Rig Veda 4.35.2: Mandala 4, Sukta 35, Mantra 2
Sukta 4.35
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Ṛbhus
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
आगन्नृभूणामिह रत्नधेयमभूत्सोमस्य सुषुतस्य पीतिः । सुकृत्यया यत्स्वपस्यया चँ एकं विचक्र चमसं चतुर्धा ॥
ā́gann ṛbhūṇā́m ihá ratnadhéyam abhū́t sómasya súsutasya pītíḥ | sukṛtyáyā yát svapasyáyā ca ékaṃ vicakrá camásaṃ catúrdhā ||
ఇక్కడ ఋభువుల కోసం రత్న-నిధి వచ్చి చేరింది; సుషుతమైన (బాగా పీడించిన) సోమరస పానం ఇక్కడ ఉంది. ఎందుకంటే సుకృతి మరియు స్వపస్యా (ప్రకాశమయ కౌశలం) చేత వారు ఒకే చమసాన్ని నాలుగుగా చేశారు—ఆనందపు ఏక పాత్రను చతుర్గుణ సామర్థ్యంగా విస్తరించారు.
Word by Word
- आगन्
- they cameVerbलुङ् (aorist), परस्मैपद, 3rd person, pluralRole (क्रिया)Root √गम् (gam)
- ऋभूणाम्
- of the ṚbhusNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root ऋभु- (प्रातिपदिक)
- इह
- hereIndeclinableअव्ययRole अधिकारणRoot इह (अव्यय)
- रत्नधेयम्
- a treasure/precious gift (to be bestowed)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ/विधेय (predicate nominative)Root रत्न-धेय- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘रत्न’ + ‘धेय’)
- अभूत्
- became / came to beVerbलुङ् (aorist), परस्मैपद, 3rd person, singularRole (क्रिया)Root √भू (bhū)
- सोमस्य
- of SomaNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root सोम- (प्रातिपदिक)
- सुषुतस्य
- well-pressedAdjective (PPP)पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन (agreeing with सोमस्य)Role विशेषणRoot सु- + √सु (sū) → सुषुत- (PPP; ‘well-pressed’)
- पीतिः
- the drinking / draughtNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (subject)Root पीति- (प्रातिपदिक; from √पा ‘drink’)
- सुकृत्यया
- by good skill / good workmanshipNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole करणRoot सु-कृत्य- (प्रातिपदिक)
- यत्
- whichPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (correlative to एकम्)Role कर्मRoot यद् (सर्वनाम)
- स्वपस्यया
- by (their) craft / wondrous skillNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole करणRoot स्वपस्य- (प्रातिपदिक)
- च
- andIndeclinableअव्ययRole समुच्चयRoot च (अव्यय)
- एकम्
- one (single)Adjective/Numeralनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot एक- (प्रातिपदिक)
- विचक्र
- they fashioned / madeVerbलुङ् (aorist), परस्मैपद, 3rd person, pluralRole (क्रिया)Root वि + √चक्र्/√कृ (Vedic aorist formation; ‘to make, fashion’)
- चमसम्
- the cup (beaker)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot चमस- (प्रातिपदिक)
- चतुर्धा
- into four parts / fourfoldIndeclinableअव्ययRole क्रियाविशेषणRoot चतुर्धा (अव्यय; from चतुर्)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolved as: आगन् + ऋभूणाम् + इह + रत्नधेयम् + अभूत् + सोमस्य + सुषुतस्य + पीतिः । सुकृत्यया + यत् + स्वपस्यया + च + एकम् + विचक्र + चमसम् + चतुर्धा । Notable: यत्स्वपस्यया → यत् + स्वपस्यया (t + s → ts)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The treasure for the Ṛbhus has arrived here; there is the drinking of well-pressed Soma. By right skill and workmanship they made one chalice into four.
Inner meaning
When the formative powers awaken, the ‘treasure’ becomes present: access to Soma, the concentrated delight of consciousness. The Ṛbhus’ miracle—one cup made four—signifies the one delight or one consciousness-essence being distributed into a fourfold functional capacity (often read as four powers/planes or four instruments of the being). Through luminous skill (sukṛti, svapasyā) the single experience of Ananda is made available to multiple parts of nature without distortion.
Universal truth
Spiritual realization must be integrated. The one inner delight is not meant to remain a peak experience; it can be organized into stable, multiple capacities—thought, will, emotion, and body-life—through conscious practice and right workmanship.
Themes
Ṛbhu craft-miracle, Fourfold vessel, Soma assimilation, Perfection of work
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 4.18, RV 4.20, RV 4.24, RV 4.35, RV 4.36
Family tradition
The Gautamas often emphasize Indra-Soma dynamics and the conversion of raw force into illumined power; Vāmadeva adds the motif of perfected formation (Ṛbhus) as inner yoga.
Significance
The verse presents a key Aurobindonian theme: realization (Soma) becomes effective in life by conscious formation—turning a single spiritual gain into multiple stable instruments.
The deity
- Devata
- Ṛbhus
- Epithets
- sukṛt (implied: doers of right skill), svapas (skilled workers, implied), saudhanvanāḥ
- Related deities
- Soma, Indra, Aśvins (often linked with healing/perfection motifs)
Cosmic role
Agents of perfection who multiply capacity without diminishing essence—builders of divine ‘forms’ that can contain and transmit Soma.
Inner power
Integrative intelligence: the power to distribute a single realization through the whole being, creating multiple receptive centers.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma offering; mythic praise of Ṛbhus connected with Soma-drinking
आग॑न्नृभू॒णामि॒ह र॑त्न॒धेय॒मभू॒त्सोम॑स्य॒ सुषु॑तस्य पी॒तिः । सु॒कृ॒त्यया॒ यत्स्व॑प॒स्यया॑ चँ॒ एकं॑ विच॒क्र च॑म॒सं च॑तु॒र्धा ॥
आ । अ॒ग॒न् । ऋ॒भू॒णाम् । इ॒ह । र॒त्न॒ऽधेय॑म् । अभू॑त् । सोम॑स्य । सुऽसु॑तस्य । पी॒तिः । सु॒ऽकृ॒त्यया॑ । यत् । सु॒ऽअ॒प॒स्यया॑ । च॒ । एक॑म् । वि॒ऽच॒क्र । च॒म॒सम् । च॒तुः॒ऽधा ॥
ā | agan | ṛbhūṇām | iha | ratna-dheyam | abhūt | somasya | su-sutasya | pītiḥ | su-kṛtyayā | yat | su-apasyayā | ca | ekam | vi-cakra | camasam | catuḥ-dhā
Triṣṭubh (verification: highly likely for RV 4.35.2)
44
4 × ~11
Balanced but forceful; well-suited to stating an accomplished fact and its cause (skill).
Gives a sense of arrival and establishment; supports ‘settling’ the experience of Soma into the system.
- रत्नधेयम् (ratnadheyam)
- Literal: treasure to be set. Symbolic: a settled attainment: the prepared capacity to hold and distribute higher consciousness
- सोमस्य सुषुतस्य पीतिः (somasya suṣutasya pītiḥ)
- Literal: drinking of well-pressed Soma. Symbolic: assimilating distilled delight/essence after proper inner ‘pressing’ (purification, concentration)
- सुकृत्यया (sukṛtyayā)
- Literal: by good doing, right skill. Symbolic: right practice: ethical-psychological alignment enabling true formation
- स्वपस्यया (svapasyayā)
- Literal: by good workmanship. Symbolic: luminous, precise inner work—refining habits, thoughts, and energies
- चमसम् (camasam)
- Literal: chalice, cup. Symbolic: receptacle of consciousness; the instrument that holds delight without spilling
- एकं...चतुर्धा (ekaṃ...caturdhā)
- Literal: one...into four. Symbolic: unity expressed as ordered multiplicity; integral distribution of realization
Narrative justification for Ṛbhus’ entitlement to soma: their feat of multiplying the cup; recited to invite their participation in soma-drinking
At Soma sessions where Ṛbhus are invoked to partake and to perfect the rite’s instruments
Affirming the Ṛbhus’ portion and recounting their craft-miracle as warrant for their presence
Meditate after a concentrated practice session: ‘press’ the essence, then consciously distribute calm joy into mind, heart, breath, and body.
vicakra from vi + √ ‘to make, to effect’ (PIE *kwer- ‘make’ broadly). camasa ‘cup/ladle’—ritual object; inwardly the vessel of reception. catūr-dhā ‘in four ways’ ties to Vedic quaternity motifs (four directions, four powers, fourfold formulation of consciousness). pīti from √ ‘to drink’—assimilation of soma-delight.
Transformation (one to four as expansion of capacity), Rita as right skill (sukṛtyā) in formation
The fourfold formation implies ordered distribution—ṛta as harmonizing law in multiplicity.
True delight is ‘well-pressed’—purified from mixture; satya as authenticity of experience.
The One becoming Many by conscious formation; the artisan principle as cosmic mediation.
Integral Vedic psychology (Aurobindo/Kashyap line): gods as inner powers; craft as conscious evolution.
Soma = nectar of consciousness; cup = capacity of receptivity; fourfold cup = multiple stable centers of assimilation.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The Ṛbhus’ signature miracle: transforming one soma-cup into four. Inwardly, the single capacity of consciousness is expanded into a fourfold receptivity—widening the being so soma-delight can be received in multiple powers/planes.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √ ‘make’ is from PIE *kwer-/*ker- ‘do/make’ (broadly; compare Greek ποιέω is different root, but Indo-European ‘make/do’ verbs show functional overlap). catūr aligns with PIE *kʷetwóres (Latin quattuor, Greek τέσσαρες).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi grounds the invocation in remembered divine action: by recalling the Ṛbhus’ perfected craft (sukṛtyā, svapasyā), he legitimizes their share in soma and calls the same formative power to act in the sacrificer’s consciousness.
Integration practice: hold one felt delight (ānanda) and ‘pour’ it deliberately into four domains—thought, will, emotion, body—without losing its purity.
Collected, luminous assimilation.
After chanting, pause; recall a single clear joy; on four slow breaths, let it pervade head, chest, navel, and whole body—keeping it ‘well-pressed’ (unmixed with craving).
Rigvedic accenting with clear udātta on key nouns/verbs (ratnadheyam, somasya, pītiḥ, vicakra, caturdhā).
Let udātta carry meaning-peaks; keep pitch steps small and consistent across pādas.
āgann: pronounce as ā-gann (double n) with crisp closure, suṣutasya: retroflex ṣ, and short u vowels kept light, pītiḥ: long ī; final ḥ audible but gentle, vicakra: vi-ca-kra, no extra vowel between k-r, caturdhā: dhā long ā; cluster -rdh- articulated cleanly
Even, wonder-filled, not forceful; clarity over volume.
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