Rig Veda 9.67.28: Mandala 9, Sukta 67, Mantra 28
Sukta 9.67
- Devata
- Soma
- Chandas
- Likely Triṣṭubh/Jagatī type
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
प्र प्यायस्व प्र स्यन्दस्व सोम विश्वेभिरंशुभिः । देवेभ्य उत्तमं हविः ॥
prá pyā́yasva prá syándasva sóma víśvebhir aṃśúbhiḥ | devébhyā uttamáṃ havíḥ ||
Wzrastaj i napełniaj się; płynij, o Somo, ze wszystkimi swoimi promieniami, stań się dla bogów najwyższą ofiarą.
Word by Word
- प्र
- forth, forwardIndeclinableupasarga (preverb)Root प्र (upasarga)
- प्यायस्व
- swell, grow strongVerbloṭ (imperative), 2nd person singular, ātmanepadaRole (addressed to Soma) / kriyāRoot √प्या (प्याय्) / √प्यै (वृद्धौ, पुष्टौ)
- प्र
- forth, forwardIndeclinableupasarga (preverb)Root प्र (upasarga)
- स्यन्दस्व
- flow, streamVerbloṭ (imperative), 2nd person singular, ātmanepadaRole (addressed to Soma) / kriyāRoot √स्यन्द् (स्यन्दते) (प्रस्रवणे)
- सोम
- O SomaNounmasculine, vocative singularRole सम्बोधनRoot सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- विश्वेभिः
- with allAdjective (used substantively with following noun)masculine/neuter, instrumental pluralRole KaraṇaRoot विश्व (सर्व)
- अंशुभिः
- with (your) rays/shafts (i.e., streams)Nounmasculine, instrumental pluralRole KaraṇaRoot अंशु (प्रातिपदिक)
- देवेभ्यः
- for/to the godsNounmasculine, dative pluralRole SampradānaRoot देव (प्रातिपदिक)
- उत्तमम्
- best, highestAdjectiveneuter, accusative singular (agreeing with हविः)Role Karma (qualifier)Root उत्तम (superlative of उद्/उत् + तम)
- हविः
- oblation, offeringNounneuter, accusative singularRole KarmaRoot हविस् (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- Pada resolution: (1) प्र प्या॑यस्व = प्र + प्यायस्व (upasarga + loṭ 2sg Ā)
- (2) प्र स्य॑न्दस्व = प्र + स्यन्दस्व (upasarga + loṭ 2sg Ā)
- (3) सोम॒ = सोम (voc. sg.)
- (4) विश्वे॑भिरं॒शुभि॑: = विश्वेभिः + अंशुभिः (visarga sandhi: -भिः अ- → -भिर-; written as विश्वेभिरंशुभिः)
- (5) दे॒वेभ्य॑ उत्त॒मं ह॒विः = देवेभ्यः + उत्तमम् + हविः (no further sandhi affecting word boundaries)
- Accents in the saṃhitā text: प्या॑यस्व (udātta on प्या), स्य॑न्दस्व (udātta on स्य), विश्वे॑भिः (udātta on वे), अंशुभि॑ः (udātta on भि), दे॒वेभ्यः (udātta on वे), उत्त॒मम् (udātta on त), ह॒विः (udātta on ह)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Soma is urged to swell and flow forth with all his rays, becoming the सर्वोत्तम offering for the gods.
Inner meaning
Soma, the delight-substance of consciousness, must ‘fill’ (pyāyasva) the being and then ‘flow’ (syandasva) through all channels as luminous currents (aṃśu). When delight becomes vast and mobile, it turns into the highest oblation: the whole nature offers its purified joy to the divine powers, feeding their action in us.
Universal truth
Spiritual fullness is not static: true plenitude overflows as beneficent energy. What we most truly offer is our clarified delight and sincerity—an ‘uttamaṃ haviḥ’ that strengthens higher living.
Themes
Soma flow, inner plenitude, supreme offering
The seer
- Rishi
- Within Pavamāna Soma hymn tradition.
- Other hymns
- RV 9.67 (same hymn sequence), RV 9.61; RV 9.62 (Pavamāna imperatives: ‘flow’, ‘purify’, ‘strengthen the gods’)
Significance
The seer’s command is yogic: increase the inner nectar, then let it pour as rays through the nature, converting experience into offering.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Pavamāna (self-purifying), Soma
- Related deities
- Agni (receives Soma as offering; transforms), Indra (drinks Soma—illumination-strength), Viśve Devāḥ (beneficiaries of the supreme oblation)
Cosmic role
Soma is the cosmic delight that supports gods and worlds; as Pavamāna he purifies through flowing and clarifying essence.
Inner power
Ananda as a luminous substance: it widens (pyāy-) and streams (syand-) as rays that illumine and energize all faculties.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing/straining chants (Pavamāna)
प्र प्या॑यस्व॒ प्र स्य॑न्दस्व॒ सोम॒ विश्वे॑भिरं॒शुभि॑: । दे॒वेभ्य॑ उत्त॒मं ह॒विः ॥
प्र । प्या॒य॒स्व॒ । प्र । स्य॒न्द॒स्व॒ । सोम॑ । विश्वे॑भिः । अं॒शुऽभिः॑ । दे॒वेभ्यः॑ । उ॒त्ऽत॒मम् । ह॒विः ॥
pra | pyāyasva | pra | syandasva | soma | viśvebhiḥ | aṃśu-bhiḥ | devebhyaḥ | ut-tamam | haviḥ
Likely Triṣṭubh (first pāda) with a shorter second pāda (possible Anuṣṭubh-like tail)
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2 pādas: first longer imperative line; second compact completion ‘devebhya uttamaṃ haviḥ’
Surging then settling: expansion (pra pyāyasva) followed by forward rush (pra syandasva), ending in a firm offering-clause.
Elicits uplift and forward movement; the final phrase lands like a seal of consecration.
- soma
- Literal: Soma (pressed juice). Symbolic: divine Ananda/bliss; nectar of consciousness that renews and immortalizes
- pyāyasva
- Literal: swell, grow full. Symbolic: increase inner fullness—widening of joy and substance of consciousness
- syandasva
- Literal: flow forth, stream. Symbolic: let bliss circulate through mind-life-body; dynamic distribution of Ananda
- aṃśu
- Literal: ray, filament (also Soma-stalk/ray). Symbolic: luminous threads of consciousness; joy’s radiance that carries knowledge
- uttamaṃ haviḥ
- Literal: supreme offering. Symbolic: the highest inner sacrifice: offering purified delight and luminous force to the divine workings
Directly Soma-pressing/purification instruction: Soma is urged to swell and flow for offering in the savanas.
During Soma purification and offering sequences to invite full flow and potency
Chanted as Soma is made to run through the filter and prepared as havis
Use when seeking to increase inner joy and let it pervade the day’s actions; suitable before creative work or service as ‘offering’.
pyā́yasva: middle imperative from √pyā ‘to swell, grow, become abundant’. syándasva: middle imperative from √syand ‘to flow, stream’. aṃśú: ‘ray, filament’—also Soma-stalk/beam; from √aṃś ‘to share/portion’ → ‘thread/portion’ becoming ‘ray/beam’. havís: offering, from √hu ‘to sacrifice, offer’ (semantic field of oblation).
offering as upward movement of essence, plenitude (pyā) as inner fullness, ṛta as right flow (syand)
Soma’s right flow is ṛta in motion—energy moving in true channels.
Rays (aṃśu) imply truth-light carried by delight, not dry cognition alone.
From essence to manifestation: fullness becomes outflow, outflow becomes offering that sustains the gods (powers).
Vedic Ananda-doctrine (Aurobindo): Soma as delight-substance bridging supramental truth and embodied life.
Flowing juice = circulating bliss; rays = channels of luminous awareness; moon = cool sustaining delight in the mind.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Soma as the growing and streaming delight-essence whose rays become the supreme oblation—mythically the descent and ascent of immortal sweetness: it flows out (into the being) and is offered upward (to the gods).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √syand ‘to flow’ has clear IE parallels in flow/stream semantics (cf. English ‘send’ is not cognate, but the root pattern of fluid motion verbs is archaic). The imperative sequence (prá… prá…) is a typical IE poetic device of anaphora to drive ritual action.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi commands/invokes Soma’s self-manifestation: fullness and flow. The deity is treated as a conscious power that can be urged to become ‘uttamam havis’—the refined essence that nourishes the inner gods (faculties).
Cultivate fullness of Ananda, then let it stream through the whole system as luminous currents.
Svādhiṣṭhāna–Anāhata (sweetness to heart-widening) with ascent to Ājñā as rays
Inhale ‘pyāyasva’ (feel expansion in torso), exhale ‘syandasva’ (feel streaming down the nāḍīs). 9 cycles, then chant once slowly.
Expansive, flowing joy with lucid brightness.
After chanting, sit 2 minutes sensing ‘rays’ of calm delight spreading to thoughts, speech, and action; then dedicate the day as ‘uttamaṃ haviḥ’.
Maintain Vedic accents; imperatives often carry strong udātta—keep the two ‘pra’ as clear launches into the phrase.
Mark the double impetus: ‘prá pyāyasva / prá syandasva’—slight lift on prá; land firmly on ‘haviḥ’.
‘pyāyasva’ = pyā-ya-sva (do not drop y)., ‘syandasva’ = syan-das-va (clear ‘sy’ cluster)., ‘aṃśubhiḥ’ nasalize ‘aṃ’ lightly; keep ś (palatal) distinct.
Bright, flowing, slightly rising on the imperatives; crisp closure on the final offering phrase.
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