Rig Veda 9.103.6: Mandala 9, Sukta 103, Mantra 6
Sukta 9.103
- Rishi
- Soma Pavamāna corpus
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- Likely Gāyatrī/Anuṣṭubh/Triṣṭubh depending on hymn
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
परि सप्तिर्न वाजयुर्देवो देवेभ्यः सुतः । व्यानशिः पवमानो वि धावति ॥
pári saptír ná vāja-yúr devó devébhyaḥ sutáḥ | vi-ānaśíḥ pavamā́nō ví dhāvati ||
Krążąc jak rumak zdobywający obfitość siły, bóg Soma - wyciśnięty dla bogów - biegnie w wielu kierunkach, rozdzielając rozszerzającą się rozkosz, gdy się oczyszcza.
Word by Word
- परि
- around, all aroundIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्यय (परितः, परितः-गमनार्थे)Root परि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- सप्तिः
- the steed (horse)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot सप्ति- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘घोड़ा/रथ-घोड़ा’)
- न
- like, asIndeclinableउपमान/तुलनार्थक निपातRoot न (अव्यय)
- वाजयुः
- prize-seeking, eager for victoryAdjective/Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole Kartā (सप्तिः का विशेषण/समनाधिकरण)Root वाजयु- (प्रातिपदिक; वाज ‘प्राइज/बल’ + यु ‘इच्छु/प्रेरित’)
- देवः
- the godNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole Kartā (पवमान-सोमः)Root देव- (प्रातिपदिक)
- देवेभ्यः
- to/for the godsNounपुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी बहुवचनRole SampradānaRoot देव- (प्रातिपदिक)
- सुतः
- pressed, expressed (Soma)Participle (past passive)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन (कृतः/निष्पन्नः)Role Kartā (देवः का विशेषण)Root सु- (धातु ‘सुनोति’/‘सुवति’ → ‘प्रसव/निष्पादन’; क्त-प्रत्यय)
- व्यानशिः
- all-pervading, widely reachingAdjective/Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole Kartā (पवमानो का विशेषण)Root व्यानशि- (प्रातिपदिक; वि-आनश्/अश् ‘प्राप्ति/व्याप्ति’ से; अर्थ ‘व्यापी/सर्वव्यापी’)
- पवमानः
- purifying (Soma), flowing clearParticiple (present middle)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot पू (धातु ‘पवते’ = शुद्धौ/प्रवाहे) + शानच् (वर्तमान कृदन्त)
- वि
- apart, forth, widelyIndeclinableउपसर्ग (विभाग/विशेष-गमनार्थे)Root वि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- धावति
- runs, rushes, streamsVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole Kriyā (कर्तृ-क्रिया: पवमानः)Root धाव् (धातु)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: परि | सप्तिः | न | वाजयुः | देवः | देवेभ्यः | सुतः | व्यानशिः | पवमानः | वि | धावति ।
- ‘देवेभ्यः’ के बाद पदान्तः। 2) पवमानो वि: संहिता-पाठ में ‘पवमानो’ (ओ) + ‘वि’ (व्) पर ओ-व् संयोग
- पदपाठ में ‘पवमानः | वि’।
- ‘सप्तिर्न’ = ‘सप्तिः न’ (विसर्ग + न) संहिता में र्-आदेश।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Soma, pressed for the gods, circles like a prize-winning steed and runs out in many directions while purifying, distributing wide enjoyment.
Inner meaning
The self-purifying Delight (Soma) moves like a swift vital power (aśva/sapti) through the being. As it is clarified, it spreads in multiple currents through mind, life, and body, distributing a widening Ananda that supports the inner sacrifice (yajña) and nourishes the gods within (the illumined powers of consciousness).
Universal truth
When delight is purified of mixture and ego, it becomes a universal force: it circulates through all parts of our nature, energizes effort, and spontaneously distributes expansive joy and harmony.
Themes
Soma as steed, Plenitude (vāja), Expansion, Purification
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 9.103 (Pavamāna Soma series), Rig Veda 9.104 (adjacent Pavamāna sequence)
Family tradition
Mandala 9 is largely a liturgical-visionary collection of Soma hymns transmitted by multiple rishi families; individual verse attribution here is uncertain.
Significance
The anonymous seer-voice functions as a collective yogic intuition: not personal biography but a shared inner practice of purification, where Soma is experienced as circulating Ananda that empowers the gods (higher faculties).
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- pavamāna (self-purifying), suta (pressed), deva (luminous one), vājayu (winner/bringer of plenitude)
- Related deities
- Indra (as the receiver of Soma-force and illumination), Agni (leader of the inner sacrifice), Mitra-Varuṇa (harmony and vast truth-order)
Cosmic role
Soma is the clarifying current that mediates between earth and heaven—extracting essence, energizing the gods, and establishing expansive harmony through r̥ta.
Inner power
Purified Ananda that pervades the being, releases luminous energies, and widens enjoyment into spiritual bliss rather than desire-bound pleasure.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing and purification (pavamāna) in Soma-yajña; chanted during filtering/flowing of Soma
परि॒ सप्ति॒र्न वा॑ज॒युर्दे॒वो दे॒वेभ्य॑: सु॒तः । व्या॒न॒शिः पव॑मानो॒ वि धा॑वति ॥
परि॑ । सप्तिः॑ । न । वा॒ज॒ऽयुः । दे॒वः । दे॒वेभ्यः॑ । सु॒तः । वि॒ऽआ॒न॒शिः । पव॑मानः । वि । धा॒व॒ति॒ ॥
pari | saptiḥ | na | vāja-yuḥ | devaḥ | devebhyaḥ | sutaḥ | vi-ānaśiḥ | pavamānaḥ | vi | dhāvati
Likely Triṣṭubh (common in Mandala 9 narrative/kinetic verses)
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables (approx.)
Driving, kinetic, forward-surging cadence suited to ‘running forth’ imagery.
Energizes circulation of breath and attention; supports an experience of pervasion—Ananda moving through the whole field of awareness.
- सप्तिः (saptiḥ)
- Literal: steed, horse. Symbolic: vital force/energy that carries consciousness swiftly in action
- वाजयुः (vāja-yuḥ)
- Literal: seeking/bringing vāja (prize, strength, plenitude). Symbolic: impulse that wins spiritual power and abundant force (ojas) for progress
- देवः (devaḥ)
- Literal: god, shining one. Symbolic: luminous consciousness-force acting in the inner being
- सुतः (sutaḥ)
- Literal: pressed out. Symbolic: essence extracted by aspiration and discipline; inner distillation of delight
- पवमानः (pavamānaḥ)
- Literal: self-purifying, flowing-purifying. Symbolic: Ananda moving through the filters of mind and life, clarifying itself into truth-delight
- वि-आनशिः (vi-ānaśiḥ)
- Literal: widely distributing enjoyment/possession. Symbolic: diffusion of Ananda as a many-streamed enjoyment that widens consciousness
- वि धावति (vi dhāvati)
- Literal: runs forth in various directions. Symbolic: delight-energy pervading different planes (physical–vital–mental) to harmonize them
Soma flowing through the filter and into vessels; chanted during pressing to accompany the ‘running’ and ‘spreading’ of Soma.
During Soma sacrifice sequences when Soma is purified through wool/filters and offered to deities
Chanting as Soma flows; invoking its spreading, strengthening, and distributing power
Use as a meditation-chant for ‘inner circulation’: letting purified joy spread evenly through body–life–mind, replacing agitation with expansive calm-force.
saptí- ‘steed’ is a common RV term for the horse as carrier of power. vāja: from √vaj/√vij semantic field ‘strength, prize, vigor’; hence ‘plenitude of force’. sutá: from √su ‘press out, extract’. ānaśíḥ: from √naś ‘to attain, enjoy’ with vi- giving wideness; conveys pervasion of enjoyment. dhāvati from √dhāv ‘run, stream’—frequent for Soma’s flowing and for energetic movement.
vāja as fullness of force, distribution of ānanda (enjoyment) through the being, offering to the gods as inner elevation
Soma’s ‘many-directioned running’ signifies r̥ta as dynamic, ordered movement distributing harmony through the worlds.
Purification implies truth-clarity: delight becomes sattvic and transparent to the higher light.
Emanation and pervasion: one essence becomes many currents without losing unity.
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral yoga reading (Aurobindo): Soma as Ananda principle supporting ascent and transformation.
The ‘steed’ is energized prāṇa/vital dynamism; the ‘flow’ is consciousness-stream; the ‘purification’ is refinement of affect into Ananda.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Soma as the divine steed: the purified nectar becomes a swift carrier that wins vāja (plenitude of force) and spreads enjoyment through the worlds/parts of the being—an image of energized, clarified consciousness distributing delight and power.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √su ‘press’ has Indo-Iranian parallels (Avestan hu- ‘good’ is different; but Soma pressing lexicon is shared culturally). √dhāv ‘run’ corresponds to PIE motion roots seen across IE (cf. English ‘dive’ is not cognate; closer are Indo-Iranian internal continuities). vāja is a specifically Indo-Iranian poetic key-term for strength/prize, comparable in function to PIE *wegʰ- ‘be strong’ semantic areas though direct etymology is debated.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi frames Soma’s action as autonomous divine energy (‘deváḥ… pavamānaḥ’) that, once ‘pressed’ by human effort, becomes a distributing force—repaying the offering by spreading vāja and widened enjoyment into the sacrificer’s life-field.
Let purified joy circulate through all layers of the being without grasping; feel ‘many currents’ of calm power.
Anāhata (expansive joy) and Ājñā (clarity of purified delight)
Gentle nāḍī-śodhana or slow alternate awareness of left/right currents; then even breathing while sensing pervasion
Energized wideness (calm-force) rather than excitation; a luminous, circulating Ananda.
Begin with aspiration (‘pressing out’ the essence), then allow joy to move without preference; whenever it localizes as desire, return to the sense of purification and redistribution.
Follow the Rigvedic accent as transmitted; key lifts on udatta syllables (e.g.,, ) with svarita falls; requires śākhā-specific notation for exact contour.
Keep udatta slightly higher in pitch; do not over-lengthen unaccented syllables; maintain the running cadence to mirror ‘vi dhāvati’.
: pronounce ‘pa-va-mā-naḥ’ with clear long ‘ā’, : light dental ‘dh’, not retroflex, : short ‘u’, crisp ‘t’, : ‘vā-ja-yuḥ’ with long ‘ā’
Bright, forward, flowing tone; avoid heaviness—aim for a ‘streaming’ resonance.
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