Rig Veda 9.64.28: Mandala 9, Sukta 64, Mantra 28
Sukta 9.64
- Rishi
- Ascribed to Soma Pavamāna seers
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- Likely Jagatī
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
दविद्युतत्या रुचा परिष्टोभन्त्या कृपा । सोमाः शुक्रा गवाशिरः ॥
dávidyutatyā rucā́ paristóbhantyā kṛ́pā | sómāḥ śukrā́ gavā́śiraḥ ||
Сверкая лучезарным сиянием, окружённые звучащим гимном, в созидающем образе — силы Сомы, светлые и чистые, смешиваются с коровьей сущностью; они вбирают в себя лучи светозарного знания.
Word by Word
- दवि॑द्युतत्या
- with the far-/widely-flashing (light)Adjective (participial)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole करणRoot दवि॑द्युतत्- (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √द्युत् ‘दीप्तौ’ + उपसर्ग/प्रवृद्धि दवि-)
- रु॒चा
- with radiance / with lightNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole करणRoot रुच्- (स्त्री) ‘प्रभा, दीप्ति’
- परि॒ष्टोभ॑न्त्या
- with (her) praising all around / encircling with praiseAdjective (present participle)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole करणRoot परि-√स्तुभ् ‘स्तुतौ’ (वर्तमान कृदन्त/शतृ-प्रातिपदिक: परिष्टोभन्ती-)
- कृ॒पा
- with favor / with graciousnessNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole करणRoot कृपा- (स्त्री) ‘कृपा, अनुकम्पा/स्नेह’ (RV में ‘कृपा’ = कृपा/अनुग्रह)
- सोमा॑ः
- the Soma (drops/juices)Nounपुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot सोम- (पुं) ‘सोम’
- शु॒क्राः
- bright, shiningAdjectiveपुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन (सोमाः इति विशेष्यस्य)Role कर्तृRoot शुक्र- (विशेषण) ‘श्वेत/दीप्त’
- गवा॑शिरः
- mixed with milk (lit. ‘having cow-mixture’)Adjective (compound epithet)पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन (सोमाः इति विशेष्यस्य)Role कर्तृRoot गवाशिरस्- (बहुव्रीहि/तत्पुरुष-समास; गो- + आशिरस्/आशिर् ‘मिश्रण/आशीः’ → ‘गो-दुग्ध-मिश्रित/गो-आशिरस्’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: दवि॑द्युतत्या | रु॒चा | परि॒ष्टोभ॑न्त्या | कृ॒पा | सोमा॑ः | शु॒क्रा | गवा॑शिरः ।
- ‘शु॒क्रा गवा॑शिरः’ इत्यत्र विशेषण-द्वयम् ‘सोमा॑ः’ इत्यस्य।
The meaning
Outer meaning
With flashing radiance, with the encompassing ringing hymn, with the shaping form—Soma juices, bright, are mixed with the cow’s essence.
Inner meaning
Soma’s purification is accompanied by three powers: radiance (ruc), the surrounding chant that establishes a field (pariṣṭobha), and a formative ‘shape’ (kṛpā) that gives the force a workable body in consciousness. The Soma-powers become ‘bright’ and take into themselves go-āśis—‘cow-essence’: the rays of knowledge. Thus delight, illumined and given form by mantra, assimilates the light of understanding; Ananda becomes a vehicle of gnosis rather than mere sensation.
Universal truth
True delight is not blind; when illumined and formed by right vibration, it naturally absorbs knowledge-light and becomes a stable power for transformation.
Themes
illumination, Soma and rays, mantric resonance, purity
The seer
- Rishi
- Soma Pavamāna seers (Mandala 9, Pavāmāna tradition)
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 9.64, Rig Veda 9.95, Rig Veda 9.107
Family tradition
Soma hymns where mantra (stobha), light (ruc), and formation (kṛpā) are seen as co-workers in inner purification.
Significance
Shows the Vedic psychology of transformation: delight must be illumined (ruc) and shaped (kṛpā) through mantra-field (stobha) to receive the ‘cows’—the rays of knowledge.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Śukra (bright)
- Related deities
- Bṛhaspati (mantric formation), Sūrya (illumination), Sarasvatī/Vāc (hymn-power)
Cosmic role
Transmuter: turns raw vitality into luminous delight and delight into knowledge-bearing force.
Inner power
Illumined Ananda that assimilates gnosis (go) and becomes a stable, formed power in the system.
In ritual
Where it is used
Pavamāna Soma chants during filtering
दवि॑द्युतत्या रु॒चा प॑रि॒ष्टोभ॑न्त्या कृ॒पा । सोमा॑: शु॒क्रा गवा॑शिरः ॥
दवि॑द्युतत्या । रु॒चा । प॒रि॒ऽस्तोभ॑न्त्या । कृ॒पा । सोमाः॑ । शु॒क्राः । गोऽआ॑शिरः ॥
davidyutatyā | rucā | pari-stobhantyā | kṛpā | somāḥ | śukrāḥ | go-āśiraḥ
48
4 × 12 (approx.)
Bright, ringing, with a ‘circling’ feel matching pariṣṭobha.
Invokes a protective sonic envelope; listeners often feel a clearer, more luminous mental space.
- रुचा (rucā)
- Literal: radiance, light. Symbolic: illumination that clarifies delight
- परिष्टोभन्त्या (pariṣṭobhantyā)
- Literal: with the ringing chant all around. Symbolic: mantric field that stabilizes and protects the working of force
- कृपा (kṛpā)
- Literal: form, shaping; (also ‘pity/grace’ in later Sanskrit). Symbolic: formative power giving a body/structure to the experience in the being
- सोमाः शुक्राः (somāḥ śukrāḥ)
- Literal: bright Soma drops/juices. Symbolic: purified Ananda-currents made luminous
- गोआशिरः (go-āśiraḥ)
- Literal: mixed with cow’s essence. Symbolic: charged with rays of knowledge (go = light-rays), ‘seasoned’ with gnosis
- दविद्युतत्या (davidyutatyā)
- Literal: with flashing, sparkling. Symbolic: sudden gleams of insight accompanying the flow
Describes Soma’s brightening and mixing (with milk); inner correlate: delight infused with luminous knowledge (go = rays).
While Soma is being clarified and accompanied by stotra/śastra recitation.
Sung/recited as Soma flows; emphasizes the role of chant and light in purification.
For students/creatives: chant before study or writing to align delight with clarity and structured expression.
ruc (rucā) from √ruc ‘shine’ (PIE *leuk- ‘light’ is a different but comparable semantic field; direct cognacy uncertain). śukra from √śuc ‘shine, be bright/pure’. go-āśis/āśira ‘mixture/seasoning’ from √aś ‘to eat/enjoy’ or related ‘mixing’ formations; here interpreted symbolically: ‘go’ as light-ray/knowledge (common Vedic polyvalence), mixed into Soma’s clarified streams.
go (cow) as ray/knowledge-symbol, purity/brightness (śukra), mantra as enclosing vibration
The encircling hymn symbolizes R̥ta’s containing order that prevents dispersion.
Knowledge-rays (go) entering Soma indicate truth becoming enjoyable and livable.
Sound and light shaping substance: mantra-field + radiance gives form to force.
Mantra-gnosis orientation aligned with Aurobindonian reading of Veda as inner yoga.
Flashes = sudden insights; encircling chant = stable concentration-field; cows = rays of knowledge assimilated into purified delight.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Soma’s bright transformation by light and chant, ‘mixed with go’: the mythologem is the infusion of Soma with the rays of knowledge, producing a purified luminous delight fit for divine action.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- śukra ‘bright’ from √śuc aligns with Indo-Iranian brightness roots; ‘go’ (cow) is PIE *gʷōus (Skt. gó-, Gk. bous, Lat. bōs), showing a stable IE lexeme that Veda extends symbolically to ‘ray/light’ by poetic polyvalence.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi describes the process by which Soma becomes an instrument of illumination: through mantra (paristobha) and radiance (ruc), Soma is rendered śukra and receives ‘go’-essence—knowledge-rays—so the seeker’s delight is not blind intoxication but truth-lit joy.
Unite delight with clarity: feel a bright current in the spine, then ‘ring’ the space with silent mantra to give it form.
ājñā (brow)
Bhrāmarī (gentle humming) 5 rounds, then silent repetition of the mantra to create ‘pariṣṭobha’ inwardly.
Luminous concentration; joyful clarity.
When delight becomes restless, add ‘form’: regular rhythm, simple discipline, and mantra-field. Invite ‘go’—ask for understanding to enter the joy.
Mixed Vedic accents; exact svara requires a marked text.
Let the phrase with ‘pariṣṭobhantyā’ be articulated clearly—clusters can blur; keep the cadence even.
davidyutatyā: keep ‘dyu’ cluster; long ‘ā’ at end, rucā: ‘c’ palatal, not ‘ch’, pariṣṭobhantyā: retroflex ‘ṣṭo’; nasal ‘ntyā’ clean, kṛpā: vocalic ‘ṛ’ as brief ‘ri’ sound, gavāśiraḥ (go-āśiraḥ): separate go-ā-; ‘ś’ palatal
Bright, ringing, lightly nasal-resonant for clarity.
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