Rig Veda 9.97.8: Mandala 9, Sukta 97, Mantra 8
Sukta 9.97
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
प्र हंसासस्तृपलं मन्युमच्छामादस्तं वृषगणा अयासुः । आङ्गूष्यं पवमानं सखायो दुर्मर्षं साकं प्र वदन्ति वाणम् ॥
prá haṃsā́saḥ tṛpálaṃ manyúm ácchāmā́d ástaṃ vṛ́ṣa-gaṇā ayāsuḥ | āṅgūṣyáṃ pávamānaṃ sákhāyo durmárṣaṃ sākáṃ prá vadanti vā́ṇam ||
हंस-शक्ती उग्र त्रिपल (त्रिविध बल) त्याच्या धामाकडे हाकून नेतात; वृष-गण लक्ष्यापाशी येऊन पोहोचले आहेत. सखे एकत्र पवमानाची वाणी उच्चारतात—आङ्गूष्य (प्रेरित गीत)ाने परिपूर्ण, दुर्मर्ष (अप्रतिरोध्य)।
Word by Word
- प्र
- forth, forwardIndeclinableupasarga (preverb)Root प्र (upasarga)
- हंसासः
- the swans (metaph. singers/priests)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole KartāRoot हंस (प्रातिपदिक)
- तृपलम्
- the threefold (thing); triple (offering/portion)Adjective/Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole KarmaRoot तृपल (प्रातिपदिक)
- मन्युम्
- wrath, ardor, spirited forceNounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole KarmaRoot मन्यु (प्रातिपदिक)
- अच्छा
- towardsIndeclinabledirectional adverbRoot अच्छा (अव्यय)
- आ
- to, untoIndeclinableupasarga (preverb)Root आ (upasarga)
- मादः
- exhilaration, intoxication (of Soma)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole KartāRoot माद (प्रातिपदिक)
- तम्
- him/thatPronounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole KarmaRoot तद् (सर्वनाम)
- वृषगणाः
- the bull-like bands/companiesNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole KartāRoot वृषगण (प्रातिपदिक)
- अयासुः
- they went, they cameVerbलुङ् (aorist); परस्मैपद; 3 पुरुष; बहुवचनRoot या (धातु) + अ (augment) + इ (aorist)
- आङ्गूष्यम्
- hymned/chant-worthy; accompanied by songAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole KarmaRoot आङ्गूष्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- पवमानम्
- the purifying (Soma)Adjective (participle)पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole KarmaRoot पवमान (प्रातिपदिक; pres. ptcp. of √पू/√पु ‘to purify’)
- सखायः
- friends, companionsNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole KartāRoot सखि (प्रातिपदिक)
- दुर्मर्षम्
- hard to withstand, irresistibleAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole KarmaRoot दुर्मर्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
- साकम्
- togetherIndeclinableadverbRoot साकम् (अव्यय)
- प्र
- forthIndeclinableupasarga (preverb)Root प्र (upasarga)
- वदन्ति
- they speak, utterVerbलट् (present); परस्मैपद; 3 पुरुष; बहुवचनRoot वद् (धातु)
- वाणम्
- voice, utterance, songNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole KarmaRoot वाण (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (padapāṭha-style): प्र | हंसासः | तृपलम् | मन्युम् | अच्छ | आ | मादः | तम् | वृषगणाः | अयासुः || आङ्गूष्यम् | पवमानम् | सखायः | दुर्मर्षम् | साकम् | प्र | वदन्ति | वाणम् || Key sandhi: अच्छामादः = अच्छ + आ + मादः (final -aḥ of अच्छā before ā; written as अच्छाम्-)
- मादस्तम् = मादः + तम् (visarga before t → s)
- other items largely unsandhied. Accent marks are as in saṃhitā
- pada-forms here are unaccented lexical forms
The meaning
Outer meaning
The swan-like powers drive the triple ardor toward its resting-place; the bull-companies reach the goal. The comrades proclaim together the irresistible voice of Soma as he purifies, full of inspired chant.
Inner meaning
The haṃsa-powers (discerning movements of the higher consciousness) urge forward a threefold manyu—ardent force of aspiration/will—toward its true home in the soul’s seat. The vṛṣa-gaṇāḥ (strong luminous energies) arrive at the inner ‘goal’ (the settled poise of clarity). The allied faculties (sakhāyaḥ: mind-life-body harmonized) give voice to Pavamāna: the purifying Ananda that is simultaneously mantra (vāṇī) and power—an inspired vibration that the lower resistance cannot endure.
Universal truth
When aspiration becomes integral (threefold) and is guided by discriminating higher intelligence, the purified delight-consciousness naturally manifests as an irresistible inner word, reorganizing the being and overcoming resistance.
Themes
collective chant, irresistible purification-force, symbolic animal imagery
The seer
- Rishi
- Anonymous/collective Soma-Pavamāna seers (Anukramaṇī tradition for Mandala 9)
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 9.97 (Pavamāna hymn cluster), Rig Veda 9.96–9.99 (adjacent Soma-purification sequences)
Significance
In Mandala 9 the ‘seer’ is often the inspired current itself—poets speaking from the movement of purification. The anonymity underscores an experiential lineage: the mantra arises when the being is being strained and clarified by Soma.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna (Indu)
- Epithets
- Pavamāna (self-purifying), Indu (bright drop), Āṅgūṣya (inspired singer), Durmarṣa (irresistible)
- Related deities
- Indra, Agni, Sūrya, Uṣas
Cosmic role
The cosmic delight and luminous essence that is pressed, filtered, and made fit to sustain the gods—i.e., to uphold higher powers in the universe.
Inner power
Ananda that purifies: it clarifies thought, sweetens life-force, and turns speech into inspired mantra (vāṇī).
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing and purification (Pavamāna-stotra context)
प्र हं॒सास॑स्तृ॒पलं॑ म॒न्युमच्छा॒मादस्तं॒ वृष॑गणा अयासुः । आ॒ङ्गू॒ष्यं१॒॑ पव॑मानं॒ सखा॑यो दु॒र्मर्षं॑ सा॒कं प्र व॑दन्ति वा॒णम् ॥
प्र । हं॒सासः॑ । तृ॒पल॑म् । म॒न्युम् । अच्छ॑ । अ॒मात् । अस्त॑म् । वृष॑ऽगणाः । अ॒या॒सुः॒ । आ॒ङ्गू॒ष्य॑म् । पव॑मानम् । सखा॑यः । दुः॒ऽमर्ष॑म् । सा॒कम् । प्र । व॒द॒न्ति॒ । वा॒णम् ॥
pra | haṃsāsaḥ | tṛpalam | manyum | accha | amāt | astam | vṛṣa-gaṇāḥ | ayāsuḥ | āṅgūṣyam | pavamānam | sakhāyaḥ | duḥ-marṣam | sākam | pra | vadanti | vāṇam
48
4 pādas of ~12 syllables each (Jagatī cadence)
Forward-driving, expansive; suited to ‘carrying’ a surge of force toward a goal.
Creates a sense of ascent and convergence—multiple energies gathering into one utterance; supports unification of scattered faculties.
- हंसासः (haṃsāsaḥ)
- Literal: swans. Symbolic: powers of discernment; higher mind/intuitive movements that separate truth from mixture
- तृपलम् (tṛpalam)
- Literal: threefold. Symbolic: threefold force (mind–life–body) or triple dynamism (knowledge–will–delight) made one in aspiration
- मन्युम् (manyum)
- Literal: ardor, wrath, spirited force. Symbolic: concentrated tapas/aspiration; the soul’s vehement will toward the Real
- अस्तम् (astam)
- Literal: home, resting-place. Symbolic: the inner seat of truth; settled station in the soul-consciousness
- वृषगणाः (vṛṣa-gaṇāḥ)
- Literal: companies of bulls. Symbolic: strong luminous forces/energies that carry the work to accomplishment
- पवमानम् (pavamānam)
- Literal: purifying (Soma). Symbolic: purified Ananda-consciousness flowing through the being
- आङ्गूष्यम् (āṅgūṣyam)
- Literal: full of song/chant. Symbolic: mantric inspiration; illumined utterance arising from delight
- वाणम् (vāṇam)
- Literal: voice, sound. Symbolic: the effective inner Word (vāk) that shapes consciousness
- दुर्मर्षम् (durmarṣam)
- Literal: hard to withstand. Symbolic: irresistible spiritual force against inertia and obscurity
Chanted in collective performance (sakhāyaḥ) during the pavamāna flow; emphasizes group cohesion and the irresistible voice-force accompanying purification.
During Soma-yajña sequences when Soma is filtered through fleece and offered
Chanting to accompany pressing/straining and the ‘running’ of Soma into vessels
Use as a mantra of inner unification: before meditation, chant to gather mind–life–body into one aspiration and invoke a purifying delight-current.
haṃsa ‘swan’ is a symbolic bird in Vedic diction, often linked with luminous movement and discrimination (later hamsa as soul-symbol). manyu from √man ‘think’ with semantic shift to ‘fervor/mental force’; in RV it can be wrath or ardor—here treated as energetic will. tṛ- indicates threefoldness; āṅgūṣa relates to inspired chant (onomatopoetic/ritual lexeme). dur-marṣa: dur- ‘hard’ + √mṛṣ ‘to endure/bear’.
threefold force (possible triad: mind-life-body or three presses/savanas), manyu as transformed ardor, collective harmony (sakhāyaḥ sākam)
Purification aligns the movements (gaṇāḥ) to ṛta so they ‘arrive’ at the true station.
The ‘voice’ that is hard to withstand is effective because it issues from satya—speech that is true in vibration.
From purification arises the creative Word that reorganizes the world within.
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral (Aurobindonian) reading: Ananda as a fundamental plane supporting illumination and right action.
Swan = discriminating higher consciousness; bull-companies = strong luminous energies; voice = mantra-vibration shaping inner reality; purification = clarification of mixed nature into delight and truth.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- A procession of allied powers (swans, bull-companies, comrades) driving the triple ardor to its home while voicing the purifying Soma. Mythic action: the forces of discernment and strength escort the clarified delight to its resting seat, accompanied by an irresistible mantric vibration.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- dur- as a negative/difficult prefix parallels PIE *dus- (Greek dys-). √mṛṣ ‘endure’ has Indo-Iranian correspondences (Avestan marəz- ‘bear/endure’). The collective -gaṇa ‘group’ is Indo-Aryan; the broader motif of ‘bull’ for strength is pan-Indo-European poetic symbolism.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi’s community (sakhāyaḥ) participates as co-agents: their united voice articulates Soma’s power and helps seat the triple ardor in its proper home. Soma is both object and leader of the movement—purification becomes a shared, coordinated inner action.
Unify aspiration and let ananda ‘speak’ as inner mantra; listen for the purifying vibration behind thought.
Viśuddha (voice/inner word) and Ājñā (discernment/haṃsa)
Gentle ujjāyī or nāḍī-śodhana before chanting; then natural breath with attentive inner listening on the final vāṇam.
Collected, ascending, mantra-aware (from scattered mind to unified will).
Chant 3–7 times, then sit silently: feel a bright current rising and converging at the throat and brow; allow speech to subside into inner hearing.
Full Vedic svara requires śākhā-specific notation; in app default: preserve udātta on accented syllables per Saṃhitā recitation and avoid flattening into classical tune.
Keep clear stress on key words: haṃsāsaḥ / tṛpalam / manyum / pavamānam / vāṇam; let each pāda end settle without swallowing visarga/anusvāra.
haṃsāsaḥ: nasalize ‘haṃ’ distinctly, tṛpalam: crisp retroflex ṛ, manyum: palatal ‘ny’ cluster cleanly, durmarṣam: retroflex ṣ; do not make it ‘s’, vāṇam: long ā; cerebral ṇ
Bright, forward, slightly ringing (as if ‘calling’ the inner forces).
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