenitude. from √iṣ ‘to impel, invigorate, seek’ → energizing impulse/increase. (√bhṛ) ‘to carry, bring’; imperative 2sg.
Bṛhat (the Vast consciousness), stability/establishment (dhruva as enduring foundation), increase/impulsion (iṣ as conscious energizing)
Dhruva rayi signifies a fixed alignment of the being with Ṛta—order that does not collapse under pressure.
The stotṛ (affirming word) becomes a vehicle of Satya when empowered by Soma.
Expansion (bṛhat) and stabilization (dhruva) as twin movements of manifestation.
Integral/Vedantic psychology: wideness and stability as signs of higher consciousness establishing itself in the adhara.
A descending stream that both grounds (dhruva) and quickens growth (iṣ) in the inner life.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythic action is Soma’s ‘flowing’ descent as a luminous current that brings established plenitude (dhruva rayi) and energizing increase (iṣ) to the community of offerers and chanters. In the inner reading, the pressing/flow becomes the release of the truth-bearing delight into the human system, stabilizing the being rather than producing a transient intoxication.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Key verbal roots are archaic and Indo-European in profile: √bhṛ ‘to carry’ aligns with PIE *bher- (carry, bear) (cf. Greek phérō, Latin ferō, English bear). The expansion semantic of √bṛh ‘to grow, swell’ relates to PIE *bʰerǵʰ-/*bʰerH- type ‘rise/high/strong’ (comparanda debated), but the RV usage clearly preserves an old poetic abstraction ‘the Vast’ (bṛhat). The ‘flow’ verb (arṣ/ṛṣ) belongs to an old hydrodynamic lexicon typical of IE poetics (river/flow imagery for inspired speech and divine drink).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The chanter (stotṛ) offers formative speech (stotra) and in return Soma is asked to ‘bring’ (ā bhara) inner resources: stable plenitude (rayi) and conscious impulsion (iṣ). The reciprocity is not commercial but yogic: mantra shapes a receptive vessel; Soma, as the purifying power, fills it with wideness (bṛhat) and luminous efficacy (yaśas).
Invoke a ‘wide luminous descent’ that stabilizes the system and then awakens a steady growth-impulse.
Muladhara (dhruva foundation) to Manipura (iṣ as uplifted dynamism)
Inhale on abhy arṣa (drawing in), exhale on ā bhara (receiving/settling); 6–8 breaths per minute
From rajasic striving to sattvic, stable expansion
After chanting, feel two layers: (1) a quiet base spreading through the body, (2) a clean upward push for right action and right speech.
Follow Vedic accent marks where available; maintain clean pitch steps and avoid melodic ornament.
Emphasize the verbal impulses (arṣa, bhara) with clear articulation; keep long vowels fully timed (dhruvām).
abhy arṣa: keep ‘bhy’ conjunct crisp; vocalic ṛ in arṣa, bṛhad: vocalic ṛ; final -d light, maghavadbhyo: articulate gh, and cluster -dbhy- carefully, dhruvam: aspirated dh; ‘ru’ clear, iṣam: retroflex ṣ, short i
bright, invoking, forward-moving; settle slightly on dhruvaṃ rayim
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