Rig Veda 9.4.1: Mandala 9, Sukta 4, Mantra 1
Sukta 9.4
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
सना च सोम जेषि च पवमान महि श्रवः । अथा नो वस्यसस्कृधि ॥
sanā́ ca soma jeṣi ca pávamāna máhi śrávaḥ | áthā no vásyasas kṛdhi ||
ഹേ സോമ, സദാ വീണ്ടും വീണ്ടും ഞങ്ങൾക്കായി ജയിക്കേണമേ; ഹേ പവമാന, മഹത്തായ യശസ് നേടുക. പിന്നെ ഞങ്ങളെ കൂടുതൽ ഉന്നതമായ, പ്രകാശമയമായ ക്ഷേമത്തിലേക്ക് രൂപപ്പെടുത്തുക.
Word by Word
- सना
- from of old; alwaysIndeclinableअव्यय; ‘always, from of old’Role Adhikaraṇa (kāla-adhikaraṇa)Root सना (avyaya-prātipadika; from PIE *sen- ‘old’)
- च
- andIndeclinableसमुच्चयार्थक निपातRoot च (avyaya)
- सोम
- O SomaNounपुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचनRole Sambodhana (addressed)Root सोम (prātipadika)
- जेषि
- win!; conquer!Verbलोट् (विधिलिङ्/आज्ञार्थे), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole (क्रिया)Root जि (धातु; जये)
- च
- andIndeclinableसमुच्चयार्थक निपातRoot च (avyaya)
- पवमान
- O Pavamāna (self-purifying one)Noun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचन (present middle participle used vocatively)Role Sambodhana (addressed)Root पवमान (kṛdanta-prātipadika; √पू ‘to purify’ > पवते; pres. ptc. med.)
- महि
- greatly; muchIndeclinableअव्यय; ‘greatly, much’Role Karma/Viśeṣaṇa of action (manner/intensity)Root महि (avyaya; from मह्/महत् ‘great’)
- श्रवः
- fame; gloryNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन (Vedic: -ः for -स्; object)Role KarmaRoot श्रवस् (prātipadika; from √श्रु ‘to hear’)
- अथा
- then; thereafterIndeclinableअव्यय; ‘then, thereafter’Role Adhikaraṇa (kāla/sequence)Root अथा (avyaya)
- नः
- of us; for usPronounषष्ठी बहुवचन (enclitic genitive)Role Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (possessor/for us)Root अस्मद् (sarvanāma-prātipadika)
- वस्यसः
- of the better (good); of greater benefitAdjective (substantivized)नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी एकवचन (genitive of the comparative)Role Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (of the better/greater good)Root वस्यस् (comparative prātipadika of वसु ‘good’)
- कृधि
- make!; do!Verbलोट्, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole (क्रिया)Root कृ (धातु; करणे)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद: सना | च | सोम | जेषि | च | पवमान | महि | श्रवः | अथा | नः | वस्यसः | कृधि । Sandhi: (1) ‘सोम जेषि’ = vocative + verb (no phonetic sandhi). (2) ‘श्रवः । अथा’ shows visarga before vowel across pāda break
- in continuous recitation often realized as ‘श्रवोऽथा’ (visarga → o + avagraha) depending on śākhā/prātiśākhya practice. (3) ‘वस्यसस्कृधि’ = वस्यसः + कृधि: visarga before k- becomes s (jihvāmūlīya/visarga assimilation), written in Saṃhitā as -स्स-
- resolved to ‘वस्यसः कृधि’
The meaning
Outer meaning
O Soma, conquer for us again and again; O purifying one, win vast glory; then make for us a more excellent well-being.
Inner meaning
Soma as the purifying delight is invoked to repeatedly ‘conquer’—to win territory in our nature from habitual darkness and inertia. ‘Great glory’ (mahi śravaḥ) becomes inner renown: the luminous affirmation of the soul’s victorious state. The refrain asks Soma to refashion us into vasyas—more spacious, luminous, harmonious being.
Universal truth
Lasting transformation needs repeated victories of clarity and joy over resistance; as delight purifies, it reshapes life into a higher order of well-being.
Themes
Soma-ritual, Purification, Victory over resistance, Glory as realization, Aspiration for higher well-being
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 9.4.2-4 (same refrain)
Family tradition
Refrain-based Soma hymns in RV 9 often function as liturgical-yogic formulas shared across seer lineages.
Significance
The anonymity underscores mantra as a repeatable inner operation: invoke Soma, win victory, be remade—an archetypal sequence of integral transformation.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Pavamāna, Soma, Indu, Madhu
- Related deities
- Indra, Agni, Bṛhaspati
Cosmic role
Victorious purifier who empowers the gods and secures prosperity and right order through the clarified essence.
Inner power
Ananda that conquers tamas and rajas by luminous satisfaction, establishing confident wideness (vasyas).
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma-stotra during Soma sacrifice; invocation for victorious, purified Soma
सना॑ च सोम॒ जेषि॑ च॒ पव॑मान॒ महि॒ श्रव॑: । अथा॑ नो॒ वस्य॑सस्कृधि ॥
सना॑ । च॒ । सो॒म॒ । जेषि॑ । च॒ । पव॑मान । महि॑ । श्रवः॑ । अथ॑ । नः॒ । वस्य॑सः । कृ॒धि॒ ॥
sanā | ca | soma | jeṣi | ca | pavamāna | mahi | śravaḥ | atha | naḥ | vasyasaḥ | kṛdhi
Likely Gāyatrī (refrain hymns commonly in gāyatrī)
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3 × 8 (approx.)
march-like yet bright; supports ‘conquest’ imperative
Energizes resolve while keeping purity; a rhythmic insistence suitable for repeated japa with aspiration.
- सना (sanā)
- Literal: from of old; ever; again and again. Symbolic: perennial recurrence of the yogic victory; steady practice
- जेषि (jeṣi)
- Literal: conquer! win!. Symbolic: victory of light-joy over inner resistance
- पवमान (pavamāna)
- Literal: purifying. Symbolic: self-cleansing movement of consciousness
- महि श्रवः (mahi śravaḥ)
- Literal: great fame/glory. Symbolic: inner radiance and affirmed power of the realized state
- वस्यसः (vasyasaḥ)
- Literal: more excellent; better; more prosperous. Symbolic: more luminous and harmonious condition of being
- कृधि (kṛdhi)
- Literal: make; fashion. Symbolic: active reshaping of nature by the divine Delight
Pavamāna Soma hymns: chanted in Soma pressing/purification sequences (notably within Soma-yajña contexts such as Agniṣṭoma)
During pressing/filtration and offering cycles; as a repeated refrain to sustain the rite’s momentum.
Chant to empower Soma’s purification and secure victory/śravas for the yajamāna.
As a daily ‘victory and refashioning’ mantra before work/practice: invoke inner delight to conquer discouragement and reconfigure the day toward higher well-being.
pávamāna < √pū ‘to purify, cleanse’ (present middle participle: ‘purifying as he flows’). jeṣi < √ji ‘to conquer, win’ (2nd sg. injunctive/imperative nuance in Vedic prayer). śrávaḥ < √śru ‘to hear’ → ‘that which is heard of’ (renown), extended inwardly to ‘heard/recognized radiance of realization’. vásyasas is comparative (from vasu/vasīyas ‘good, excellent’), expressing an ascent to a better condition; kṛdhi < √kṛ ‘to make, do’ (imperative).
Ṛta (right order as victorious movement), Bṛhat (vastness), inner purification leading to luminous accomplishment
Conquest is restoration of ṛta in the human instrument—right rhythm of thought, will, and joy.
Great śravas as truth-made-effective: inner truth becomes manifest power.
Re-creation of the human being (kṛdhi) through purified essence.
Integral-Vedantic: Ananda as transformative power, not mere reward.
The recurring ‘conquest’ is like repeated clearing of inner weather; Soma is the cool luminous force that stabilizes and widens consciousness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘purifying Soma who conquers’ mythologem: Soma’s flow through the sieve becomes the victorious force that overcomes obstruction and establishes ‘great śravas’—the manifest renown/radiance of truth in the world and in the seeker.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √ji ‘conquer’ aligns with PIE *gʷeyh₃-/ *gʷei- ‘to live, to win/overcome’ (Indo-Iranian developments give ‘victory’ semantics). √kṛ ‘make’ reflects PIE *kwer-/*ker- ‘to do, make’ (cf. Latin creare ‘create’ is not direct but typologically comparable; closer is the Indo-Iranian *kar-). śrávaḥ from √śru ‘hear’ reflects PIE *ḱlew- ‘to hear, fame’ (cf. Greek kléos ‘glory’), a classic Indo-European poetic inheritance linking ‘fame’ with ‘what is heard’.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- A reciprocal ascent: the seer invokes Soma’s victorious purification (‘jeṣi… pavamāna’) and, in return, asks Soma to ‘make’ (kṛdhi) the human collective (‘naḥ’) into ‘vasyas’—a higher, more ordered condition. The offering/chant sustains Soma’s manifestation; Soma’s clarified force sustains the sacrificer’s inner transformation.
Invoke Soma as a conquering joy: let delight repeatedly dislodge negativity and establish a higher baseline of being.
Manipura (victory-force) harmonized by Anahata (delight)
4-4-6 breathing (inhale-hold-exhale) while mentally repeating sanā… jeṣi…; feel exhale as ‘conquest’ release.
uplifted, confident wideness
Repeat as a refrain during difficulty; after each repetition, pause and sense a ‘better formation’ (vasyas) settling in the body-mind.
Three-tone Vedic style; treat imperatives (jeṣi, kṛdhi) with clear udātta lift; cadence with gentle svarita at pāda ends.
Hold sanā slightly longer (as ‘ever again’); stress jeṣi; give mahi śravaḥ a broadened resonance; end with a decisive kṛdhi.
sanā: long ā, jeṣi: palatal ś, short i, pavamāna: long ā in mā, śravaḥ: ‘śra’ cluster clear; visarga audible, vasyasaḥ: ‘sya’ consonant cluster smooth, kṛdhi: vocalic ṛ; aspirated dh
bright, steady, affirmative
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