Rig Veda 9.7.1: Mandala 9, Sukta 7, Mantra 1
Sukta 9.7
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
असृग्रमिन्दवः पथा धर्मन्नृतस्य सुश्रियः । विदाना अस्य योजनम् ॥
asṛ́gram índavaḥ pathā dhárman ṛtásya su-śríyaḥ | vidānā́ asya yójanam ||
सोम-बिंदू (इन्दवः) मार्गावर निघाले आहेत—ऋताच्या धर्मात प्रतिष्ठित, तेजस्वी शोभेसह; आणि त्याचे योजन (जोडणी/योकिंग) आपल्या आत कसे घडते हे नीट जाणणारे.
Word by Word
- असृग्रम्
- they flowed forth / were set in motionVerbलुङ् (aorist), परस्मैपदम्, 3rd person, pluralRole (मुख्य क्रिया) —Root सृज् (धातु) ← सृज्/सर्ज् ‘to send forth, flow’
- इन्दवः
- the Soma-dropsNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot इन्दु (प्रातिपदिक) ‘drop; Soma’
- पथा
- by the path / along the wayNounपुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन (instrumental)Role करणRoot पथ्/पथ (प्रातिपदिक) ‘path, way’
- धर्मन्
- in/according to the ordinance (fixed order)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (Vedic locative in -man)Role अधिकरणRoot धर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) ‘law, ordinance; fixed order’
- ऋतस्य
- of ṛta (cosmic order)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive relation)Root ऋत (प्रातिपदिक) ‘cosmic order, truth’
- सुश्रयः
- well-supported / firmly establishedAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (agreeing with इन्दवः)Role कर्तृ (विशेषण) / विधेय-विशेषणRoot सु- + श्रि (धातु) → सुश्रि/सुश्रय (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) ‘well-supported; well-resting’
- विदानाः
- knowing; having foundParticiple (Adjective)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (agreeing with इन्दवः)Role कर्तृ (विशेषण) / सहक्रियाRoot विद् (धातु) ‘to know, find’ → विदान (PPP/participial stem, Vedic) ‘knowing, having found’
- अस्य
- of him/it (of this)Pronounपुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) ‘this’
- योजनम्
- the yoking / the course (appointed stage)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot योजन (प्रातिपदिक) ‘yoking; joining; course/stage’ (from युज् ‘to yoke’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: असृग्रम् | इन्दवः | पथा | धर्मन् | ऋतस्य | सुश्रयः | विदानाः | अस्य | योजनम् || 1) ‘असृग्रम्’ is the aorist 3pl of √सृज् (Vedic aorist formation), no external sandhi. 2) ‘धर्मन्नृतस्य’ in saṃhitā shows -न् + ऋ- junction
- resolved as ‘धर्मन् | ऋतस्य’. 3) ‘सुश्रियः’ (saṃhitā spelling) corresponds to ‘सुश्रयः’ (nom. pl. m.)
- the -य- is the glide in the stem
- accent marks omitted in padapāṭha-style segmentation here
The meaning
Outer meaning
The Soma drops have gone forth on their path, established in the law of Ṛta, shining beautifully, knowing his yoking/joining.
Inner meaning
The indavaḥ (Soma currents) begin their movement along the inner path (pathā): the disciplined channel of right order (ṛtasya dharman). Their beauty is the radiance of purified consciousness. ‘Knowing his yojanam’ indicates an intelligent force: Soma understands how to join and yoke our powers—mind, life, and body—into a single upward movement for the divine work.
Universal truth
Spiritual progress is not random emotion; it is a lawful movement. When delight becomes conscious and ordered, it can integrate the personality and harness its energies toward truth.
Themes
Soma-ritual, Purification, Rita, Inner path, Illumination
The seer
- Rishi
- Pavamāna Soma seer(s) per Anukramaṇī tradition for RV 9.7.
- Other hymns
- RV 9.7.2–9.7.9 (same hymn sequence)
Significance
The seer emphasizes Ṛta as the operative law of inner yoga: Soma is not only ecstasy but an intelligent organizer that knows the ‘yoking’ of our nature.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Indu (drop), Pavamāna (purifying), Suśri (radiant/beautiful)
- Related deities
- Indra, Agni, Savitar, Sūrya
Cosmic role
Carrier of immortality and inspirer of the gods; establishes the movement of the sacrifice according to Ṛta.
Inner power
Conscious delight that both illumines and integrates—turning scattered movements into a yoked force.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma filtration/pressing chants (Pavamāna section)
असृ॑ग्र॒मिन्द॑वः प॒था धर्म॑न्नृ॒तस्य॑ सु॒श्रिय॑: । वि॒दा॒ना अ॑स्य॒ योज॑नम् ॥
असृ॑ग्रम् । इन्द॑वः । प॒था । धर्म॑न् । ऋ॒तस्य॑ । सु॒ऽश्रिय॑ह् । वि॒दा॒नाः । अ॒स्य॒ । योज॑नम् ॥
asṛgram | indavaḥ | pathā | dharman | ṛtasya | su-śriyah | vidānāḥ | asya | yojanam
48
4 × 12 (Jagatī norm)
Processional, path-like flow—measured and ordered.
Induces a sense of lawful movement; stabilizes the mind into rhythm (ṛta) and supports integration (yojanam).
- indavaḥ
- Literal: Soma drops. Symbolic: multiple currents of delight-consciousness moving through the being
- pathā
- Literal: by the path. Symbolic: the inner channel of practice and ascent; the way of ordered growth
- dharman ṛtasya
- Literal: the law/foundation of Ṛta. Symbolic: right rhythm of truth governing transformation
- suśriyaḥ
- Literal: of beautiful splendor. Symbolic: radiant clarity that accompanies purified Ananda
- yojanam
- Literal: yoking, joining. Symbolic: integration of faculties; harnessing energies for a unified divine movement
Soma Pavitra context: verses used in Soma purification/pressing sequences (pavamāna recitations in Soma-yajña, e.g., Agniṣṭoma)
During Soma flowing/straining as it ‘sets forth’ toward offering.
Recitation while Soma is guided along troughs and filters; mental alignment to Ṛta.
Chant at the start of meditation to establish right rhythm and unify intention; useful before disciplined practice sessions (japa, prāṇāyāma, study).
Key roots: √sṛ ‘flow’ (Soma as the flowing luminous substance); √dhṛ behind dhárman ‘to hold, support’ → the upheld law of being; ṛtá from √ar/ṛ ‘to fit, set in order’ → truth as right arrangement; śrī ‘to shine, prosper’ → radiance/beauty; √vid ‘to know/find’ → inner discovery; √yuj ‘to yoke’ → concentration, integration of powers. Psychological sense: Soma’s ‘flow’ is the movement of clarified consciousness along the right inner channel (pathā) established in Ṛta.
Ṛta (cosmic truth-order), Dharma as that which upholds the right movement, Yoga/yojana as inner yoking (integration)
Explicit: the Soma movement is founded in Ṛta’s law—right order is the path of effective transformation.
Radiance (suśrī) is a sign of truth aligning the energies.
Cosmic order reproduced in the individual: the ‘path’ in us mirrors Ṛta’s pathway in the worlds.
Vedic integral psychology: Ṛta as dynamic law of becoming, not merely moral order.
Droplets are discrete movements of delight; the path is the disciplined nāḍī-like channel; splendor is the mind’s clarified radiance when aligned to Ṛta.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘Soma’s journey’ mythologem: the luminous essence (Soma/Indu) flows on the ordained path of Ṛta toward its destined ‘yoking’—ritually the filter and offering, psychologically the channeling of consciousness into ordered truth.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √sṛ ‘flow’ aligns with PIE *sreu- ‘to flow’ (cf. Eng. stream via Germanic developments); √yuj ‘yoke’ reflects PIE *yeug- (cf. Latin iugum, English yoke). ṛtá (order) corresponds conceptually to Indo-Iranian *ṛta/aša (Avestan aša), indicating a shared archaic notion of cosmic rightness.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer does not merely praise an outer liquid; he aligns his inner movement with Soma’s Ṛta-path. The reciprocity is implicit: by recognizing Soma’s ‘yojanam’ (integrating action), the human vessel becomes fit for Soma’s radiance (su-śrī), and Soma in turn establishes ordered consciousness.
Feel the inner currents ‘set forth’ along a clear path; offer scattered thoughts into a single rhythmic aspiration.
Sama-vṛtti 4–4–4–4 (box breathing) while mentally repeating ṛtasya dharman to establish rhythm.
Ordered quietude with luminous readiness.
Before chanting, set a sankalpa: ‘Let my energies be yoked to Ṛta.’ After chanting, observe which parts feel unyoked and gently bring them into one line of will.
Rigvedic tri-svara chanting; exact udātta points require svara-pāṭha for RV 9.7.1.
Give clear lift to ṛtasya; keep compound suśriyaḥ smooth; avoid swallowing final visarga in indavaḥ.
asṛgram: vocalic ṛ; cluster -gr- crisp, indavaḥ: dental d; visarga ḥ audible, ṛtasya: vocalic ṛ; dental t, suśriyaḥ: śr cluster; final ḥ light, yojanam: j soft, o long
Even, rhythmic, ‘processional’—like steps on a path.
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