Rig Veda 9.14.1: Mandala 9, Sukta 14, Mantra 1
Sukta 9.14
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shringara (love)
परि प्रासिष्यदत्कविः सिन्धोरूर्मावधि श्रितः । कारं बिभ्रत्पुरुस्पृहम् ॥
pári prā́siṣyadat kavíḥ síndhor ūrmā́v ádhi śritáḥ | kāráṃ bíbhrat puruspṛ́ham ||
కవి-శక్తి చుట్టూ పరిభ్రమిస్తూ ముందుకు నెట్టుకుంటూ సాగుతుంది; సింధు-ప్రవాహపు అలపై స్థిరపడి, అది సృజన-ఉచ్చారణను ధరించింది—అనేక ఆకాంక్షలతో సమృద్ధిగా, సిద్ధించిన అన్వేషణ శక్తులతో కూడి.
Word by Word
- परि
- around, all aboutIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot परि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- प्र
- forth, forwardIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot प्र (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- असिष्यदत्
- flowed forth, streamedVerbलङ् (इम्पर्फेक्ट), परस्मैपद, 3rd person singularRoot स्यन्द् (स्यन्दते/स्यन्दति) + आ (उपसर्ग) ; desiderative base: सि-स्यन्द्
- कविः
- the seer/poet (Soma)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot कवि (प्रातिपदिक)
- सिन्धोः
- of the river/streamNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root सिन्धु (प्रातिपदिक)
- ऊर्मौ
- on/in the waveNounपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (वैदिक रूप: ऊर्मौ = ऊर्मौ/ऊर्मे ‘in/on the wave’)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot ऊर्मि (प्रातिपदिक)
- अधि
- upon, overIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot अधि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- श्रितः
- resting, having taken refuge/settledParticipleभूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (with कविः; predicate participle)Root श्रि (धातु) → कृदन्त: श्रित (PPP)
- कारम्
- song of praise/chantNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot कार (प्रातिपदिक)
- बिभ्रत्
- bearing, carryingParticipleवर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (agreeing with कविः; concomitant action)Root भृ (धातु) → वर्तमान कृदन्त: बिभ्रत्
- पुरुस्पृहम्
- much-desired, greatly longed-forAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (विशेषणम् ‘कारम्’)Role Karma (as qualifier of ‘कारम्’)Root पुरु + स्पृह (प्रातिपदिक; बहुव्रीहि/कर्मधारय-समास)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: परि | प्र | असिष्यदत् | कविः | सिन्धोः | ऊर्मौ | अधि | श्रितः | कारम् | बिभ्रत् | पुरुस्पृहम् । 1) प्रासिष्यदत् = प्र + असिष्यदत् (उपसर्ग-सन्धि; अ + आ/प्र-पूर्वक रूप)
- 2) सिन्धोरूर्मौ = सिन्धोः + ऊर्मौ (विसर्ग-लोप/रू-आदेश: -ोः + ऊ- → -ोरू-)
- 3) ऊर्मावधि = ऊर्मौ + अधि (औ + अ → आव; वैदिक संधि)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The poet-seer moves around pressing forward, set upon the wave of the ocean-stream; it bears the creative utterance, rich in many desires.
Inner meaning
The ‘kavi’ is the seer-force in the Soma: a conscious inspiration moving and pressing through the currents of being (sindhu). Riding the wave (ūrmi) of the vast life-ocean, it carries ‘kāra’—the formative mantra/creative word—charged with many soul-desires (puru-spṛh): not craving, but manifold seeking for divine fulfilment.
Universal truth
When inspiration rides the vast movements of life without being drowned in them, it becomes creative speech-power that shapes experience toward fulfilment.
Themes
Soma-ritual, Mantric creation, Oceanic consciousness, Seerhood
The seer
Significance
The rishi here reveals Soma as kavi—an inspired intelligence within the flow of life, turning raw movement into creative word-power (kāra), a key Aurobindonian theme: mantra as formative consciousness.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Kavi (seer-like), Sindhu-śrita (resting on the ocean-stream), Kāra-bibhṛt (bearing the creative utterance)
- Related deities
- Sarasvatī (speech/flow), Agni (will that carries the offering), Bṛhaspati (lord of the word)
Cosmic role
Soma as inspirer of mantra and creator of forms; he moves in the cosmic waters and carries the word that builds worlds.
Inner power
Inspired delight that converts life-waves into rhythmic, meaningful formation (mantra-śakti).
In ritual
Where it is used
Pavamāna section in Soma yajña; chanted with the flowing Soma as it is purified
परि॒ प्रासि॑ष्यदत्क॒विः सिन्धो॑रू॒र्मावधि॑ श्रि॒तः । का॒रं बिभ्र॑त्पुरु॒स्पृह॑म् ॥
परि॑ । प्र । अ॒सि॒स्य॒द॒त् । क॒विः । सिन्धोः॑ । ऊ॒र्मौ । अधि॑ । श्रि॒तः । का॒रम् । बिभ्र॑त् । पु॒रु॒ऽस्पृह॑म् ॥
pari | pra | asisyadat | kaviḥ | sindhoḥ | ūrmau | adhi | śritaḥ | kāram | bibhrat | puru-spṛham
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3×8 syllables
Rolling, wave-like; first pāda circulates (pari), second rises (ūrmi), third releases (kāram).
Produces a sense of movement and creative surge; helpful for unlocking inspired speech and vision.
- kaviḥ
- Literal: poet, seer. Symbolic: seer-consciousness; inspired discernment in the flow
- pari...prāsiṣyadat
- Literal: moving all around, pressing forward. Symbolic: pervasive dynamic seeking; stirring of consciousness toward manifestation
- sindhu
- Literal: ocean/river. Symbolic: vast life-force and consciousness-current
- ūrmi
- Literal: wave. Symbolic: rising movement of energy/emotion used as vehicle, not disturbance
- kāram
- Literal: song/utterance, creative sound. Symbolic: mantric formation; speech that creates order in consciousness
- puru-spṛham
- Literal: much-desiring, rich in many longings. Symbolic: many-sided aspiration for divine completeness
Soma purification hymns accompanying the flow of Soma through waters/filter; recited/sung during pressing sequences.
During straining/flowing of Soma, when the ‘stream’ imagery is immediate
Accompanies the movement of Soma; supports the ‘kāra’ (stotra/chant) as creative force
For writers/teachers/creatives: chant before speaking or composing to align speech with deeper inspiration rather than surface emotion.
kavi: from √kū/√kav in Vedic usage ‘to see/know/compose’ → inspired seer. sindhu: ‘river, ocean’ (vast moving mass). ūrmí ‘wave’ (loc. ūrmau). śrita: past participle of √śri ‘to lean on, rest upon’. kāra: from √kṛ ‘to make’ → ‘that which makes/forms’, hence a ‘formative utterance/chant’. bibhrat: pres. participle of √bhṛ ‘to bear’.
mantra as creative formation (kāra), inspired sight (kavi), progressive unfolding (pra)
Right speech (kāra) is a vehicle of ṛta when carried by purified Soma.
Inspired utterance expresses satya when it arises from the seer-force rather than ego.
Creation through vibration/word riding the cosmic waters.
Vedic mantra-ontology (Aurobindo): vāc as creative consciousness; soma as ananda supporting revelation.
Ocean = vast subconscious/life-field; wave = emotions/energies; kavi = inner witness-seer; kāra = mantra that shapes and steadies the waves.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Soma as the inspired Kavi riding the cosmic waters (sindhu/ūrmi), carrying the creative Word. Mythically: the god borne on the wave; psychologically: the illumined mind lifted on the surge of being, sustaining mantra that shapes experience.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √bhṛ ‘bear’ (PIE *bher-), √kṛ ‘make’ (PIE *kwer-/ *ker- complex; Indo-Iranian productive), and √śri ‘lean/rest’ (often linked with notions of support) show inherited verbal architecture; the compound puru-spṛh- uses puru ‘many’ (PIE *pl̥h₁u-) and √spṛh ‘desire/long for’ (Indo-Iranian shared semantic field of yearning).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi recognizes Soma as ‘kavi’—the very power of inspired seeing within the human. The hymn frames Soma as the bearer of kāra (formative speech): the seer’s utterance aligns with the deity’s own creative vibration, enabling the seeker’s ‘many desires’ to be transmuted into right fulfillments.
Observe life-waves without suppression; invite the seer-force to ride them and form a true utterance (inner mantra).
Viśuddha (creative word) supported by Svādhiṣṭhāna (waters/flow)
Ujjāyī (gentle) to create an ‘oceanic’ inner sound; chant on exhale, feel waves smoothing.
Flow-state with witnessing intelligence; inspired creativity.
Sit with a felt ‘current’ in the body; let a single true phrase arise (kāra). Repeat it softly after chanting, keeping it free from agitation.
Accents partially marked (e.g.,,, :); complete svara rendering requires śākhā-specific notation.
Let ‘pari’ be light and circling; ‘prāsiṣyadat’ forward-pressing; broaden on ‘sindhor ūrmau’; release gently on ‘kāram’.
prāsiṣyadat: articulate ‘ṣy’ and dental ‘d’, sindhoḥ: visarga at end, not silent, ūrmau: long ū; au diphthong, śritaḥ: retroflex ṛ; crisp ‘taḥ’, puru-spṛham: retroflex ṛ; avoid turning spṛh into ‘sprih’
Flowing, resonant, slightly rolling like waves.
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