Rig Veda 8.97.2: Mandala 8, Sukta 97, Mantra 2
Sukta 8.97
- Devata
- Indra
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
यमिन्द्र दधिषे त्वमश्वं गां भागमव्ययम् । यजमाने सुन्वति दक्षिणावति तस्मिन्तं धेहि मा पणौ ॥
yám indra dadhíṣe tvám áśvaṃ gā́m bhāgám ávyayam | yájamāne sunvatí dakṣiṇā́vati tásmin táṃ dhehi mā́ paṇáu ||
Cokolwiek trwały udział, siłę konia, światło krowy, niezniszczalną część umieszczasz, o Indro: daj to ofiarującemu, który wyciska Somę i daje dary ofiarne; nie umieszczaj tego u handlarza.
Word by Word
- यम्
- whom/whichPronounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → य
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNoun (proper)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन; एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- दधिषे
- you have placed / you bestowVerbलिट् (परिप्रास/परफेक्ट); मध्यमपुरुष; एकवचन; आत्मनेपदRole क्रियाRoot धा (धातु) ‘to place, bestow’
- त्वम्
- youPronounउत्तम-पुरुषार्थे (2nd person pronoun); प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अश्वम्
- a horseNounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot अश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- गाम्
- a cowNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot गो (प्रातिपदिक)
- भागम्
- a share/portionNounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot भाग (प्रातिपदिक)
- अव्ययम्
- imperishable, undecayingAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन (भागम् इति विशेषणम्)Role कर्मRoot अव्यय (प्रातिपदिक; a- + व्यय ‘loss/decay’)
- यजमाने
- in/for the sacrificerNounपुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी; एकवचनRole अधिकारणRoot यजमान (प्रातिपदिक)
- सुन्वति
- pressing (Soma)Participleवर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ); पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी; एकवचन (यजमाने इति विशेषणम्)Role अधिकारणRoot सु (धातु) ‘to press (Soma)’ → शतृ-प्रत्यय ‘सुन्वत्’
- दक्षिणावतिः
- endowed with sacrificial giftsAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी; एकवचन (यजमाने इति विशेषणम्)Role अधिकारणRoot दक्षिणावत् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘having dakṣiṇā-fees/gifts’)
- तस्मिन्
- in/for himPronounपुं/नपुंस; सप्तमी; एकवचनRole अधिकारणRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- तम्
- that (one), himPronounपुं/नपुंस; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- धेहि
- place! bestow!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); मध्यमपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot धा (धातु) ‘to place, put’
- मा
- do notIndeclinableनिषेध (prohibitive particle)Root मा (निषेध-अव्यय)
- पणौ
- in/with a Paṇi (miser)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी; एकवचनRole अधिकारणRoot पणि (प्रातिपदिक; ‘miser, niggard, Paṇi’)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (padapāṭha-style): यम् इन्द्र दधिषे त्वम् अश्वम् गाम् भागम् अव्ययम् । यजमाने सुन्वति दक्षिणावतिः तस्मिन् तम् धेहि मा पणौ ॥ Notable: यमि॑न्द्र → यम् + इन्द्र (m-final before vowel)
- त्वमश्वम् → त्वम् + अश्वम् (m + a)
- तस्मि॒न्तं → तस्मिन् + तम् (n + t)
- मा प॒णौ is separate (prohibitive + loc.)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Whatever enduring share—horse, cow, unperishing portion—you place, O Indra: place it in the sacrificer who presses Soma and gives gifts; not in the trader.
Inner meaning
Indra distributes enduring spiritual portions: aśva (vital force for right action), go (rays of knowledge/light), and avyaya bhāga (unwasting inner inheritance). The prayer asks that these be placed in the true yajamāna—one who ‘presses Soma’ (extracts delight from experience through discipline) and is dakṣiṇāvat (offers rightly, gives ego away), not in the paṇi (the bargaining consciousness that seeks spiritual gain as transaction).
Universal truth
Power and knowledge stabilize only in a consciousness that offers and aspires sincerely; when spirituality becomes barter, the gifts do not abide.
Themes
gift and reciprocity, anti-Paṇi, Soma pressing, light-wealth
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 8.97 (sequence), RV 10.108 (Paṇis and the lost cows)
Family tradition
The paṇi motif is a classic Vedic psychological symbol: the hoarding/bargaining power opposed to generous offering and true aspiration.
Significance
This mantra draws a sharp ethical-spiritual line: gifts of light and force belong to sacrifice (self-offering), not to commerce (ego-calculation).
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- dātā (giver, implied), maghavān (bounteous, contextually)
- Related deities
- Soma, Agni, Bṛhaspati
Cosmic role
Distributor of powers and lights to the prepared sacrificer; protector of the divine wealth against hoarders.
Inner power
Right allocation of energies: placing force and illumination where aspiration is genuine and offering is real.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma-sacrifice gifting (dakṣiṇā) context; prayer for proper bestowal of boons.
यमि॑न्द्र दधि॒षे त्वमश्वं॒ गां भा॒गमव्य॑यम् । यज॑माने सुन्व॒ति दक्षि॑णावति॒ तस्मि॒न्तं धे॑हि॒ मा प॒णौ ॥
यम् । इ॒न्द्र॒ । द॒धि॒षे । त्वम् । अश्व॑म् । गाम् । भा॒गम् । अव्य॑यम् । यज॑माने । सु॒न्व॒ति । दक्षि॑णाऽवति । तस्मि॑न् । तम् । धे॒हि॒ । मा । प॒णौ ॥
yam | indra | dadhiṣe | tvam | aśvam | gām | bhāgam | avyayam | yajamāne | sunvat i | dakṣiṇāvati | tasmin | tam | dhehi | mā | paṇau
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4 x ~11 (probable)
Directive and discriminating; strong imperative ‘dhehi’.
Strengthens resolve and sincerity; helps cut transactional attitudes in practice.
- अश्व (aśva)
- Literal: horse. Symbolic: vital energy, force of action under guidance
- गाम् (gām)
- Literal: cow. Symbolic: rays of light/knowledge, illuminations
- भागम् अव्ययम् (bhāgam avyayam)
- Literal: unperishing share. Symbolic: stable spiritual attainment that does not diminish
- सुन्वति (sunvati)
- Literal: pressing Soma. Symbolic: disciplined extraction of delight/essence from life
- दक्षिणावत् (dakṣiṇāvat)
- Literal: possessing dakṣiṇā (gift/fee). Symbolic: capacity to offer, give, and surrender egoic holding
- पणि (paṇi)
- Literal: trader, trafficker. Symbolic: calculating ego that bargains with the divine
Distribution of boons to the Soma-presser/yajamāna; polemic against Paṇi (non-sacrificing hoarder) common in Soma ideology.
Around Soma pressing and offering-gift moments; also as ethical reminder in ritual sequences.
Recited to align boons with the yajamāna who offers rightly.
Use before receiving any ‘benefit’ (praise, success, siddhi): reaffirm that gifts belong to the offering-self, not the bargaining ego.
dadhíṣe: from √dhā ‘to place, set’ (middle/atmanepada forms). aśva: ‘horse’ (PIE *h₁éḱwos). go/gām: ‘cow’ (PIE *gʷōus), Vedic symbolism extends to ‘ray’/light-cow. bhāga: from √bhaj ‘to apportion, share’. avyaya: a- ‘not’ + vyaya ‘decay/expenditure’ (from √i/√vyay ‘to go apart, be spent’). yajamāna: from √yaj ‘to sacrifice’. sunvat: from √su ‘press (Soma)’. dakṣiṇā: gift/priestly fee; also ‘right’ (dexterous/right order). paṇi: trader/hoarder; connected with bargaining/traffic (semantic field of exchange rather than sacrifice).
right giving (dakṣiṇā) as condition for enduring gain, imperishable share (avyaya bhāga) as stable realization, rejection of hoarding ego (Paṇi)
Ṛta is maintained when divine wealth circulates through sacrifice and generosity, not hoarding.
Truth-intent (non-bargaining) is the condition for stable attainment (avyaya).
Right distribution of powers builds the fit human vessel for higher worlds.
Karma-yoga ethic implicit in Vedic sacrifice symbolism: offering purifies and stabilizes power.
Horse = energized prāṇa for right works; Cow = illuminations; Soma pressing = extracting essence/delight from experience through tapas.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The Paṇi motif: the hoarder/trafficker opposed to the sacrificer. The verse asks that Indra’s imperishable portion (light-force and dynamic energy) be placed in the Soma-pressing giver, not in the Paṇi consciousness that seeks gain without offering.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- aśva (PIE *h₁éḱwos) and gām/go (PIE *gʷōus) are transparent inheritances. √dhā (PIE *dʰeh₁-) ‘place’ underlies dadhíṣe/dhehi. √yaj is Indo-Iranian specialized for sacrifice (Avestan yasna).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi frames an ethical-psychological condition for Indra’s gifts: the devatā’s boons must settle where there is pressing (aspiration extracting essence) and dakṣiṇā (right giving). The relationship is covenantal: offering and generosity create the vessel; Indra’s ‘placing’ completes the exchange.
Offer your energy and insight to the Divine; watch for bargaining thoughts; choose generosity and sincerity.
maṇipūra (right use of power) and ājñā (right discernment)
On ‘dhehi’ exhale firmly; brief kumbhaka after the second pāda to feel ‘placement’ of energy in the heart-mind.
Clear, upright, non-transactional devotion.
Before practice, state: ‘May force (aśva) and light (go) be placed in the offering-self.’ If a craving for results appears, label it ‘paṇi’ and release it.
Monotone acceptable; emphasize the imperatives and contrasts: ‘tasmin taṃ dhehi’ vs ‘mā paṇau’.
Stress ‘aśvaṃ gām’ and ‘bhāgam avyayam’; end with a clean, clipped ‘mā paṇau’.
aśvam: palatal ‘ś’, avyayam: ‘vy’ conjunct, dakṣiṇāvat: retroflex ‘ṇ’, paṇau: retroflex ‘ṇ’, diphthong ‘au’
Firm and ethical—clear articulation, minimal ornament.
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