Rig Veda 9.47.2: Mandala 9, Sukta 47, Mantra 2
Sukta 9.47
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
कृतानीदस्य कर्त्वा चेतन्ते दस्युतर्हणा । ऋणा च धृष्णुश्चयते ॥
kṛtā́nīd asya kártvā cétante dasyu-tárhaṇā | ṛṇā́ ca dhṛṣṇúś cayate ||
ഈ സോമന്റെ ചെയ്ത കര്മ്മങ്ങളും ചെയ്യേണ്ട കര്മ്മങ്ങളും ബോധവാന്മാരാകുന്നു; അവന് ദസ്യു-ശക്തിയെ സംഹരിക്കുന്നവന്. കൂടാതെ അവന് ഋണങ്ങള് (തീര്ക്കേണ്ട ബാധ്യതകള്)യും ധൃഷ്ണു—ധീര-സാഹസിക ശക്തികളും—ഇരണ്ടും സമാഹരിച്ചു അവയെ അധീനമാക്കുന്നു.
Word by Word
- कृतानि
- the deeds, the things doneNoun (verbal noun/PPP used substantively)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole Karma (object of चेतन्ते: ‘they perceive/recognize the deeds’)Root कृ (धातु) → कृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
- ईत्
- indeed, justIndeclinableअव्ययRoot ईत् (निपात/अव्यय; emphatic particle)
- अस्य
- of him, of this (one)Pronounपुं/नपुं, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole Sambandha (genitive: ‘of him/this one’)Root इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- कर्त्वा
- the act of doing; performanceNoun (action-noun)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (appositional/explicative to कृतानि: ‘the doing/act’)Root कृ (धातु) → कर्त्व (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
- चेतन्ते
- they perceive/recognizeVerbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRole Kriyā (finite verb); Kartā implied (they)Root चित् (धातु; ‘to perceive/notice/understand’)
- दस्युतर्हणा
- dasyu-smiting; slayer of the DasyusAdjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (vocative-like epithet in praise; formally nominative)Role Viśeṣaṇa (qualifier of the praised deity/agent, implicit)Root दस्यु-तर्हण (प्रातिपदिक; compound)
- ऋणा
- debts; obligationsNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole Karma (object of चयते: ‘he heaps up debts/obligations’)Root ऋण (प्रातिपदिक)
- च
- andIndeclinableअव्ययRoot च (समुच्चय-अव्यय)
- धृष्णुः
- the bold one; the daring (one)Adjective (used substantively)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (subject of चयते)Root धृष्णु (प्रातिपदिक; ‘bold, daring’)
- च
- andIndeclinableअव्ययRoot च (समुच्चय-अव्यय)
- चयते
- he heaps up; accumulatesVerbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole Kriyā (finite verb)Root चि (धातु; ‘to heap up, pile, accumulate’)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution: कृतानीदस्य → कृतानि + ईत् + अस्य (ईत् as emphatic particle; orthographically attached). Other padas are already in near-pada form: कर्त्वा | चेतन्ते | दस्युतर्हणा | ऋणा | च | धृष्णुः | च | चयते. Accent marks in the given Saṃhitā text are not reproduced in the pada list
- analysis is morphological
The meaning
Outer meaning
As Soma is purified, his accomplished works and his workings become conscious; he is a smiter of the dasyu-force, and he gathers both obligations (debts) and bold powers, bringing them under mastery.
Inner meaning
When the Soma-consciousness (divine Ananda made clear in the being) flows in purification, past formations and present movements of our nature become self-aware (cetante). This awakened clarity strikes down the dasyu in us—forces of division, falsehood, inertia, and obscurity that steal the inner riches. Then Soma “collects” both ṛṇā (unpaid debts: unresolved karmic tendencies, subconscious residues, moral-psychic arrears) and dhṛṣṇu (daring energies: purified vital force, courage, initiative), not to suppress them but to integrate and govern them in the luminous order of the sacrifice.
Universal truth
True transformation begins when consciousness enters the very processes of action: what was mechanical becomes aware. Illumined bliss does not bypass our liabilities; it brings them to account and converts raw force into obedient power.
Themes
inner purification, overcoming hostility, conscious action, ethical clearing
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 9.47.1, Rig Veda 9.47.3, Rig Veda 9.47.4, Rig Veda 9.47.5
Family tradition
Mandala 9 is predominantly Soma-Pavamāna; many hymns are attributed to Kāṇva/Angirasa lines, but this specific rishi is not securely identified in the provided source.
Significance
The anonymous seer-voice here functions as a psychological yogin: observing how purified Ananda makes action conscious, defeats inner robbers, and reconciles liability with power.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Pavamāna (self-purifying), Dasyu-tarhaṇa (smiting the hostile)
- Related deities
- Indra, Agni, Bṛhaspati
Cosmic role
The clarifying nectar that flows through the filter, establishing delight, vitality, and right movement in the worlds.
Inner power
Ananda as a purifying intelligence in the life-force: it makes movements conscious, dissolves obscurity, and integrates energies.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing and purification (pavamāna recitations during soma-yajña)
कृ॒तानीद॑स्य॒ कर्त्वा॒ चेत॑न्ते दस्यु॒तर्ह॑णा । ऋ॒णा च॑ धृ॒ष्णुश्च॑यते ॥
कृ॒तानि॑ । इत् । अ॒स्य॒ । कर्त्वा॑ । चेत॑न्ते । द॒स्यु॒ऽतर्ह॑णा । ऋ॒णा । च॒ । धृ॒ष्णुः । च॒य॒ते॒ ॥
kṛtāni | it | asya | kartvā | cetante | dasyu-tarhaṇā | ṛṇā | ca | dhṛṣṇuḥ | cayate
44
4 pādas (approx. 11 syllables each)
Driving and declarative; suited to statements of inner conquest and integration.
Builds a sense of firm inner resolve; the cadence supports gathering scattered energies into one current.
- कृतानि (kṛtāni)
- Literal: things done, accomplished acts. Symbolic: formed habits/samskāras; completed inner formations needing illumination
- कर्त्वा (kartvā)
- Literal: doings, acts to be done. Symbolic: present impulses and ongoing movements of nature
- चेतन्ते (cetante)
- Literal: become conscious. Symbolic: awakening of witness-light in action; inner self-awareness
- दस्युतर्हणा (dasyu-tarhaṇā)
- Literal: smiting the dasyu. Symbolic: overcoming hostile/obscure forces that rob light and joy
- ऋणा (ṛṇā)
- Literal: debts, obligations. Symbolic: unresolved residues, guilt/arrears, subconscious knots to be cleared
- धृष्णुः (dhṛṣṇuḥ)
- Literal: bold, daring. Symbolic: purified courage and dynamic life-force aligned to the soul
- चयते (cayate)
- Literal: he gathers, collects. Symbolic: integration; bringing scattered parts under a single luminous governance
Soma as purifier that makes works ‘conscious’ and overcomes hostile forces; corresponds to both ritual efficacy and inner ethical-psychic clearing.
During Soma Pavitra phase—while Soma is filtered and offered
Chanting to accompany purification/flow and invocation of Soma’s clarifying power
Use as a meditation-affirmation during self-review: bringing unconscious habits to awareness and offering them into a higher delight for transformation.
cétante: middle 3pl of √cit ‘notice, perceive, awaken’ (PIE *ḱeyt- ‘perceive’ proposed in some etymologies; within Indo-Iranian, √cit is central to consciousness lexicon). dasyu: ‘hostile, robber’ becomes in inner sense the forces of ignorance/obscurity resisting Ṛta. tarhaṇa from √tarh/√tṛh ‘overcome, subdue’ (Indo-Iranian; cf. Avestan tarə- ‘overcome’). ṛṇa ‘debt’ from √ṛ ‘to go, fit’? traditional; semantically obligation/bond. √ci ‘gather’ (PIE *key- ‘pile up’ often proposed; cf. Lat. cieō is different; but ‘heap/gather’ is stable in Indo-Aryan). The line ‘ṛṇā ca dhṛṣṇuś cayate’ suggests Soma’s power collects and resolves bindings and harnesses bold energies—integrative purification.
awakening of consciousness in action (√cit + kṛ), dasyu as ignorance/obstruction opposing Ṛta, clearing of bonds/obligations (ṛṇa) as purification
Soma establishes ṛta by making deeds and doings conscious and by subduing dasyu-forces that break order.
Consciousness entering action converts mechanical life into truthful movement.
Purification as re-creation: the being is re-formed when delight becomes lucid and directive.
Proto-Vedāntic / Integral (Aurobindonian) psychological reading: Ananda as transformative power in prakṛti.
The ‘flow’ is the descent of clarified delight through the mind’s filter, making the vital and physical movements transparent and governable.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Soma as the ‘dasyu-slayer’ who makes actions conscious. Mythically Soma aids the gods against hostile tribes; psychologically Soma’s clarity turns mechanical action into conscious force, subdues obscuring impulses (dasyu), and gathers up the ‘debts’ (bindings) to be resolved, along with bold energies to be rightly directed.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The opposition between kṛta (done) and kartvā (doings) is an inherited Indo-European tendency to pair resultative and processual action-nouns. The semantic shift of dasyu from external enemy to inner obstruction is a Vedic internalization of an older heroic-poetic adversary motif.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi recognizes Soma as the power that converts ritual and life-works into awakened movements (cetante). In exchange for invocation and preparation, Soma grants an inner victory: hostile obscurity is overcome, and the being’s unresolved bindings (ṛṇa) are gathered for clearance within the law of Ṛta.
Witness the stream of actions and impulses; offer both ‘debts’ (unresolved knots) and ‘bold forces’ into the luminous Ananda for integration.
Manipura (will/energy regulation) and Ajna (conscious seeing in action)
Nadi-śodhana or slow even breathing; on exhale, release ‘ṛṇa’ residues; on inhale, gather dhṛṣṇu energy.
From scattered vital consciousness to collected, clarified, masterful poise.
Do a brief inner inventory: name one mechanical habit (kṛtāni) and one active impulse (kartvā). Hold them in awareness (cetante) without judgment; invoke delight to purify, then choose one right action aligned with truth.
Not fully determinable from provided text; chant in a neutral Vedic recitation style with gentle rise on key vocatives/compounds (e.g., dasyu-tarhaṇā).
Keep compound ‘dasyu-tarhaṇā’ as one semantic unit; avoid breaking ‘kṛtānīd’ (kṛtāni + id) in sound-flow.
kṛtāni: vocalic ṛ short and crisp, cetante: dental t, clear e vowels, dasyu: soft y glide, not ‘dasu’, dhṛṣṇuḥ: vocalic ṛ + retroflex ṣ; end with light visarga
Clear, steady, slightly forceful on the ‘smiting’ phrase; settle into calm on ‘cayate’.
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.
