Rig Veda 9.61.22: Mandala 9, Sukta 61, Mantra 22
Sukta 9.61
- Rishi
- Kavi Bhārgava
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- Trishtubh/Jagatī
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
स पवस्व य आविथेन्द्रं वृत्राय हन्तवे । वव्रिवांसं महीरपः ॥
sá pavasva yá ā́vitha índraṃ vṛtrā́ya hántave | vavrivā́ṃsaṃ mahī́r apáḥ ||
Sucikanlah dirimu, wahai Soma—engkau yang telah menolong Indra menewaskan Vṛtra—dengan menyelubunginya oleh perairan yang maha-luas. Jadilah dalam diri kami kekuatan yang melepaskan arus-arus besar kesedaran daripada simpulan halangan.
Word by Word
- सः
- he (that one)Pronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- पवस्व
- purify/flow forth (as Soma)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्; आत्मनेपदम्Role (क्रिया)Root √पू (पवते) / √पु (शोधन)
- यः
- whoPronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot यद् (सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम)
- आविथ
- you have helped/protectedVerbलिट् (परोक्शभूत/परफेक्ट), उत्तमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्Role (क्रिया)Root √अव् (रक्षण-पालन) + आ-
- इन्द्रम्
- IndraNounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot इन्द्र (देवनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वृत्राय
- for (the slaying of) Vṛtra / against VṛtraNounपुंलिङ्गः, चतुर्थी, एकवचनम्Role सम्प्रदान (हितार्थ-दत्तिव) / प्रयोजनRoot वृत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- हन्तवे
- to slayVerbal noun (Infinitive)तुमुन्-अर्थे दतिव-रूपम् (हन्तवे), अव्ययवत् प्रयोगःRole प्रयोजनRoot √हन् (वध) → हन्तु (इन्फिनिटिव-प्रातिपदिक)
- वव्रिवांसम्
- having covered/armoured; well-protected (Indra)Participle (Adjective)पुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; (इन्द्रम् इति विशेषणम्)Role कर्म (विशेषणरूपेण)Root √वृ (वरण/आवरण) → वव्रिवांस् (परफेक्ट-एक्टिव पार्टिसिपल) अथवा √वृ (वरण) ‘वृणोति’
- महीः
- great, mightyAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्Role कर्तृ (अपः इति विशेषणम्)Root मही (स्त्री-प्रातिपदिक) / मह् (वृद्धि) से व्युत्पन्न
- अपः
- waters (streams)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot अप् (स्त्री-प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: सः | पवस्व | यः | आविथ | इन्द्रम् | वृत्राय | हन्तवे | वव्रिवांसम् | महीः | अपः || 1) स प॑वस्व → सः पवस्व (अः + प् → अ + प्; विसर्गः पदान्ते लुप्तः संहितायाम्)
- 2) य आविथ → यः आविथ (अः + आ → ओ/अवग्रह-प्रयोगः; पदपाठे यः)
- 3) महीरपः → महीः अपः (विसर्ग-सन्धिः; संहितायां ‘महीरपः’)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Soma is asked to purify himself—he who helped Indra to slay Vṛtra—covering him with the great waters.
Inner meaning
Purified Soma becomes the enabling bliss-force that supports Indra, the illumined mind, to strike the Obstructor. The phrase about ‘covering with the vast waters’ points to Soma’s power to bring down the great conscious streams (mahīr āpaḥ)—floods of clarity, wideness, and life-energy—so the battle with Vṛtra is not a dry mental effort but a decisive release of blocked currents. Soma’s purification is the condition for this: when delight is clear, the mind’s lightning can act and the waters of consciousness can surge.
Universal truth
When joy and clarity are purified, the mind’s power to overcome resistance is reinforced, and blocked energies release into a wider flow.
Themes
Vṛtra-slaying, Aid to Indra, Release of waters, Soma purification
The seer
- Rishi
- Kavi Bhārgava (traditional for RV 9.61 portions; verse-level attribution may vary by anukramaṇī)
- Lineage
- Bhṛgu (Bhārgava)
- Other hymns
- RV 9.61 (hymn), RV 1.32 (mythic template of Vṛtra-slaying; different rishi)
Family tradition
Bhārgava seers often present victory as a release of waters/light through right force rather than mere aggression—an inner conquest supported by purification.
Significance
Connects Soma’s ananda-power with Indra’s illumined action: delight is not ornament but a necessary ally in overcoming deep resistance.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Pavamāna, Indra-āvith (helper of Indra, implied by āvitha), Āpaḥ-preraka (mover/releaser of waters, implied)
- Related deities
- Indra, Āpaḥ (Waters as goddesses/forces), Agni
Cosmic role
Purified essence that empowers the illumined mind to break obstruction and release the cosmic waters (life and inspiration).
Inner power
Ananda that widens and floods the being, enabling decisive breakthrough and subsequent flow of consciousness.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing/purification segment invoking Indra’s victory supported by Soma
स प॑वस्व॒ य आवि॒थेन्द्रं॑ वृ॒त्राय॒ हन्त॑वे । व॒व्रि॒वांसं॑ म॒हीर॒पः ॥
सः । प॒व॒स्व॒ । यः । आवि॑थ । इन्द्र॑म् । वृ॒त्राय॑ । हन्त॑वे । व॒व्रि॒ऽवांस॑म् । म॒हीः । अ॒पः ॥
saḥ | pavasva | yaḥ | āvitha | indram | vṛtrāya | hantave | vavri-vāṃsam | mahīḥ | apaḥ
Likely Triṣṭubh (common for Indra-Vṛtra action statements) or Jagatī
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4 pādas × 11 syllables (Triṣṭubh tendency; text displayed as 2 half-verses but often metrically 4 pādas)
Strong, martial yet expansive—strike-and-release rhythm.
Elicits a sense of breakthrough: concentrated force followed by widening relief.
- pavasva
- Literal: purify yourself / flow purified. Symbolic: clarify consciousness; refine delight into a steady luminous current
- Indra
- Literal: Vedic deity Indra. Symbolic: divine mind-force of illumination and victorious discernment
- vṛtra
- Literal: obstructor/coverer. Symbolic: knot of resistance in the subconscient that blocks the waters/light
- hantave
- Literal: to slay. Symbolic: to break the obstruction decisively (not suppress but liberate)
- mahīḥ āpaḥ
- Literal: great waters. Symbolic: vast streams of consciousness: wideness, inspiration, life-force released
- vavrivāṃsam
- Literal: covering, enveloping. Symbolic: bringing down a protecting/overwhelming flood of higher force around the illumined action
Pavamāna recitation during filtration; invoked for Indra’s strength in Soma sacrifice
During Indra-Soma related recitations in Soma rites; also as part of pavamāna sequences
Chant during filtering/flow; mental offering to empower illumination to break resistance
Use when stuck in inertia or recurring patterns: invoke a ‘flood of higher force’ rather than willpower alone.
pavasva: imperative middle from √pū ‘purify’ (pavamāna: ‘self-purifying’ Soma). āvitha: perfect/aorist-like formation from √av ‘help, protect’. vṛtra: from √vṛ ‘cover, obstruct’ → ‘the Coverer’. hantave: dative/infinitive of purpose from √han ‘strike’. apas ‘waters’ in Vedic regularly shifts from physical waters to symbolic currents of inspiration and life-power.
Ṛta as release of right-flow, Vṛtra as psychological obstruction, Apas as inspired currents
Indra’s act is an enforcement of ṛta against the coverer; waters are the restored right circulation.
Mahīr āpaḥ as truth-streams once obstruction is removed.
Cosmic release: rivers of being unblocked; wideness restored.
Aurobindonian Veda: Vṛtra as psychological obstruction; waters as conscious energies.
A concentrated illumined strike supported by delight releases a wide descending flow of consciousness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Indra’s slaying of Vṛtra and the consequent release of the waters; Soma is named as the enabling power that ‘helps’ Indra—mythically the draught of Soma, inwardly the clarified delight that empowers the mind-force to break obstruction.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √av ‘help’ has Indo-Iranian parallels (Avestan av- ‘help, protect’). √han ‘strike’ continues PIE *gʷhen- ‘to strike, kill’ (cf. English bane via semantic drift, and Sanskrit han-/Greek theinō possibly related in broader strike field). √vṛ ‘cover’ aligns with PIE *wer- ‘to cover/enclose’ (cf. Latin operire may be different root; but Indo-Iranian *var- is strong).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi appeals to Soma’s proven cosmic function—empowering Indra against obstruction—as warrant for Soma to act similarly in the sacrificer: to purify and to release the ‘great waters’ (mahīr apaḥ) as inner wideness and flow.
Break the inner dam: invite purified delight to support illumined discernment and release a wide flow.
Maṇipūra (breakthrough force) opening upward to Viśuddha/Ājñā (flow of inspiration/clarity)
Kapalabhati-light (gentle) for 30–60 strokes, then slow breathing while chanting once; only if suitable for practitioner.
Dynamic breakthrough into wideness.
Identify the ‘Vṛtra’ pattern; chant with firm tone; after the mantra, sit and feel a descending cool flow (āpaḥ) washing the system—do not force thoughts, allow release.
Chant with correct Vedic accents from an accented text; keep ‘pavasva’ clear and leading; maintain tonal discipline across pādas.
Slight emphasis (not stress) on semantic pivots: pavasva / indram / vṛtrāya / mahīr apaḥ.
pavasva: ‘va’ light; avoid ‘pav-as-va’ separation—keep fluid, āvitha: long ā; dental ‘th’ (not retroflex), vṛtrāya: vocalic ṛ; long ā in -āya, vavrivāṃsam: keep repeated ‘va’ distinct; nasalize ‘āṃ’, apaḥ: final visarga as soft aspiration
Firm, penetrating, then widening; end with a slightly softened release on ‘apaḥ’.
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