Rig Veda 8.48.11: Mandala 8, Sukta 48, Mantra 11
Sukta 8.48
- Devata
- Soma
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Adbhuta (wonder)
अप त्या अस्थुरनिरा अमीवा निरत्रसन्तमिषीचीरभैषुः । आ सोमो अस्माँ अरुहद्विहाया अगन्म यत्र प्रतिरन्त आयुः ॥
ápa tyā́ asthur ánirā amī́vā nír atrasan támiṣīcīr ábhaiṣuḥ | ā́ sómo asmā́n aruhad ví-hāyā áganma yátra prá-tiranta ā́yuḥ ||
โรคภัยเหล่านั้นได้ถอยไปแล้ว—ไร้กำลัง; เหล่าผู้เคลื่อนในความมืดได้หนีไปด้วยความหวาดกลัว โสมะได้พาเราขึ้นสูงสู่ห้วงกว้าง; เราได้ไปถึงที่ซึ่งชีวิตตั้งมั่นและไม่ขาดตอน
Word by Word
- अप
- away, offIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot अप (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- त्या
- those two (f.)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा द्विवचनम् (वेदिक-रूप: त्या = ते/ताः)Role KartāRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अस्थुः
- stood; came to a standVerbलुङ् (अोरिस्ट) परस्मैपदम्, 3 पुरुषः, बहुवचनम् (वेदिक-रूप: अस्थुः)Root स्था (धातु)
- अनीराः
- weak, powerlessAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role Kartā (विशेषणम्) / सम्बद्धः कर्तृपदस्यRoot अनीर (प्रातिपदिक; नीर = बल/वीर्य, अ-नीर = निर्बल)
- अमीवाः
- diseases, sicknessesNounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot अमीवा (प्रातिपदिक)
- निः
- out, forthIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot निस्/निर् (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- अत्रसन्त
- they trembled; were frightenedVerbलङ् (इम्पर्फेक्ट) परस्मैपदम्, 3 पुरुषः, बहुवचनम् (वेदिक: अत्रसन्त)Root त्रस् (धातु)
- अमिषीचीः
- (female) sorceresses/witches; harmful beingsNounस्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot अमिषीची (प्रातिपदिक; स्त्री.)
- अभैषुः
- they fearedVerbलुङ् (अोरिस्ट) परस्मैपदम्, 3 पुरुषः, बहुवचनम् (वेदिक: अभैषुः)Root भी (धातु)
- आ
- towards, hitherIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot आ (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- सोमः
- SomaNounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- अस्मान्
- usPronounउत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम; द्वितीया बहुवचनम्Role KarmaRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अरुहत्
- mounted; came upon; rose overVerbलङ् (इम्पर्फेक्ट) परस्मैपदम्, 3 पुरुषः, एकवचनम्Root रुह् (धातु)
- विहायाः
- from the sky/expanseNounनपुंसकलिङ्गे पञ्चमी एकवचनम् (वेदिक: विहायाः = विहायसः)Role ApādānaRoot विहायस् (प्रातिपदिक; नपुं.)
- अगन्म
- we went; we cameVerbलुङ् (अोरिस्ट) परस्मैपदम्, 1 पुरुषः, बहुवचनम् (वेदिक: अगन्म)Root गम् (धातु)
- यत्र
- whereIndeclinableस्थानवाचक-अव्ययRole AdhikaraṇaRoot यत्र (अव्यय)
- प्रतिरन्त
- they rested; they came to a halt; they remainedVerbलङ् (इम्पर्फेक्ट) परस्मैपदम्, 3 पुरुषः, बहुवचनम् (वेदिक: प्रतिरन्त)Root प्रति-रम् (धातु; ‘to rest/stop/abide’, वेदिक)
- आयुः
- life, lifespanNounनपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot आयुस् (प्रातिपदिक; नपुं.)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सन्धि-निरसन): अप | त्या | अस्थुः | अनीराः | अमीवाः | निः | अत्रसन्त | अमिषीचीः | अभैषुः || आ | सोमः | अस्मान् | अरुहत् | विहायाः | अगन्म | यत्र | प्रतिरन्त | आयुः || 1) ‘अप त्या’ इति ‘त्या’ वेदिक-प्रथमा-द्विवचन-रूपम् (तद्). 2) ‘निरत्रसन्त’ → ‘निः + अत्रसन्त’ (निस् उपसर्गस्य र्-आदेशः/विसर्गः). 3) ‘तमिषीचीः’ पाठे ‘त’ केवलं पदपूरण/अनुस्वार-प्रभावित-लेखनभेदः
- पदच्छेदे ‘अमिषीचीः’. 4) ‘विहाया’ → ‘विहायाः’ (विहायस्-शब्दस्य पञ्चमी एकवचनं, वेदिक-रूप)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Sicknesses have departed powerless; the darkness-moving ones have fled in fear. Soma has lifted us upward into wide spaces; we have reached where life is firmly supported and unbroken.
Inner meaning
When Soma-Ananda is received, inner maladies—depressions, cravings, fragmentations—lose their force (anirā amīvāḥ). The ‘darkness-moving’ powers (tamiṣīcīḥ) are the subconscient obscurities that roam in the night of consciousness; they flee when delight establishes luminous immunity. Soma then ‘mounts’ the being into wideness (vihāyāḥ): a higher, freer plane where life-force (āyuḥ) is stabilized in a secure foundation (pratiranta).
Universal truth
A stable inner joy has a direct healing power: it dislodges darkness-patterns and lifts consciousness into wideness where life becomes more whole and enduring.
Themes
Healing, Ascent, Expulsion of darkness, Soma as liberator
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 8.48.1-12
Significance
This is a testimony-mantra: the rishi reports the objective effects of Soma in consciousness—healing, banishment of darkness, and ascent into wideness—central to the Vedic experiential path.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma
- Epithets
- Indu (implied in the cluster), healer and lifter (functional epithets in sense)
- Related deities
- Aśvins (healing), Indra (victory over darkness), Agni (purifier)
Cosmic role
Restorer of life and banisher of affliction; opener of the wide heaven in the human being.
Inner power
Ananda that expels subconscient darkness and establishes a vast, secure life-consciousness.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma rite as a proclamation of benefit; also suitable in healing/protection recitations
अप॒ त्या अ॑स्थु॒रनि॑रा॒ अमी॑वा॒ निर॑त्रस॒न्तमि॑षीची॒रभै॑षुः । आ सोमो॑ अ॒स्माँ अ॑रुह॒द्विहा॑या॒ अग॑न्म॒ यत्र॑ प्रति॒रन्त॒ आयु॑: ॥
अप॑ । त्याः । अ॒स्थुः॒ । अनि॑राः । अमी॑वाः । निः । अ॒त्र॒स॒न् । तमि॑षीचीः । अभै॑षुः । आ । सोमः॑ । अ॒स्मान् । अ॒रु॒ह॒त् । विऽहा॑याः । अग॑न्म । यत्र॑ । प्र॒ऽति॒रन्ते॑ । आयुः॑ ॥
apa | tyāḥ | asthuḥ | anirāḥ | amīvāḥ | niḥ | atrasan | tamiṣīcīḥ | abhaiṣuḥ | ā | somaḥ | asmān | aruhat | vi-hāyāḥ | aganma | yatra | pra-tirante | āyuḥ
32
4×8 (approximate)
liberating, exclamatory
felt as a cleansing sweep followed by an expansive release; supports confidence in recovery
- amīvāḥ
- Literal: sicknesses, afflictions. Symbolic: psychic-vital disorders, obscuring habits, fragmentation
- anirāḥ
- Literal: without force, powerless. Symbolic: loss of grip of lower formations when light/bliss enters
- tamiṣīcīḥ
- Literal: moving in darkness. Symbolic: subconscient impulses and depressive currents
- abhaiṣuḥ
- Literal: they feared, fled in fear. Symbolic: retreat of hostile formations before established consciousness
- āruhat
- Literal: mounted, climbed. Symbolic: uplift/ascension of the being
- vihāyāḥ
- Literal: wide spaces, open heavens. Symbolic: wideness of higher consciousness, freedom from constriction
- pratiranta āyuḥ
- Literal: life firmly supported. Symbolic: stable prāṇa and continuity of the soul’s journey
Soma as healer/protector in pressing rite; used as a protective-therapeutic utterance against amīvā (afflictions).
after Soma reception/oblation when benefits are affirmed
recitation to seal the effect—banishing illness/negativity and affirming uplift
use for inner healing: anxiety/dark moods; chant to ‘clear the night-movers’ and re-enter wideness
amī́vā: from √am 'to be ill, hurt' → affliction; inner sense includes disorder of mind/vital. támiṣīcīḥ: tamas 'darkness' + īcī/īcī- 'moving, going' (from √i 'go') → 'those that move in darkness' = subconscient hostile movements. aruhat: aorist of √ruh 'to rise, mount' with causative nuance by context 'made us ascend'. ví-hāyā: vi- + hāya 'space/expanse' (cf. √hā 'leave, free' semantic field) → liberated wideness. prá-tirante: from prati- + √tṝ/√tar 'to cross/overcome' → 'to withstand, hold out, be firmly established'.
Victory of knowledge over ignorance (tamas), Healing as restoration of harmony, Ascent into vaster consciousness (vihāyāḥ)
Health is ṛta in the body-life-mind; Soma restores right order.
the statement ‘we have gone where life is firm’ affirms a realized truth-state, not mere wish.
ascent into ‘wide spaces’ mirrors the cosmic opening of heaven within the human microcosm.
Yoga of transformation: removal of tamasic coverings and establishment in wideness (Aurobindo’s ‘wide consciousness’ motif).
night turning toward dawn (implied by darkness fleeing)
subconscient darkness patterns replaced by expansive luminous awareness; prāṇa stabilized.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The banishment of afflictions and darkness-forces by Soma, followed by an ascent into wide luminous realms where life is secured. This echoes the recurring Vedic pattern: the light-bearing power drives out the hostile gloom and elevates the sacrificer to a higher world/state.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √i 'go' in īcī- (movement) continues PIE *h₁ey- 'go'; √ruh 'rise' aligns with PIE *h₁rewH- 'rise' (broadly reflected in Indo-Iranian). The opposition of tamas (darkness) with ascent is a common IE poetic polarity (darkness vs. height/light).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- Soma is experienced as an active inner physician and liberator: not merely removing 'disease' but expelling the darkness-moving impulses of the subconscient. The rishi’s tone is testimonial—reporting accomplished transformation (afflictions have ceased; we have gone).
banish ‘night-movers’: observe dark thoughts as externalized forms; invoke Soma to dissolve them; rest in wide space above and around the head.
Viśuddha to Sahasrāra (wideness/space)
extended exhale with the first half (clearing), then natural inhale with the second half (expansion); optionally bhrāmarī to soothe the nervous system
uplifted wideness; fearless clarity
Chant until you tangibly feel space open around you; then sit silently 3–5 minutes in that wideness, letting the body reorganize without effort.
Make the first hemistich sharper (clearing), the second broader (expansion). Keep udatta prominent on action verbs like ‘apa… asthuḥ’, ‘nir… atrasan’, ‘āruhat’, ‘aganma’.
Pause after the clearing images, then open the tone on ‘ā somaḥ asmān aruhat…’.
amīvāḥ: long ī; clear v, tamiṣīcīḥ: retroflex ṣ; long ī; final ḥ soft, vihāyāḥ: articulate ‘vi-hā’ with long ā, pratiranta: ‘prati-ran-ta’ clean consonants
bright, cleansing, expansive at the end
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