Rig Veda 4.46.3: Mandala 4, Sukta 46, Mantra 3
Sukta 4.46
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Indra-Vāyu
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
आ वां सहस्रं हरय इन्द्रवायू अभि प्रयः । वहन्तु सोमपीतये ॥
ā́ vām sahásraṃ háraya índra-vāyū abhí práyaḥ | váhantu sóma-pītaye ||
हे इन्द्रवायू, वां सहस्रं हरयः प्रयः अभि आ वहन्तु, सोमपीतये। बलप्राणयोः संयुक्ता शक्तिः प्रचुरतया आगत्य अमृतं सोमं गृह्णातु, अस्माकं सत्त्वं च उन्नयतु।
Word by Word
- आ
- hither, towardsIndeclinableउपसर्गः/निपातःRoot आ (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- वाम्
- for you two / to you twoPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी द्विवचनम् (enclitic form of युष्मद्)Role SampradānaRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सहस्रम्
- a thousandNounनपुंसकलिङ्गम्, द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- हरयः
- the tawny (horses)Nounपुंलिङ्गम्, प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्रवायू
- O Indra and VāyuNoun (dual deity name)पुंलिङ्गम्, सम्बोधन द्विवचनम्Root इन्द्र-वायु (समास-प्रातिपदिक; द्वन्द्व)
- अभि
- towards, untoIndeclinableउपसर्गः/अव्ययम्Root अभि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- प्रयः
- refreshment, nourishment (offering)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्गम्, द्वितीया एकवचनम् (Vedic form: -as > -aḥ)Role KarmaRoot प्रयस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- वहन्तु
- let them carryVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), परस्मैपदम्, तृतीया पुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Root वह् (धातु)
- सोमपीतये
- for Soma-drinkingNounस्त्रीलिङ्गम्, चतुर्थी एकवचनम्Role SampradānaRoot सोम-पीति (समास-प्रातिपदिक; तत्पुरुष: ‘Soma-drinking’)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution: (1) वां॑ = वाम् (युष्मद् enclitic dual, used for ‘to/for you two’)
- (2) इन्द्र॑वायू is a vocative dual dvandva compound (इन्द्र + वायु)
- (3) प्रय॑: = प्रयः (Vedic nominative/accusative neuter sg ending -aḥ from -as; here taken as acc. sg object of अभि)
The meaning
Outer meaning
O Indra and Vāyu, let a thousand bay horses bring you toward the offering for the drinking of Soma.
Inner meaning
Indra (illumined mind) and Vāyu (life-breath) are invoked together: when mind-light and prāṇa unite, a ‘thousand’ energies (sahasram harayaḥ) can carry the divine powers into our offering. The ‘bays’ are bright dynamic forces—vital energies refined to serve illumination. Their coming ‘toward the prayaḥ’ indicates convergence toward the concentrated offering (pressed delight) so the being may be uplifted by Soma.
Universal truth
When breath and illumination cooperate, abundant energies gather naturally around the soul’s offering, enabling a powerful intake of delight and a higher poise of action.
Themes
Indra-Vāyu dual hymn, Arrival invitation, Plenitude of energies, Soma assimilation
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 4.46.4, RV 4.17
Family tradition
This family’s Indra-Vāyu invocations often emphasize coordinated ascent: illumination steers, breath carries, soma nourishes.
Significance
The seer presents a key integrative formula: abundance of energy (haris) becomes auspicious only when it brings the divine pair to the offering of delight.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra-Vāyu
- Epithets
- twin lords of force and breath, Soma-drinkers, swift-arrivers
- Related deities
- Soma, Maruts, Agni
Cosmic role
Indra conquers obstruction and releases light; Vāyu circulates life and receives Soma first—together they establish victorious, ordered movement between planes.
Inner power
Illumined will (Indra) guiding prāṇic dynamism (Vāyu), producing swift, abundant progress in sādhanā.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma-yajña: Indra-Vāyu āhvāna for soma-drinking.
आ वां॑ स॒हस्रं॒ हर॑य॒ इन्द्र॑वायू अ॒भि प्रय॑: । वह॑न्तु॒ सोम॑पीतये ॥
आ । वा॒म् । स॒हस्र॑म् । हर॑यः । इन्द्र॑वायू॒ इति॑ । अ॒भि । प्रयः॑ । वह॑न्तु । सोम॑ऽपीतये ॥
ā | vām | sahasram | harayaḥ | indravāyūiti | abhi | prayaḥ | vahantu | soma-pītaye
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3×8
Rapid, calling rhythm; the ‘thousand’ image expands within a tight frame—energetic compression.
Invokes a surge of prāṇic brightness; supports energetic uplift without heaviness.
- इन्द्रवायू (indravāyū)
- Literal: Indra and Vāyu. Symbolic: illumined mind + regulated life-force acting as one power
- सहस्रम् (sahasram)
- Literal: a thousand. Symbolic: vast multiplicity and plenitude of energies
- हरयः (harayaḥ)
- Literal: bays (horses). Symbolic: dynamic forces/energies of action made luminous
- प्रयः (prayaḥ)
- Literal: offering, refreshment. Symbolic: concentrated nourishment/oblation—essence of effort and delight
- सोमपीतये (somapītaye)
- Literal: for soma-drinking. Symbolic: for receiving divine delight that immortalizes consciousness
Soma rite: invitation to Indra-Vāyu for Soma drinking; paired graha/hymn in Soma liturgy
In Indra-Vāyu soma sequences, inviting them to the offering.
Recitation during soma invitation and offering; mentally call illumination and breath to drink the inner soma.
Use when needing energized clarity: before study, creative work, or decisive action—invite ‘bright energies’ to gather around a clear intention.
hari (हरि) ‘tawny, radiant’ often names Indra’s horses; psychologically ‘energies of dynamic light’. praya (प्रयस्) from √prī/√pra-? in RV denotes refreshment/oblation; innerly ‘nourishment that impels forward’. sahasra ‘thousand’ as a Vedic intensifier for abundance/plenitude.
plenitude of force (sahasra), synergy of prāṇa and vajra-force, ānanda as soma
‘Bringing toward the offering’ signifies energies aligning to Ṛta rather than scattering.
Indra’s presence ensures energies serve truth and illumination.
Release and mobilization of powers through soma—delight as a creative catalyst.
Integral psychological: abundance (sahasra) becomes divine when yoked to light and breath and offered into delight.
morning/forenoon soma context
Horses = vital energies; thousand = plenitude; soma = bliss-essence; coming to offering = inward gathering and consecration.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘steeds bring the gods to Soma’ mythologem: the luminous energies (harayaḥ) convey Indra-Vāyu to the offering for Soma-drinking. Innerly, an abundance of dynamic powers is summoned so that force (Indra) and breath (Vāyu) may jointly receive delight and convert it into forward movement.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- vahantu from √vah ‘carry’ corresponds to PIE *weǵh- ‘to carry, convey’ (cf. English weigh/wagon via Germanic developments; Latin vehō). The chariot/steed conveyance motif is a shared IE poetic inheritance.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi calls not only the deities but their operative energies (harayaḥ) in plenitude, indicating a practical reciprocity: the human offers prayaḥ (nourishing oblation), the gods arrive empowered to drink Soma and to increase the seeker’s capacity for forceful, rightly-directed life.
Call a plenitude of luminous energies to gather around the heart-offering; unite breath with clear will.
Maṇipūra (energy) harmonized with Ājñā (guidance)
Bhastrikā-light (very gentle, short set) or energizing ujjāyī for a few rounds, then settle into calm nasal breathing while chanting.
Luminous dynamism; energized concentration.
Chant 3, 9, or 27 times; visualize many bright ‘bays’ converging—scattered impulses becoming one coordinated force—then offer that gathered force to the inner soma (delight) in the heart.
Maintain Vedic accents; keep vocative ‘indravāyū’ clearly articulated as a dual compound.
Mark the three gāyatrī padas with slight pauses; keep ‘somapītaye’ as a single smooth intention phrase.
indravāyū: long ‘āyū’ ending; avoid shortening, harayaḥ: visarga-like final ḥ is not pronounced here; it is ‘harayaḥ’ with final ‘ḥ’ as voiceless breath, somapītaye: long ‘ī’ in pī-
Bright, resonant, slightly quicker to match the ‘arrival’ motif.
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