Rig Veda 9.97.40: Mandala 9, Sukta 97, Mantra 40
Sukta 9.97
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
अक्रान्त्समुद्रः प्रथमे विधर्मञ्जनयन्प्रजा भुवनस्य राजा । वृषा पवित्रे अधि सानो अव्ये बृहत्सोमो वावृधे सुवान इन्दुः ॥
ákrānt samudráḥ prathamé vidhárman janáyan prajā́ bhuvánasya rā́jā | vṛ́ṣā pavítre ádhi sā́nó avyé bṛhát sómo vāvṛdhe suvā́na índuḥ ||
ధర్మస్థాపన యొక్క తొలి విధానంలో సముద్రం ముందుకు సాగెను—ప్రజలను జనింపజేస్తూ, భువనానికి రాజుగా. పవిత్రంపై, ఉన్ని సాను (మేడ)పై, వృషభంలా, విస్తారమైన సోముడు—సువాన ఇందు—వృద్ధి పొందెను.
Word by Word
- अक्रान्त्
- (he) strode/stepped forthVerbलुङ् (aorist), 3rd person singular, परस्मैपद; augment अ-; injunctive/aorist usage in VedicRole KartāRoot क्रम् (क्रमुँ) / प्र-क्रम्
- समुद्रः
- the oceanNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole Kartā (apposition to the subject, i.e., Soma as ‘ocean’)Root समुद्र (प्रातिपदिक) < सम्-उद्-दृ (etym.)
- प्रथमे
- in the first (place/occasion)Adjective (used substantively)नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन (locative)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot प्रथम (प्रातिपदिक)
- विधर्मन्
- in the ordinance/established orderNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन (Vedic ending -न् for loc.)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot विधर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) < वि-धृ (धारण/विधान)
- जनयन्
- generating, begettingVerb (present participle)वर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ), परस्मैपद-भाव, पुंलिङ्ग प्रथमा एकवचनRole Kartā (agreeing with the main subject) / also indicates action toward objectRoot जन् (जनँ) / जनयति (caus.)
- प्रजाः
- creatures, offspringNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot प्रजा (प्रातिपदिक)
- भुवनस्य
- of the world/existenceNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी एकवचनRole Sambandha (genitive relation)Root भुवन (प्रातिपदिक) < भू
- राजा
- kingNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole Kartā (apposition/title of the subject)Root राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- वृषा
- the bull (the vigorous one)Noun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन (Vedic nom. वृषा)Role Kartā (apposition/epithet of Soma)Root वृषन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- पवित्रे
- in/on the filter (sieve)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot पवित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- अधि
- upon, overIndeclinable (preverb/preposition)Role Adhikaraṇa (marks ‘upon/over’ with locative)Root अधि
- सानो
- on the ridge/summit (surface)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन (Vedic form सानो)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot सानु (प्रातिपदिक)
- अव्ये
- on the woollen (filter)Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन (agreeing with सानु/पवित्र)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot अवि (प्रातिपदिक) → अव्य (adj. ‘of sheep/woollen’)
- बृहत्
- greatAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन (agreeing with सोमः)Role Kartā (qualifier of subject)Root बृहन्त् (प्रातिपदिक)
- सोमः
- SomaNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- वावृधे
- has grown, has increasedVerbलिट् (perfect), 3rd person singular, आत्मनेपदRole Kriyā (main predicate of the clause)Root वृध् (वृधँ) → ववृध् (reduplicated perfect)
- सुवानः
- being pressed, being expressedVerb (participle)वर्तमान/परस्मैपद-भाव कृदन्त (शानच्/आनच् type in Vedic), पुंलिङ्ग प्रथमा एकवचन (agreeing with इन्दुः/सोमः)Role Kartā (descriptive of Soma as being pressed/flowing)Root सु (सुनोति) / सुवा (PPP/part.)
- इन्दुः
- the bright drop (Soma)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole Kartā (apposition to सोमः)Root इन्दु (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (padapāṭha-style): अक्रान्त् + समुद्रः (final -t before s-)
- समुद्रः प्रथमे (visarga before p-)
- प्रथमे विधर्मन् (no external sandhi; विधर्मन् is Vedic loc. sg. in -न्)
- जनयन् + प्रजाः (final -n before p-)
- प्रजाः भुवनस्य (āḥ + bh-)
- भुवनस्य राजा (gen. + nom.)
- वृषा पवित्रे (no change)
- पवित्रे अधि (e + a → e, written separately in Saṃhitā)
- अधि सानो (i + s-)
- सानो अव्ये (o + a → o, written separately)
- बृहत् सोमः (t + s-)
- सोमः वावृधे (visarga before v-)
- सुवान इन्दुः: in Saṃhitā ‘सुवा॒न इन्दु॑:’ = सुवानः + इन्दुः with visarga lost before vowel (Vedic sandhi). Accents as in Saṃhitā: अक्रा॑न्त्, समुद्रः, प्र॑थ॒मे, विध॑र्मन्, ज॒नय॑न्, प्र॒जा, भुव॑नस्य, राजा॑, वृषा॑, प॒वित्रे॒, अधि॒, सानो॒, अव्ये॑, बृ॒हत्, सोमो॑, वावृधे, सुवा॒न, इन्दु॑ः
The meaning
Outer meaning
The ocean advanced in the first establishment of the law, generating creatures as king of the world; as a bull upon the filter on the woollen ridge, the vast Soma has grown—Indu, being pressed.
Inner meaning
Samudra (ocean) is the vastness of being—often the causal/deep consciousness—moving forward at the primal founding of ṛta/vidharma. From that vastness, formations (prajāḥ) arise; Soma is ‘king of becoming’ (bhuvanasya rājā): delight governs manifestation by giving it sap and cohesion. The ‘bull on the filter’ is the powerful, creative ananda-force pressing through purification (pavitra) upon the wool ridge (sāna avya): raw delight is refined into a vast, stable, upward-flowing current. ‘Suvāna’ suggests being brought forth—Soma is repeatedly born in us through practice.
Universal truth
From the vast ground of consciousness, delight is a kingly power that generates and sustains manifestation; when purified, it becomes a strong creative force that establishes right order and supports evolution.
Themes
Cosmogony, Soma as ocean/king, Purification and manifestation, Brihat (wideness)
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 9.97 (cosmic Soma imagery), RV 9.86 (Soma as ocean/king motifs, thematic parallels)
Significance
The verse carries a cosmogonic ‘seer-vision’: Soma not merely as ritual juice but as a cosmic principle—vastness, law, generation, kingship—suggesting the rishi’s gaze in universal terms.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna (cosmic aspect)
- Epithets
- bṛhat (vast), bhuvanasya rājā (king of becoming), indu (luminous drop/essence), vṛṣā (bull, potent)
- Related deities
- Varuṇa (cosmic order, ocean symbolism), Indra (power released by Soma), Agni (pressing/inner sacrifice)
Cosmic role
Cosmic delight that advances the founding law, generates beings, and grows through purification.
Inner power
A vast ananda-force that, when strained through discernment, becomes creative, sovereign, and evolutionary.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing/filtration hymns (Pavamāna)
अक्रा॑न्त्समु॒द्रः प्र॑थ॒मे विध॑र्मञ्ज॒नय॑न्प्र॒जा भुव॑नस्य॒ राजा॑ । वृषा॑ प॒वित्रे॒ अधि॒ सानो॒ अव्ये॑ बृ॒हत्सोमो॑ वावृधे सुवा॒न इन्दु॑: ॥
अक्रा॑न् । स॒मु॒द्रः । प्र॒थ॒मे । विऽध॑र्मन् । ज॒नय॑न् । प्र॒ऽजाः । भुव॑नस्य । राजा॑ । वृषा॑ । प॒वित्रे॑ । अधि॑ । सानौ॑ । अव्ये॑ । बृ॒हत् । सोमः॑ । व॒वृ॒धे॒ । सु॒वा॒नः । इन्दुः॑ ॥
akrān | samudraḥ | prathame | vi-dharman | janayan | pra-jāḥ | bhuvanasya | rājā | vṛṣā | pavitre | adhi | sānau | avye | bṛhat | somaḥ | vavṛdhe | suvānaḥ | induḥ
44
4×11 (approx.)
Grand, rolling movement suitable for ‘samudra’ and ‘bṛhat’.
Evokes vastness and power; breath naturally deepens and lengthens, supporting expansion meditation.
- समुद्र (samudra)
- Literal: ocean. Symbolic: vast consciousness; deep causal/subconscient-totality to be transformed into plenitude
- प्रथम विधर्मन् (prathame vidharmaṇ)
- Literal: in the first establishing of the law. Symbolic: primal founding of ṛta in the being; first decisive alignment
- प्रजाः (prajāḥ)
- Literal: creatures, births. Symbolic: inner formations: thoughts, impulses, powers that arise from the ground
- भुवनस्य राजा (bhuvanasya rājā)
- Literal: king of becoming/world. Symbolic: ananda as sovereign organizer of life-manifestation
- वृषा (vṛṣā)
- Literal: bull. Symbolic: potent creative force; virile energy of manifestation purified
- पवित्र (pavitra)
- Literal: filter. Symbolic: purifying discernment; refining instrument (buddhi/psychic sieve)
- सानौ अव्ये (sāno avye)
- Literal: on the woollen ridge. Symbolic: the soft receptive medium of purification; subtle nervous/mental substance that strains experience
- बृहत् सोम (bṛhat soma)
- Literal: vast Soma. Symbolic: expansive ananda that exceeds narrow ego-limits
- सुवान इन्दु (suvāna indu)
- Literal: Indu being pressed/born. Symbolic: luminous essence repeatedly generated through inner pressing (tapas, practice)
Strongly linked to the straining (pavitra, avya) stage; exalts Soma as cosmic king/ocean whose purification is also a cosmogonic renewal.
During filtration (pavitra) and collection; also as praise of Soma’s cosmic sovereignty.
Pressing Soma (suvāna), straining through wool, collecting and offering.
Use for meditation on vastness (samudra-bhāva) and purification: letting life-energy pass through inner discernment to become a creative, ordered force.
samudra 'gathering of waters' (sam-ud-ra): in RV often cosmic ocean of being. vidharman: vi- + dharman (from √dhṛ 'hold, support') → establishing the sustaining law. pavitra: from √pū 'purify' (semantic field) + instrument suffix: purifier/filter. avya: 'woollen' from avi 'sheep' → ritual fleece; symbolically subtle discriminative texture. indu: 'drop, bright one' possibly from √ind 'to kindle/brighten' in Vedic semantics.
prathama vidharman (primal law-establishment), cosmic sovereignty, purification as ordering principle
Explicit: Soma/ocean advances in the primal establishment of law—order precedes harmonious manifestation.
Vast Soma as truth-substance that supports right becoming.
Cosmogonic: generation of prajā from the primordial vastness; kingship of Soma over becoming.
Cosmic Ananda doctrine (Aurobindonian): Ananda as creative principle in manifestation.
Ocean = vast ground of consciousness; bull = potent life-force; wool filter = subtle discriminating medium; pressing = tapas that brings forth the luminous essence.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Soma as the cosmic ocean-king whose forward surge establishes the primal law and generates beings; the ritual straining mirrors the first cosmogonic ordering, making purification a re-enactment of creation.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Kingship and bovine virility metaphors (rājā, vṛṣā) are Indo-European poetic commonplaces for sovereignty and generative power. The law-support term dharman (√dhṛ) reflects inherited semantics of 'that which holds/maintains'.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The Rishi magnifies the rite into a universal process: by purifying Soma on the pavitra, the human participates in the primal establishment of order, inviting Soma’s vastness (bṛhat) to grow within the practitioner.
Rest in vastness; allow potent energy to be purified into ordered creative force.
Sahasrāra/Ājñā (vastness) with grounding in Mūlādhāra (ocean-depth stability)
Dirgha pranayama (3-part breath) while contemplating ‘samudraḥ’; on exhale, imagine energy passing through a ‘wool filter’ at the heart/throat.
Expansive, powerful, ordered.
Chant slowly 6–9 times. Then sit with the sense of an inner ocean. When impulses arise, ‘strain’ them: ask—does this align with ṛta? Let only the clear current pass into action.
Keep accents crisp; allow slightly slower pace to convey ‘bṛhat’ and ‘samudra’ vastness.
Sustain long vowels in samudraḥ, pavitre, avye, vāvṛdhe; keep consonant clusters clean in prathame vidharmaṇ.
akrān(t): ‘kr’ cluster firm; final -n may assimilate in sandhi, vāvṛdhe: vāv- with long ā; ṛ as vocalic r, avye: ‘vy’ glide, long e, induḥ: short uḥ with visarga lightly released
Deep, resonant, oceanic; minimal strain; elongated phrases.
6
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