Rig Veda 9.67.18: Mandala 9, Sukta 67, Mantra 18
Sukta 9.67
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
ते सुतासो मदिन्तमाः शुक्रा वायुमसृक्षत ॥
té sutā́so madín-tamāḥ śukrā́ vā́yum asṛkṣata ||
ఆ సుతమైన సోమధారలు—అత్యంత మదకరమైనవి, ప్రకాశవంతమైనవి, శుద్ధమైనవి—వాయు (ప్రాణ-దేవుడు) వైపు విడిచిపెట్టబడ్డాయి; ప్రాణమయ దేవుడు శుద్ధీకృత ఆనందాన్ని స్వీకరించునట్లు.
Word by Word
- ते
- they (those)Pronounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सुतासः
- the pressed Soma-dropsNoun (participle used substantively)पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot सुता- (√सु ‘to press/extract (Soma)’, क्त-प्रत्यय; ‘pressed/extracted’)
- मदिन्-तमाः
- most intoxicatingAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (सुतासः इति विशेषणम्)Role KartāRoot मदिन्- (मद् ‘intoxication/rapture’ + इन्; ‘intoxicating’) + तम (superlative)
- शुक्राः
- bright/clearAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (सुतासः इति विशेषणम्)Role KartāRoot शुक्र- (‘bright, clear, shining’)
- वायुम्
- VāyuNoun (proper)पुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot वायु- (‘Wind-god Vāyu’)
- असृक्षत
- they sped/flowed toward; they set in motionVerbलुङ् (अorist) परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः बहुवचनम्Role (क्रिया)Root √सृज् (‘to let go, send forth, set in motion’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: ते | सुतासः | मदिन्तमाः | शुक्राः | वायुम् | असृक्षत । 1) मदिन्तमाः = मदिन् + तमाः (तम-प्रत्ययेन अतिशयार्थः; संहितायां ‘न्’ + ‘त’ संयोगः)। 2) अन्यत्र विशेष-सन्धि-परिवर्तनं न
- ‘ते’ इति सर्वनाम, ‘सुतासः’ इति क्त-प्रत्ययान्त-रूपं, ‘असृक्षत’ इति √सृज्-धातोः लुङ्-रूपम्।
The meaning
Outer meaning
The pressed, most intoxicating, bright Soma streams are released toward Vāyu.
Inner meaning
Purified delight, clarified of mixture, is offered to Vāyu—the life-breath and vital dynamism—so that prāṇa becomes a fit carrier of the divine joy rather than a restless seeker of excitement. Soma ‘intoxication’ becomes spiritual ecstasy that harmonizes the vital.
Universal truth
When delight is purified, it no longer agitates the life-force; it refines and uplifts it, making breath and energy instruments of clarity and joy.
Themes
Vāyu recipient, vital purification, exhilaration, Soma release
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 9.67.1-32
Significance
The seer-voice here acts like an inner priest directing Soma to the appropriate power (Vāyu), indicating yogic discernment: offering delight to the life-force for purification.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna (offered to Vāyu)
- Epithets
- Śukra (bright), Suta (pressed), Madintama (most ecstatic)
- Related deities
- Indra (often paired with Vāyu), Agni
Cosmic role
Soma provides the nectar; Vāyu receives first in many rites—life-force is the initial channel for divine influx.
Inner power
Soma: ananda; Vāyu: prāṇa that can be refined into a steady carrier of inspiration and joy.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma offering to Vāyu (Vāyavya graha context broadly)
ते सु॒तासो॑ म॒दिन्त॑माः शु॒क्रा वा॒युम॑सृक्षत ॥
ते । सु॒तासः॑ । म॒दिन्ऽत॑माः । शु॒क्राः । वा॒युम् । अ॒सृ॒क्ष॒त॒ ॥
te | sutāsaḥ | madin-tamāḥ | śukrāḥ | vāyum | asṛkṣata
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables
Firm, balanced, with a clean ‘release’ at the end of each pāda.
Clears the breath; naturally encourages a steady, buoyant prāṇic rhythm.
- सुतासः (sutāsaḥ)
- Literal: pressed (Soma) streams. Symbolic: extracted essence of experience turned into offering
- मदिन्तमाः (madintamāḥ)
- Literal: most intoxicating. Symbolic: most capable of ecstasy—rapture that breaks dullness
- शुक्राः (śukrāḥ)
- Literal: bright, pure. Symbolic: clarified consciousness, luminous delight
- वायुम् (vāyum)
- Literal: Vāyu (wind). Symbolic: prāṇa, life-breath, vital dynamism receptive to higher joy
- असृक्षत (asṛkṣata)
- Literal: they released/sent. Symbolic: directed the current toward a specific inner function (vital)
Soma offerings commonly go first to Vāyu (Vāyavya graha) in Soma rites; this verse aligns with that sequencing: Soma released to Vāyu.
Early offerings where Vāyu is a primary recipient
Directing the clarified Soma to the Vāyu-cup/recipient
Breath-centered meditation: let purified joy ride the breath; use for anxiety-to-breath transformation.
madin-tama is superlative from madin (from √mad ‘be exhilarated/intoxicated’). śukra- ‘bright, clear’ from √śuc ‘shine, be pure’. vāyu- ‘wind, breath’ from √vā ‘blow’; psychologically prāṇa-like life-force. asṛkṣata from √sṛj/√sṛkṣ? Vedic form meaning ‘let loose, send forth’ (causative/release sense).
vital force as first receiver of delight, purity (śukra) as condition for right vitalization, ordered offering sequence (R̥ta in ritual and psyche)
Vāyu receives the ordered flow—life-force aligned to right movement.
Truth becomes livable when the vital is clarified by luminous delight.
From pressed essence → clarified brightness → movement (vāyu) that distributes it.
Integral yoga resonance: prāṇa purified by ananda supports higher realization.
Wind = breath/current of life; bright Soma = clarified joy; release = letting prāṇa carry the higher vibration.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘Soma to Vāyu’ offering mythologem: clarified, bright Soma is released to the Wind/Breath. Innerly, the purified delight first enters and transforms the vital being; only a rightly vitalized system can sustain higher illuminations without distortion.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- vāyu- from √vā ‘blow’ reflects PIE *h₂weh₁- ‘to blow’ (cf. Latin ventus via related developments; also English wind from different root but same semantic domain). The brightness term śukra- (√śuc) participates in an IE tendency to link shining with purity and truth.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi directs the Soma-force to a specific cosmic power (Vāyu), indicating an internal discipline: the seer does not merely seek ecstasy, but channels it to reorder the vital plane, making it a fit instrument for the gods.
Unite breath with bliss: inhale ‘brightness’, exhale ‘offering to Vāyu’.
Anāhata (breath/feeling) with support to Viśuddha (purified flow)
4-4 or 6-6 even breathing; feel the exhale as a smooth ‘asṛkṣata’ release.
Buoyant clarity; prāṇic quietude with subtle joy.
Before chanting, sit upright; chant on a single smooth exhale per pāda if possible; afterward observe breath becoming luminous and calm.
Observe marked udātta/anudātta in saṃhitā; keep ‘madintamāḥ śukrāḥ’ bright and lifted.
Avoid rushing ‘śukrā vāyum’; keep long vowels clear; let the final verb ‘asṛkṣata’ land cleanly.
te sutāso: dental ‘t’, clear long ‘ā’, madintamāḥ: nasal ‘n’ before ‘t’, śukrāḥ: distinct ‘ś’ (palatal) not ‘s’, vāyum: long ‘ā’, soft ‘y’ glide
Light, airy, breath-synchronized
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