Rig Veda 8.85.2: Mandala 8, Sukta 85, Mantra 2
Sukta 8.85
- Devata
- Aśvins
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
इमं मे स्तोममश्विनेमं मे शृणुतं हवम् । मध्वः सोमस्य पीतये ॥
imáṃ me stómam aśvinemáṃ me śṛṇutaṃ hávam | mádhvaḥ sómasya pītáye ||
Этот мой гимн, о Ашвины, — этот мой зов услышьте; придите, чтобы пить мёдовый Сому.
Word by Word
- इमम्
- thisPronounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- मे
- my / for mePronounषष्ठी-विभक्ति; एकवचन (एन्क्लिटिक) अथवा चतुर्थी-एकवचन; वैदिके उभयथाRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी) / सम्प्रदान (यदि चतुर्थी)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- स्तोमम्
- hymn of praiseNounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot स्तोम (प्रातिपदिक) < √स्तु (स्तवने)
- अश्विनौ
- the Aśvins (the two horsemen)Noun (dual deity-name)पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; द्विवचनRole कर्तृRoot अश्विन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- इमम्
- thisPronounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- मे
- my / for mePronounषष्ठी-विभक्ति; एकवचन (एन्क्लिटिक) अथवा चतुर्थी-एकवचन; वैदिके उभयथाRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी) / सम्प्रदान (यदि चतुर्थी)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- शृणुतम्
- hear (you two)!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे); मध्यम-पुरुष; द्विवचन; परस्मैपदम्Role (क्रिया)Root √श्रु (श्रवणे)
- हवम्
- invocation, callNounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot हव (प्रातिपदिक) < √हू (आह्वाने) / √ह्वे
- मध्वः
- of the sweet (drink) / of honeyNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति; एकवचन (वैदिक-रूप: मध्वः = मधुनः)Role सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root मधु (प्रातिपदिक)
- सोमस्य
- of SomaNounपुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति; एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- पीतये
- for drinkingNoun (action-noun)स्त्रीलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी-विभक्ति; एकवचनRole सम्प्रदान (उद्देश्य/प्रयोजन)Root पीति (प्रातिपदिक) < √पा (पाने) (कृदन्त-निर्मित भाव/क्रिया-नाम)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-विग्रह): इमं मे स्तोमम् अश्विनौ | इमं मे शृणुतम् हवम् | मध्वः सोमस्य पीतये || 1) स्तोम॑मश्विने॒मं → स्तोमम् + अश्विनौ + इमम् (अन्त्य -म् + अ- इत्यत्र संहितायां ‘मश्वि-’ इव दृश्यते; अश्विनौ द्विवचन-प्रथमा)
- 2) शृणुतं॒ हव॑म् → शृणुतम् + हवम् (द्विवचन-आज्ञार्थ)
- 3) मध्व॒: → मध्वः (वैदिक षष्ठी-एकवचन; मधुनः इत्यर्थे)
- 4) सोम॑स्य पी॒तये॑ → सोमस्य + पीतये (चतुर्थी: प्रयोजन ‘for drinking’)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The speaker offers a hymn and call to the Aśvins, asking them to hear and come to drink the honeyed Soma.
Inner meaning
The soul’s aspiring speech (stoma, hava) summons the twin powers of swift luminous aid (Aśvins) to awaken and harmonize the human nature, so that the sweetness of Soma—inner Ananda—may be received and made operative in the being.
Universal truth
When sincere aspiration and praise rise from the heart, higher helping powers respond; delight (Ananda) is not merely felt but can become an active force that heals, integrates, and guides life.
Themes
invocation, hearing of prayer, Soma-drinking, twin divine aid
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 8.85.3, Rig Veda 8.85.4, Rig Veda 8.85.5, Rig Veda 8.85.6
Family tradition
Maṇḍala 8 is largely Kaṇva-associated in many hymns, but this specific attribution is not established from the excerpt alone.
Significance
The seer-voice here represents the human intermediary (vipra/jaritar in the sequence) whose inspired utterance calls the assisting divine twins; the emphasis is on receptivity to Soma-delight as a transformative power.
The deity
- Devata
- Aśvinau (Nā́satyā)
- Epithets
- Aśvinā, Nā́satyā (implied traditional epithet), Divine Twins, Healers, Swift helpers
- Related deities
- Uṣas, Sūrya, Agni, Indra, Soma
Cosmic role
Bringers of dawn-like succour, restoration, and right functioning; mediators who swiftly carry the seeker from limitation to a more luminous order.
Inner power
The twin action of illumination and healing: they adjust the mixed human nature, restore right rhythms, and prepare the being to receive Soma (Ananda).
In ritual
Where it is used
Aśvina-śastra / Aśvin invocation in Soma-related settings (general)
इ॒मं मे॒ स्तोम॑मश्विने॒मं मे॑ शृणुतं॒ हव॑म् । मध्व॒: सोम॑स्य पी॒तये॑ ॥
इ॒मम् । मे॒ । स्तोम॑म् । अ॒श्वि॒ना॒ । इ॒मम् । मे॒ । शृ॒णु॒त॒म् । हव॑म् । मध्वः॑ । सोम॑स्य । पी॒तये॑ ॥
imam | me | stomam | aśvinā | imam | me | śṛṇutam | havam | madhvaḥ | somasya | pītaye
32
4 pādas of ~8 syllables (refrain-like cadence ending with ‘madhvaḥ somasya pītaye’)
Compact, refrain-driven, invitational
Creates a steady summons; the repeated closing phrase builds a mantra-like pull toward sweetness and receptivity.
- स्तोम (stoma)
- Literal: hymn of praise. Symbolic: formed aspiration; articulated soul-speech that builds a bridge to the divine
- हव (hava)
- Literal: call, invocation. Symbolic: the inner cry of need and openness that invites descent of help
- अश्विना (aśvinā)
- Literal: the Aśvin twins. Symbolic: twin divine powers of swift illumination and healing; harmonizers of mind-life-body
- मधु (madhu/madhvaḥ)
- Literal: honey, sweetness. Symbolic: the sweetness of Ananda; a refined delight that can permeate nature
- सोम (soma)
- Literal: Soma drink. Symbolic: nectar of divine bliss/immortality distilled in consciousness
- पीतये (pītaye)
- Literal: for drinking. Symbolic: for conscious reception/assimilation of delight into the instruments
Standard Aśvin invitation in soma ritual: hearing of the hymn/call precedes their arrival to the Soma. Suitable for Aśvin-related grahas and dawn-linked offerings.
At Soma offerings or invitatory portions calling the Aśvins to partake
Recitation to invite the Aśvins; offering and welcoming of Soma
Use as a short daily invocation before meditation to invite ‘swift help’ and to open to inner delight (Ananda) as a healing force.
stóma from √stu ‘praise’. śṛṇu- (√śru) ‘hear’ (PIE *ḱlew-). The repetition ‘imám me … imám me’ is a Vedic emphasis device: intensifies immediacy and sincerity of the call, and in psychological reading indicates concentrated intention (ekāgratā) in invocation.
śruti (hearing) as divine reception, mantra as channel, delight as transformative essence
The Aśvins restore r̥ta in the human system—right measure, right movement—so Soma can be held without disturbance.
Truthful invocation: the sincere call aligns speech and will with the soul’s need.
Descent of delight into embodied life; transformation by assimilation of Soma.
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral (Aurobindo-Kashyap style): Soma as Ananda, deities as powers of consciousness.
dawn/twilight (Aśvins’ characteristic hour)
Honey/Soma signifies a refined sweetness of consciousness; dawn-association signifies the first opening of illumination in the mind.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem of ‘divine hearing and arrival’: the Aśvins are summoned through stoma and havam; hearing is the decisive opening that allows their approach and the Soma-drinking communion. Innerly, concentrated invocation makes the twin helping powers present.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Dual forms (śṛṇutaṃ) reflect archaic IE dual preserved in Indo-Iranian. √śru (hear) continues PIE *ḱlew-, central to a tradition where ‘hearing’ is both literal and sacral (fame, hymn, revelation).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The ṛṣi offers a formed praise (stoma) and a direct call (havam); the Aśvins’ side of the exchange is to ‘hear’—to accept the connection—and then to partake of Soma, i.e., to enter the seeker’s delight and act as swift helpers within it.
Invoke swift inner help to harmonize the nature; receive Ananda as an active, healing energy.
Anāhata (heart) and Viśuddha (throat) for devotion and mantra-speech
Gentle nāḍī-śodhana or slow equal breathing (sama-vṛtti) while repeating the refrain
Receptive, luminous calm with a sweetness spreading through the being
Begin with 9 or 27 repetitions of the closing phrase ‘madhvaḥ somasya pītaye’ as japa; feel the ‘drink’ as a descent of sweetness into mind and life; end with a quiet offering of all movements to the inner sacrifice.
Not provided; chant with standard Rigvedic accent awareness: maintain udātta lift on accented syllables, avoid flattening svarita transitions (requires śākhā-specific notation for precision).
Keep a slight pitch rise on principal udātta syllables; let the refrain end (‘pītaye’) resolve gently, not abruptly.
aśvinā: keep ś as palatal (like ‘sh’), short i, madhvaḥ: pronounce dhv conjunct clearly (mad-dhvaḥ), final ḥ as soft visarga, somasya: clear o, avoid diphthongizing, pītaye: long ī; dental t (not retroflex)
Clear, inviting, slightly bright (dawn-like), with a soft finish on the refrain
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.
