Rig Veda 3.37.8: Mandala 3, Sukta 37, Mantra 8
Sukta 3.37
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
शुष्मिन्तमं न ऊतये द्युम्निनं पाहि जागृविम् । इन्द्र सोमं शतक्रतो ॥
śuṣmíntamaṃ na ūtáye dyumnínaṃ pāhi jā́gṛvim | índra sómaṃ śatakrato ||
Chroń dla naszej pomocy najbardziej potężnego, promiennego, czuwającego Somę, o Indro o stu mocach, aby przebudzona rozkosz została zachowana dla podróży duszy.
Word by Word
- शुष्मिन्तमम्
- the most mighty/strongAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; तमप्-प्रत्ययेन अतिशय (superlative)Role कर्म (पाहि इत्यस्य)Root शुष्मिन् (प्रातिपदिक; शुष्म ‘बल’ + -इन्)
- नः
- of us / ourPronounषष्ठी विभक्ति, बहुवचन (enclitic)Role सम्बन्ध (ऊतये इत्यस्य—‘our’)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ऊतये
- for aid, for protectionNounचतुर्थी विभक्ति, एकवचनRole सम्प्रदान (उद्देश्य/प्रयोजन—‘for help’)Root ऊति (स्त्रीलिङ्ग प्रातिपदिक)
- द्युम्निनम्
- the glorious, radiantAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole कर्म (पाहि इत्यस्य)Root द्युम्निन् (प्रातिपदिक; द्युम्न ‘तेजस्/यशस्’ + -इन्)
- पाहि
- protect!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यम पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot पा (धातु; ‘रक्षणे/पालने’)
- जागृविम्
- the wakeful/vigilant oneAdjective (participial) / Noun-like epithetपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole कर्म (पाहि इत्यस्य)Root जागृवि (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √जागृ ‘जागरणे’ से ‘जागृवस्/जागृवि’ ‘wakeful’)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNoun (vocative)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative), एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- सोमम्
- Soma (the sacred drink/deity)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole कर्म (पाहि इत्यस्य; ‘Soma’ as object of protection/concern)Root सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- शतक्रतो
- O Śatakratu (of a hundred powers)Noun/Adjective (vocative epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative), एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot शतक्रतु (प्रातिपदिक; ‘having a hundred powers/stratagems’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-resolved): शुष्मिन्तमम् | नः | ऊतये | द्युम्निनम् | पाहि | जागृविम् | इन्द्र | सोमम् | शतक्रतो ।
- ‘न ऊतये’ इत्यत्र नः (enclitic) + ऊतये संयोगमात्रम्। ‘शतक्रतो’ सम्बोधन-एकवचन (शतक्रतु) वैदिक रूप।
The meaning
Outer meaning
A prayer to Indra to guard and preserve the most powerful, radiant, wakeful Soma for the worshippers’ aid.
Inner meaning
The seeker asks the illumined Mind-Power (Indra) to protect within the being the awakened Soma—divine Ananda that has become conscious (jāgṛvi)—so it can sustain the inner yajña and the soul’s progress against lapses, inertia, and loss of delight.
Universal truth
Spiritual progress depends on safeguarding awakened joy and luminous energy; higher intelligence must protect the subtle delight that fuels endurance and growth.
Themes
Soma protection, wakeful consciousness, radiant force, divine aid
The seer
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Lineage
- Gāthin (Viśvāmitra lineage)
- Other hymns
- RV 3.37, RV 3.38, RV 3.39, RV 3.40
Family tradition
Kṣatriya-seer who embodies the ascent from force of action to force of illumination; hymns often press for Indra’s help in inner victory and widening of consciousness.
Significance
Viśvāmitra’s Indra-sūkta tradition emphasizes the conversion of human striving into illumined will; here he asks that awakened Ananda be protected as a stable foundation for further ascent.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Śatakratu (hundred-powered), Śakra (mighty), Adri-vat (wielder of the stone/thunderbolt)
- Related deities
- Soma, Agni, Bṛhaspati, Uṣas
Cosmic role
Breaker of obstructions, lord of luminous heaven (dyu), releaser of the waters and the cows (rays).
Inner power
Discriminating and victorious intelligence that protects the awakened delight (Soma) and maintains the inner sacrifice.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma-yāga / Indra-Soma praise in soma pressing sequences (general Vedic usage)
शु॒ष्मिन्त॑मं न ऊ॒तये॑ द्यु॒म्निनं॑ पाहि॒ जागृ॑विम् । इन्द्र॒ सोमं॑ शतक्रतो ॥
शु॒ष्मिन्ऽत॑मम् । न । ऊ॒तये॑ । द्यु॒म्निन॑म् । पा॒हि॒ । जागृ॑विम् । इन्द्र॑ । सोम॑म् । श॒त॒क्र॒तो॒ इति॑ शतऽक्रतो ॥
śuṣmin-tamam | na | ūtaye | dyumninam | pāhi | jāgṛvim | indra | somam | śatakrato itiśata-krato
44
4 padas × ~11 syllables
Forward-driving, heroic cadence with room for emphatic imperatives (pāhi).
Builds a protective, rallying energy; stabilizes attention on ‘guarding’ the awakened Soma and invokes confident strength.
- śuṣmintamam
- Literal: most forceful, full of might. Symbolic: maximum soul-force/energy needed to break resistances
- dyumninam
- Literal: radiant, splendid. Symbolic: luminous power of consciousness, clarity that accompanies Ananda
- jāgṛvim
- Literal: wakeful, vigilant. Symbolic: Ananda that is conscious and active, not submerged in subconscient
- pāhi
- Literal: protect, guard. Symbolic: hold steady in the being; prevent leakage/forgetting
- soma
- Literal: Soma (sacred drink). Symbolic: divine delight/immortal nectar of consciousness
- indra
- Literal: Indra. Symbolic: illumined Mind, the power that governs right action and victory
- śatakrato
- Literal: of a hundred powers/wills. Symbolic: multiform effective intelligence, capable of many decisive actions
Direct Soma-pressing context: prayer that Indra guard the Soma (and its inner awakening) for aid and victorious working
During Soma offering/praise to Indra, especially where Soma’s potency and protection are invoked
Recitation to accompany offering and to invite Indra to uphold the Soma-force
Use as a protective affirmation before meditation: ‘May higher intelligence guard awakened joy and energy’.
śuṣmá from √śvas/√śuṣ (Vedic: ‘impetuous force, power’)—energy that breaks resistance. ūtí from √av ‘to help/protect’ (semantic support; av-/ūti network). pāhi from √pā ‘protect’ (PIE *peh₂- ‘protect, shepherd’). jāgṛvi- from √jāgṛ ‘be awake’ (reduplicated intensive of √gṛ/√gar? standard derivation: from √jāgar ‘wake’). sóma from √su ‘press’ → the pressed essence; inner sense: distilled delight/illumination.
Ananda (Soma as delight-power), wakefulness (jāgṛvi as conscious vigilance against lapse), protection of inner energy (śuṣma)
Protection of Soma maintains Ṛta within the sacrificer—right movement of delight and power.
‘Wakeful Soma’ implies truth-conscious Ananda, not mixed with falsehood or dullness.
Soma as immortal essence sustaining ascent; Indra as power that keeps it active in manifestation.
Proto-Vedāntic / Aurobindonian psychological reading (Indra as illumined mind; Soma as Ananda).
pre-dawn to dawn (wakefulness motif)
From waking vigilance arises a luminous delight; it must be guarded so the journey of consciousness does not fall back into night.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The guarding of Soma: Soma is not merely a drink but the awakened delight/essence (jāgṛvi) whose radiance and force must be protected for the work. Indra, as lord of victorious energy, is asked to preserve this inner sacrament from loss, dilution, or hostile interference.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √pā ‘protect’ aligns with PIE *peh₂- ‘protect, shepherd’ (cf. Lat. pāstor ‘shepherd’ via *peh₂-). √su ‘press’ in soma relates to an Indo-Iranian ritual lexicon; while PIE mapping is less direct, the inherited pattern ‘pressed sacred drink’ parallels Indo-European intoxicant/nectar motifs.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi entrusts the most precious inner gain (Soma as awakened delight-force) to Indra’s guardianship. The reciprocity: the offering of Soma empowers Indra; Indra in turn protects and stabilizes Soma’s awakened potency for the sacrificer’s evolution.
Stabilize awakened Ananda under the guardianship of illumined intelligence; feel a ‘luminous shield’ around the heart-mind.
anahata
slow exhale-focused japa; feel ‘pāhi’ as sealing the prāṇa within
wakeful collectedness (jāgrat with inner luminosity)
Begin with 12 repetitions, sensing delight rising; then invoke Indra to keep it steady when distractions appear.
Triṣṭubh with standard Vedic accents; key udatta on emphatic vocatives/imperatives (e.g., índra, páhi) as per śākhā recitation.
Lift on vocatives and the imperative; keep ‘śuṣmintamáṃ’ crisp; do not flatten ‘jāgṛvím’.
śuṣm-: keep retroflex ṣ clear, not ‘susm’, dyu- in dyumninam: glide ‘dyu’ as a single unit, jāgṛvim: long ā; hard g; light final -im, śatakrato: articulate -kr- cluster cleanly
bright, steady, protective
12
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
