Rig Veda 9.61.24: Mandala 9, Sukta 61, Mantra 24
Sukta 9.61
- Rishi
- Kavi Bhārgava
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- Trishtubh/Jagatī
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
त्वोतासस्तवावसा स्याम वन्वन्त आमुरः । सोम व्रतेषु जागृहि ॥
tvótāsaḥ tavā́vasā syā́ma vanvánta āmúraḥ | sóma vratéṣu jāgṛhi ||
ఓ సోమా! నీ ఆశ్రయంతోను నీ సహాయక బలంతోను మేము విజయాన్ని సాధించే సాధకులమై, లక్ష్యాన్వేషకులమై ఉండుగాక. వ్రతాలలో జాగ్రత్తగా మేల్కొని ఉండు—మా వ్రతాలలోను ఋత-కర్మలలోను కాపలా కాయుము; అంతర్యజ్ఞం నశించకుండునట్లు.
Word by Word
- त्व
- you (O Soma)Pronounद्वितीया/सम्बोधन? एकवचन (एन्क्लिटिक रूप ‘त्व’ = ‘त्वाम्/त्वम्’ वैदिक प्रयोग; यहाँ सम्बोधनार्थे ‘O you’)Role सम्बोधन (addressed deity)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → त्वद्/त्वम्
- ओतासः
- (we) who are bound/linked (to you)Adjective (used substantively)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (with implied ‘वयम्’)Root √वे/√वय (वेति ‘to weave, to bind’) → ओत (PPP ‘woven/connected’)
- तव
- of you, yourPronounषष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive relation)Root युष्मद् → त्वद् (षष्ठी)
- अवसा
- by (your) help/protectionNounतृतीया, एकवचनRole करणRoot अवस् (नपुं/पुं; ‘help, protection, favor’)
- स्याम
- may we beVerbविधिलिङ् (optative), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (वयम्)Root √अस् (भू/अस् ‘to be’) — optative stem
- वन्वन्तः
- striving, seeking to winParticipleवर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (वयम्)Root √वन्/√वन् (वन्वति ‘to strive, to win, to seek’)
- आमुरः
- helpers/attendantsNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (apposition to ‘वयम्’)Root आमुर (प्रातिपदिक; वैदिक ‘आमुर’ = ‘सहायक/अनुचर/सेवक’),
- सोम
- O SomaNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- व्रतेषु
- in the ordinances/observancesNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचनRole अधिकरणRoot व्रत (प्रातिपदिक; ‘vow, ordinance, sacred observance’)
- जागृहि
- be awake; keep watchVerbलोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (त्वम्)Root √जागृ (to be awake, to watch) — imperative
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (वैदिक संधि-निरसन): त्वोता॑स॒स्तवाव॑सा॒ स्याम॑ व॒न्वन्त॑ आ॒मुर॑: । सोम॑ व्र॒तेषु॑ जागृहि ॥ → त्व | ओतासः | तव | अवसा | स्याम | वन्वन्तः | आमुरः | सोम | व्रतेषु | जागृहि । (1) त्वोता॑सः = त्व + ओतासः (स्वर-संधि: अ/आ + ओ → ओ)
- (2) तवावसा = तव + अवसा (अ + अ → आ)
The meaning
Outer meaning
With your help, may we be supported and become seekers who win; O Soma, be awake in the vows/observances (vrata).
Inner meaning
The seeker asks to be upheld by Soma’s avas (helping power) so that aspiration becomes effective seeking and attainment (vanvantaḥ). ‘Āmuraḥ’ suggests earnest, eager strivers—those who do not relax into inertia. The key is: ‘Soma, be awake in the vratas’—let the purified delight remain vigilant within our disciplines, right workings, and soul-commitments. Without this wakeful ananda, vows become dry, mechanical, or egoic; with it, discipline is living, luminous, and protected from lapse.
Universal truth
Discipline succeeds when it is guarded by a living inner joy and vigilance; otherwise practice becomes mechanical and loses its soul.
Themes
Discipline, Protection, Right working (ṛta-vrata), Seeking and winning
The seer
- Rishi
- Kavi Bhārgava (traditional)
- Lineage
- Bhṛgu (Bhārgava)
- Other hymns
- RV 9.61 (hymn), RV 1.89 (prayer for protection; thematic)
Family tradition
Bhārgava voice often unites tapas (discipline) with ananda (Soma), insisting on a vigilant, living practice rather than mere rule-following.
Significance
Shows the mature yogic insight: progress depends on sustained vigilance within one’s vratas, supported by a higher joy.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Pavamāna, Jāgar (the wakeful, implied by jāgṛhi), Avas-kṛt (giver of help, implied)
- Related deities
- Agni (wakeful priest of the sacrifice), Varuṇa (vrata as cosmic law), Mitra (harmonizing support)
Cosmic role
Guardian-delight that sustains the seeker’s right law (vrata) and keeps the inner sacrifice awake and effective.
Inner power
Wakeful ananda that prevents tamas (inertia) from entering discipline; turns observance into living yoga.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma-pavamāna recitation; also compatible with vow-keeping contexts in ritual discipline
त्वोता॑स॒स्तवाव॑सा॒ स्याम॑ व॒न्वन्त॑ आ॒मुर॑: । सोम॑ व्र॒तेषु॑ जागृहि ॥
त्वाऽऊ॑तासः । तव॑ । अव॑सा । स्याम॑ । व॒न्वन्तः॑ । आ॒ऽमुरः॑ । सोम॑ । व्र॒तेषु॑ । जा॒गृ॒हि॒ ॥
tvā-ūtāsaḥ | tava | avasā | syāma | vanvantaḥ | āmuraḥ | soma | vrateṣu | jāgṛhi
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4 × 11 (Triṣṭubh tendency) with a strong imperative close
Steady exhortation; ends with a wake-up command that lands firmly.
Creates alertness and ethical-spiritual resolve; helpful for maintaining consistency in practice.
- tvā-ūtāsaḥ
- Literal: helped/protected by you. Symbolic: supported by the divine delight as inner protector
- avasā
- Literal: help, aid, favor. Symbolic: descending assistance; grace that sustains effort
- vanvantaḥ
- Literal: striving, seeking, winning. Symbolic: ardent aspiration that becomes attainment
- āmuraḥ
- Literal: eager/impetuous/ardent (contextual). Symbolic: intense seekers who refuse inertia and complacency
- vrata
- Literal: vow, observance, law, right working. Symbolic: disciplines of ṛta: inner commitments that organize life toward truth
- jāgṛhi
- Literal: be awake, keep watch. Symbolic: inner vigilance; conscious presence preventing relapse into old patterns
Maintaining correctness of vrata (ritual/inner discipline) during Soma rite; protective invocation
During Soma sequences emphasizing protection and right working; conceptually aligned with vrata observances
Chant as a protective invocation, asking the deity to ‘keep watch’ over the rite
Use as a daily resolve mantra for consistency (sleep, diet, speech, meditation), asking for inner vigilance rather than harsh self-control.
ūti/avasa: from √av ‘help, protect’ (Indo-Iranian core). √van ‘win/desire’ is central to RV ‘winning the light/cows’. vrata: from √vṛ ‘choose/will’ → ‘willed law, chosen rule’ hence discipline aligned to ṛta. √jāgṛ relates to √jāgar ‘awake’, cognate with PIE *weg- ‘be lively, awake’ (cf. English wake).
Vrata as alignment to Ṛta, Conscious vigilance (jāgrat), Soma as guardian-force
Vrata is the personal expression of ṛta; Soma is invoked to keep it awake and intact.
Vigilance prevents compromise with falsehood and half-truth in practice.
Sustained ordering of life-force into a truth-law that allows higher consciousness to embody.
Integral yoga reading: discipline must be supported by higher force and joy; otherwise it degenerates into tamasic routine or rajasic strain.
Night-to-dawn vigilance (implied by jāgṛhi)
A luminous guard-consciousness that keeps disciplines alive and prevents regression.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘guardian’ Soma who keeps watch over the rite and the vows (vrata). Mythically this is ritual vigilance; inwardly it is the awakened delight that safeguards the right law of the being against lapse and distortion.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- jāgṛhi ‘wake!’ aligns with PIE *weg- ‘be awake’ (Skt jāgar-, Lat vigil is different root but same semantic domain; Eng wake from *wak- also from *weg-). The verbal system preserves archaic imperative/optative interplay (syāma, jāgṛhi) typical of early Indo-European poetics.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi requests not only gifts but guidance and guarding: Soma’s ‘help’ (avasa/ūti) is asked to make the seekers effective, while Soma’s wakefulness in the ‘vrata’ ensures the human effort remains aligned with cosmic order.
Vigilant joy in discipline: keep the inner flame awake in daily vows and right action.
Maṇipūra (discipline/will) stabilized by Anāhata (sincere devotion) and supported by Ājñā (wakeful awareness)
Simple mindful breathing with a brief pause after inhale (1–2 seconds) to cultivate alert presence; chant on exhale.
Alert calm; steady resolve without harshness.
Use at the start of the day: state one vrata (e.g., truthful speech, consistent sitting); chant 3–9 times; then visualize Soma as a small lamp in the heart watching gently throughout the day.
Use Ṛgvedic accents per śākhā; keep the final imperative ‘jāgṛhi’ clear with decisive tonal contour (avoid flattening).
Slightly pause before ‘soma vrateṣu jāgṛhi’ to let the command land; keep earlier pādas steady and supportive.
tvotāsas: cluster ‘tv’ clean; long ‘o’, tavāvasā: long ā; ‘va’ light, syāma: long ā, vanvanta: nasal ‘nva’ cluster; keep ‘v’ audible, vrateṣu: retroflex ṭ; ‘eṣu’ clear, jāgṛhi: long ā; vocalic ṛ (gṛ), not ‘gri’
Steady, watchful, slightly hushed but firm—like keeping vigil.
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