Rig Veda 8.48.7: Mandala 8, Sukta 48, Mantra 7
Sukta 8.48
- Devata
- Soma
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
इषिरेण ते मनसा सुतस्य भक्षीमहि पित्र्यस्येव रायः । सोम राजन्प्र ण आयूंषि तारीरहानीव सूर्यो वासराणि ॥
iṣiréṇa te mánasā sutásya bhakṣī́mahi pitryásyeva rāyáḥ | sóma rājan prá ṇa āyū́ṃṣi tārīr áhānīva sū́ryo vāsarā́ṇi ||
उत्सुक (इषिर) मनाने, हे निचोडलेला सोम, आम्ही तुझे पान करतो—जसे पितृपरंपरेची धनसंपदा. हे सोमराजन्, आमची आयु-प्राणशक्ती पुढे ने; जसा सूर्य दिवसांना पुढे पुढे विस्तीर्ण मार्गावर नेत असतो.
Word by Word
- इषिरेण
- with the swift/impelling (mind)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-एकवचनRole करणRoot इषिर (प्रातिपदिक) < √इष्/इष् (गत्यर्थ/प्रेरणार्थ; वैदिक विशेषण) अथवा इषिर- (तेजस्विन्/शीघ्र)
- ते
- of you/yourPronounषष्ठी-एकवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role सम्बन्धRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- मनसा
- with (the) mindNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-एकवचनRole करणRoot मनस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- सुतस्य
- of the pressed (Soma)Noun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-एकवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot सुत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √सु ‘to press (Soma)’)
- भक्षीमहि
- may we partake/eatVerbलोट् (वैदिक: विधिलिङ्/आशीर्लिङ्-प्राय प्रयोग), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचन, आत्मनेपदRole क्रियाRoot √भक्ष् (भक्षणे)
- पित्र्यस्य
- of the fathers/ancestralAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-एकवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot पित्र्य (प्रातिपदिक; पितृ-सम्बन्धी)
- इव
- like/asIndeclinableअव्ययRole सम्बन्ध (उपमान)Root इव
- रायः
- of wealth/bountyNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग (वैदिक), षष्ठी-एकवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot राय्/रायि (प्रातिपदिक; ‘wealth, bounty’)
- सोम
- O SomaNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- राजन्
- O kingNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्र
- forth, forwardIndeclinable (preverb)उपसर्गRole क्रियाविशेषणRoot प्र
- नः
- to us/for usPronounषष्ठी-बहुवचन (एन्क्लिटिक) अथवा चतुर्थी-बहुवचन (वैदिक; ‘to us’)—अत्र अर्थतः चतुर्थीRole सम्प्रदानRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- आयूंषि
- lifetimes, vital spansNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot आयुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- तारीः
- carry across / extendVerbलोट्, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot √तॄ (तरणे ‘to cross, carry over’)
- अहानी
- (two) days (day and night)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-द्विवचन (वैदिक द्विवचन)Role कर्म (उपमान-आधार)Root अहन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- इव
- likeIndeclinableअव्ययRole सम्बन्ध (उपमान)Root इव
- सूर्यः
- the SunNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचनRole कर्तृ (उपमान-कर्तृ)Root सूर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- वासराणि
- days (daytimes)Nounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (वैदिक चल), द्वितीया-बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot वासर (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सम्भाव्य): इषिरेण ते मनसा सुतस्य भक्षीमहि पित्र्यस्य इव रायः । सोम राजन् प्र नः आयूंषि तारीः अहानी इव सूर्यः वासराणि ॥ 1) पित्र्यस्येव = पित्र्यस्य + इव
- 2) राजन्प्र = राजन् + प्र (नकारान्त सम्बोधन ‘राजन्’ परे ‘प्र’ इत्यत्र संहितायां न् + प् → न्प्)
- 3) ण॒ आयूं॑षि = नः + आयूंषि (पदपाठे ‘नः’)
- 4) तारी॒रहा॑नीव = तारीः + अहानी + इव (विसर्ग-लोपः/रेफ-प्रक्षेपः संहितायां; ‘अहानीव’ = अहानी + इव)
The meaning
Outer meaning
With eager mind they partake of the pressed Soma like an ancestral treasure. King Soma is asked to carry forward their life-spans as the Sun carries days onward.
Inner meaning
The ‘eager mind’ (iṣira manas) is the aspiring, sharpened mental will that can receive Soma rightly. Soma is ‘ancestral treasure’ (pitrya rāyaḥ): not mere inheritance of bloodline, but the deep continuity of spiritual gain—stored inner wealth from the fore-seers, accessible through right aspiration. Soma as King governs the rhythms of life-force (āyūṃṣi = life-powers, vital durations, energies). The simile of the Sun carrying days indicates a steady, lawful progression: Soma should advance our prāṇa and capacities through widening cycles, not in spasms—sustained evolution of consciousness.
Universal truth
Spiritual inheritance becomes living only when met with eager aspiration. When delight-consciousness governs life-energy, one’s days are carried forward in an ordered, widening growth.
Themes
ancestral wisdom, life-extension, Soma kingship, solar progression metaphor
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 8.48.2, Rig Veda 8.48.3, Rig Veda 8.48.5, Rig Veda 8.48.6
Significance
Emphasizes continuity of realization: Soma is a ‘heritage’ of consciousness, and its governance yields steady evolutionary time—days carried forward by inner sun-like order.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma (as King and life-carrier) with Surya as simile
- Epithets
- Soma Rājan (King Soma), Suta (pressed/extracted), Pitrya-rāya (ancestral treasure, by attribute)
- Related deities
- Surya (as time-carrier), Indra (mind of illumination supported by Soma), Agni (pressing/assimilation through inner sacrifice)
Cosmic role
Soma governs vitality and immortality; Surya provides the lawful progression of days—together symbolizing delight ordering time and life.
Inner power
Sovereign Ananda that regulates prāṇa, extends capacity, and carries consciousness through widening cycles.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma participation and praise; prayer for longevity/vital continuity
इ॒षि॒रेण॑ ते॒ मन॑सा सु॒तस्य॑ भक्षी॒महि॒ पित्र्य॑स्येव रा॒यः । सोम॑ राज॒न्प्र ण॒ आयूं॑षि तारी॒रहा॑नीव॒ सूर्यो॑ वास॒राणि॑ ॥
इ॒षि॒रेण॑ । ते॒ । मन॑सा । सु॒तस्य॑ । भ॒क्षी॒महि॑ । पित्र्य॑स्यऽइव । रा॒यः । सोम॑ । राज॑न् । प्र । नः॒ । आयूं॑षि । ता॒रीः॒ । अहा॑निऽइव । सूर्यः॑ । वा॒स॒राणि॑ ॥
iṣireṇa | te | manasā | sutasya | bhakṣīmahi | pitryasya-iva | rāyaḥ | soma | rājan | pra | naḥ | āyūṃṣi | tārīḥ | ahāni-iva | sūryaḥ | vāsarāṇi
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4 padas (approx. 11 syllables each)
Steady and processional, fitting the image of days carried forward.
Stabilizes aspiration into long-range endurance; encourages trust in gradual, lawful progress.
- इषिरेण मनसा (iṣireṇa manasā)
- Literal: with eager/impetuous mind. Symbolic: aspiring, sharpened mental will
- सुतस्य (sutasya)
- Literal: of the pressed (Soma). Symbolic: Ananda extracted by discipline and offering
- भक्षीमहि (bhakṣīmahi)
- Literal: we partake/eat. Symbolic: conscious assimilation, making it substance
- पित्र्यस्येव रायः (pitryasyeva rāyaḥ)
- Literal: like ancestral wealth. Symbolic: stored spiritual capital of the lineage of seers; perennial inner resource
- सोम राजन् (soma rājan)
- Literal: King Soma. Symbolic: sovereign delight that rules and orders the being
- आयूंषि (āyūṃṣi)
- Literal: life-spans, life-powers. Symbolic: prāṇic energies and capacities across time
- तारीः (tārīḥ)
- Literal: carry across/forward. Symbolic: lead beyond present limitation into wider cycles
- अहानि...सूर्यः (ahānī...sūryaḥ)
- Literal: days...Sun. Symbolic: steady law of illumination advancing consciousness through time
Soma rite: partaking as reception of ancestral seer-wealth; prayer for prolongation and right guidance of āyus (life-force) through the journey of days.
During Soma rites; also in prayers for life-force, health, and sustained practice.
Partaking and invoking Soma’s kingship to govern life and time.
Daily morning recitation to set a rhythm: let the day be carried by inner light and joy; useful for those seeking consistency in sadhana.
iṣirá connotes swift ardour—aspiration that moves. pitryá rāyí frames Soma as an inherited spiritual wealth from the Fathers (ṛṣis). √tṛ ‘cross’ (tārīḥ) is key in Vedic soteriology: crossing beyond limitation. āyus is life-force and lifespan; Soma extends and carries it forward. Sūrya as carrier of days is a cosmic analogy for inner progression.
lineage of the Fathers (pitṛs) as transmitters of knowledge, crossing (tṛ) as spiritual passage, āyus as life-force to be uplifted
Surya carrying days is the emblem of ṛta; Soma is asked to make our life move by that same right law.
True life (āyus) is not mere duration but truthful power of being carried forward in consciousness.
Time (days) becomes a vehicle of widening when illumined and nourished by Soma.
Integral-Vedic: time is not enemy but instrument when governed by delight and light.
morning (implied by Surya carrying days)
Sun = illumined law advancing consciousness; Moon/Soma = nectar of delight sustaining life-force; days = cycles of practice and growth.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Soma as king and ancestral treasure who ‘carries across’ the life-force, analogized to the Sun carrying days. Mythically Soma grants longevity; psychologically Soma advances the seeker’s āyus (vital-psychic continuity) through successive awakenings.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √man (mind) is PIE *men-. sū́rya relates to the IE solar lexicon (though forms vary; the solar deity vocabulary is pan-IE). √tṛ ‘cross’ is Indo-Iranian (Avestan tar- ‘cross’) and resonates with IE crossing metaphors (river/ford imagery in many traditions).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi approaches Soma as both inherited wisdom and present kingly power: by partaking with an eager mind, he activates a transgenerational force. The devatā is asked to guide the very continuity of life, not merely grant external longevity.
Receive Soma as ‘ancestral inner wealth’: sit with gratitude to the rishi-line of aspiration; then offer the day to Soma’s kingship for steady prāṇa and orderly progress.
Svadhisthana (Soma flow) harmonized with Ajna (Surya-like order).
Morning practice: 12 slow breaths; on inhale ‘soma rājan’, on exhale ‘pra ṇa āyūṃṣi tārīḥ’.
Sustained, rhythmic uplift—endurance with sweetness.
Build consistency: small daily Soma-remembering is better than occasional intensity; let Surya’s model—regularity—govern your practice.
Keep Saṃhitā accents; ‘sóma rā́jan’ typically bears prominent pitch; maintain even flow to match the ‘carrying days’ simile.
Slightly elongate ‘āyūṃṣi’ (nasalization) and keep ‘sūryo’ clear with long ū.
इषिरेण (iṣireṇa): retroflex ṣ; long eṇa, भक्षीमहि (bhakṣīmahi): aspirate kh; long ī, पित्र्यस्य (pitryasya): clear ‘trya’ cluster, तारीः (tārīḥ): long ā; light visarga
Warm, steady, devotional; like a sunrise pace.
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