Rig Veda 9.2.6: Mandala 9, Sukta 2, Mantra 6
Sukta 9.2
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
अचिक्रदद्वृषा हरिर्महान्मित्रो न दर्शतः । सं सूर्येण रोचते ॥
ácikradad vṛ́ṣā hárir mahā́n mitró na darśatáḥ | sáṃ sū́ryeṇa rocate ||
వృషభంలా హరి గర్జించాడు—మహానుడు, మిత్రునిలా దర్శనీయుడు. సూర్యునితో సమన్వయంగా అతడు ప్రకాశిస్తాడు.
Word by Word
- अचिक्रदत्
- roared / cried aloudVerbलुङ् (aorist), परस्मैपद, प्रथमा-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्Role (क्रिया) —Root √क्रन्द् (क्रन्दते/क्रन्दति ‘to roar, cry out’)
- वृषा
- the bull (mighty one)Nounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot वृषन्- (प्रातिपदिक) ‘bull; virile one’
- हरिः
- the tawny one (Soma)Nounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृ (वृषा हरिः = subject-apposition)Root हरि- (प्रातिपदिक) ‘tawny; the tawny one (Soma/steed)’
- महान्
- greatAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (हरिः/वृषा इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role कर्तृ (विशेषणरूपेण)Root महत्- (प्रातिपदिक) ‘great’
- मित्रः
- MitraNounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृ (उपमान-रूपेण)Root मित्र- (प्रातिपदिक) ‘Mitra; friend’
- न
- likeIndeclinableउपमा-निर्देशकः (इव-अर्थे)Root न (अव्यय)
- दर्शतः
- splendid / visibleAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (मित्रः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role कर्तृ (विशेषणरूपेण)Root दर्शत- (प्रातिपदिक) ‘visible, splendid, to be seen’
- सम्
- together; fullyIndeclinableउपसर्गः (रोचते इत्यस्य)Root सम् (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) ‘together, completely’
- सूर्येण
- with/by the SunNounपुंलिङ्गः, तृतीया विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्Role करणRoot सूर्य- (प्रातिपदिक) ‘Sun’
- रोचते
- shines / is radiantVerbलट् (present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमा-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्Role (क्रिया) —Root √रुच् (रोचते ‘to shine, be bright’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: अचिक्रदत् | वृषा | हरिः | महान् | मित्रः | न | दर्शतः | सम् | सूर्येण | रोचते || 1) अचि॑क्रद॒द्वृषा॒ → अचिक्रदत् + वृषा (त् + व् संयोगः; लेखने ‘द्व’ इव दृश्यते)
- 2) हरि॑र्म॒हान् → हरिः + महान् (विसर्ग-सन्धिः: ः + म → र्; ‘हरिर्महान्’)
- 3) सं सूर्ये॑ण → सम् + सूर्येण (अनुस्वार/परसवर्णः: म् + स् → ंस्, लेखने ‘सं’)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The strong tawny one (Soma) cries aloud, vast and beautiful like Mitra; it shines together with the Sun.
Inner meaning
The purified Soma-force (hari: tawny luminous energy) surges with a victorious cry (acikradat): the Ananda becomes dynamic, not passive—powerfully manifest. ‘Like Mitra’ indicates harmony, friendliness, and right relation: delight becomes a reconciling power. United with Sūrya (truth-light), it shines as bliss aligned with illumination—ecstasy made obedient to truth.
Universal truth
True joy is not mere excitement; when it is harmonized with truth and clarity, it becomes a beneficent power that illumines and unites.
Themes
Illumination, Awakening cry, Friend-harmony, Soma-Sun union
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Lineage
- Vasiṣṭha (Maitrāvaruṇa)
- Other hymns
- RV 7.60-7.66 (Mitra-Varuṇa hymns, thematic kinship), RV 9.2.1-9.2.10
Family tradition
Seer of harmonizing powers—often linking light (Sūrya), order (Mitra/Varuṇa), and the delight that sustains them.
Significance
Vasiṣṭha’s Soma is not intoxication but a disciplined ecstasy: force that ‘cries’ yet remains Mitra-like—harmonized with Sūrya’s truth.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Hari (golden/tawny), Vṛṣā (potent), Mahān (vast)
- Related deities
- Sūrya, Mitra, Indra, Agni
Cosmic role
Energizes and illumines; joins delight to the solar truth so creation can proceed in harmony.
Inner power
Dynamic Ananda that reconciles (Mitra) and illuminates (with Sūrya).
In ritual
Where it is used
Pavamāna chants during Soma filtration; accompanying the flowing soma as it brightens
अचि॑क्रद॒द्वृषा॒ हरि॑र्म॒हान्मि॒त्रो न द॑र्श॒तः । सं सूर्ये॑ण रोचते ॥
अचि॑क्रदत् । वृषा॑ । हरिः॑ । म॒हान् । मि॒त्रः । न । द॒र्श॒तः । सम् । सूर्ये॑ण । रो॒च॒ते॒ ॥
acikradat | vṛṣā | hariḥ | mahān | mitraḥ | na | darśataḥ | sam | sūryeṇa | rocate
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3×8
Bright, swift, exclamatory—fits ‘crying aloud’ and ‘shining’
Invokes uplift and clarity; the rhythm can ‘snap’ the mind into luminous attention.
- अचिक्रदत् (acikradat)
- Literal: cried aloud, resounded. Symbolic: victorious emergence of force; inner proclamation of awakening energy
- वृषा (vṛṣā)
- Literal: bull, potent one. Symbolic: generative power; virile energy of accomplishment
- हरिः (hariḥ)
- Literal: tawny/golden one. Symbolic: luminous life-force; dynamic Ananda-energy
- महान् (mahān)
- Literal: great, vast. Symbolic: wideness of consciousness; greatness of the delight
- मित्रः (mitraḥ)
- Literal: Mitra, friend. Symbolic: harmony, right relation, the power of concord
- दर्शतः (darśataḥ)
- Literal: pleasant/beautiful to see. Symbolic: inner beauty of truth-joy; attractive clarity
- सूर्येण (sūryeṇa)
- Literal: with the Sun. Symbolic: with truth-light, illumination of the higher mind
- रोचते (rocate)
- Literal: shines. Symbolic: becomes manifest as luminous consciousness
Pavamāna chant: celebrates Soma’s shining as it becomes fit for offering; ritually parallels Soma’s bright appearance after filtration.
When the soma is visibly ‘bright’ in the strainer and offered toward the deities
Chant to intensify brilliance and invoke solar alignment
Use before study/meditation to align joy with clarity: ‘let my delight shine with the Sun (truth).’
√krand ‘cry/roar’ conveys awakening and proclamation. hari ‘tawny/golden’ connects to brightness and dynamic force; in RV often the luminous-vital energy. mitra (PIE *mitro- ‘contract/friend’ in Indo-Iranian) becomes psychological harmony. √ruc ‘shine’ (PIE *leuk- ‘light’ is separate; √ruc is Indo-Iranian ‘shine’ family) expresses manifestation aligned with sūrya (from PIE *sóh₂wṛ̥ ‘sun’).
Harmony (Mitra) as right relation in ṛta, Union of delight (Soma) with truth-light (Sūrya)
Mitra-quality signals ṛta: delight becomes lawful, proportioned, unifying.
Union with Sūrya indicates delight must be truth-concordant to be fully luminous.
Concord of bliss and light as a basis for right manifestation.
Integral Vedic psychology: Ananda-force becomes effective when wedded to illumination (Sūrya).
morning/noon (solar brilliance suggested)
Hari = dynamic life-energy turned luminous; Sūrya = truth-consciousness; the ‘cry’ = awakening surge of force in the nerves/prāṇa.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The shining Soma in union with the Sun: Soma, once purified, becomes a luminous power that harmonises with solar truth. Psychologically, the awakened delight-force cries out and then stabilises into a clear radiance aligned with truth-consciousness.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- sūrya continues PIE solar nomenclature (*sóh₂wṛ̥). mitra is Indo-Iranian and reflects shared social-sacral ideas of covenant/friendship; RV internalises it as harmony of consciousness.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi does not ask but testifies to a sign: the ‘cry’ and ‘shine’ mark Soma’s successful transformation. The devatā is experienced as a friendly, visible presence—an inner companionship of harmony (Mitra-like) guiding the seeker into solar clarity.
Feel a golden current of joy rise and ‘cry out’ as awakened energy, then consciously align it with the sun-like clarity in the forehead/above head.
Maṇipūra (power) harmonized with Ājñā (clarity)
Brisk 3-part inhale (to energize) then long exhale (to harmonize); finish with a few quiet breaths visualizing sunlit stillness.
Luminous enthusiasm disciplined into clear joy.
If excitement becomes restless, invoke ‘mitro na’—soften the heart, restore harmony, then let the joy shine with truth rather than impulse.
Rigvedic accenting with clear udātta rises on key words (e.g., vṛṣā, sūryeṇa) per recension; keep svarita as a controlled glide, not a separate stress.
Let the first pāda be slightly more forceful (acikradat), second more gentle (mitro na), third luminous and even (saṃ sūryeṇa rocate).
acikradat: ‘ci’ short; cluster ‘kr’ clean, vṛṣā: ṛ vocalic; ṣ retroflex, hariḥ: final ḥ audible, not dropped, darśataḥ: ś palatal, not retroflex, saṃ: anusvāra before sū- becomes nasalized ‘saŋ’ lightly, sūryeṇa: long ū; ry cluster smooth, rocate: ‘co’ as ‘cho’ (c=ch) in IAST-based Sanskrit sound
Bright, ringing, but controlled—avoid shouting; aim for ‘resonant clarity’.
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