Rig Veda 9.40.3: Mandala 9, Sukta 40, Mantra 3
Sukta 9.40
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
नू नो रयिं महामिन्दोऽस्मभ्यं सोम विश्वतः । आ पवस्व सहस्रिणम् ॥
nū nó rayíṃ mahā́m indo asmábhyaṃ soma viśvátas | ā́ pavasva sahásriṇam ||
ບັດນີ້, ໂອ ອິນທູ, ຊຳລະບໍລິສຸດຕົວເຈົ້າເອງສູ່ພວກເຮົາທຸກດ້ານ, ແລະນຳມາສູ່ພວກເຮົາພະລັງອັນຍິ່ງໃຫຍ່, ຄວາມສົມບູນອັນລ້ຳລວງ, ຄວາມເຕັມພໍທີ່ຈະເປັນພັນເທົ່າ.
Word by Word
- नू
- now; indeedIndeclinableनिपात/कालवाचक अव्यय (emphatic/temporal: ‘now, indeed’)Root नु
- नः
- to us; for usPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी? (enclitic) बहुवचन; here = चतुर्थी बहुवचन ‘to us/for us’ (Vedic use of नः)Role सम्प्रदानRoot अस्मद्
- रयिम्
- wealth; bountyNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचनRole कर्मRoot रयि
- महाम्
- greatAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन (विशेषणम् of रयिम्)Role कर्म (विशेष्य-विशेषणभावेन)Root महत्
- इन्दो
- O Indu (Soma)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्दु
- अस्मभ्यम्
- for usPronounचतुर्थी बहुवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot अस्मद्
- सोम
- O SomaNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot सोम
- विश्वतः
- from all sides; everywhereIndeclinable (adverbial) / Adjectival stem used adverbiallyअव्ययीभाव/तसिल्-प्रयोग: ‘from all sides, on every side’Role अधिकरण (दिशा/व्याप्त्यर्थे) / क्रियाविशेषणRoot विश्व
- आ
- hither; forthPreverb/Indeclinableउपसर्ग/निपात: ‘towards, hither’Role (क्रियायोगे)Root आ
- पवस्व
- purify yourself; flow (as purified)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद (पवस्व)Role (क्रिया)Root पू (पवते) / पव्
- सहस्रिणम्
- thousandfold; possessing thousandsAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन (कर्म/फल-विशेषण; understood with रयिम् or implied ‘bounty’)Role कर्म (विशेषणरूपेण)Root सहस्रिन्
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: नू | नः | रयिम् | महाम् | इन्दो | अस्मभ्यम् | सोम | विश्वतः | आ | पवस्व | सहस्रिणम् || 1) इन्दोऽस्मभ्यम् = इन्दो + अस्मभ्यम् (अ + अ → ’ avagraha in saṃhitā). 2) Accent marks in the given text indicate Vedic udātta/svarita
- pada-forms here are shown without reproducing full accent notation
The meaning
Outer meaning
O Indu, purify yourself toward us from every side; bring us great wealth (rayi), thousandfold.
Inner meaning
O luminous drop (Indu), let the self-purifying delight flow toward all parts of our being (viśvataḥ), and bring the great rayi—not mere possessions but plenitude of energies, capacities, and inner riches—abundant and manifold (sahasriṇam). This is the yogic prayer for integral fullness born of purified Ananda.
Universal truth
When delight is purified and allowed to pervade the whole being, life receives a many-sided abundance—strength, clarity, harmony, and creative power.
Themes
boon-request, spiritual wealth, purification, integral descent
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 9.40.1–2
Significance
A direct aspirational formula: purification not as austerity alone but as the condition for integral abundance (rayi) in the sadhaka.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna (Indu)
- Epithets
- Indu, Soma, Pavamāna, Sahasrī (thousandfold giver; implied)
- Related deities
- Indra (receiver of Soma), Bhaga (distributor of wealth), Pūṣan (nourisher)
Cosmic role
Bestows plenitude and sustenance to gods and humans; purifies and increases the life-force of the sacrifice.
Inner power
Purified Ananda that multiplies capacities and harmonizes the being.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma purification hymn used in Soma yajña sequences
नू नो॑ र॒यिं म॒हामि॑न्दो॒ऽस्मभ्यं॑ सोम वि॒श्वत॑: । आ प॑वस्व सह॒स्रिण॑म् ॥
नु । नः॒ । र॒यिम् । म॒हाम् । इ॒न्दो॒ इति॑ । अ॒स्मभ्य॑म् । सो॒म॒ । वि॒श्वतः॑ । आ । प॒व॒स्व॒ । स॒ह॒स्रिण॑म् ॥
nu | naḥ | rayim | mahām | indo iti | asmabhyam | soma | viśvataḥ | ā | pavasva | sahasriṇam
44
4 padas x ~11 syllables (probable)
Prayerful and expansive; broad vowels (rayim, mahām, viśvataḥ, sahasriṇam) create fullness.
Opens a sense of wideness and receptivity; supports ‘calling down’ abundance.
- nū
- Literal: now. Symbolic: the decisive present moment of practice
- rayim
- Literal: wealth, treasure. Symbolic: plenitude of inner powers and supports for the path
- mahām
- Literal: great. Symbolic: vast, comprehensive fullness (integral abundance)
- indu
- Literal: bright drop (Soma). Symbolic: concentrated luminous Ananda in the being
- pavasva
- Literal: purify/flow as purified. Symbolic: let consciousness clarify and stream unobstructed
- viśvataḥ
- Literal: from all sides, everywhere. Symbolic: pervading all parts—mind, life, body, subconscient
- sahasriṇam
- Literal: thousandfold. Symbolic: manifold increase, inexhaustible abundance
Petition in Pavamāna sequence for Soma’s purifying flow to confer rayi (plenitude) upon the sacrificers
During Pavāmāna recitations to invite Soma’s purified flow and blessings
Recitation while Soma is strained and prepared; invocation for increase (rayi)
Daily chant for integral prosperity: not only money, but clarity, health, supportive circumstances, and inner joy.
rayi- ‘wealth’ (spiritual plentitude in RV usage). indu- ‘drop, bright’ (Soma epithet). pavasva from √pav/√pū ‘purify’. sahasra ‘thousand’ (PIE *ǵʰéslo?; numeral inheritance complex), sahasrin ‘possessing thousands’.
Rayi as fullness of being, integrality (viśvataḥ), purification as condition for abundance
Abundance is asked as a result of purification—alignment with ṛta yields right increase.
True rayi supports truth-living; it is abundance that serves the soul’s aim.
From purified essence arises multiplicity of forms and powers (sahasriṇam).
Vedantic resonance: fullness through purified consciousness (pūrṇatā as lived reality).
A clear inner current pervades the whole system and increases vitality, clarity, and harmony in manifold ways.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Soma as giver of Rayi: once purified, Soma bestows plenitude. Inwardly, clarity and delight generate a thousandfold increase of energies and capacities—‘wealth’ as wholeness of being rather than material gain.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The imperative middle pavasva reflects inherited Indo-European middle voice functions (self-involving action). The vocative indo/indu and the semantic ‘bright drop’ align with Indo-European poetic diction linking brightness and sacred drink.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi petitions directly for an integral influx (viśvataḥ) of Soma’s purified force, asking it to materialize as rayi in the inner life. The reciprocity is explicit: human receptivity invokes; Soma grants fullness.
Receive purified delight into the whole field of awareness; invite ‘rayi’ as inner resources—energy, clarity, steadiness, goodwill.
Anāhata (felt abundance/joy) with Sahasrāra (thousandfold wideness)
Soft ‘whole-body breathing’: feel inhale spread viśvataḥ; exhale relax and allow pavasva (purified flow).
Widened, receptive, quietly joyous fullness.
Chant 3 or 9 times. After each, pause and sense where the being feels ‘less full’; invite Soma there. Conclude by offering the gained rayi to right action (ṛta).
Svara not provided; chant with a gentle invocation rise on nū no rayim and a broad, open cadence on sahasriṇam.
nū́ no | rayím | mahā́m | índo | asmábhyam | soma | viśvátah | ā́ | pavásva | sahasríṇam.
indo: nasal ‘n’ before d; keep short o, asmabhyam: clear ‘bhy’ cluster, viśvataḥ: ś palatal; final ḥ, pavasva: v as ‘va’; avoid ‘pausva’, sahasriṇam: clear ‘sr’ cluster; ṇ retroflex
Soft, full, receptive resonance; sustain vowels to evoke fullness.
9
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
