Rig Veda 9.36.3: Mandala 9, Sukta 36, Mantra 3
Sukta 9.36
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
स नो ज्योतींषि पूर्व्य पवमान वि रोचय । क्रत्वे दक्षाय नो हिनु ॥
sá no jyótīṃṣi pū́rvyā pávamāna ví rocaya | krátve dákṣāya no hinu ||
हे पवमान, आमच्यासाठी प्राचीन ज्योती उजळवून प्रकट कर; क्रतु (सत्कर्माचा संकल्प) आणि दक्ष (प्रभावी विवेकशक्ती) यांकडे आम्हाला प्रेरित कर.
Word by Word
- सः
- he (that one = Soma)Pronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- नः
- of us / for usPronounषष्ठी (एन्क्लिटिक), बहुवचनम्Role सम्प्रदान (हित-सम्बन्धः) / सम्बन्धRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ज्योतींषि
- lights, splendorsNounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम्Role कर्मRoot ज्योतिस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- पूर्व्य
- ancient, primevalAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम् (ज्योतींषि इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्) अथवा अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोगे ‘पूर्व्य’ = ‘पूर्ववत्/प्राचीनानि’Role कर्म (विशेषण-रूपेण)Root पूर्व्य (प्रातिपदिक; ‘पूर्व’ से)
- पवमान
- O purifying one (Soma)Participle (Adjective used vocatively)पुंलिङ्गः, सम्बोधन, एकवचनम्Role सम्बोधनRoot √पू (पवते) → पवमान (वर्तमानकृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
- वि
- apart, forth, widelyIndeclinableउपसर्गः (रोचय इत्यस्य)Root वि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- रोचय
- make shine, illumineVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role क्रियाRoot √रुच् (रोचते) → caus. √रुच् (रोचयति)
- क्रत्वे
- for (our) resolve/ritual powerNounपुंलिङ्गः, चतुर्थी, एकवचनम्Role सम्प्रदान (उद्देश्य/हित) / प्रयोजनRoot क्रतु (प्रातिपदिक)
- दक्षाय
- for skill/ability, for strengthNounपुंलिङ्गः, चतुर्थी, एकवचनम्Role सम्प्रदान (उद्देश्य/हित) / प्रयोजनRoot दक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
- नः
- of us / for usPronounषष्ठी (एन्क्लिटिक), बहुवचनम्Role सम्प्रदान (हित-सम्बन्धः) / सम्बन्धRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- हिनु
- impel, set in motion, drive (towards)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role क्रियाRoot √हि (हिनोति)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: सः नः ज्योतींषि पूर्व्य पवमान वि रोचय । क्रत्वे दक्षाय नः हिनु ॥ 1) ‘स’ + ‘नः’ → ‘स नो’ (विसर्ग-लोपः/उदात्त-परिस्थितिः; संहितायां ‘स नो’)
- 2) ‘ज्योतींषि’ वैदिक-बहुवचनरूपम् (ज्योतिस् → ज्योतींषि; -इंसि-प्रत्ययवत् प्राचीन-रूप)
- 3) ‘वि’ उपसर्गः ‘रोचय’ इत्यनेन संयुक्तः (वि-रोचय = ‘विशेषेण प्रकाशय’)
- 4) ‘नः हिनु’ संहितायां ‘नो हिनु’ (स्वर-सन्धि/एन्क्लिटिक ‘नः’)
The meaning
Outer meaning
O Soma Pavamāna (the purifying Soma), make the ancient lights shine forth for us; impel us toward inspired will (kratu) and toward skill/power of effective action (dakṣa).
Inner meaning
The purified Ananda-consciousness (Soma) is invoked to re-illumine the “primeval lights” already latent in the soul—forgotten intuitions and truth-rays from the deeper memory of the being. As Soma clarifies and sweetens the inner nature, it awakens kratu (the luminous, rightly-directed will) and dakṣa (discerning skill that can execute the truth in life).
Universal truth
When delight is purified of mixture and craving, it becomes a power that restores inner illumination and converts intention into right, effective action.
Themes
Illumination, Inner will (kratu), Capacity/skill (dakṣa), Soma as awakener of lights
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 9.36 (Soma Pavamāna), Rig Veda 9.37 (Soma Pavamāna)
Family tradition
Book 9 is a liturgical collection of Soma-pavamāna verses drawn from multiple seer-families; individual rishi attribution for this verse is not preserved in the provided source.
Significance
The anonymous seer-voice functions as a collective yogic aspiration: the soul calls the purifying Ananda to restore primordial illumination and to organize will and discernment for the inner sacrifice.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Pavamāna (Purifying), Suta (Pressed), Vṛṣā (Strong/Bull)
- Related deities
- Agni, Indra, Uṣas, Sūrya
Cosmic role
The divine draught that is clarified through the filter; it supports the gods and sustains ṛta by turning raw force into luminous delight.
Inner power
Ananda that purifies emotion and vitality, releases hidden light, and turns aspiration into effective, rightly-ordered action.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing and purification (pavamāna-stotra)
स नो॒ ज्योतीं॑षि पूर्व्य॒ पव॑मान॒ वि रो॑चय । क्रत्वे॒ दक्षा॑य नो हिनु ॥
सः । नः॒ । ज्योतीं॑षि । पू॒र्व्य॒ । पव॑मान । वि । रो॒च॒य॒ । क्रत्वे॑ । दक्षा॑य । नः॒ । हि॒नु॒ ॥
saḥ | naḥ | jyotīṃṣi | pūrvya | pavamāna | vi | rocaya | kratve | dakṣāya | naḥ | hinu
Not securely identifiable from the provided verse segmentation
Forward-driving, imperative cadence (rocaya, hinu) suited to invocation and inner urging.
Energizes aspiration; encourages a felt ‘opening’ in the brow/heart as illumination and will are summoned.
- पवमान (pavamāna)
- Literal: purifying, flowing clear. Symbolic: purified delight-consciousness that clarifies mind and life
- ज्योतींषि (jyotīṃṣi)
- Literal: lights. Symbolic: rays of knowledge, intuitions, illuminations
- पूर्व्य (pūrvya)
- Literal: ancient, primeval. Symbolic: original truths of the soul; perennial inner light
- वि रोचय (vi rocaya)
- Literal: make shine forth, illumine. Symbolic: bring hidden knowledge into active consciousness
- क्रतु (kratu)
- Literal: will, resolve, inspired intelligence. Symbolic: luminous will aligned with ṛta (right order)
- दक्ष (dakṣa)
- Literal: skill, ability, competence. Symbolic: discerning power that makes truth effective in works
- हिनु (hinu)
- Literal: impel, drive forward. Symbolic: inner propulsion of sādhanā toward right action
Pavamāna chant requesting illumination and effective power as Soma flows; used to support the sacrificer’s inner and outer right performance.
During Soma yajña sequences while Soma is filtered and offered; also adaptable for daily recitation as a purification prayer.
Chanting while Soma flows through the pavitra (filter) into the collecting vessel; invocation for illumination and right power.
Use before meditation or work: a brief invocation for clarity (jyotis), right intention (kratu), and effective execution (dakṣa).
Key terms: (1) jyotis: from √dyut/√jyut ‘shine’—lights as inner illuminations. (2) vi-rocaya: causative of √ruc ‘shine’ with vi- ‘distinctly’—Soma enables discriminating illumination. (3) kratu: archaic RV term for effective will/intelligence (not mere ‘sacrifice’); connects to decisive mental force that plans and executes in harmony with R̥ta. (4) dakṣa: from √dakṣ ‘be able, be strong, be skillful’—capacity for right formation; in inner sense, competence of consciousness to embody truth. (5) hinu: from √hi ‘impel’—the deity as motivator of inner progress.
knowledge as light (jyotis), kratu (inspired will) and dakṣa (effective capacity), R̥ta expressed as right illumination and right action
Kratu and dakṣa are requested as instruments of ṛta—right will and right skill that manifest truth in action.
‘Ancient lights’ indicate perennial Satya known by the seer-consciousness.
Re-manifestation of primordial light within the human field; unveiling rather than new creation.
Proto-Vedāntic / integral yogic reading (Aurobindo-Kashyap): Soma as Ananda-force enabling knowledge and works.
Light = awakened knowledge; Soma-flow = purified delight moving through the inner channels, urging will and discernment.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘bringing forth the lights’ mythologem: Soma reveals the ‘ancient lights’ (pūrvya jyotīṃṣi), i.e., the primordial truth-visions obscured in the human. The divine action is disclosure and propulsion toward right will and capacity.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √ruc ‘shine’ relates to PIE *leuk- ‘light/brightness’ in broader IE ‘light’ semantics (though not a direct one-to-one cognate, it participates in the inherited poetic field of ‘shining’ as ‘knowing’). dakṣa/√dakṣ reflects an IE pattern of ‘ability/fitness’ terms used for efficacy in ritual and action.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer asks not for external winnings but for inner instruments: illumination (jyotis), will (kratu), and capacity (dakṣa). Soma’s gift is to ‘make shine’ and to ‘impel’—a direct yogic pedagogy where divine clarity becomes human effective action.
Invite purified delight to reveal dormant inner light and align will with right action.
Ājñā (illumination) and Anāhata (purified affect/delight)
Gentle nāḍī-śodhana for 5–9 rounds, then chant on a smooth exhale.
From scattered intention to luminous, steady aspiration (sattvic clarity with ananda-tone).
Before starting a task or meditation, chant 3 or 9 times; pause after ‘vi rocaya’ to feel the mind brighten, then after ‘kratve dakṣāya’ to set intention and precise execution.
Not fully recoverable without a svara-marked Saṃhitā/Padapāṭha recension; treat as standard Vedic accenting with udatta on marked syllables and svarita following.
Maintain clear word boundaries per padapāṭha; lightly lift the udatta syllable, let svarita glide down; avoid musical vibrato.
pavamāna: keep ‘va’ soft, ‘mā’ long (ā), jyotīṃṣi: pronounce ‘jy’ as a single cluster; nasalize ‘īṃ’, rocaya: ‘ca’ as ‘cha’?—no, dental ‘c’ (palatal) with clean release, kratve: keep short ‘a’ in kratu; ‘tv’ conjunct crisp, dakṣāya: retroflex ‘ṣ’ स्पष्ट; long ā in ‘ṣā’
Clear, bright, slightly upward-leading tone; finish with a grounded cadence on ‘hinu’.
9
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