Rig Veda 9.64.2: Mandala 9, Sukta 64, Mantra 2
Sukta 9.64
- Rishi
- Soma Pavamāna seer-tradition
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- Likely Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
वृष्णस्ते वृष्ण्यं शवो वृषा वनं वृषा मदः । सत्यं वृषन्वृषेदसि ॥
vṛ́ṣṇas te vṛ́ṣṇyaṃ śávo vṛ́ṣā vánaṃ vṛ́ṣā mádaḥ | satyáṃ vṛṣan vṛ́ṣā íd asi ||
உன் வृष்ண்யம் (வृषப-வலிமை) வृषபனின் வலிமையே; உன் ஶவம் (பராக்கிரமம்) வृषபனின் வெற்றிக் களிப்பு; உன் மது (உன்மாதம்/ஆனந்தம்) வृषபனின் பெருக்கே. ஓ வृषபா, நீயே சத்தியம்—அதன் வல்ல உறுதிப்பாட்டில்.
Word by Word
- वृष्णः
- of the bull/strong one (i.e., of you)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive relation)Root वृषन्- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘bull, strong one’)
- ते
- of you/thyPronounषष्ठी एकवचन (enclitic)Role सम्बन्धRoot युष्मद्- (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वृष्ण्यम्
- bull-like might; virile powerAdjective (used substantively)नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनRole कर्म (as object of implied ‘is/exists’ or apposition)Root वृष्ण्य- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘bull-like, virile, mighty’)
- शवः
- strength, powerNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनRole कर्म/विषय (appositional: ‘power’)Root शवस्- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘strength, power’)
- वृषा
- the bull; the strong oneNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनRole कर्तृ (as subject/apposition)Root वृषन्- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘bull, strong one’)
- वनम्
- wood/forest; (contextually) a place of delightNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनRole कर्म/विषय (appositional)Root वन- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘wood, forest’; in Vedic also ‘delight/pleasure’ in some contexts)
- वृषा
- the bull; the strong oneNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनRole कर्तृ (apposition)Root वृषन्- (प्रातिपदिक)
- मदः
- rapture; exhilaration (intoxicating joy)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनRole कर्तृ/विषय (predicate/apposition)Root मद- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘intoxication, exhilaration, rapture’)
- सत्यम्
- truth; the true (thing)Adjective (used substantively)नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनRole कर्म/विषय (predicate/apposition)Root सत्य- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘true, real’)
- वृषन्
- O bull! O strong one!Noun (address)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot वृषन्- (प्रातिपदिक; vocative)
- वृषेदसि
- you rain/stream forth refreshment; you invigorate (as the bull of refreshment)Verb (finite)लट् (वर्तमान); मध्यमपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रिया (addressed to Soma)Root वृष- (धातु ‘to rain/strengthen’; here as verbal base in a Vedic compound-verb form) + इदस्/इद् (प्रातिपदिक ‘refreshment/impulse’, in the compound ‘वृष-इदस्’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (resolved): वृष्णः ते | वृष्ण्यम् शवः | वृषा वनम् | वृषा मदः | सत्यम् | वृषन् | वृषेदसि । Notable: (1) वृष्ण॑स्ते = वृष्णः + ते (visarga sandhi: ḥ + t → st).
- remaining words are already in padapāṭha-like form. Accent marks in the saṃhitā are not reproduced in the padāni here, but the underlying forms correspond to the accented saṃhitā text
The meaning
Outer meaning
Soma’s strength, force, and ecstasy are likened to the bull’s might; Soma is affirmed as the Truth powerfully.
Inner meaning
The mantra intensifies the psychological portrait: Soma’s śavaḥ (dynamic strength) is vṛṣṇyam—bull-like, victorious; vana and mada become not mere intoxication but triumphant delight and ecstatic outpouring that breaks inertia. The close—‘satyaṃ … asi’—declares that this purified ecstasy is itself a form of Truth: a power of affirmation that makes truth effective in the being.
Universal truth
When delight is purified of desire and confusion, it becomes a truthful power—strength, joy, and ecstasy that confirm and enact what is real.
Themes
Soma as Truth, Empowerment, Ecstatic illumination, Mantric affirmation
The seer
- Rishi
- Pavamāna Soma seer-poets (RV 9.64)
- Other hymns
- RV 9.64.1, RV 9.64.3, RV 9.64.4
Family tradition
A collective inspired stream; the hymn develops by rhythmic reiteration (vṛṣā) typical of Pavāmāna praise-poetics.
Significance
Shows the Aurobindonian key: ‘mada’ is re-read as divine ecstasy that is satya—truth-force, not obscuring intoxication.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Vṛṣan (Bull), Satya (Truth as affirmed)
- Related deities
- Indra (truth-illumination), Varuṇa (truth-law), Agni (will that carries offering)
Cosmic role
As Soma is purified, he becomes the truth-bearing delight that empowers the gods and confirms the right order through victorious energy.
Inner power
Ānanda as truth-force: ecstatic energy that remains luminous and exact, producing right discernment and right action.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma purification chant within Soma-yajña
वृष्ण॑स्ते॒ वृष्ण्यं॒ शवो॒ वृषा॒ वनं॒ वृषा॒ मद॑: । स॒त्यं वृ॑ष॒न्वृषेद॑सि ॥
वृष्णः॑ । ते॒ । वृष्ण्य॑म् । शवः॑ । वृषा॑ । वन॑म् । वृषा॑ । मदः॑ । स॒त्यम् । वृ॒ष॒न् । वृषा॑ । इत् । अ॒सि॒ ॥
vṛṣṇaḥ | te | vṛṣṇyam | śavaḥ | vṛṣā | vanam | vṛṣā | madaḥ | satyam | vṛṣan | vṛṣā | it | asi
44
4 × 11 (probable).
Surging, emphatic, with repeated vṛṣ- sounds creating a pounding ‘force mantra’ effect.
Generates a wave of strength and confident affirmation; helpful for breaking tamas and self-doubt.
- शवः (śavaḥ)
- Literal: strength, might. Symbolic: dynamic spiritual energy that can act and endure
- वृष्ण्यम् (vṛṣṇyam)
- Literal: bull-like, virile power. Symbolic: victorious potency that overcomes resistance and produces right results
- वनम् (vanam)
- Literal: delight, winning joy (also ‘wood/forest’ in other contexts). Symbolic: victorious delight that attracts and conquers the lower nature
- मदः (madaḥ)
- Literal: rapture, intoxication, ecstasy. Symbolic: divine ecstasy (ānanda) that expands consciousness without loss of clarity
- सत्यम् (satyam)
- Literal: truth. Symbolic: truth-consciousness; what is aligned with the Real and effective in transformation
- वृषेद् (vṛṣed)
- Literal: (as read in padapāṭha) ‘bull indeed’ / emphatic affirmation. Symbolic: puissant confirmation—truth not as idea but as forceful ‘yes’ in the being
Chanted during Soma purification to invoke Soma’s strengthening ecstasy and truth-bearing power for the sacrificer.
In the Pavāmāna sequence praising the flowing Soma as he clarifies
Chanted to intensify Soma’s ‘bull-force’ and affirm satya in the rite
Use as an energizing truth-affirmation before challenging work or during periods of dullness; align ecstasy with clarity.
śavaḥ from √śū/√śvi (Vedic semantic cluster ‘swell, be strong’) → dynamic force; vanaṃ from √van ‘to win/desire’ → victorious gaining (inner acquisition of light/wealth); mada from √mad ‘to be exhilarated’ → ecstasy as spiritual uplift; satya from sat ‘being’ (< √as ‘to be’) → truth as being.
Satya (truth as being), Bala/Śava (spiritual strength), Ānanda-like ecstasy (mada as uplift)
Bull-force is the executive energy of ṛta—right order made dynamic.
Explicit: Soma is satyam—truth as power and affirmation.
Truth manifests as force and delight; the Real is not inert but blissful and potent.
Vedantic-integrationist reading: sat-cit-ānanda intimations (satya + luminous power + ecstasy).
Bull = tapas-force; flow = movement of purified consciousness; ecstasy = expansion into wider being without losing truth.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Soma as the bull-force whose ecstasy is itself Truth: the mythic pattern equates intoxicating potency (mada) with satya, i.e., delight is not illusion but a vehicle of real being when purified.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- satya from *h₁es- ‘to be’ (via Sanskrit as/sat) shows PIE ontology → truth as being. √mad has Indo-Iranian parallels (Avestan mad- ‘be intoxicated’), reflecting shared ritual-poetic vocabulary for sacred exhilaration.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer praises Soma by identifying his powers (śavaḥ, vanaṃ, madaḥ) and culminates in a recognition-formula (satyam… asi): the devotee’s assent opens the being to receive that very strength and truth as an inner state.
Transform emotional ‘highs’ into truth-affirming ecstasy; let joy become clear power.
Maṇipūra (power) opening into Anāhata (joy) and Ājñā (truth-clarity)
4-4-6 breathing (inhale-hold-exhale) to stabilize energy; chant on exhale to convert surge into steady truth-force.
Energized lucidity; ‘ecstatic clarity’.
When enthusiasm becomes scattered, repeat this verse to purify it: feel the energy rise, then become straight, calm, and true.
Follow śākhā accent; the dense alliteration benefits from precise pitch movements—avoid slurring vṛṣṇas/vṛṣṇyam/vṛṣā.
Keep consonant clusters crisp; allow a slight lift on ‘satyam’ to mark the climactic affirmation.
vṛṣṇas: retroflex ṣ + nasal cluster; keep vowel ṛ distinct, vṛṣṇyam: ‘ṇy’ conjunct clean, śavaḥ: palatal ś, soft ‘va’, visarga audible but light, madaḥ: clear dental d; visarga light, satyam: ‘ty’ conjunct; no extra vowel
Energized, bright, but controlled; let the final pāda land with certainty.
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