Rig Veda 9.64.16: Mandala 9, Sukta 64, Mantra 16
Sukta 9.64
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
प्र हिन्वानास इन्दवोऽच्छा समुद्रमाशवः । धिया जूता असृक्षत ॥
prá hinvānā́sa índavo 'cchā samudrám āśávaḥ | dhiyā́ jūtā́ asṛkṣata ||
ప్రేరేపింపబడి, వేగవంతమైన సోమబిందువులు సముద్రం వైపు దూసుకెళ్లాయి; ధియా (పవిత్ర బుద్ధి/ప్రేరణ) చేత ఉత్సాహింపబడి, అవి తమ విశాల ప్రవాహంలో విడుదలయ్యాయి.
Word by Word
- प्र
- forth, forwardIndeclinableupasarga (preverb)Root प्र (upasarga)
- हि
- indeed, forIndeclinableparticleRoot हि (nipāta)
- हिन्वानासः
- impelling, being driven onAdjectivemasculine nominative plural (present active participle)Role Kartā (with इन्दवः)Root √हिन्व् (to impel, set in motion) → हिन्वान (pres. act. ptcp.)
- इन्दवः
- Soma dropsNounmasculine nominative pluralRole KartāRoot इन्दु (Soma-drop)
- अच्छा
- towardsIndeclinabledirectional adverb/prepositionRoot अच्छा (avyaya)
- समुद्रम्
- the oceanNounmasculine accusative singularRole Karma (goal/object of motion)Root समुद्र (sea, ocean)
- आशवः
- swiftAdjectivemasculine nominative pluralRole Kartā (apposition to इन्दवः)Root आशु (swift) → आशव (swift one)
- धिया
- by (sacred) thought/insightNounfeminine instrumental singularRole KaraṇaRoot धि (thought, insight) / धिया (instrumental of धिय्/धी)
- जूता
- impelled, sped onAdjectivemasculine nominative pluralRole Kartā (qualifier of implied subject = इन्दवः)Root √जु (to hasten/impel) → जूत (ppp/adj. ‘impelled, sped’)
- असृक्षत
- they streamed forth / rushedVerbaorist, 3rd person plural, Ātmanepada (Vedic: ‘they streamed/let themselves go’)Role (finite verb)Root √सृज् (to let go, send forth, flow) [Vedic aorist]
Sandhi Notes
- Resolved Sandhi: इन्दवोऽच्छा = इन्दवः + अच्छा (visarga before vowel becomes ‘o’ and written with avagraha: -वः + अ- → -वोऽ-)
- Other padas are already in separable form for pada-reading: प्र | हि | हिन्वानासः | इन्दवः | अच्छा | समुद्रम् | आशवः | धिया | जूता | असृक्षत
The meaning
Outer meaning
The swift Soma drops, driven onward, rush toward the ocean; urged by thought, they are released into its vastness.
Inner meaning
The purified currents of Ananda (Soma) are propelled by an inner impulsion and guided by dhī (illumined intelligence). They flow toward the samudra, the infinite ocean of consciousness, where limited movements are released into wideness (bṛhat) and unity.
Universal truth
When aspiration is governed by illumined discernment, the soul’s energies naturally pour into a vaster consciousness; true release is not escape but expansion into the Infinite.
Themes
movement-to-vastness, collective Soma streams, inspired thought, release
The seer
- Rishi
- Ascribed to the Soma Pavamāna tradition (RV Maṇḍala 9)
- Other hymns
- RV 9.64.1-28 (context hymn), RV 9.63 (adjacent Pavamāna cycle), RV 9.65 (adjacent Pavamāna cycle)
Family tradition
Pavamāna Soma hymns are largely associated with seer-families such as Kaṇva, Atri, and others across Mandala 9; this verse functions within the collective Soma-seer transmission rather than a single named rishi here
Significance
The ‘seer’ here is the inspired consciousness that witnesses Soma’s ascent: bliss released by purification and guided by dhī into the Vast—an archetypal yogic movement in Aurobindonian interpretation.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna (the purified Soma)
- Epithets
- Pavamāna (self-purifying/being purified), Indu (bright drop), Āśu (swift)
- Related deities
- Agni (leader of inner sacrifice), Indra (illumined mind that receives Soma), Uṣas (awakening illumination), Varuṇa/Mitra (ṛta-order that Soma enters)
Cosmic role
Soma is the delight-force that supports the gods, nourishes the sacrifice, and establishes wideness and immortality in the human being.
Inner power
Ananda that, when purified, becomes a clear current of joy and luminous sweetness; it carries the mind beyond limitation into vastness.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma Pavitra (purification/pressing and filtering) sequences in Soma-yajña
प्र हि॑न्वा॒नास॒ इन्द॒वोऽच्छा॑ समु॒द्रमा॒शव॑: । धि॒या जू॒ता अ॑सृक्षत ॥
प्र । हि॒न्वा॒नासः॑ । इन्द॑वः । अच्छ॑ । स॒मु॒द्रम् । आ॒शवः॑ । धि॒या । जू॒ताः । अ॒सृ॒क्ष॒त॒ ॥
pra | hinvānāsaḥ | indavaḥ | accha | samudram | āśavaḥ | dhiyā | jūtāḥ | asṛkṣata
Triṣṭubh (probable; traditional for many RV 9 verses)
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4 pādas × ~11 syllables (Triṣṭubh norm; exact count may vary by saṃhitā recitation and resolution)
Forward-driving, expansive cadence suited to ‘rushing’ imagery and widening movement
Builds a sense of momentum and release; supports meditation on inner flow moving into vast consciousness.
- इन्दवः (indavaḥ)
- Literal: Soma-drops. Symbolic: currents/drops of divine bliss and luminous essence moving through the being
- समुद्रम् (samudram)
- Literal: ocean. Symbolic: infinite consciousness; the Vast (bṛhat) where movements merge into unity
- धिया (dhiyā)
- Literal: by thought. Symbolic: by dhī—illumined intelligence, inspired discernment that directs the flow
- जूता (jūtāḥ)
- Literal: urged/impelled. Symbolic: energized by inner tapas/aspiration; the push of the soul toward truth
- असृक्षत (asṛkṣata)
- Literal: they have been released/let loose. Symbolic: liberation of energies from constriction into wideness and right movement
Describes the collective streams of Soma during pressing/filtration moving toward the collecting vat; inner sense: movement of clarified currents toward vast consciousness
During Soma pressing and filtering (pavamāna chants) as Soma is purified and offered
Chanting while Soma is strained; invoking its swift flow and entry into the ‘ocean’ (vat/collecting vessel)
Use as a mantra of ‘release into wideness’: chant before meditation to let mental movements pour into calm, spacious awareness.
hinvānāsaḥ: from √hi/√hinv ‘to impel, set in motion’. samudra: ‘gathered waters’ (sam-udra), in RV often a symbol of vast plenitude, not merely physical sea. dhī: key Vedic term for inspired thought/vision (root √dhī ‘to think, perceive’). asṛkṣata: aorist from √sṛj/√sṛ ‘to flow/let go’ (Vedic forms vary), conveying release into movement.
dhī as the driver of ascent, samudra as infinite plenitude
The right movement is implied: Soma’s flow is not random but guided by dhī toward its true seat in the Vast.
Truth is approached as wideness where distortions dissolve; guided thought aligns movement with the real.
From divided drops to a unified ocean—many movements returning to their source-consciousness.
Proto-Vedāntic and integral-yogic reading (Aurobindo/Kashyap): ascent from mind to vast consciousness through purified delight.
Purified delight-currents streaming into the oceanic consciousness (samudra) under the guidance of dhī (illumined mind).
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘streams to the ocean’: a mythic image where many clarified currents converge into the vast. Psychologically, multiple movements of purified delight, driven by dhī, enter a larger consciousness (samudra) where individuality widens into plenitude.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- dhī belongs to an old IE cognitive lexicon (compare Greek theá ‘view’ only semantically; closer are Indo-Iranian correspondences). The pervasive water-to-consciousness metaphor is a shared IE poetic inheritance, where ‘flow’ encodes inspiration and speech-force.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The ṛṣi witnesses and affirms the devatā’s process: Soma is not static but a coordinated dynamism. The seer’s dhī is simultaneously the human instrument and the divine impetus that ‘urges’ the currents toward the vast goal.
Let inner delight and aspiration flow into wideness; rest the mind in the ‘ocean’ of awareness.
Anāhata to Ājñā axis (joy rising and guided by illumined intelligence)
Gentle ujjāyī or slow nasal breathing; on exhale feel ‘release into vastness’
Widened awareness with a sweet, clear current of joy
Chant 3–9 times; then sit and imagine luminous drops (joy-movements) merging into an infinite inner sea. When thoughts arise, ‘urge them by dhī’—quiet discernment—back into the vast.
Use standard Rigvedic accentuation: preserve udatta on marked syllables, svarita where applicable; follow śākhā-specific recitation
Emphasize: - (hín-vā), (in-da-vo’c-chā́), : (sa-mu-drám ā́-śa-vaḥ), (dhi-yā́ jū́-tā)
Keep ‘accha’ as ‘ac-chā’ with clear double consonant, Indavo: light dental ‘d’, not retroflex, Samudram: ‘dra’ cluster clean, no extra vowel, Dhiyā: glide ‘dhi-yā’, not ‘dhyā’ collapsed
Clear, flowing, slightly energized; let the cadence ‘run’ like a stream
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