Rig Veda 9.45.5: Mandala 9, Sukta 45, Mantra 5
Sukta 9.45
- Rishi
- Ascription varies
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- To be verified for RV 9.45.1
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
समी सखायो अस्वरन्वने क्रीळन्तमत्यविम् । इन्दुं नावा अनूषत ॥
samī́ sakhā́yo asvaran váne krī́ḷantam átyavim | índuṁ nā́vā anūṣata ||
Juntos, os companheiros fizeram soar o brado, saudando Indu na floresta interior — aquele que brinca para além da treva semelhante a rebanho; como barcos, levaram-no adiante.
Word by Word
- समी
- together; in companyIndeclinableअव्यय; ‘together/with’ (सह-अर्थे) / ‘towards’ (समीप-अर्थे)Role Adhikaraṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/देश-सम्बन्ध)Root सम् (उपसर्ग) + इ (अव्ययीभाव) → समी
- सखा॑यः
- companions, friendsNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole KartāRoot सखि- (प्रातिपदिक)
- अस्वरन्
- they sounded/sangVerbलुङ् (अorist); परस्मैपद; 3 पुरुष; बहुवचनRole Kriyā (मुख्य क्रिया)Root स्वर् (धातु; ‘स्वरति/स्वर्’ = ध्वनिते, गायत्/स्तौति)
- वने
- in the wood/forestNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी विभक्ति; एकवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot वन- (प्रातिपदिक)
- क्रीळन्तम्
- playing, sportingParticiple (Adjective) / Kṛdantaपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचन; वर्तमानकालिक शतृ-प्रत्ययRole Karma (विशेष्यः इन्दुम्) / कर्मणि विशेषणRoot क्रीळ् (धातु) → क्रीळन्त् (वर्तमान कृदन्त, शतृ)
- अत्यविम्
- the ‘over-ewe’ (a Vedic epithet; swift/overflowing one)Noun (compound) / Adjective used substantivelyस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचनRole Karma (क्रीळन्तम् इत्यस्य सह-विशेषण; ‘अत्यविम्’ = ‘अत्यव्या सह/अत्यव्या-रूपेण’ इति वैदिक प्रयोगः)Root अति (उपसर्ग/पूर्वपद) + अवि- (प्रातिपदिक ‘sheep/ewe’) → अत्यवि-
- इन्दुम्
- Indu (Soma), the dropNounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचनRole KarmaRoot इन्दु- (प्रातिपदिक; सोमः)
- नावा
- with a boat; by boatNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया विभक्ति; एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot नौ- (प्रातिपदिक) → नावा (इन्स्ट्रु. एक.)
- अनूषत
- they praised/celebrated (him)Verbलुङ् (अorist); परस्मैपद; 3 पुरुष; बहुवचनRole Kriyā (द्वितीया क्रिया)Root वच्/उष्? (वैदिक धातु: अनु + वच्/उष् ‘to praise/utter’; परम्परया: अनु + वच् → अनुवोचत्/अनूषत् वैदिक रूप)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: समी | सखायः | अस्वरन् | वने | क्रीळन्तम् | अत्यविम् | इन्दुम् | नावा | अनूषत ।
- ‘समी’ अव्ययम्। ‘अत्यविम्’ = अति + अविम् (उपसर्गपूर्वक-समास/उपपद-प्रयोगः) वैदिक विशेषणरूपेण। ‘अनूषत’ वैदिक लुङ्-रूपं (अनु-उपसर्गयुक्तं) ‘स्तुत्यर्थे/उच्चारणे’ प्रयुज्यते।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Together the comrades raised their sound in the wood/forest, praising Indu who plays beyond the sheep; as boats they carried him onward.
Inner meaning
The ‘comrades’ (sakhāyaḥ) are the allied powers of the seeker—aspiration, faith, will, and illumined thought—who resound together (sam…asvaran) in the inner forest (vane: the complex, living field of inner nature). They acclaim Indu, the purified delight, who ‘plays’ (krīḻantam) beyond the aví (sheep)—symbol of the passive, herd-like tamas and mechanical habit. The nāvāḥ (boats) are the supportive formations (right thoughts, right rhythms, right breaths) that bear this delight across the currents of becoming, so it can pervade and transform life-nature.
Universal truth
When the inner faculties unite in a single aspiration, joy becomes a playful, liberating power that carries consciousness beyond inertia and collective habit across life’s changing currents.
Themes
Soma-ritual, purification, inner ascent, companions/Marut-like supports (sakhāyaḥ as allied powers)
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 9.45 (hymn context)
Significance
The rishi-voice here is collective and yogic: ‘comrades’ suggests a harmonized inner assembly, a hallmark of the Soma Maṇḍala where multiple powers collaborate to establish Ananda in the nature.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna (Indu)
- Epithets
- Indu, Pavamāna, Krīḻan (sporting one, implied)
- Related deities
- Vāyu (carrier/breath), Indra (receiver of Soma, illumined mind), Maruts (comrade-powers; collective energies)
Cosmic role
Delight that moves through and beyond the formations of nature, enabling passage across change and sustaining the gods’ works.
Inner power
Playful transcendence: Ananda that is not bound by tamas, carrying the being forward with ease.
In ritual
Where it is used
Pavamāna Soma chanting during straining/flowing; communal recitation elements implied by ‘comrades sounded forth’.
समी॒ सखा॑यो अस्वर॒न्वने॒ क्रीळ॑न्त॒मत्य॑विम् । इन्दुं॑ ना॒वा अ॑नूषत ॥
सम् । ई॒म् इति॑ । सखा॑यः । अ॒स्व॒र॒न् । वने॑ । क्रीळ॑न्तम् । अति॑ऽअविम् । इन्दु॑म् । ना॒वाः । अ॒नू॒ष॒त॒ ॥
sam | īm iti | sakhāyaḥ | asvaran | vane | krīḷantam | ati-avim | indum | nāvāḥ | ānūṣata
To be verified (likely a common Soma meter; precise identification requires syllable count with proper saṃhitā segmentation).
Two half-lines shown; exact pāda meter to be verified.
Choral and flowing—first half suggests collective resonance; second half suggests carrying movement like rowing/stream-crossing.
Encourages group-like coherence in the psyche; supports a sense of being ‘carried’ by practice rather than pushing by strain.
- sakhāyaḥ
- Literal: friends/comrades. Symbolic: allied inner powers and helpful movements (faith, will, discernment, right emotion)
- asvaran
- Literal: sounded/raised a cry. Symbolic: harmonized vibration of mantra/aspiration in the inner being
- vana
- Literal: forest/wood. Symbolic: the inner life-field: nature with its many growths, impulses, and hidden passages
- krīḻantam
- Literal: playing/sporting. Symbolic: free, spontaneous movement of Ananda beyond compulsion
- ati-avim
- Literal: beyond the sheep. Symbolic: beyond herd-tamas: mechanical, collective inertia and dull habit
- nāvāḥ
- Literal: boats. Symbolic: supports that carry consciousness: right breath, right thought-forms, right practices across the stream of becoming
- Indu
- Literal: bright Soma drop. Symbolic: purified delight-consciousness
Soma Pavamāna cycle: recited/sung during Soma pressing and purification (pavamāna-stotra context within Agniṣṭoma and related Soma sacrifices).
During Soma purification and offering sequences; potentially in group chant settings.
Chanting while Soma flows and is borne to vessels/offerings; metaphorically ‘carrying’ Soma.
A mantra for sangha-like inner integration: use when scattered—bring parts together, then let joy carry you through change.
Key terms: (1) asvaran: aorist 3pl of √svar ‘to sound, resound; (in Vedic also to shine/beam by sound)’—supports the idea of vibratory illumination. (2) vane loc.sg. of vana ‘wood/forest’, often an inner region of mixed growth; not merely physical. (3) krīḷantam pres.ptc.acc.sg. of √krīḍ ‘to play’, indicating spontaneous, unbound action of Soma-force. (4) ati-avim: ati + avi (acc.sg.), ‘beyond the sheep’; avi from PIE *h₂ówis ‘sheep’ (cf. Lat. ovis, Gk. ὄϊς). In symbolic reading, ‘sheep’ = herded, habitual, tamasic life-movements. (5) indu acc.sg. of indu ‘bright drop’, Soma as luminous essence. (6) nāvāḥ nom.pl. of nāu ‘boat’ (PIE *néh₂us; cf. Lat. nāvis, Eng. navigation). (7) anūṣata: 3pl perfect/aoristic formation from √nu/√nū ‘to sound, praise’; anu- intensifies accompaniment (‘praise following upon’).
Ṛta as right movement (sam- ‘together’ as integration toward order), transition from tamas (habitual lower nature) toward luminous clarity (indu), inner journey across the ‘waters’ of becoming
‘Together’ (sam) and ‘sounded’ (asvaran) indicate consonance with Ṛta: many powers acting as one rhythm.
Moving beyond herd-tamas opens a truer seeing/being; Satya is approached by leaving mechanical habit.
Crossing the waters of becoming: a recurring Vedic image of evolution toward the luminous world.
Integral-yogic psychology: transformation of nature by establishing Ananda as a carrying power.
Forest = inner nature’s complexity; boats = practices/supports; waters = life’s flux; sound = mantra-vibration unifying the being.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘purified bright drop’ (Indu/Soma) is escorted and acclaimed by allied powers (‘sakhāyaḥ’) through the inner ‘forest’ and across the waters (‘boats’). Mythically it is the procession of Soma toward the gods; psychologically it is the conveyance of illumination-delight through the tangled lower field, surpassing the herd-like inertia (‘ati-avim’).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- nāu- ‘boat’ continues PIE *néh₂us (Lat. nāvis, Eng. naval); avi ‘sheep’ continues PIE *h₂ówis (Lat. ovis). The verse juxtaposes inherited concrete lexemes (boat, sheep, forest) with Vedic semantic extension (boats as supports of crossing; sheep as habitual lower movements), a hallmark of Indo-European poetic diction evolving into spiritual symbolism.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The voice aligns itself with the ‘sakhāyaḥ’—a collective of inner helpers—who acclaim and carry Indu. Reciprocity is implicit: the human/ritual-psychic companions raise the vibratory call (asvaran) and praise (anūṣata), and Soma in turn becomes the luminous force that enables crossing and surpassing the lower herd-nature, establishing a right-ordered movement toward Ṛta.
Unify inner ‘companions’: gather attention, breath, feeling, and will around a single luminous joy.
Vishuddha (sound/resonance) supporting Anahata (joy) for harmonization.
Gentle ujjāyī or coherent breathing (equal inhale/exhale) while softly voicing the mantra to feel ‘boat-like’ steadiness.
From fragmentation into integrated flow; from tamas to light, playful clarity.
Before chanting, silently invite the ‘sakhāyaḥ’—your best movements—to stand together. Chant as a chorus within; then rest, letting the joy carry you without forcing.
To be verified from Vedic accent marks; keep the cadence flowing, with audible lift where udātta is marked in the saṃhitā.
Let ‘sam ī’ be joined smoothly; avoid breaking the compound ati-avim; maintain a gentle rise into ‘Induṃ’.
Pronounce krīḻantam with clear retroflex ḻ., Keep ati-avim as a sandhi unit: atiavim., Do not nasalize vāḥ in nāvāḥ excessively; keep visarga light.
Softly resonant, choral-in-feel; prioritize continuity over percussive attack.
54
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