Rig Veda 10.119.3: Mandala 10, Sukta 119, Mantra 3
Sukta 10.119
- Rishi
- Agastya Māna
- Devata
- Soma
- Chandas
- Jagatī
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
उन्मा पीता अयंसत रथमश्वा इवाशवः । कुवित्सोमस्यापामिति ॥
út mā pītā́ ayaṃsata rátham aśvā́ iva āśávaḥ | kuvít sómasyāpā́m ití ||
ഞാൻ കുടിച്ച പാനങ്ങൾ എന്നെ മേലോട്ടുയർത്തി, വേഗമുള്ള അശ്വങ്ങൾ രഥത്തെ ഉയർത്തി (മുന്നോട്ടു തള്ളുന്ന) പോലെ. ഒരുപക്ഷേ ഈ ഉയരുന്ന ശക്തി സോമസ്യ ആപഃ (ജലങ്ങൾ) നിന്നുതന്നെയാകാം ജനിക്കുന്നത്.
Word by Word
- उत्
- up, forth (preverb)Indeclinableउपसर्ग (prefix), अव्ययRoot उत् (उपसर्ग) / ud-
- मा
- mePronounद्वितीया/षष्ठी एकवचन (enclitic form; here acc. sg. ‘me’)Role KarmaRoot अहम् (अस्मद्-प्रातिपदिक) / 1st person pronoun
- पीताः
- having been drunk / drunk (ones)Adjective/Participleपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचन (past passive participle)Role KartāRoot पा (धातु) → पीत (कृदन्त) / √pā ‘to drink’
- अयंसत
- they set in motion / they urged onVerbलुङ् (aorist), परस्मैपद, 3 पुरुष, बहुवचनRoot यम् (धातु) / √yam ‘to stretch, set in motion, urge’
- रथम्
- the chariotNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचनRole KarmaRoot रथ (प्रातिपदिक) / ratha
- अश्वाः
- horsesNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचनRole KartāRoot अश्व (प्रातिपदिक) / aśva
- इव
- like, asIndeclinableउपमानवाचक अव्ययRoot इव (निपात) / iva
- आशवः
- swiftAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचनRole Kartā (विशेषणरूपेण अश्वान् विशेषयति)Root आशु (प्रातिपदिक) → आशव (विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक) / āśu ‘swift’
- कुवित्
- perhaps; whetherIndeclinableसम्भावनार्थ/प्रश्नार्थ निपात (‘perhaps? whether?’)Root कु + वित् (निपातसमूह) / kuvit
- सोमस्य
- of SomaNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive relation)Root सोम (प्रातिपदिक) / soma
- अपाम्
- of the watersNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी बहुवचन (Vedic gen. pl.)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive relation)Root अप् (प्रातिपदिक) / ap- ‘water’
- इति
- thusIndeclinableउद्धरण/समाप्त्यर्थ निपातRoot इति (निपात) / iti
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-resolution): उन्मा॑ → उत् + मा
- पी॒ता → पीताः (प्रथमा बहुवचन, visarga in pada)
- इवा॒शव॑: → इव + आशवः
- कु॒वित्सोम॒स्य → कुवित् + सोमस्य
- सोम॒स्यापा॒म् → सोमस्य + अपाम् (सवर्णदीर्घ/सन्धि in saṃhitā)
- इति॑ remains iti. Accents as in saṃhitā: उन्मा॑ (udātta on मा), पी॒ता, अ॑यंसत, रथ॒म्, अश्वा॑:, इवा॒शव॑:, कु॒वित्सोम॒स्यापा॒मिति॑
The meaning
Outer meaning
The draughts (of Soma) I have drunk have lifted me up, as swift horses lift a chariot; perhaps this rising power is born from Soma’s waters.
Inner meaning
The seer feels an ascent of consciousness after receiving Soma—inner Ananda. The “draughts” are waves of delight/immortality entering the system; they raise the being like disciplined vital forces (aśvāḥ) harnessed to the chariot of embodied life (ratha). The question “kuvit…?” signals wonder: the upsurge is not egoic; it is a descent/ascent from the supraphysical ‘waters’ (āpah) of Soma—streams of luminous bliss that energize the will and the life-force.
Universal truth
When consciousness drinks of a higher delight, the whole nature is uplifted: vital energy becomes swift, coordinated, and capable of carrying the soul’s journey. True elevation comes from a deeper source than personal effort—an inner ‘nectar’ that transmutes force into joyful power.
Themes
inner propulsion, yoking of forces, Soma as motivator
The seer
- Rishi
- Agastya Māna
- Lineage
- Agastya (Āgastya)
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 1.165, Rig Veda 1.166, Rig Veda 1.167, Rig Veda 10.119
Family tradition
Agastya line—seer of inner force and wide mastery; associated with bringing spiritual power into the embodied/vital nature and crossing limits.
Significance
Agastya’s voice often carries the yoga of integration: the ecstatic Soma-experience is not escapist but becomes a dynamic uplift of life-forces, making the human ‘chariot’ fit for the journey of the Truth (ṛta).
The deity
- Devata
- Soma
- Epithets
- Pavamāna (the purified/flowing), Indu (drop of delight), Madhu (honeyed), Amṛta (immortal essence)
- Related deities
- Agni, Indra, Sarasvatī, Aśvins
Cosmic role
Soma is the celestial essence that flows as delight and sustenance of gods; it nourishes inspiration, strengthens Indra, and supports the upward movement of sacrifice.
Inner power
Ananda that intoxicates the mind toward light, harmonizes the vital, and gives buoyancy (utthāna) to consciousness.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing and offering (Soma-yajña)
उन्मा॑ पी॒ता अ॑यंसत॒ रथ॒मश्वा॑ इवा॒शव॑: । कु॒वित्सोम॒स्यापा॒मिति॑ ॥
उत् । मा॒ । पी॒ताः । अ॒यं॒स॒त॒ । रथ॑म् । अश्वाः॑ऽइव । आ॒शवः॑ । कु॒वित् । सोम॑स्य । अपा॑म् । इति॑ ॥
ut | mā | pītāḥ | ayaṃsata | ratham | aśvāḥ-iva | āśavaḥ | kuvit | somasya | apām | iti
48
4 pādas of ~12 syllables each
Expansive, forward-driving, with a ‘carrying’ cadence suited to ascent and wide movement.
Produces a sense of lift and breadth; supports the feeling of being ‘mounted upward’ by a sustained current of energy.
- पीताः (pītāḥ)
- Literal: drunk, imbibed. Symbolic: received currents of Ananda/illumined delight into the being
- उत् (ut)
- Literal: up, upward. Symbolic: ascent of consciousness; uplift beyond ordinary mind
- रथ (ratha)
- Literal: chariot. Symbolic: the embodied life-journey; psycho-physical vehicle
- अश्व (aśva)
- Literal: horse. Symbolic: vital energies/forces of action when yoked to the soul’s direction
- आशवः (āśavaḥ)
- Literal: swift. Symbolic: purified, eager life-force moving in rhythm with higher impulse
- सोम (soma)
- Literal: Soma. Symbolic: divine delight/immortal Ananda that intoxicates the soul upward
- आपः (āpaḥ)
- Literal: waters. Symbolic: planes/streams of consciousness; flowing energies of life and light that carry Soma
Soma rite: articulating the ‘yoking’ and propulsion effect—Soma as the inner team drawing the chariot of the being.
During Soma libations/chant sequences praising Soma’s exhilaration and empowerment
Recitation to accompany offering/imbibing; affirming uplift and strength
Used as a meditation-affirmation during pranayama or before creative work to invoke uplifted energy and joyful momentum.
ratha from √ṛ/√rah ‘to move’ (traditional), with chariot as a stock IE poetic vehicle-image; āśu/āśava from √aś ‘to reach, be swift’; aśva from PIE *h₁éḱwos (see above).
instrumentality of the embodied vehicle (ratha) for ascent, conversion of vital force into conscious progress
The ‘swift horses’ imply forces moving in ṛta—rightly yoked energies that carry the sacrifice upward.
Hints that true power arises from a deeper truth-source (Soma’s waters), not from surface personality.
Waters as matrix of manifestation; Soma as essence extracted from the hidden—delight as creative sap.
Proto-Vedāntic / Integral (Aurobindonian) reading: Ananda as a fundamental plane supporting ascent.
Waters = flowing consciousness; horses = vital dynamisms; chariot = embodied instrument; moon/Soma = rhythmic delight that increases inner tide.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The chariot motif: divine forces (aśvāḥ) draw the ratha (the organized being) upward. Soma supplies the swiftening—turning the seeker into a vehicle of ascent rather than a static mortal frame.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The ‘horse + chariot’ complex is pan-Indo-European in poetic diction (Indic, Greek, Celtic). aśva is a clear IE retention; the simile structure (‘iva’) is likewise a common inherited poetic device.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- Soma is experienced as yoked power: the r̥ṣi’s ‘drinking’ becomes consent to be carried. The deity’s gift is not an external object but a reconfiguration of agency—swift energies now serve the soul’s journey.
Feel the ‘Soma-current’ as a cool, luminous uplift from heart to crown, carrying the life-force in a single direction.
Anāhata to Sahasrāra (uplift of delight into higher mind)
Gentle ujjāyī or nāḍī-śodhana; inhale ‘drawing Soma up’, exhale ‘stabilizing the chariot’.
Uplifted, expansive, inspired (a light intoxication without loss of clarity).
Before chanting, recall a moment of pure joy; chant as if ‘drinking’ that joy. After chanting, sit 2–3 minutes sensing the vital energies aligning like horses harnessed to one chariot.
Mixed udatta/anudatta/svarita as per Śākala tradition; emphasize the lift on ‘ún’ and the cadence into the refrain ‘kuvít somásyāpām íti’.
Keep the refrain slightly softer but clear; let ‘ayaṃsata’ carry an upward push; avoid flattening ‘āśavaḥ’.
= un-mā (clear ‘n’ before ‘m’), = pī-tāḥ (long ī, long ā), = aś-vāḥ (ś as palatal, not ‘s’), = ku-vit (crisp dental ‘t’), = a-pām (long ā)
Bright, lifted, slightly resonant in the head while grounded in the chest.
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.
