Rig Veda 3.42.5: Mandala 3, Sukta 42, Mantra 5
Sukta 3.42
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
इन्द्र सोमाः सुता इमे तान्दधिष्व शतक्रतो । जठरे वाजिनीवसो ॥
índra sómāḥ sutā́ imé tā́n dadhiṣva śatakrato | jaṭháre vājinīvaso ||
ఇంద్రా, ఈ సోమరసాలు పిండబడి సిద్ధంగా ఉన్నాయి; శతక్రతో, వీటిని నీ జఠరంలో ధరిం చు. వాజినీవస్, బల-సమృద్ధుల అధిపతీ, అంతరంలో ధరించి బలవంతుడవు కావు.
Word by Word
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNoun (proper)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- सोमाः
- Soma-juicesNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (स्तुति-वाक्ये विषयः) / वाक्य-विषयRoot सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- सुताः
- pressed, extractedAdjective (past passive participle)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (सोमाः इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role विशेषणRoot √सु (सु- ‘to press, extract’) → सुत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
- इमे
- thesePronounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ/वाक्य-विषय (सोमाः इत्यस्य सह-निर्देशः)Root इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- तान्
- those (them)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- दधिष्व
- place, put (for yourself); acceptVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपदRole क्रियाRoot √धा (धारणे/निधाने) ; आदेशः: धा → धधि (वेदिक-आदेश/अभ्यास) + स्व (मध्यम-आत्मनेपद)
- शतक्रतो
- O hundred-powered/ hundred-willed oneNoun/Adjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधन (इन्द्रस्य)Root शतक्रतु (प्रातिपदिक; इन्द्रस्य विशेषणम्)
- जठरे
- in the bellyNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot जठर (प्रातिपदिक)
- वाजिनीवसो
- O possessor of prize-winning strength/wealthNoun/Adjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधन (इन्द्रस्य)Root वाजिनीवस् (प्रातिपदिक; इन्द्रस्य विशेषणम्)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: इन्द्र | सोमाः | सुताः | इमे | तान् | दधिष्व | शतक्रतो | जठरे | वाजिनीवसो || (१) ‘सोमा:’ = ‘सोमाः’ (विसर्ग-लेखनभेद)
- (२) ‘तान्दधिष्व’ इति संहितायां: तान् + दधिष्व → तान्दधिष्व (नकारस्य परे दकारे अनुस्वार/नकार-संधि; लेखने ‘न्’ + ‘द’)
- (३) ‘शतक्रतो’ तथा ‘वाजिनीवसो’ इत्येतौ सम्बोधन-एकवचनरूपे (वेदिक-सम्बोधनान्त ‘-o’)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Indra is invited to take in the freshly pressed Soma; the poet asks him to place it in his belly and become strong.
Inner meaning
The illumined Mind-Power (Indra) is asked to receive and hold the pressed delight (Soma) within the central seat of assimilation (jaṭhara). When the higher intelligence inwardly digests bliss, it becomes capable of decisive, victorious action and the increase of inner plenitudes (vāja).
Universal truth
True strength is not mere excitation but the capacity to inwardly contain, digest, and stabilize delight; when joy is assimilated, the mind becomes a hundred-powered instrument of right action.
Themes
Soma-ritual, Assimilation, Strengthening of Indra, Inner digestion of delight
The seer
- Rishi
- Viśvāmitra Gāthina
- Lineage
- Kuśika (Viśvāmitra lineage)
- Other hymns
- RV 3.42.1-10, RV 3.53, RV 3.62 (Gāyatrī)
Family tradition
Warrior-seer tradition: transformation of kṣatriya force into brahmarṣi vision; hymns often seek Indra’s illumined might for victory over inner and outer resistances.
Significance
Viśvāmitra’s strain emphasizes the conquest of limitation by luminous force—Indra aided by Soma—so the human seeker becomes fit for the ‘wide’ truth (bṛhat) through disciplined aspiration.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Śatakratu, Vājinīvasu, Pratna (ancient)
- Related deities
- Agni, Soma, Bṛhaspati, Maruts
Cosmic role
Breaker of the Coverer; establishes the luminous order by releasing the waters/cows (forces of truth and light) and empowering the sacrificer.
Inner power
Illumined will of the mind that receives Ananda and turns it into victorious clarity, courage, and effective right action.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing and offering to Indra (Indra-Soma context)
इन्द्र॒ सोमा॑: सु॒ता इ॒मे तान्द॑धिष्व शतक्रतो । ज॒ठरे॑ वाजिनीवसो ॥
इन्द्र॑ । सोमाः॑ । सु॒ताः । इ॒मे । तान् । द॒धि॒ष्व॒ । श॒त॒क्र॒तो॒ इति॑ शतऽक्रतो । ज॒ठरे॑ । वा॒जि॒नी॒व॒सो॒ इति॑ वाजिनीऽवसो ॥
indra | somāḥ | sutāḥ | ime | tān | dadhiṣva | śatakrato itiśata-krato | jaṭhare | vājinīvaso itivājinī-vaso
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables (Triṣṭubh cadence; slight Vedic metrical flexibility possible)
Forward-driving, martial, expansive; suited to invocation and empowerment.
Builds a sense of inner ascent and command; supports ‘taking in’ Soma as a strong, steady resolve rather than a soft reverie.
- indra
- Literal: Indra, lord of heaven, slayer of Vṛtra. Symbolic: Divine Mind/illumined intelligence that releases Light by overcoming inner obstruction
- somāḥ sutāḥ
- Literal: Soma juices pressed. Symbolic: Distilled Ananda (delight) extracted by inner discipline and offered to the higher consciousness
- dadhiṣva
- Literal: place, put, hold. Symbolic: Conscious assimilation—making a higher state firmly seated in the being
- śatakratu
- Literal: of a hundred powers/works. Symbolic: Mind with manifold effective energies; mastery of many operations of consciousness
- jaṭhara
- Literal: belly, stomach. Symbolic: Inner ‘digestive’ center where experience is integrated and turned into strength (psychic-vital assimilation)
- vājinīvasu
- Literal: possessor of steeds/wealth of strength; lord of plenitudes. Symbolic: Holder of dynamic powers (vāja) and their fruitful abundance in the being
Soma offering: invitation to Indra to partake and be strengthened (pressing/Libation sequence)
During Soma-yāga sequences (pressings; Indra’s libations), and as an Indra-invocation in associated recitations.
Offering/mentally ‘placing’ Soma for Indra’s drinking; strengthening the deity’s aid to the sacrificer.
Before focused work or meditation: offer a moment of gratitude/joy inwardly, then ‘hold’ it steadily to energize clear action and decision.
: from √ (to press out, distill Soma). : √ (to place, put, hold), 2sg middle imperative—emphasis on inward appropriation. (in ): will-power/intelligence, from √ (to do) with semantic development ‘effective resolve’. : vāja (strength/prize/plenitude) from √/√ semantic ‘vigour’; vasu ‘good/wealth’ (PIE *wesu- ‘good’). : belly as locus of digestion → symbolic assimilation of Soma into power.
Ananda (Soma) as fuel for divine action, Kratu (effective will) as instrument of Ṛta
Indra’s strength is effective when Soma is rightly held—order arises from assimilated delight rather than restless desire.
‘Holding in the belly’ suggests making truth a stable substance in consciousness, not a passing inspiration.
Extraction and integration: the hidden delight is pressed out, received by the higher power, and becomes force for manifestation.
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral (Aurobindonian) reading: ascent of consciousness through Ananda and illumined mind.
As Soma is digested into vigor, so inner joy is metabolized into stable power—transforming sensation into conscious force.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Indra’s empowerment through Soma: the god becomes capable of his victories by drinking/holding Soma. Innerly, the illumined force in us is strengthened when delight is rightly extracted and inwardly established.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √ (dadhiṣva) corresponds to PIE *dʰeh₁- ‘to put, set’ (cf. Greek títhēmi, Latin faciō is different; English ‘do’ is *dʰeh₁- via Germanic? debated, but the ‘set’ cognate is clear). vása/vasu ‘good’ reflects PIE *wesu- ‘good’ (cf. Avestan vohu).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer offers a prepared essence (suta soma) and asks Indra to internalize it; the exchange is not material but energetic—right preparation and offering of delight evokes the deity’s increased operative power (śatakratu) in the human field.
Assimilate delight into steady clarity: ‘receive joy, hold it, let it become strength’.
Maṇipūra (digestive fire/assimilation) and Ājñā (illumined mind)
Inhale: ‘receive Soma’; brief kumbhaka: ‘hold within’; exhale: ‘spread strength’ (gentle, not forceful).
Collected, victorious, quietly energized (sattva with dynamic śakti).
Recall a pure joy (not excitement). Hold it in the belly-center as warm steadiness; then lift attention to the brow as clear decision-force.
Vedic tri-svara (udātta/anudātta/svarita) as per Śākala tradition; key lifts typically on invocatory vocatives (e.g., índra) and emphatic imperatives (e.g., dadhíṣva) depending on pada recension.
Keep udātta as the clear raised tone; do not stress like classical Sanskrit—follow pitch accents; maintain caesura after |.
indra: clear dental ‘d’ and rolled ‘r’, somāḥ: long ā; visarga lightly aspirated before pause, dadhiṣva: cluster ‘dh-i-ṣv’—do not drop ṣ, śatakrato: retroflex ṭ; keep ‘kr’ crisp, jaṭhare: retroflex ṭ; short a
Bright, steady, empowering; avoid harshness—think ‘luminous command’.
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