Rig Veda 9.41.2: Mandala 9, Sukta 41, Mantra 2
Sukta 9.41
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
सुवितस्य मनामहेऽति सेतुं दुराव्यम् । साह्वांसो दस्युमव्रतम् ॥
suvitásya manāmahe ’tí sétuṃ durā́vyam | sā́hvāṃso dásyum avratám ||
ನಾವು ಸುವಿತ (ಸು-ಗತಿ) ಕಡೆಗೆ ಮನಸ್ಸನ್ನು ನೆಟ್ಟುಗೊಳಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆ; ದುರಾವ್ಯವಾದ ಸೇತುವೆಯನ್ನು ದಾಟಿ ಆಚೆಗೆ ಹೋಗುತ್ತೇವೆ. ಜಯಶೀಲರಾಗಿ, ವ್ರತವಿಲ್ಲದ ದಸ್ಯುವನ್ನು—ಸತ್ಯಕರ್ಮವನ್ನು ನಿರಾಕರಿಸುವ ಒಳಗಿನ ಶಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನು—ಜಯಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆ.
Word by Word
- सुवितस्य
- of good passage/fortuneNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग (प्रायः), षष्ठी एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation) — ‘of good passage/fortune’Root सुवित (प्रातिपदिक; सु-√इ ‘गमन/प्राप्ति’ > ‘सुगमन/कल्याण-मार्ग/सौभाग्य’)
- मनामहे
- we seek/long for, we desireVerbलट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचन, आत्मनेपदRole क्रिया (मुख्य क्रिया); कर्ता = वयम् (अध्याहृत)Root √मन् (मनुते/मन्यते ‘to think, to deem, to desire’; RV में ‘to seek/long for’)
- अति
- across, beyondIndeclinableअव्यय; ‘beyond/over/across’Role उपपद/क्रियाविशेषण (गमन/अतिक्रमण-भाव)Root अति (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- सेतुम्
- bridge, causewayNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचनRole कर्म (अति + गमन/अतिक्रमण का लक्ष्य) — ‘across the bridge’Root सेतु (प्रातिपदिक)
- दुराव्यम्
- hard to cross/overcomeAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन; सेतुम् का विशेषणRole विशेषण (कर्म का)Root दुराव्य (प्रातिपदिक; दुर्- + अव्य/अव ‘to be reached/attained’ → ‘hard to reach/pass’)
- साह्वांसः
- the overpowering (victorious) onesAdjective (used substantively) / Participleपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (द्वितीय पाद का कर्ता) — ‘the overpowering ones’Root साह्वांस् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √सह् ‘to overcome, to be victorious’ → ‘conquering/overpowering’)
- दस्युम्
- the Dasyu (hostile foe)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचनRole कर्म (हनन/दमन का लक्ष्य; क्रिया अध्याहृत)Root दस्यु (प्रातिपदिक)
- अव्रतम्
- lawless, without sacred observanceAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन; दस्युम् का विशेषणRole विशेषण (कर्म का)Root अ-व्रत (प्रातिपदिक; नञ्-समास ‘without vow/rite, lawless’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद: सुवितस्य मनामहे | अति सेतुम् दुराव्यम् | साह्वांसः दस्युम् अव्रतम् || 1) मनामहेऽति = मनामहे + अति (ए/ऽ = स्वर-सन्धि; पदान्त ‘ए’ के बाद स्वर आरम्भ होने पर अवग्रह).
- ‘दस्युमव्रतम्’ का पदच्छेद दस्युम् + अव्रतम् (अनुस्वार/मकार संयोग)
The meaning
Outer meaning
We set our thought toward the good passage, cross beyond the hard-to-cross bridge, and as conquerors overcome the lawless dasyu.
Inner meaning
‘Suvita’ is the good path/passage—right movement under Ṛta. The ‘setu’ (bridge) is the difficult transition between ordinary consciousness and the illumined state; it is ‘durāvyam’—hard to traverse. With Soma’s purifying guidance, the seekers become ‘sāhvāṃsaḥ’ (conquerors) and overcome the inner ‘dasyu avratam’: the lawless force that refuses the true working—egoistic impulse, inertia, falsity, and the subconscient resistance that breaks rhythm and vow (vrata) of the path.
Universal truth
Spiritual growth requires crossing difficult transitions; victory comes by aligning thought to the good passage and overcoming the inner lawlessness that rejects discipline and truth.
Themes
Crossing/transition, Overcoming obstruction, Ethic of vrata, Inner victory
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 9.41.1
Family tradition
The Pavamāna tradition often frames purification as a journey and a crossing—moving from mixture to clarity, from obstruction to victorious passage.
Significance
The seer articulates a key sadhana-moment: the ‘bridge’ experience—where progress demands courage, right direction of mind, and conquest of the inner dasyu.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna (as guide and victor-force)
- Epithets
- pavamāna (implied)
- Related deities
- Indra (conqueror of Vṛtra), Agni (guide/leader), Bṛhaspati (breaker of obstacles)
Cosmic role
Opens the good passage and carries the seeker across difficult transitions; empowers victory over hostile forces.
Inner power
Purified delight as a victorious will and clear guidance, enabling crossing beyond inner knots.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma purification chants within Soma-yajña
सु॒वि॒तस्य॑ मनाम॒हेऽति॒ सेतुं॑ दुरा॒व्य॑म् । सा॒ह्वांसो॒ दस्यु॑मव्र॒तम् ॥
सु॒वि॒तस्य॑ । म॒ना॒म॒हे॒ । अति॑ । सेतु॑म् । दुः॒ऽआ॒व्य॑म् । सा॒ह्वांसः॑ । दस्यु॑म् । अ॒व्र॒तम् ॥
suvitasya | manāmahe | ati | setum | duḥ-āvyam | sāhvāṃsaḥ | dasyum | avratam
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4×11 (approx.)
Resolute, marching rhythm suited to crossing and conquest.
Instills determination; helps the listener ‘step over’ hesitation and inner resistance.
- suvita
- Literal: good going, good passage. Symbolic: right path of progress; harmonious movement under Ṛta
- manāmahe
- Literal: we think, we set our mind. Symbolic: direction of consciousness; intentional aspiration
- setu
- Literal: bridge, causeway. Symbolic: transition-point between lower and higher consciousness
- durāvyam
- Literal: hard to cross/pass. Symbolic: stubborn inner difficulty, karmic/psychic knot
- sāhvāṃsaḥ
- Literal: conquerors, overpowering. Symbolic: the victorious will supported by purified delight
- dasyu
- Literal: enemy, robber. Symbolic: inner hostile force that steals light/energy
- avratam
- Literal: without vow/law. Symbolic: refusal of Ṛta-discipline; chaotic nature
Used with Soma’s purifying movement; ritually ‘crossing’ evokes successful completion of pressing/offering; inwardly it encodes passage beyond obstruction.
During Pavamāna recitation; especially apt when emphasizing overcoming obstacles and securing ‘suvita’.
Chanted as Soma flows; intention is safe passage and victory over adversities.
Use during life transitions or inner blocks (addiction patterns, fear, confusion): chant as a ‘crossing mantra’ to re-align mind and will.
suvitá (su- + √i ‘go’) is ‘good passage’ and thus inner felicity through right movement. setu ‘bridge’ is a liminal connector: crossing from mixed consciousness to clarified order. dasyu (often ‘enemy/raider’) becomes a psychological category: the force that does not accept vrata (law of right working). √sah ‘to overcome/endure’ yields sāhvāṃsaḥ: the inner capacity to bear tapas and conquer resistance.
vrata (right law/working), ṛta as the standard opposed to avratá, inner conquest (sah)
Suvita is the movement of Ṛta; avratam is the refusal of Ṛta—hence the inner battle is for right order.
Crossing succeeds when thought is turned to Satya, not to fear or desire.
Evolutionary crossing: consciousness moves by thresholds (setu) from obscurity to light.
Vedic evolutionary psychology (Aurobindo): thresholds, hostile forces, victory by alignment with higher powers.
The bridge is the felt ‘in-between’ state in meditation—leaving old patterns, not yet established in light; the dasyu is the chaotic impulse that sabotages discipline.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘crossing of the difficult bridge’ and the ‘defeat of the avratá dasyu’: a transition myth where the seeker-force passes a perilous threshold and overcomes the lawless obstruction that blocks ṛta.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √man ‘think’ (manāmahe) reflects PIE *men- ‘think’ (cf. English ‘mind’, Latin mens). √sah ‘overcome/endure’ relates to an IE endurance/strength semantic field (often compared with PIE *seǵʰ- ‘hold/overcome’ in broader discussions). The su- prefix as ‘good/well’ parallels IE adverbial ‘well’ formations.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer aligns mind and will with Soma’s ‘good passage’: the human makes the inner consent (manāmahe), while the divine force enables the crossing and the victory over avratá tendencies.
Turn the mind deliberately toward the ‘good passage’; feel a subtle bridge forming—steady, luminous—across which awareness can move beyond old habit-energy.
Ājñā (right direction of thought) with support from Maṇipūra (will to cross)
Box breathing (4-4-4-4) to build steadiness; on each hold, affirm inner vrata (discipline).
Steady, vigilant, courageous calm.
Chant 9 times slowly; then sit and identify one ‘avratam’ tendency (lawless impulse). Offer it into the breath and reaffirm a simple vow for the day.
Keep a deliberate rise on suvitásya and a firm cadence through ati setuṃ; emphasize durāvyam with weight; end with a victorious tone on avratam. Exact svara per śākhā.
suviTÁSya maNĀmahe | aTI seTUṃ duRĀvyam | SĀhvāṃso DÁSyum aVRAtam.
suvitasya: light ‘su’, clear ‘vi’, dental ‘t’, manāmahe: long ā; ‘he’ light at end, setuṃ: nasal ‘ṃ’, durāvyam: keep ‘rā’ long; avoid inserting extra vowel in ‘vy’, avratam: ‘vr’ cluster crisp
Steady, grounded, resolute; minimal ornamentation; let meaning carry the force.
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