Rig Veda 9.86.43: Mandala 9, Sukta 86, Mantra 43
Sukta 9.86
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- Jagatī
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
अञ्जते व्यञ्जते समञ्जते क्रतुं रिहन्ति मधुनाभ्यञ्जते । सिन्धोरुच्छ्वासे पतयन्तमुक्षणं हिरण्यपावाः पशुमासु गृभ्णते ॥
añjáte vyàñjate sám añjate krátum rihanti mádhunā́bhyàñjate | síndhor ucchvā́se patáyantam ukṣáṇaṃ hiraṇyapāvā́ḥ paśúm ā́su gṛbhṇate ||
अञ्जते व्यञ्जते समञ्जते; क्रतुं रिहन्ति मधुना, मधुनाभ्यञ्जते। सिन्धोरुच्छ्वासे पतयन्तम् उक्षणं हिरण्यपावाः पशुमासु गृभ्णते।
Word by Word
- अञ्जते
- they anointVerbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्र. 3, बहु.Role KartāRoot अञ्ज्
- वि
- apart, forth (prefix)Indeclinableउपसर्गRoot वि
- अञ्जते
- they anointVerbलट्, आत्मनेपद, प्र. 3, बहु.Role KartāRoot अञ्ज्
- सम्
- together, completely (prefix)Indeclinableउपसर्गRoot सम्
- अञ्जते
- they anointVerbलट्, आत्मनेपद, प्र. 3, बहु.Role KartāRoot अञ्ज्
- क्रतुम्
- the resolve/ritual power (kratu)Nounपुं., द्वितीया, एक.Role KarmaRoot क्रतु
- रिहन्ति
- they lickVerbलट्, परस्मैपद, प्र. 3, बहु.Role KartāRoot रिह्
- मधुना
- with sweetness / with honeyNounनपुं., तृतीया, एक.Role KaraṇaRoot मधु
- अभि
- towards, upon (prefix)Indeclinableउपसर्गRoot अभि
- अञ्जते
- they anointVerbलट्, आत्मनेपद, प्र. 3, बहु.Role KartāRoot अञ्ज्
- सिन्धोः
- of the river/stream (Sindhu)Nounपुं., षष्ठी, एक.Role AdhikaraṇaRoot सिन्धु
- उच्छ्वासे
- in the up-breathing / surgeNounपुं., सप्तमी, एक.Role AdhikaraṇaRoot उच्छ्वास
- पतयन्तम्
- flying, dartingAdjective/Participleवर्त. कृदन्त (शतृ/यत्-प्रत्यय-प्रकार), पुं., द्वितीया, एक.Role KarmaRoot पतयन्त् (पत् + यन्)
- उक्षणम्
- the bull (i.e., Soma/strong one)Nounपुं., द्वितीया, एक.Role KarmaRoot उक्षन्
- हिरण्यपावाः
- the golden-purifying ones (golden strainers/filters)Noun/Adjectiveपुं., प्रथमा, बहु.Role KartāRoot हिरण्यपावन्
- पशुमासु
- among the cattle-rich (fem. beings/places)Adjectiveस्त्री., सप्तमी, बहु. (पशुमतीषु → पशुमासु, वैदिक संक्षेप)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot पशुमत्
- गृभ्णते
- they seize/holdVerbलट्, आत्मनेपद, प्र. 3, बहु.Role KartāRoot ग्रह्/गृभ्
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सम्भाव्य): अञ्जते | वि अञ्जते | सम् अञ्जते | क्रतुम् | रिहन्ति | मधुना | अभि अञ्जते | सिन्धोः | उच्छ्वासे | पतयन्तम् | उक्षणम् | हिरण्यपावाः | पशुमासु | गृभ्णते । प्रमुख संधि/संयोग: (1) व्यञ्जते = वि + अञ्जते (इ/अ संयोगे ‘य्’ आगमः)
- (2) समञ्जते = सम् + अञ्जते (म् + अ → मञ्ज)
- (3) मधुनाभ्यञ्जते = मधुना + अभि + अञ्जते (आ + अ → आ; अभि + अञ्जते → अभ्यञ्जते, इ/अ संयोगे ‘य्’)
- (4) सिन्धोरुच्छ्वासे = सिन्धोः + उच्छ्वासे (ः + उ → र्, विसर्ग-परिवर्तन)
- (5) पशुमा॑सु = पशुमतीषु का वैदिक संक्षेप/रूपान्तर (मासु)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The priests anoint and spread unguents upon Soma; they sweeten him with honey. In the river’s “up-breath,” the flying Bull is seized by the golden purifiers as a living power held in their hands.
Inner meaning
The seeker’s faculties repeatedly “anoint” (prepare, consecrate) the will-force (kratu) with sweetness (madhu)—the delight-substance of Soma—until aspiration becomes supple and luminous. In the surge of the inner current (sindhu), the ascending energy (the Bull, ukṣan) rises; the “golden-purifiers” are the illumined discernments that catch and hold this uplifted life-force, preventing dispersion and fixing it for inner offering.
Universal truth
Transformation is not forced by austerity alone; it ripens when will is bathed in delight. When consciousness learns to hold the ascending power steadily, the higher movement can be stabilized and made serviceable for life.
Themes
Soma-ritual, consecration, uplift of life-force, sweetness of delight
The seer
- Rishi
- Composite/Anonymous (Soma Pavamāna corpus; hymn-level Anukramaṇī needed)
- Other hymns
- RV 9.86 (entire hymn, Soma Pavamāna), RV 9.83–9.89 (neighboring Pavamāna sequences with similar purification imagery)
Family tradition
RV 9 Pavamāna tradition transmitted through multiple Soma-seer lineages; often treated as a collective vision of the Soma-priests.
Significance
The “seer” here is the collective yogic intuition of the Soma-pressing tradition: many inner workers describing one process—delight purified into a stable force that can carry consciousness upward.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Indu (Bright Drop), Pavamāna (Self-purifying), Ukṣan (Bull), Madhu (Sweetness)
- Related deities
- Agni (as the inner priest who receives Soma), Indra (who drinks Soma for illumination and victory), Sarasvatī (as inspired flow of speech)
Cosmic role
He is the purifying essence that flows through the filters, sustaining gods and worlds; the nectar that establishes luminous order in the being.
Inner power
Ananda that refines will (kratu) and lifts prāṇa upward, enabling stable illumination and inspired speech.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing and purification (pavamāna recitations during Soma-yajña)
अ॒ञ्जते॒ व्य॑ञ्जते॒ सम॑ञ्जते॒ क्रतुं॑ रिहन्ति॒ मधु॑ना॒भ्य॑ञ्जते । सिन्धो॑रुच्छ्वा॒से प॒तय॑न्तमु॒क्षणं॑ हिरण्यपा॒वाः प॒शुमा॑सु गृभ्णते ॥
अ॒ञ्जते॑ । वि । अ॒ञ्ज॒ते॒ । सम् । अ॒ञ्ज॒ते॒ । क्रतु॑म् । रि॒ह॒न्ति॒ । मधु॑ना । अ॒भि । अ॒ञ्ज॒ते॒ । सिन्धोः॑ । उत्ऽश्वा॒से । प॒तय॑न्तम् । उ॒क्षण॑म् । हि॒र॒ण्य॒ऽपा॒वाः । प॒शुम् । आ॒सु॒ । गृ॒भ्ण॒ते॒ ॥
añjate | vi | añjate | sam | añjate | kratum | rihanti | madhunā | abhi | añjate | sindhoḥ | ut-śvāse | patayantam | ukṣaṇam | hiraṇya-pāvāḥ | paśum | āsu | gṛbhṇate
48
4 pādas × ~12 syllables (Jagatī cadence; exact count depends on recensional sandhi)
Long, flowing, river-like movement with reiteration (añjate… añjate… sam añjate) that mimics repeated refining.
Creates a sense of continuous purification and ascent; repetition builds concentration and “sweetens” the will through sonic insistence.
- अञ्जते (añjate)
- Literal: they anoint/smear. Symbolic: consecrating and preparing consciousness by repeated inner refinement
- क्रतु (kratu)
- Literal: will, resolve, intelligent energy. Symbolic: the directive soul-will that can be shaped toward the Divine
- मधु (madhu)
- Literal: honey, sweetness. Symbolic: Soma-delight (ānanda) that harmonizes and makes the will luminous
- सिन्धु (sindhu)
- Literal: river, ocean, stream. Symbolic: the great inner flow of consciousness/being (life-mind current)
- उच्छ्वास (ucchvāsa)
- Literal: up-breath, exhalation. Symbolic: ascending prāṇa/udāna; the upward surge of aspiration
- उक्षण् (ukṣaṇ)
- Literal: bull. Symbolic: powerful ascending force of consciousness; virile energy of realization
- हिरण्यपावाः (hiraṇyapāvāḥ)
- Literal: golden purifiers. Symbolic: luminous discriminations/illumined instruments that purify and seize the truth-force
- पशु (paśu)
- Literal: living creature, cattle. Symbolic: life-force (prāṇa) to be taken up and offered/transformed
Describes handling/consecration of Soma in purification; inner correlate: consecrating will (kratu) and uplifting prāṇa
During Soma extraction/straining and offering sequences; sung/recited as Soma flows to vessels.
Chanting while Soma is filtered, mixed, and poured into cups; consecration of the pressed juice.
Use as a meditation-chant for refining intention: repeat while breathing upward (udāna focus), imagining the will bathed in sweetness and held steady by discernment.
añj- from √añj ‘anoint, smear’ (consecration). krátu from √kṛ ‘do’ with semantic specialization: ‘effective will/intelligence’. ucchvāsa ‘up-breath’ from ud-√śvas ‘breathe’; suggests prāṇic ascent. paśu from √paś ‘see’ is unlikely; more securely ‘creature’/‘cattle’ as bound life; psychologically the vital energy offered for transformation.
kratu (effective will), prāṇic ascent, consecration and integration
Purification aligns the inner currents to ṛta—right movement and right measure.
Soma as truth-essence when freed from mixture; sweetness as the taste of Satya in experience.
The worlds are sustained by the flowing essence; ascent occurs through an upward breath within the cosmic river.
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral (Aurobindonian): Ananda as a power of transformation, not mere pleasure.
Sweetness = ananda; river = continuous consciousness-flow; bull = upward power; gold = illumination of discernment.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The consecration and capture of the ‘flying bull’ in the river’s upsurge: Soma as potent force is seized by golden purifiers. Inwardly, the rising life-breath carries the awakened will (kratu) upward; luminous disciplines take hold of the vital (paśu) and transform it by sweetness (madhu).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √śvas ‘breathe’ corresponds to PIE *h₂wes- ‘breathe’ (Latin āura ‘breeze’ is different; but Indo-Iranian preserves ‘breath’ strongly). √kṛ ‘do/make’ is PIE *kwer-/*ker- ‘do/make’ (broadly; exact mapping varies), but the ‘kratu’ semantic of effective will is an Indo-Aryan development.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi portrays the inner ritualists (hiraṇyapāvāḥ) as powers that prepare Soma within the being: they anoint and assimilate his kratu. The reciprocity is practical—human discipline and consecration allow Soma’s force to be ‘held’ and directed upward.
Consecrate the will (kratu) by invoking sweetness (ananda) and holding the rising energy steady in awareness.
Anāhata to Viśuddha (sweetening the heart-will and lifting into clarified expression).
Gentle udāna emphasis: inhale feeling ‘up-breath’ rise along the spine; exhale stabilizing in the heart/throat.
Uplifted, lucid flow with contained power (not scattered excitation).
Before action, repeat mentally: ‘I anoint my will with delight’; then act only when the inner current feels clear and upward-moving.
Use the Rigvedic three-tone contour (udātta/anudātta/svarita) as per śākhā tradition; repeated ‘añjate’ phrases often carry a lifting udatta that supports the sense of ascent.
Keep clear stress on krátuṃ, mádhunā, síndhoḥ, úcchvāse, ukṣáṇam, hiraṇyapāvā́ḥ.
añjate: palatal ñ (as in ‘canyon’), not dental n, ucchvāse: clearly double ‘cchv’ cluster; keep vā long, hiraṇya: retroflex ṇ, ukṣaṇam: kṣ as a single conjunct, not ‘k-s’ separated
Warm, flowing, ‘nectar-like’ tone; avoid harshness; let repetition be gently insistent.
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