Rig Veda 9.64.20: Mandala 9, Sukta 64, Mantra 20
Sukta 9.64
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Vira (heroism)
आ यद्योनिं हिरण्ययमाशुॠतस्य सीदति । जहात्यप्रचेतसः ॥
ā́ yád yóniṃ hiraṇyáyam āśúr ṛtásya sī́dati | jahā́ty ápra-cetasaḥ ||
വേഗവാൻ ഋതത്തിന്റെ സ്വർണ്ണ യോനിയിൽ ശീഘ്രം ആസീനനാകുമ്പോൾ, അവൻ അപ്രചേതസ്—അജാഗൃത ചൈതന്യാവസ്ഥകളെ ഉപേക്ഷിക്കുന്നു.
Word by Word
- आ
- towards, hitherIndeclinableupasarga (preverb), direction ‘towards’Root आ (upasarga) / ā (avyaya)
- यत्
- when; that whichPronoun (relative)neuter, nominative/accusative, singularRole (links to clause; often adverbial ‘when/that which’)Root यद् (sarvanāma-stem)
- योनिम्
- womb; seat; source; resting-placeNounfeminine, accusative, singularRole Karma (goal of motion) / Adhikaraṇa (as ‘into the seat’)Root योनि (prātipadika)
- हिरण्ययम्
- goldenAdjectivemasculine, accusative, singular (agreeing with implied सोमम् / or with ‘योनिम्’ if taken as qualifying the seat)Role Karma (as qualifier of the object/goal)Root हिरण्यय (adj. from हिरण्य ‘gold’)
- आशु
- swiftlyAdjective/Adverbindeclinable-like adverbial use ‘swiftly’ (originally adj. ‘swift’)Root आशु (adj./adv.)
- ऋतस्य
- of ṛta (cosmic order/truth; right ritual order)Nounneuter, genitive, singularRole Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (genitival relation)Root ऋत (prātipadika)
- सीदति
- sits down; settles; comes to restVerbpresent (laṭ), parasmaipada, 3rd person, singularRole Kriyā (verbal action); subject implied (Soma/Pavamāna) as KartāRoot √सद् (sīdati) ‘sit down, settle’
- जहाति
- leaves; abandonsVerbpresent (laṭ), parasmaipada, 3rd person, singularRole Kriyā; subject implied (Soma/Pavamāna) as KartāRoot √हा (jahāti) ‘leave, abandon’
- अप्रचेतसः
- the unperceiving/heedless ones; the undiscerningAdjective (substantivized) / Nounmasculine, accusative, plural (object of जहाति)Role KarmaRoot अ-प्रचेतस् (adj./noun; ‘without insight/attention’)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution: यद्योनिम् → यत् + योनिम् (final -t before y- gives -dy- in saṃhitā)
- हिरण्ययम् + आशु shows no further external sandhi here
- ऋतस्य is genitive dependent on ‘योनिम्’ (seat of ṛta) or on the settling action
- Accent marks in the saṃhitā (॑ etc.) indicate Vedic udātta/svarita but do not change pada segmentation
The meaning
Outer meaning
When the swift one sits in the golden womb of Ṛta, he casts away the unawakened states.
Inner meaning
When Soma, swift and purified, establishes itself in the hiraṇyaya yoni of ṛta—the luminous-golden matrix of truth-order—then it rejects apracetasaḥ: the unperceiving, obscure, unawakened movements in us. Delight founded in ṛta becomes a discriminating light that expels dullness and subconscient inertia.
Universal truth
When consciousness finds its true ground in truth and harmony, ignorance naturally falls away; awakening is stabilized by living in a higher order, not by struggle alone.
Themes
stabilization, truth-womb, casting off ignorance, luminous foundation
The seer
- Rishi
- Soma Pavamāna tradition (RV 9.64)
- Other hymns
- RV 9.64.17 (ṛtasya yoni), RV 9.64.16 (release into samudra), RV 9.64.18 (protective Soma)
Significance
Culmination of the mini-sequence: flowing into the Vast (16), arriving at ṛta’s womb (17), protection and empowerment (18), measured path guided by ṛk (19), and final establishment in the golden womb that expels ignorance (20).
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Hiraṇyagarbha-like (golden-source imagery; functional), Ṛtāvān (of ṛta; explicit by context), Āśu (swift)
- Related deities
- Varuṇa (ṛta), Savitar (impeller toward illumination), Agni (purifier), Indra (illumined mind)
Cosmic role
Soma as the luminous essence that, when established in ṛta, becomes a force of awakening and purification for the worlds.
Inner power
A settling bliss-light that rejects obscurity; it stabilizes awakened perception and casts out dullness.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma purification and offering; the ‘seating’ of Soma in its vessel/seat after straining
आ यद्योनिं॑ हिर॒ण्यय॑मा॒शुॠ॒तस्य॒ सीद॑ति । जहा॒त्यप्र॑चेतसः ॥
आ । यत् । योनि॑म् । हि॒र॒ण्यय॑म् । आ॒शुः । ऋ॒तस्य॑ । सीद॑ति । जहा॑ति । अप्र॑ऽचेतसः ॥
ā | yat | yonim | hiraṇyayam | āśuḥ | ṛtasya | sīdati | jahāti | apra-cetasaḥ
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4 × ~11 syllables
Swift entry (‘āśuḥ’) followed by a settling cadence (‘sīdati’), then a decisive cutting-off (‘jahāty’)
Produces a felt ‘descent of stability’ and then a cleansing rejection of obscurity.
- योनिम् हिरण्ययम् (yoniṃ hiraṇyayam)
- Literal: golden womb/source. Symbolic: luminous matrix of higher consciousness; a supramental-like seat of truth-order
- ऋतस्य (ṛtasya)
- Literal: of Ṛta. Symbolic: belonging to the truth-law; the plane of right rhythm and harmony
- आशुः (āśuḥ)
- Literal: swift. Symbolic: quickened, intensified spiritual movement; rapid ascent of purified delight
- सीदति (sīdati)
- Literal: sits, settles, is seated. Symbolic: becomes established; stable realization rather than passing experience
- अप्रचेतसः (apracetasaḥ)
- Literal: unaware, unperceiving. Symbolic: ignorant states—dull mind, inconscience, mechanical vital habits
Moment of ‘settling’ in the vessel/collecting place; inner sense: stabilization of consciousness in ṛta
At the stage when Soma is collected/established and prepared for offering
Recitation to affirm Soma’s pure seat and expulsion of inauspicious/unenlightened influences
Mantra for removing tamas: chant when ذهن feels dull, depressed, or mechanically repetitive; aim for ‘settling in the golden womb’ (luminous stability).
hiraṇya: ‘gold’ used as symbol of the luminous truth-substance; hiraṇyaya ‘golden’. sīdati: √sad ‘sit, settle’ (PIE *sed-). cetas: from √cit ‘perceive, notice’ (PIE *ḱei̯t- ‘notice’), pra-cetas ‘clear/forward consciousness’; a-pra-cetas ‘without awakened perception’.
ṛta as stable foundation, awakening of cetas (consciousness), rejection of ignorance (apracetas)
Explicit: establishment in ṛta’s golden womb is the condition for casting off ignorance.
Satya as luminous truth supports the golden seat; ignorance cannot remain when truth becomes the ground.
Golden womb as generative source: from it arise ordered worlds; in the microcosm, awakened states are ‘born’ when seated there.
Aurobindonian reading: hiraṇya as supramental/luminous principle; ṛta as right order; awakening as the result of establishment in higher consciousness.
Settling of purified delight in a luminous truth-order that automatically sheds unconscious habits and dull states.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘golden womb of ṛta’ where Soma settles and thereby abandons the unawakened: mythically, entry into the radiant seat of truth; psychologically, when the delight-force is established in truth-order, obscurity and half-conscious impulses fall away.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- sīdati from √sad (PIE *sed-) is a clear IE inheritance. cetas from √cit reflects an old perception-root (PIE *ḱei̯t-), also seen in the semantic field of ‘notice/know’ across IE.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The ṛṣi describes a law of transformation: divine influx must ‘sit’ (stabilize) in ṛta; then it naturally rejects the apracetas states. The seer’s role is to hold the process to this law—seeking not excitement alone but settled truth.
Establish awareness in a ‘golden womb’ of truth-order; let dullness drop away without struggle.
Ājñā to Sahasrāra (luminous seat above/between brows)
Slow exhale with mental ‘sīdati’ (settling); brief still pause to feel golden stability
Luminous stability; tamas falling away; wakeful peace
Chant 7 or 21 times. Visualize a golden womb-space above the heart or at the brow. On each repetition, feel the mind ‘sit’ there. After chanting, notice any apracetasaḥ patterns (sleepy thought, mechanical desire) and simply ‘drop’ them into silence.
Observe Vedic accents; give ‘āśuḥ’ a crisp lift; ‘sīdati’ a settling contour; ‘jahāti’ decisive release
Emphasize: (ā yat), (yó-nim), (hi-rá-ṇya-yam), (ā́-śuḥ), (sī́-da-ti), (ja-hā́-ti), (á-pra-ce-ta-saḥ)
‘hiraṇyayam’ keep retroflex ṇ clearly; avoid ‘n’, ‘apracetasaḥ’ articulate pra-ce-ta, not ‘prachet’ merged, ‘sīdati’ long ī
Luminous, steady, settling; end with a clean, quiet firmness on ‘jahāti’
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