Rig Veda 9.59.3: Mandala 9, Sukta 59, Mantra 3
Sukta 9.59
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
त्वं सोम पवमानो विश्वानि दुरिता तर । कविः सीद नि बर्हिषि ॥
tváṃ soma páv amāno víśvāni duritā́ tara | kavíḥ sī́da ní barhíṣi ||
ໂອ ໂສມ, ເມື່ອເຈົ້າຊຳລະບໍລິສຸດແລ້ວ, ຂ້າມຜ່ານທຸກຂົວທີ່ຍາກລຳບາກ; ເປັນພະລັງຂອງຜູ້ເຫັນຄວາມຈິງ, ຈົ່ງນັ່ງລົງເທິງອາສນະບ່ອນບູຊາພາຍໃນເຮົາ.
Word by Word
- त्वम्
- youPronounपुंलिङ्ग/सर्वलिङ्ग-प्रयोग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सोम
- O SomaNounपुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (vocative); एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- पवमानः
- purifying (as you flow)Adjective (participle)पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन; वर्तमान (शतृ-प्रत्ययः, आत्मनेपदी अर्थः: ‘purifying/flowing’)Role कर्तृ (त्वम्-विशेषणम्)Root √पू (पवते) → पवमान (वर्तमान कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
- विश्वानि
- allAdjective used substantivelyनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot विश्व (सर्व/समस्त) (प्रातिपदिक)
- दुरितानि
- sins, misfortunesNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole कर्म (विश्वानि-विशेष्य/विशेषण-सम्बन्धः)Root दुरित (प्रातिपदिक)
- तर
- cross over, carry (us) acrossVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे); मध्यमपुरुष? (न), उत्तम? (न) → द्वितीयपुरुष एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole (क्रिया) —Root √तॄ (तरति)
- कविः
- the seer, sageNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्तृ (सीद-क्रियायाः)Root कवि (प्रातिपदिक)
- सीद
- sit downVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे); द्वितीयपुरुष एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole (क्रिया) —Root √सद् (सीदति) / √सद् (आसीदति) वैदिक-रूप
- नि
- down, inIndeclinableउपसर्गः (सीद्-क्रियायोगे)Root नि (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- बर्हिषि
- on the sacred grass (barhis)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी विभक्ति; एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot बर्हिस् (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: त्वम् | सोम | पवमानः | विश्वानि | दुरितानि | तर | कविः | सीद | नि | बर्हिषि । संहितायाम्: दुरितानि तर (स्वर-संयोगः; विशेष-सन्धिः न), सीद नि (उपसर्ग-योगः; संधि-परिवर्तनं न), नि बर्हिषि (इ/ब् संयोगः; संधि-परिवर्तनं न)।
The meaning
Outer meaning
O Soma in the process of purification, cross over all difficult passages; as the inspired seer, sit down upon the sacred barhis (seat/grass).
Inner meaning
Soma, the current of divine Ananda being clarified in consciousness, is invoked to carry the seeker beyond inner obstacles (duritā: confusions, wrong turns, resistances). When the bliss is purified, it becomes kavi—an inspired discerning power—and “takes its seat” in the inner altar (barhis), i.e., establishes a stable, luminous poise in the being where the sacrifice of self-offering proceeds.
Universal truth
When delight is refined by truth and aspiration, it becomes a discerning wisdom-force that can traverse suffering and establish a steady sacred foundation within; the purified joy is not escapism but a seated, guiding intelligence in life.
Themes
obstacle-crossing, descent-of-vision, Soma-as-kavi
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 9.59 (Pavamāna Soma hymn context), Rig Veda 9.60 (adjacent Pavamāna sequence)
Family tradition
Likely transmitted within Soma-chanting priestly lineages (Udgātṛ/Sāmaga orientation), though specific family attribution is not preserved in the supplied data.
Significance
The ‘anonymous’ rishi voice here is archetypal: the collective seer-intent of the Soma mandala, where the emphasis is on inner purification and the descent/establishment of Ananda as a governing power.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Pavamāna (the Purifying), Indu (the Bright Drop), Kavi (seer-power, here as an epithet by function)
- Related deities
- Agni, Indra, Uṣas, Sūrya
Cosmic role
Purifier and intensifier of life-force and mind; mediator of immortality (amṛta) through delight; the stream that links earth-consciousness to the luminous worlds.
Inner power
Refined Ananda that becomes intuitive discrimination; it carries the being across inner peril and stabilizes a sacred poise for the yoga of transformation.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing and purification (pavamāna recitations during Soma-yajña)
त्वं सो॑म॒ पव॑मानो॒ विश्वा॑नि दुरि॒ता त॑र । क॒विः सी॑द॒ नि ब॒र्हिषि॑ ॥
त्वम् । सो॒म॒ । पव॑मानः । विश्वा॑नि । दुः॒ऽइ॒ता । त॒र॒ । क॒विः । सी॒द॒ । नि । ब॒र्हिषि॑ ॥
tvam | soma | pavamānaḥ | viśvāni | duḥ-itā | tara | kaviḥ | sīda | ni | barhiṣi
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4 pādas × ~11 syllables (Triṣṭubh-type cadence)
Forward-driving, crossing-motion rhythm; suited to the verb tara (‘cross over’).
Builds a sense of onward passage through difficulty, ending in a settling cadence (‘sīda ni barhiṣi’) that evokes inner establishment.
- pavamāna
- Literal: being purified/flowing through the filter. Symbolic: Ananda-consciousness clarified of mixture (ego, desire), made fit to govern the sacrifice
- duritā
- Literal: hard passages, misfortunes, difficulties. Symbolic: Inner knots: ignorance, habitual reactions, subconscient resistance, karmic tangles
- tara
- Literal: cross over. Symbolic: A transition of consciousness beyond obstruction into a freer plane
- kaviḥ
- Literal: seer, poet. Symbolic: Illumined discriminative intuition that knows by vision
- barhiṣi
- Literal: on the barhis (sacred strewn grass/seat). Symbolic: The prepared inner altar: a receptive, consecrated foundation in mind-heart-vital
Invocation for Soma to remove obstacles (duritā) and to take his place on the barhis in the sacrifice; inwardly, to establish clarified delight in the prepared consciousness.
During Soma sacrifice sequences as Soma is filtered and offered; also adaptable for daily inner ‘soma’ contemplation.
Chanting to accompany filtering/clarifying Soma; inviting Soma to ‘sit’ on the barhis for offering to the gods.
Use as a meditation mantra for moving through emotional/mental difficulty and establishing calm luminous joy in the heart-mind altar.
duritá from dur- ‘bad/difficult’ + ita ‘gone/passage’ (√i ‘go’) → ‘hard passage’. √tṛ again marks transcendence. kavi derives from √ku/√kav? (Vedic usage): ‘one who sees’—not merely poet but visionary consciousness. barhis is the ritual seat; symbolically the ordered, purified base where the deity can ‘sit’ (√sad).
crossing beyond suffering/obstruction, dhī/kavi as illumined mind, ṛta as prepared seat (order enabling descent)
Crossing duritā is aligning the being with Ṛta; Soma as purifier restores right movement.
Purified Soma becomes kavi—truth-seeing intuition seated within.
Establishment of the ‘seat’ suggests formation of an inner world-order where delight supports manifestation.
Proto-Vedāntic and Yogic reading (Aurobindonian): Soma as Ananda and kavi as supramental intuition-in-formation.
Filtering = discrimination and refining; crossing difficult passages = passage from mixed consciousness to clarified Ananda; barhis = stable receptive inner base for descent of higher states.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The crossing of duritā is the archetypal ‘ford’ myth: the god-liquid becomes a ferrying power that carries the seeker beyond peril. The second movement—Soma as kavi sitting on barhis—enacts the descent/installation of luminous intelligence on the prepared inner altar.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √sad ‘sit’ (sīda) reflects PIE *sed- ‘sit’ (Latin sedere, English sit via Germanic cognates), used in ritual language for ‘taking one’s seat’ as a divine presence. dur- as a negative prefix is a common IE morphological strategy (cf. Greek dys-).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi commands and invites: ‘cross our hard passages’ and ‘sit within’. The reciprocity is practical—human beings prepare the barhis (ordered consciousness), and Soma, as purified delight and seer-force, removes difficulty and establishes inspired clarity.
Let a current of quiet joy rise and clarify; offer all ‘duritā’ into it; feel it becoming a discerning light seated within.
Anahata (heart-seat) with support to Ajna (seer-discrimination).
Gentle nadi-śodhana or slow exhale emphasis while repeating tara; pause after sīda to ‘seat’ awareness.
From mixed/vital agitation to clarified ananda with intuitive poise.
1) Recall a difficulty; 2) invoke Soma as a cool luminous flow; 3) on ‘tara’ feel crossing beyond; 4) on ‘sīda ni barhiṣi’ rest the awareness in the heart as a consecrated seat.
Vedic accenting with udatta on marked syllables, svarita/anudatta following traditional rules; requires śākhā-specific recitation for exact contour.
Lean into udatta-marked syllables: so-, pav-, viśvā-, duri-, sī-; keep unmarked syllables level and let svarita fall naturally after udatta.
Keep 'soma' as 'so-ma' (short o in Vedic recitation context varies by tradition, but avoid English diphthong)., pavamāno: articulate 'va' clearly; long ā in -mā-., duritā: roll light 'r'; keep 'tā' long., barhiṣi: aspirate 'h' gently; retroflex 'ṣ' crisp.
Clear, cool, flowing tone; soften at 'sīda ni barhiṣi' to evoke inner seating.
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