Rig Veda 9.19.4: Mandala 9, Sukta 19, Mantra 4
Sukta 9.19
- Rishi
- Pavamāna Soma seer tradition
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion) and Shanta (peace)
अवावशन्त धीतयो वृषभस्याधि रेतसि । सूनोर्वत्सस्य मातरः ॥
avā́vaśanta dhītáyo vṛṣabhásyādhi rétasi | sūnór vatsásya mātáraḥ ||
വൃഷഭന്റെ രേതസ്സിന്മേൽ പ്രചോദിത ധീതികൾ പ്രതികരിച്ച് മുഴങ്ങി; സൂനു വത്സത്തിന്റെ മാതാക്കൾ—പുതുതായി ജനിച്ച പ്രകാശത്തിന്റെ പോഷികമാർ—അതിനരികെ നിന്ന് അതിനെ പോഷിപ്പിക്കുന്നു.
Word by Word
- अवा॑वशन्त
- they desired / they longed forVerbImperfect (laṅ), 3rd person plural, ParasmaipadaRole Kartā (with subject = धी॒तयः)Root √वश् (वशँ) / अव-√वश्
- धी॒तयः
- the thoughts, inspirationsNounFeminine, nominative pluralRole KartāRoot धीति- (from √धी ‘to think/meditate’)
- वृष॒भस्य
- of the bull (i.e., the potent one)NounMasculine, genitive singularRole Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (genitival relation)Root वृषभ-
- अधि॒
- upon, inIndeclinable (preverb/preposition)Governs locative; ‘upon/over/in’Role Adhikaraṇa (marks locus with locative)Root अधि
- रेत॑सि
- in the seed, in the semenNounNeuter, locative singularRole AdhikaraṇaRoot रेतस्-
- सू॒नोः
- of the sonNounMasculine, genitive singularRole Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandhaRoot सूनु-
- वत्सस्य॑
- of the calfNounMasculine, genitive singularRole Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandhaRoot वत्स-
- मा॒तरः
- mothersNounFeminine, nominative pluralRole Kartā (understood; appositional/parallel nominative)Root मातृ-
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution: वृष॒भस्याधि॒ = वृष॒भस्य + अधि॒ (gen. sg. + indeclinable ‘अधि’)
- Accent as in Saṃhitā: अवा॑वशन्त (udātta on वा), धी॒तयो॑, वृष॒भस्याधि॒, रेत॑सि, सू॒नोर्व॒त्सस्य॑, मा॒तर॑: (visarga at pāda end)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The inspired thoughts have lowed over the Bull’s seed; the Mothers of the young calf attend it.
Inner meaning
Dhītayaḥ (inspired perceptions) ‘low’ like cows—responding to the generative essence (retaḥ) of Soma the Bull. When delight’s potent seed is active, the mind’s inspirations naturally gather and voice themselves. The ‘Mothers’ are nurturing powers—often read as the streams of consciousness, faculties, or divine forces (Aditi-powers, or supportive energies of the yajña)—that foster the newborn ‘calf’: a new light, a fresh formation of consciousness emerging from the Soma-seed.
Universal truth
When the source-energy of joy and truth is awakened, inspiration becomes spontaneous and nourishing forces arise to protect and mature the newborn insight until it becomes stable realization.
Themes
Birth imagery, Cows as rays/insights, Nurturing of new consciousness
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 1.164 (cows as rays/knowledges symbolism), RV 9.78 (Soma and inspired thoughts), RV 10.61 (birth imagery of knowledge/powers)
Family tradition
The Soma hymns often encode cognition as ‘cows’ and inspiration as their sound; the tradition sees knowledge as living light needing protection and nurture.
Significance
The seer indicates a law of inner growth: revelation (dhī) is born from a deeper seed-force and must be mothered—protected from dispersal and immaturity.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna (with nurturing ‘Mothers’ as attendant powers)
- Epithets
- Vṛṣabha (Bull, generative), Retodhā (seed-bearing, implied), Pavamāna
- Related deities
- Aditi (as archetype of the Mothers), Uṣas (midwife of illumination), Sarasvatī (inspiration/flow of speech)
Cosmic role
Fertilizer of the worlds: Soma’s essence generates forms of light; attendant powers nurture the birth of knowledge in creation.
Inner power
Causes inspired thought to arise naturally and gathers supportive energies to stabilize and mature new realizations.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma purification/offerings; also thematically linked to the emergence of inspired speech in the rite
अवा॑वशन्त धी॒तयो॑ वृष॒भस्याधि॒ रेत॑सि । सू॒नोर्व॒त्सस्य॑ मा॒तर॑: ॥
अवा॑वशन्त । धी॒तयः॑ । वृ॒ष॒भस्य॑ । अधि॑ । रेत॑सि । सू॒नोः । व॒त्सस्य॑ । मा॒तरः॑ ॥
avāvaśanta | dhītayaḥ | vṛṣabhasya | adhi | retasi | sūnoḥ | vatsasya | mātaraḥ
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3 pādas × 8 syllables
Gentle yet vivid; the ‘lowing’ imagery gives a soft vocal color within a steady triad.
Encourages receptive inspiration; stabilizes tender new insights with a soothing cadence.
- धी॒तयः (dhītayaḥ)
- Literal: inspired thoughts, visions. Symbolic: intuitions and mantric perceptions arising from a higher plane
- अवावशन्त (avāvaśanta)
- Literal: lowed, made a sound (like cows). Symbolic: responsive utterance of inspiration; resonance of truth in the mind
- वृषभस्य (vṛṣabhasya)
- Literal: of the bull. Symbolic: of the potent Soma-force, generative delight
- रेतसि (retasi)
- Literal: in/over the seed. Symbolic: creative essence—concentrated potency that begets new consciousness
- व॒त्सस्य (vatsasya)
- Literal: of the calf. Symbolic: newborn light/knowledge in its tender first formation
- मा॒तरः (mātaraḥ)
- Literal: mothers. Symbolic: nurturing powers—supporting energies/faculties that mature the new light
- सू॒नोः (sūnoḥ)
- Literal: of the son/offspring. Symbolic: the emergent divine child within—new state born of the sacrifice
Imagery aligns with Soma’s generative potency in the rite: the inspired chants (dhītayaḥ) respond to Soma’s ‘seed’ as the offering produces a new ‘birth’ of power in sacrificer and cosmos.
During Soma flow and praise when the community seeks inspired dhī and fruitful outcomes.
Recitation as Soma’s potency is invoked; supports the ‘birth’ of auspicious results and inspired utterance.
Chant when beginning a creative project or after an insight: to ‘mother’ the new idea with patience, protection, and steady nourishment.
avāvaś- is intensive/reduplicated from √vaś/√vāc? here in sense ‘to bellow/low’ (onomatopoetic), aligning dhītayaḥ with cow-symbolism (thoughts as rays that ‘low’ when awakened). rétas from √ri ‘to flow’ → ‘that which flows’ as seed/creative essence; inner reading: flowing generative force of Soma.
birth of knowledge from delight-force, nurturing powers (mothers) as supports of manifestation, R̥ta as lawful generation: right seed → right birth
New knowledge must mature in ṛta—stepwise, protected, rightly timed.
Dhī becomes satya when it arises from the true seed (retaḥ) rather than mental fabrication.
Cosmic birth process: seed → calf (new light) → nurtured growth by Mothers (supporting powers).
Integral/psychological Veda: cognition is a living birth in consciousness, not mere conceptual construction.
dawn (symbolically: birth and nurturing of light)
spring (symbolically: fertility and new birth)
Inspired thoughts ‘sound’ when the creative essence is active; supportive faculties (patience, steadiness, discernment, devotion) nurture the newborn insight.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The birth-and-nurture mythologem: Soma as Bull whose seed generates the ‘calf’, while ‘mothers’ nurture it. Psychologically, purified delight (Soma) releases a creative essence (retas) from which a new formation of light/knowledge is born and then sustained by supportive powers (mātaraḥ).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The cattle/birth lexicon (vatsa, mātṛ) is deeply Indo-European (PIE *méh₂tēr ‘mother’). The poetic equation of cows with luminous goods (rays/insights) is an inherited Indo-Iranian style, where pastoral terms become vehicles for cognitive-spiritual symbolism.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi’s inspired thoughts (dhītayaḥ) are not merely descriptive but participatory: they ‘sound’ over the generative essence, helping midwife the birth of the new inner light. The devatā responds by making the creative potency effective and by providing the nurturing supports for its growth.
Nurture newborn insight: protect it from haste, doubt, and dispersion; feed it with steady remembrance and quiet joy.
Anāhata (maternal nurturing)
Soft, lengthened exhale; brief pause after exhale to ‘hold’ the calf (new insight) in stillness.
Gentle receptivity; incubation rather than forcing results.
After chanting 12 times, sit and recall one fresh insight. Ask: what ‘Mother’ quality does it need—patience, discipline, silence, study, devotion? Commit to one small nurturing action today.
Keep a soothing Gāyatrī flow; let the ‘avāvaśanta’ phrase be slightly more voiced/resonant to evoke ‘lowing’ without theatrics.
Gentle emphasis on dhītayaḥ, vṛṣabhasya, retasi, vatsasya, mātaraḥ; keep pāda pauses even.
avāvaśanta: v-ā-vā; ś as palatal, dhītayaḥ: dh voiced aspirate; long ī; final ḥ light, vṛṣabhasya: retroflex ṣ; bh voiced aspirate, retasi: clear dental t, vatsasya: ts cluster crisp, mātaraḥ: long ā; final ḥ
Soft, warm, nurturing tone; prioritize clarity over volume.
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