Rig Veda 9.48.1: Mandala 9, Sukta 48, Mantra 1
Sukta 9.48
- Devata
- Soma
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
तं त्वा नृम्णानि बिभ्रतं सधस्थेषु महो दिवः । चारुं सुकृत्ययेमहे ॥
táṃ tvā nṛmṇā́ni bíbhrataṃ sadhástheṣu mahó diváḥ | cā́ruṃ sukṛtyáyemahe ||
ഹേ സോമാ! മഹാ ദിവ (ദിവ്യ ആകാശം)യുടെ സധസ്ഥ (സാമൂഹിക ആസനം)ങ്ങളിൽ നൃമ്ണ (വീരശക്തി)കൾ ധരിക്കുന്ന നിന്നെ ഞങ്ങൾ അന്വേഷിക്കുന്നു—സുകൃത്യ (സത്കർമ്മം)യും സിദ്ധപ്രവൃത്തിയും നിമിത്തം മനോഹരനായ നിന്നെ ഞങ്ങൾ ആരാധിക്കുന്നു.
Word by Word
- तम्
- him / that onePronounपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- त्वा
- youPronounद्वितीया एकवचनम् (एन्क्लिटिक)Role कर्मRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- नृम्णानि
- manly powers, heroic strengthsNounनपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया बहुवचनम्Role कर्मRoot नृम्ण (प्रातिपदिक; नृ + म्न)
- बिभ्रतम्
- bearing, carryingVerb (participle)वर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ) — ‘बिभ्रत्’; पुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role कर्म (विशेषणरूपेण ‘तम्/त्वा’ प्रति)Root √भृ (भरणे)
- सधस्थेषु
- in the seats/places (ritual stations)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्गे सप्तमी बहुवचनम्Role अधिकारणRoot सधस्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
- महो
- of the greatAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्गे षष्ठी एकवचनम् (वैदिक रूप: महो = महतः)Role सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- दिवः
- of heaven, of the skyNounस्त्रीलिङ्गे षष्ठी एकवचनम्Role सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root दिव्/द्यौ (प्रातिपदिक)
- चारुम्
- beautiful, pleasingAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role कर्म (विशेषणरूपेण ‘तम्/त्वा’ प्रति)Root चारु (प्रातिपदिक)
- सुकृत्याय
- for good action/merit; for good performance (of rite)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्गे चतुर्थी एकवचनम्Role सम्प्रदानRoot सुकृत्या (प्रातिपदिक; सु + कृत्या)
- ईमहे
- we seek/strive for, we go to (invoke)Verbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपदम्, उत्तमपुरुषः बहुवचनम्Role कर्तृ (अस्मद्-समूहः)Root √यम् (यच्छति/ईमहे—वैदिक; ‘to strive/seek, to go for’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: तम् | त्वा | नृम्णानि | बिभ्रतम् | सधस्थेषु | महो | दिवः | चारुम् | सुकृत्याय | ईमहे । (1) ‘महो दिवः’ इति षष्ठी-सम्बन्धः
- ‘महो’ वैदिक-रूपं ‘महतः’ (gen. sg. n.)। (2) ‘बिभ्रतम्’ = बिभ्रत् (शतृ) + अम् (acc. sg. m.)। (3) ‘ईमहे’ वैदिक वर्तमान-आत्मनेपद-रूपम्
The meaning
Outer meaning
We seek you, bearing heroic powers in the common seats of the great heaven—beautiful—for our right-doing and perfected work.
Inner meaning
The seekers invoke Soma as the bearer of nṛmṇāni—heroic strengths of the soul (courage, steadfastness, victorious capacity). He stands in the sadhastheṣu, the ‘common seats’: inner gathering-places where faculties meet (mind, life, body) and where the gods can descend. These are ‘of the great heaven’ (maho divaḥ): openings to higher consciousness. Soma is cāru, beautiful—because delight is the natural beauty of truth. We call him for su-kṛtyā: right action and perfected work—karma made luminous, harmonious, and effective by Ananda.
Universal truth
Human effort becomes right and complete when it is supported by a higher joy and strength. The beautiful is not decoration; it is the sign of alignment with a greater consciousness.
Themes
aspiration, heroic force, right action, wideness
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 9.48.2
Family tradition
Soma-Pavamāna invocation style: communal aspiration (‘we seek’) emphasizing right action (sukṛti) supported by Soma’s heroic powers.
Significance
The seer speaks for the collectivity of inner faculties: calling Soma into the shared seat of consciousness so that works become right and complete.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Nṛmṇa-bhṛt (bearer of heroic powers), Cāru (beautiful), Divya-sadhastha (dwelling in the seats of heaven—implicit)
- Related deities
- Indra, Agni, Uṣas (as opening to heaven)
Cosmic role
Brings heavenly strength and delight into the sacrificial session; mediates between earth-nature and the great heaven.
Inner power
Ananda that makes action heroic, harmonious, and perfected; establishes a higher poise in the gathered being.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma purification and offering; invocation of Soma for successful sacrifice (sukṛti)
तं त्वा॑ नृ॒म्णानि॒ बिभ्र॑तं स॒धस्थे॑षु म॒हो दि॒वः । चारुं॑ सुकृ॒त्यये॑महे ॥
तम् । त्वा॒ । नृ॒म्णानि॑ । विभ्र॑तम् । स॒धऽस्थे॑षु । म॒हः । दि॒वः । चारु॑म् । सु॒ऽकृ॒त्यया॑ । ई॒म॒हे॒ ॥
tam | tvā | nṛmṇāni | vibhratam | sadha-stheṣu | mahaḥ | divaḥ | cārum | su-kṛtyayā | īmahe
44
4 pādas (approx. 11 syllables each)
Elevated and invitational; a ‘calling upward’ movement suited to aspiration.
Creates uplift and spaciousness; supports collective alignment and dignified resolve for right action.
- नृम्णानि (nṛmṇāni)
- Literal: heroic powers, strengths. Symbolic: soul-force: courage, mastery, victorious capacity
- सधस्थेषु (sadha-stheṣu)
- Literal: common seats, shared places. Symbolic: inner meeting-grounds of faculties; collective field of consciousness where higher powers can sit
- महो दिवः (maho divaḥ)
- Literal: of the great heaven. Symbolic: higher mind/supramental light; vastness above ordinary mentality
- चारुम् (cārum)
- Literal: beautiful, gracious. Symbolic: the charm of Ananda; harmony that draws the being upward
- सुकृत्यया (su-kṛtyayā)
- Literal: for right-doing/perfect work. Symbolic: action aligned with truth; yoga of works perfected by inner delight
- ईमहे (īmahe)
- Literal: we seek, we go toward. Symbolic: aspiration; turning of the being toward the divine presence
Invocation to Soma in the pressing context; inner application: establishing Soma in the ‘common seats’ (shared planes of consciousness) to support right action
At the approach/invocation of purified Soma in the soma-yajña sequence
Calling Soma into the sadas (session/seat) and offering with praises
As an ‘opening’ chant before work, meetings, or collective practice to align a group with clarity, courage, and harmonious execution.
nṛmṇa- from nṛ ‘man/hero’ + abstract → ‘heroic force’. div- ‘shine’ → divaḥ ‘heaven’ as luminous expanse. mahaḥ ‘great/vast’ resonates with bṛhat. sukṛtyā from su- ‘good’ + √kṛ ‘do/make’ → right-making aligned to ṛta. sadhastha- ‘common seat’ (sadha ‘together’ + stha ‘stand’).
sukṛtyā as action in accord with ṛta, bṛhat/mahaḥ as widening consciousness
Sukṛti is ṛta in action; Soma provides the joy-strength that stabilizes right order in works.
‘Great heaven’ points to a truth-plane that can inhabit the common seat when invoked.
Descent of heaven into the session: higher consciousness entering collective human activity.
Karma-yoga seed: perfection of works through divine Ananda and higher consciousness.
The sky is higher consciousness; the sadas is the inner altar-space where faculties assemble; Soma is the beautiful current of delight descending to perfect works.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘descent into the seats’ mythologem: the deity is established in the shared stations (sadhastha) of the great heaven. Inner sense: Soma is invoked to occupy the meeting-places of human and divine consciousness, bringing heroic capacities for right works.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √div ‘shine’ (divaḥ) reflects PIE *di̯ew- ‘sky/daylight’ (cf. Latin diēs, Greek Zeus from *di̯ēus). √sth in sadhastha reflects PIE *steh₂ ‘stand’.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi-community ‘seeks’ Soma not for spectacle but for sukṛtyā: the devata is asked to bear nṛmṇāni within the seeker so that works become right, wide, and effective.
Bring all parts of yourself into a ‘common seat’—mind, heart, life, body—then invite a higher joy to guide right action.
Anahata (beauty/joy) with Sahasrara (great heaven)
Slow coherent breathing; on inhale feel spacious ‘heaven’ above the head; on exhale let a cool Soma-current descend into the heart and hands (work).
Collected, uplifted, harmonized; action as an offering.
Before beginning a task, pause and inwardly ‘assemble’ yourself. Chant once, then decide one right step (sukṛti) and do it with calm beauty (cāru), not strain.
Not fully determinable from provided text; maintain a dignified, slightly rising intonation through the invocation ‘taṃ tvā… īmahe’.
Pause gently after ‘maho divaḥ’; let ‘cāruṃ sukṛtyayemahe’ be one smooth aspiration.
nṛmṇāni: vocalic ṛ + retroflex ṇ; keep cluster mṇ, sadhastheṣu: articulate dh + sth clearly, maho divaḥ: open vowels, light visarga, sukṛtyayemahe: keep kṛ (vocalic ṛ) crisp; avoid swallowing ‘ye’
Open, resonant, uplifting; end with a soft, settled cadence.
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