Sukta 48
Sukta 4.48
Vāmadeva Gautama (traditional for RV 4.48)
Vāyu
Triṣṭubh/Jagatī (probable; refrain-like structure suggests fixed meter—requires confirmation)
ਇਹ ਛੋਟਾ ਭਜਨ ਤੇਜ਼ ਵਾਯੂ ਨੂੰ ਸੋਮ-ਪੇੜਾਈ ਦੇ ਯੱਗ ਵਿੱਚ ਸੱਦਾ ਦਿੰਦਾ ਹੈ, ਉਸਨੂੰ ਮੁੜ ਮੁੜ ਆਖਦਾ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਉਹ ਆਪਣੇ ਚਮਕਦੇ ਰਥ ਵਿੱਚ ਆ ਕੇ ਤਾਜ਼ਾ ਪੇੜਿਆ ਸੋਮ ਪੀਵੇ। ਇਸ ਵਿੱਚ ਠੀਕ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਸਜਾਈ ਹੋਈ ਹੋਤ੍ਰਾ (ਯੱਗ-ਵਿਧੀ) ਨੂੰ ਦਿਵਿਆ ਪ੍ਰਾਣ-ਸ਼ਕਤੀ ਦੇ ਆਗਮਨ ਨਾਲ ਜੋੜਿਆ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ ਅਤੇ ਯਜਮਾਨ ਲਈ ਵਾਯੂ ਤੋਂ ਸਮ੍ਰਿੱਧੀ, ਬਲ ਅਤੇ ਵਿਸ਼ਾਲ ਧਨ-ਵੈਭਵ ਲਿਆਉਣ ਦੀ ਬੇਨਤੀ ਕੀਤੀ ਗਈ ਹੈ।
Mantras
Mantra 1
विहि होत्रा अवीता विपो न रायो अर्यः । वायवा चन्द्रेण रथेन याहि सुतस्य पीतये ॥
ਹੇ ਸਹਾਇਕ, ਆਰਯ ਸਮ੍ਰਿੱਧੀਆਂ ਲਈ ਰਿਸ਼ੀ ਵਾਂਗ ਦੋ ਹੋਤ੍ਰਾ (ਹਵਿ-ਅਰਪਣ) ਸਜਾ। ਹੇ ਵਾਯੁ, ਚਮਕਦੇ ਰਥ ਨਾਲ ਸੁਤ ਸੋਮ ਦੇ ਪਾਨ ਲਈ ਆ।
Mantra 2
निर्युवाणो अशस्तीर्नियुत्वाँ इन्द्रसारथिः । वायवा चन्द्रेण रथेन याहि सुतस्य पीतये ॥
ਅਸ਼ਸਤੀਆਂ (ਝੂਠ/ਅਪਕੀਰਤੀ) ਨੂੰ ਦੂਰ ਕਰਦਾ, ਨਿਯੁਤਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਯੁਕਤ, ਇੰਦਰ ਨੂੰ ਸਾਰਥੀ ਬਣਾਕੇ—ਹੇ ਵਾਯੁ, ਚਮਕਦੇ ਰਥ ਨਾਲ ਸੁਤ ਸੋਮ ਦੇ ਪਾਨ ਲਈ ਆ।
Mantra 3
अनु कृष्णे वसुधिती येमाते विश्वपेशसा । वायवा चन्द्रेण रथेन याहि सुतस्य पीतये ॥
ਕ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਣ (ਅੰਧਕਾਰਮਯ) ਮਾਰਗ ਦੇ ਪਿੱਛੇ ਚਲਦਿਆਂ, ਵਸੁਧਿਤੀ—ਸਮ੍ਰਿੱਧੀ ਦੇ ਦੋ ਖਜ਼ਾਨੇ—ਵਿਸ਼ਵਪੇਸ਼ਸ (ਸਰਵ-ਰੂਪ) ਹੋ ਕੇ ਫੈਲਦੇ ਹਨ; ਹੇ ਵਾਯੁ, ਚਮਕਦੇ ਰਥ ਨਾਲ ਸੁਤ ਸੋਮ ਦੇ ਪਾਨ ਲਈ ਆ।
Mantra 4
वहन्तु त्वा मनोयुजो युक्तासो नवतिर्नव । वायवा चन्द्रेण रथेन याहि सुतस्य पीतये ॥
ਮਨ ਨਾਲ ਜੋਤੇ ਹੋਏ, ਜੋਤੇ ਹੋਏ ਅਸ਼ਵ—ਨੱਬੇ ਤੇ ਨੌਂ ਅਤੇ ਨੌਂ—ਤੈਨੂੰ ਵਾਹਨ ਕਰਨ। ਹੇ ਵਾਯੁ, ਚੰਦਰ-ਸਮ ਚਮਕਦੇ ਰਥ ਨਾਲ ਸੁਤ ਸੋਮ ਦੇ ਪਾਨ ਲਈ ਆ।
Mantra 5
वायो शतं हरीणां युवस्व पोष्याणाम् । उत वा ते सहस्रिणो रथ आ यातु पाजसा ॥
ਹੇ ਵਾਯੁ, ਵਾਧਾ ਦੇਣ ਵਾਲੇ ਚਮਕਦੇ ਅਸ਼ਵਾਂ ਦੇ ਸੌ ਵਿੱਚ ਰਮਣ ਕਰ। ਜਾਂ ਤੇਰਾ ਹਜ਼ਾਰ-ਗੁਣਾ ਰਥ ਆਪਣੀ ਦਹਕਦੀ ਤਾਕਤ ਨਾਲ ਇੱਥੇ ਆ ਪਹੁੰਚੇ।
Inside Sukta 48
How it unfolds
- Where it opens
The hymn opens with ritual readiness—setting the offerings properly—and an immediate invitation to Vāyu to come for Soma.
- Development
Repeated refrains reinforce urgency and swiftness: Vāyu is entreated to arrive in a shining chariot, while images of abundance and manifold riches unfold alongside the rite.
- Climax
The invocation intensifies into vivid power-symbols—Vāyu’s bright steeds and the thousandfold chariot—expressing irresistible divine momentum toward the offering.
- Where it settles
It ends with a confident final call for Vāyu’s forceful arrival and participation, sealing the rite with the promise of increase and energized prosperity.
The deity: Vāyu
- In the VedaVāyu is praised as the swift-moving deity of wind and breath, drawn to Soma and arriving quickly in a radiant chariot, often linked with the Maruts and the life-giving motion that pervades the worlds.
- Cosmic functionHe animates and circulates life through movement and breath, carrying vitality through space, and hastening the gods’ arrival to the sacrifice; he is a conduit of power (pājas) and increase (poṣa).
- Inner significanceVāyu signifies prāṇa—breath, impulse, and inner momentum—by which the mind becomes awake and the ritual (and practitioner) becomes ‘living,’ receptive, and energized.
The seer
- Vāmadeva GautamaGautama (Gautama-gotra) · A prominent seer of Mandala 4, celebrated for powerful, compact hymns that join precise ritual language with visionary insight into the gods’ life-giving forces.
Famous verses
vāyav ā candreṇa rathena yāhi sutasya pītaye
vāyav ā candreṇa rathena yāhi sutasya pītaye
वायो शतं हरीणां युवस्व पोष्याणाम् । उत वा ते सहस्रिणो रथ आ यातु पाजसा ॥Attributes of the deity
- Swift approach to the Soma offering
- Radiant/shining chariot (candreṇa rathena)
- Vital force and blazing energy (pājas)
- Bestower of increase and nourishment (poṣa)
- Movement, circulation, and enlivening presence
Also by this seer
- Primary seer for many hymns in Rigveda Mandala 4 (Vāmadeva’s collection), especially praises of Indra and allied deities
- Associated in later tradition with profound Vedic insight and inspired speech (vipā/vipaścit motif in Vāmadeva hymns)
The rite, step by step
- Prepare and ‘arrange’ the offerings (hotrā), establishing the rite in correct order
- Press the Soma and make it ready for offering and drinking (sutasya pītaye)
- Invoke Vāyu by name, inviting him to come swiftly in his shining chariot
- Offer Soma with accompanying recitation; request strength, increase, and abundant riches
- Conclude with a final petition for Vāyu’s powerful arrival (hundred steeds / thousandfold chariot imagery)
Offerings
- Pressed Soma (primary)
- Associated oblations customary to Soma rites (supporting offerings as part of hotrā arrangement)
Frequently Asked Questions
Its purpose is to invite Vāyu to the Soma ritual, asking him to arrive swiftly and drink the pressed Soma, bringing vitality, strength, and prosperity to the worshipper.
The repeated line works like a refrain: it intensifies the invocation and highlights Vāyu’s defining trait—swift, radiant movement—so the deity is drawn quickly to the offering.
They are poetic symbols of immense speed and power, suggesting that Vāyu’s life-force can arrive in overwhelming strength and multiply nourishment and increase for the sacrificer.
Ask anything about Sukta 48 of the Rig Veda
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