Rig Veda 6.57.2: Mandala 6, Sukta 57, Mantra 2
Sukta 6.57
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja
- Devata
- Indra–Pūṣan hymn context
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī/Anuṣṭubh-like brevity
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
सोममन्य उपासदत्पातवे चम्वोः सुतम् । करम्भमन्य इच्छति ॥
sómam anyá upā́sadat pátāve camvóḥ sutám | karambhám anyá icchati ||
ഒരാൾ സോമം കുടിക്കാനായി സമീപിക്കുന്നു—ചമൂവിൽ നിന്നുള്ള സുത (പിഴിഞ്ഞ) ആനന്ദരസം; മറ്റൊരാൾ കരമ്പം ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്നു. ഇങ്ങനെ നമ്മുടെ ഗതികൾ വ്യത്യസ്തം: ചിലർ ഉന്മാദരസത്തിലേക്ക്, ചിലർ മിശ്രപോഷണത്തിലേക്ക്.
Word by Word
- सोमम्
- Soma (the pressed juice)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot सोम- (प्रातिपदिक) < √सु (सवने/सुत) ‘to press, extract’
- अन्यः
- another (one)Pronoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot अन्य- (प्रातिपदिक)
- उप
- near, towardsIndeclinableउपसर्ग (क्रियाविशेषणभाव)Root उप (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- आसदत्
- sat down / approached and satVerbलुङ् (अorist); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचनRole कर्तृ (क्रिया)Root √सद् (सीदति) ‘to sit, settle’ + उपसर्ग आ-
- पातवे
- to drinkVerbal noun (Infinitive)तुमर्थे दतिव्/इन्फिनिटिव्; चतुर्थी-एकवचन (पातवे)Role प्रयोजन (उद्देश्य) / सम्प्रदान-भावRoot √पा (पिबति) ‘to drink’
- चम्वोः
- of the two cups/ladlesNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी विभक्ति; द्विवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root चमू- (प्रातिपदिक) ‘ladle, cup; Soma-vessel’
- सुतम्
- pressed, expressedAdjective/Participle (used as noun)पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्म (सोमम् इति विशेषणम्)Root सुत- (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) < √सु ‘to press’
- करम्भम्
- karambha (barley-mixture/gruel)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot करम्भ- (प्रातिपदिक) ‘barley-gruel/mixture (ritual food)’
- अन्यः
- another (one)Pronoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot अन्य- (प्रातिपदिक)
- इच्छति
- desires, seeksVerbलट् (वर्तमान); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचनRole कर्तृ (क्रिया)Root √इष्/इच्छ् (इच्छति) ‘to desire, seek’
Sandhi Notes
- संहिता-पाठ: सोम॑म॒न्य उपा॑सद॒त्पात॑वे च॒म्वो॑: सु॒तम् । क॒र॒म्भम॒न्य इ॑च्छति ॥ पद-विच्छेद (sandhi-resolution): सोमम् | अन्यः | उप | आसदत् | पातवे | चम्वोः | सुतम् | करम्भम् | अन्यः | इच्छति । मुख्य-सन्धि: (1) सोमम् + अन्यः → सोमम्अन्यः (अनुस्वार/व्यञ्जन-सन्धि; लेखन में ‘सोम॑म॒न्य’)
- (2) उप + आसदत् → उपासदत् (उपसर्ग-सन्धि)
- (3) आसदत् + पातवे → आसदत्पातवे (त् + प् संयोग)
- (4) चम्वोः: ऋग्वैदिक पद में ‘चम्वो॑:’ = ‘चम्वोः’ (विसर्ग-चिह्न/पदविराम-परम्परा)
- (5) करम्भम् + अन्यः → करम्भम्अन्यः (लेखन में ‘करम्भम॒न्य’)
The meaning
Outer meaning
One person approaches Soma to drink the pressed draught from the cup; another prefers karambha (a mixed food).
Inner meaning
In the inner yajña, different parts of our nature move toward different satisfactions: one turns to Soma—pure delight and uplift of consciousness; another turns to karambha—mixed, sustaining but inferior nourishment (a blend of impulses, half-light, half-habit). The verse observes the psychological divergence in aspiration: the soul seeks ecstasy, the vital seeks mixture and comfort.
Universal truth
Human striving is not uniform: the same life-energy can rise toward pure bliss and illumination or settle for mixed gratifications. Spiritual progress requires educating desire to prefer the higher rasa (Soma) over diluted substitutes (karambha).
Themes
Soma drinking, Offerings contrast, Inner typology of seekers
The seer
- Rishi
- Bharadvāja
- Lineage
- Bharadvāja (Āṅgirasa/Bārhaspatya lineage)
- Other hymns
- RV 6.1, RV 6.45, RV 6.47, RV 6.58
Family tradition
Mandala 6 is predominantly Bharadvāja; a tradition of hymns that join practical guidance with inner victory (Indra) and right leading (Pūṣan).
Significance
Bharadvāja’s vision often emphasizes the disciplined inner sacrifice: aspiration (Agni), illumination (Indra), and right guidance (Pūṣan) harmonized so the seeker chooses the higher delight over mixed satisfactions.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra–Pūṣan (hymn context; contrast of offerings foregrounded)
- Epithets
- vṛṣan (mighty, outpouring) [contextual], pathaspati (lord of paths) [Pūṣan, contextual]
- Related deities
- Agni, Soma, Bṛhaspati
Cosmic role
Indra opens the hidden plenitudes by force of illumination; Pūṣan guides the right path and safe movement of the journey.
Inner power
Discrimination between higher Ananda (Soma) and mixed vital nourishment (karambha); the will to choose the pure delight and the guidance to sustain it in life.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma-related offering context (conceptual); also applicable as a reflective verse within Indra–Pūṣan hymns
सोम॑म॒न्य उपा॑सद॒त्पात॑वे च॒म्वो॑: सु॒तम् । क॒र॒म्भम॒न्य इ॑च्छति ॥
सोम॑म् । अ॒न्यः । उप॑ । अ॒स॒द॒त् । पात॑वे । च॒म्वोः॑ । सु॒तम् । क॒र॒म्भम् । अ॒न्यः । इ॒च्छ॒ति॒ ॥
somam | anyaḥ | upa | asadat | pātave | camvoḥ | sutam | karambham | anyaḥ | icchati
Gāyatrī-like (short trimetric feel; exact pada-syllables require pada-by-pada recension check)
24
3 padas × ~8 syllables (gāyatrī cadence)
Quick, aphoristic contrast; a decisive turn between Soma and karambha.
Creates a clear inner choice-point in the listener—an immediate discrimination (viveka) between higher and lower tastes.
- सोम (soma)
- Literal: Soma-juice, pressed offering. Symbolic: Divine Ananda; ecstatic delight that refines and immortalizes consciousness
- उप असदत् (upa asadat)
- Literal: sat near/approached. Symbolic: Turning inward; taking one’s seat near the divine experience in meditation
- पातवे (pātave)
- Literal: to drink. Symbolic: To absorb and make one’s own the higher delight/knowledge
- चम्वोः (camvoḥ)
- Literal: from the cup/bowl. Symbolic: The prepared vessel of the mind/heart able to hold refined experience
- सुतम् (sutam)
- Literal: pressed. Symbolic: Distilled essence gained by tapas (pressure/discipline)
- करम्भ (karambha)
- Literal: a mixed food (barley/curd etc.). Symbolic: Composite, lower nourishment—mixed motives, habitual satisfactions, diluted joy
- अन्यः (anyaḥ)
- Literal: another. Symbolic: Different sub-personalities (vital, mental, psychic) within the same being
Ritual-psychological observation within Soma setting: distinguishes grades of aspiration and receptivity among participants/powers
During Soma pressing/offerings in Soma-yajñas (general thematic suitability)
Offering/partaking of Soma; contrasting subsidiary foods
Use as a contemplative mantra before meditation: ‘What am I seeking—pure uplift or mixed comfort?’
soma from √su ‘press’ (suta ‘pressed’) and the Soma-lexeme as both plant/juice and delight-consciousness. camū ‘cup/ladle’ (here dual/genitive: camvoḥ). icchati from √iṣ ‘desire, seek’. The parallelism anyáḥ ... anyáḥ marks divergent orientations: toward pure rasa (soma) vs mixed sustenance (karambha).
rasa (Soma) vs mixed support (karambha), divergent tendencies in the being (adhikāra/bhāva)
Implied: the higher choice aligns with ṛta (right order) rather than mixed vital habit.
Choosing Soma symbolizes preference for truth-delight over ego-delight.
Refinement: essence extracted from multiplicity (pressed Soma) mirrors evolution of consciousness.
Proto-Vedantic/Integral (Aurobindonian) reading: ascent from vital mixture to luminous Ananda.
Evening/pressing-time association (Soma rites; not explicit)
unspecified
Soma = distilled delight in the subtle nerves; karambha = coarse prāṇic sustenance and mixed desire.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘Soma vs karambha’ mythologem: two modes of approach to the sacred—one seeks the pressed Soma (ecstatic delight), another the mixed offering (supportive nourishment). Inner sense: within the seeker, some parts aspire to pure delight-consciousness, others still prefer mixed, life-based satisfactions.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √su ‘press’ (suta) is central Indo-Iranian Soma vocabulary; √iṣ (icchati) continues an old desiderative domain. The syntactic parallel anyáḥ ... anyáḥ is a common archaic rhetorical device in Indo-European poetics to mark contrastive pairs.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi acts as diagnostician of consciousness: he notes that not all parts (or participants) are turned equally to Soma. This prepares the ground for invoking Indra–Pūṣan to uplift the mixed tendencies toward the higher rasa and right movement.
Viveka of desire: feel the difference between ‘pure uplift’ and ‘mixed nourishment’ in the psyche.
Anāhata to Ājñā (refining emotional desire into luminous aspiration)
Nadi-śodhana or gentle sama-vṛtti while repeating the mantra mentally on exhale.
From rajasic craving toward sattvic clarity and quiet Ananda.
Before practice, name the ‘karambha’ tendencies (mixed motives). Offer them into the inner fire; then invoke Soma as the single, clear taste of the higher life.
Recitation should preserve Vedic accents as per śākhā: maintain udatta peaks on accented syllables; avoid flattening into classical Sanskrit cadence (exact svara per pada requires accent-marked samh in your recension).
Keep a gentle lift on accented syllables (udātta), a soft fall on anudātta, and a glide on svarita; let the contrast between ‘somam’ and ‘karambham’ be audible but not dramatic.
(somam): long ‘o’; final ‘m’ as anusvāra-like closure, (camvoḥ): pronounce ‘mv’ conjunct smoothly; ‘oḥ’ with visarga echo, (sutam): clear dental ‘t’, (karambham): ‘bh’ voiced aspirate; keep ‘m’ before ‘bh’ audible
clear, reflective, slightly inward
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