Rig Veda 9.44.5: Mandala 9, Sukta 44, Mantra 5
Sukta 9.44
- Rishi
- Ascription varies
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- To be verified for RV 9.44.5
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
स नो भगाय वायवे विप्रवीरः सदावृधः । सोमो देवेष्वा यमत् ॥
sá no bhágāya vāyáve víprāvīraḥ sadā́vṛdhaḥ | sómo devéṣv ā́ yamat ||
आमच्यासाठी सदा-वर्धमान, विप्र-वीर्याने संपन्न सोम भगा व वायूकडे येवो; तो देव-शक्तींमध्ये स्वतःला युक्त करो, जेणेकरून सौभाग्य आणि देवांचा प्राण आमच्या अंतरी प्रवाहित होवो.
Word by Word
- सः
- he (that Soma)Pronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot तद् (स-आदेशः) सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक
- नः
- for us / ourPronounषष्ठी (एन्क्लिटिक-रूपम्), बहुवचनम्Role सम्प्रदानRoot अस्मद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक
- भगाय
- for (bestowing) fortune / BhagaNounपुंलिङ्गः, चतुर्थी, एकवचनम्Role सम्प्रदानRoot भग प्रातिपदिक
- वायवे
- to VāyuNoun (deity name)पुंलिङ्गः, चतुर्थी, एकवचनम्Role सम्प्रदानRoot वायु प्रातिपदिक
- विप्रवीरः
- having inspired/wise heroes (or: having poets as heroes)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृ (विशेषणम्)Root विप्र-वीर (समासः) प्रातिपदिक
- सदावृधः
- ever-increasing / ever-growingAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृ (विशेषणम्)Root सदा-अवृध् (समासः) प्रातिपदिक
- सोमः
- SomaNounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot सोम प्रातिपदिक
- देवेषु
- among the godsNounपुंलिङ्गः, सप्तमी, बहुवचनम्Role अधिकरणRoot देव प्रातिपदिक
- आ
- towards / untoIndeclinableउपसर्गः (गत्यर्थ-प्रवर्तनम्)Root आ (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- यमत्
- may he guide/lead (bring)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे/विधिलिङ्गार्थे वैदिक-प्रयोगः), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Role क्रियाRoot यम् धातुः (यमुँ उपरमे/नियमे; वेदे ‘to guide/lead/hold’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: सः नः भगाय वायवे विप्रवीरः सदावृधः । सोमः देवेषु आ यमत् ॥ 1) ‘स नो’ = ‘सः’ + ‘नः’ (विसर्ग-लोपः/सन्धिः)
- 2) ‘वायवे’ दैवतनाम-चतुर्थी एकवचनम्
- 3) ‘देवेष्वा’ = ‘देवेषु’ + ‘आ’ (उकारान्त-सन्धिः: -षु + आ → -ष्वा)
- 4) ‘यमत्’ वैदिके लोट्-रूपं (आशीर्वाद/विधि), उपसर्ग ‘आ’ सह
The meaning
Outer meaning
May Soma, the ever-increasing, come to us for Bhaga (fortune/distribution) and Vāyu (wind/life-breath); may he yoke himself among the gods.
Inner meaning
Soma as the purified current of Ananda (divine delight) is invoked to move toward Bhaga and Vāyu within us: Bhaga as the power that apportions right delight and right enjoyment, Vāyu as prāṇa—life-force that carries inspiration. The seer asks that Soma ‘yoke’ into the divine powers (deveṣu ā yamat): the bliss-current must be harnessed to the higher faculties so that delight becomes a disciplined force in the inner sacrifice, not a dispersing pleasure.
Universal truth
True prosperity is not mere acquisition but the right distribution of inner joy and energy. When delight is yoked to the divine powers, life-breath and fortune become instruments of growth rather than bondage.
Themes
Soma and Vāyu, Fortune as right portion, Vital force and inspiration
The seer
- Rishi
- Ascription varies in Anukramaṇī for RV 9.44; commonly attributed within Soma Pavamāna cycles to seers of the Pavitra/Soma tradition (often Kāṇva/Āṅgirasa groupings depending on recension).
- Other hymns
- RV 9.44 (Soma Pavamāna series), Adjacent Soma hymns in RV 9.43–9.46 (shared diction: pavasva, madāya, vājam)
Significance
The rishi-voice here is characteristic of the Soma seers: establishing Ananda as a disciplined power that must be ‘yoked’ into the divine instruments—linking delight with prāṇa (Vāyu) and right enjoyment (Bhaga) to support integral inner growth.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- sadāvṛdhaḥ (ever-growing), vipravīraḥ (rich in inspired powers)
- Related deities
- Bhaga, Vāyu, Indra (implicit Soma-drinker in the Soma maṇḍala), Maruts (divine energies often accompanying Soma’s movement)
Cosmic role
Purifier and uplifter of the worlds; the delight-principle that, when clarified, strengthens the gods and sustains ṛta.
Inner power
Ananda that purifies the vital and mental movements, then integrates (yokes) them into the divine functioning.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing and purification (pavamāna) during Soma-yajña; recited as Soma flows through the filter.
स नो॒ भगा॑य वा॒यवे॒ विप्र॑वीरः स॒दावृ॑धः । सोमो॑ दे॒वेष्वा य॑मत् ॥
सः । नः॒ । भगा॑य । वा॒यवे॑ । विप्र॑ऽवीरः । स॒दाऽवृ॑धः । सोमः॑ । दे॒वेषु । आ । य॒म॒त् ॥
saḥ | naḥ | bhagāya | vāyave | vipra-vīraḥ | sadāvṛdhaḥ | somaḥ | deveṣu | ā | yamat
To be verified for RV 9.44.5 (likely a Triṣṭubh/Jagatī family meter typical of Soma Pavamāna verses).
44
4 pādas
Forward-driving, procession-like cadence suited to ‘coming/yoking’ imagery (ā…yamat).
Builds a sense of gathering and harnessing: the listener feels delight collected, clarified, and directed into higher powers.
- सोमः (somaḥ)
- Literal: Soma-juice, pressed and purified. Symbolic: Divine Bliss/Ananda as a purifying current of consciousness
- भगा॑य (bhagāya)
- Literal: to Bhaga (the distributor, fortune). Symbolic: Power of right enjoyment, harmonious allotment of inner riches
- वा॒यवे॑ (vāyave)
- Literal: to Vāyu (wind). Symbolic: Life-breath/prāṇa; carrier of inspiration and movement in sadhana
- विप्रवीरः (vipravīraḥ)
- Literal: having inspired heroes/men of insight. Symbolic: Full of illumined energies and effective inner powers
- सदावृधः (sadāvṛdhaḥ)
- Literal: ever-growing. Symbolic: Progressive increase of delight and wideness in consciousness
- दे॒वेषु आ यमत् (deveṣu ā yamat)
- Literal: may he yoke/drive into the gods. Symbolic: Let bliss be harnessed to higher faculties (illumined mind, will, truth)
Soma offering where Vāyu is a principal Soma-drinker (Vāyavya graha); Bhaga invoked for auspicious portion—ritually and psychologically.
During the Pavitra (filtering) phase; accompanying the flow and collection of Soma.
Chant to invite Soma’s approach and his entry into the deva-forces; mentally ‘yoke’ the offering to the higher powers.
Use as a mantra of aligning joy with breath and right enjoyment: before meditation, invoke calm prāṇa (Vāyu) and sattvic prosperity (Bhaga) by offering one’s delight to the inner gods (higher faculties).
bhágá (from √bhaj ‘to share, allot, distribute’) is the godhead of fortunate portion—innerly, the right distribution of delight and capacity. vāyú (from √vā ‘blow’) is breath/vital dynamism—innerly, the regulated life-force that can carry Soma’s delight upward. √yam ‘yoke/hold’ → ā yamat: Soma is asked to yoke himself into the divine collective functioning, becoming a harnessed power within the ordered rite (Ṛta).
right distribution (Bhaga as inner allotment of energies), prāṇa/vital regulation (Vāyu), integration into divine order (ā-yam into deveṣu)
Soma ‘yoked among the gods’ signifies delight entering ṛta—regulated divine functioning rather than chaotic desire.
Ever-growing Soma suggests truth-delight increasing with purification.
Delight as a creative and sustaining force that distributes powers (Bhaga) and animates movement (Vāyu).
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral (Sri Aurobindo line): Ananda as a fundamental plane supporting mind and life.
The flowing Soma is the current of clarified joy; wind is prāṇic movement; ‘yoking’ is conscious regulation—delight made a vehicle for divine action.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The Soma-to-Vāyu/Bhaga linkage: Soma is directed to the deities who govern vital motion and fortunate allotment. Innerly, the delight-force is yoked to breath and right distribution so the being receives an auspicious, ordered increase.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √vā ‘blow’ (Vāyu) corresponds to PIE *h₂weh₁- ‘blow’ (cf. Latin ventus ‘wind’ from related wind roots; exact pathways differ). √bhaj (Bhaga) connects to Indo-Iranian notions of portion/share (Avestan baga- ‘god, lord’ also ‘distributor’), reflecting shared Indo-Iranian religious vocabulary.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The ṛṣi asks Soma to align with specific divine functions—fortune (Bhaga) and life-force (Vāyu). The reciprocity is functional: the human seeks ordered enjoyment and energized ascent; Soma becomes the mediator that yokes these powers into the sacrifice of the self.
Yoke delight to breath: feel a cool, luminous joy rising with inhalation and settling into heart and head as a disciplined force.
Anāhata (heart) with upward movement toward Ājñā (clarity) via regulated prāṇa.
Nādī-śodhana or slow 1:1 breathing while mentally repeating ‘somaḥ…deveṣu ā yamat’.
Calm wideness with a subtle gladness; prāṇa becomes steady and luminous.
Offer pleasant sensations upward (not outward); let joy become strength for right action and right discernment rather than indulgence.
Requires śākhā-specific svara notation; generally maintain Vedic accents: udatta peaks on marked syllables, svarita falls on following, anudatta low.
Keep ‘sá no’ crisp; lengthen ‘vā́yave’; avoid flattening compound ‘vipra-vīraḥ’.
भ (bha) is voiced aspirate; keep it distinct from ब (ba)., वा॒यवे (vāyave): long ā, clear ‘ya’., दे॒वेष्वा (deveṣv ā): articulate ‘ṣv’ cluster lightly, then separate long ‘ā’., यमत् (yamat): dental ‘t’ at end, not retroflex.
Clear, flowing, slightly bright tone as if ‘pouring’ the sound through a filter.
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