Rig Veda 9.4.6: Mandala 9, Sukta 4, Mantra 6
Sukta 9.4
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
तव क्रत्वा तवोतिभिर्ज्योक्पश्येम सूर्यम् । अथा नो वस्यसस्कृधि ॥
táva krátvā távótibhir jyók paśyema sū́ryam | áthā no vásyasas kṛdhi ||
ด้วยเจตจำนงอันศักดิ์สิทธิ์ของท่าน (krátu) และด้วยความอุปถัมภ์ของท่าน (ūtí) ขอให้พวกเรามองเห็นสุริยะ (Sūrya) ได้เนิ่นนาน; แล้วขอทรงปรับแต่งพวกเราให้เข้าสู่ภาวะอันประเสริฐยิ่งขึ้น.
Word by Word
- तव
- of you / yourPronounषष्ठी-एकवचन (gen. sg.)Role सम्बन्ध (genitival relation)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- क्रत्वा
- by (your) power/will/resolveNounतृतीया-एकवचन (instr. sg.), पुंलिङ्गRole करणRoot क्रतु (प्रातिपदिक)
- तव
- of you / yourPronounषष्ठी-एकवचन (gen. sg.)Role सम्बन्धRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ऊतिभिः
- with (your) helps/aidsNounतृतीया-बहुवचन (instr. pl.), स्त्रीलिङ्गRole करणRoot ऊति (प्रातिपदिक)
- ज्योक्
- for a long time; continuallyIndeclinableअव्यय (temporal adverb)Role अधिकारण (काल-अधिकारण) / क्रियाविशेषणRoot ज्योक् (अव्यय)
- पश्येम
- may we seeVerbविधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, उत्तम-पुरुष, बहुवचनRole (वाक्य-क्रिया)Root √पश् (दृश्) (धातु)
- सूर्यम्
- the SunNounद्वितीया-एकवचन (acc. sg.), पुंलिङ्गRole कर्मRoot सूर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- अथ
- then; and thenIndeclinableअव्यय (connective/sequence)Role सम्बन्ध / क्रियाविशेषणRoot अथ (अव्यय)
- नः
- to us / for usPronounचतुर्थी-बहुवचन (dat. pl.)—वेदिक-रूप (enclitic)Role सम्प्रदानRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वस्यसः
- of the better; of greater goodAdjective (comparative)षष्ठी-एकवचन (gen. sg.), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (used substantively: ‘of the better [state/thing]’)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive with कृधि: ‘make [us] of/into better…’)Root वस्यस् (प्रातिपदिक; तुलनात्मक-विशेषण)
- कृधि
- make; do (for us)Verbलोट् (imperative), परस्मैपद, मध्यम-पुरुष, एकवचनRole (वाक्य-क्रिया)Root √कृ (धातु)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (sandhi-resolved): तव | क्रत्वा | तव | ऊतिभिः | ज्योक् | पश्येम | सूर्यम् | अथ | नः | वस्यसः | कृधि । 1) तवो॒तिभिः = तव + ऊतिभिः (अ + ऊ → ओ; vowel-sandhi)
- 2) ज्योक्प॑श्येम = ज्योक् + पश्येम (final क् + initial प्: consonant junction; written as -क्प-)
The meaning
Outer meaning
By your effective will and your helps may we behold the Sun for a long continuance; then make us into the better condition.
Inner meaning
The purified Soma is invoked to stabilize the vision of truth (Sūrya) ‘jyok’—for long duration, not as a brief flash. Divine delight, when guided by illumined will (kratu) and supported by divine aids (ūti), makes illumination abiding and then refashions the whole being into a higher poise.
Universal truth
Spiritual insight must become continuous to transform life; joy and grace, disciplined by intelligent will, convert momentary awakening into stable realization.
Themes
Sustained illumination, Vision of truth, Divine support
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 9.4.5, Rig Veda 9.4.7, Rig Veda 9.4.8, Rig Veda 9.4.9
Significance
The seer-voice emphasizes ‘jyok’—a key yogic demand: continuity of solar seeing, the hallmark of matured realization.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Pavamāna, Soma
- Related deities
- Sūrya, Indra, Agni
Cosmic role
Establishes clarity and delight that can hold the solar illumination steadily.
Inner power
Stabilizing Ananda—prevents fall back into obscurity and makes insight enduring.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma purification chants in Soma-yajña
तव॒ क्रत्वा॒ तवो॒तिभि॒र्ज्योक्प॑श्येम॒ सूर्य॑म् । अथा॑ नो॒ वस्य॑सस्कृधि ॥
तव॑ । क्रत्वा॑ । तव॑ । ऊ॒तिऽभिः॑ । ज्योक् । प॒श्ये॒म॒ । सूर्य॑म् । अथ॑ । नः॒ । वस्य॑सः । कृ॒धि॒ ॥
tava | kratvā | tava | ūti-bhiḥ | jyok | paśyema | sūryam | atha | naḥ | vasyasaḥ | kṛdhi
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4×8 syllables (anuṣṭubh cadence)
Even, sustaining; ‘jyok paśyema sūryam’ carries a long-vowel openness mirroring duration.
Encourages steadiness and inner continuity; refrain seals the aspiration into a resolve for transformation.
- ज्योक् (jyok)
- Literal: for a long time, continuously. Symbolic: Continuity of consciousness; abiding realization rather than passing experience
- पश्येम (paśyema)
- Literal: may we see/behold. Symbolic: Inner seeing—direct perception of truth
- सूर्य (sūrya)
- Literal: Sun. Symbolic: Truth-consciousness; illumined mind/supramental light
- क्रतु (kratu)
- Literal: effective will. Symbolic: Illumined resolve that sustains practice and integration
- ऊति (ūti)
- Literal: helps. Symbolic: Divine assistances—intuitions, protections, right movements
- वस्यस् (vasyas)
- Literal: better condition. Symbolic: A more harmonious, luminous formation of nature
Prayer for sustained illumination as fruit of Soma purification and Indraic empowerment
While Soma is flowing/being clarified; also as a repeated refrain within the hymn section
Recitation to invoke sustained ‘solar’ favor—clarity, right seeing, and uplift
A mantra for stabilizing meditation: repeat on exhale to cultivate ‘abiding seeing’ and integration into daily activity.
jyók ‘for long, continually’ (Vedic adverb; continuity rather than momentary glimpse). paśyema is optative 1st pl. from √paś ‘see’—in Vedic idiom, ‘seeing’ is also ‘knowing/realizing’. The repeated instrumental phrase (kratvā… ūtibhiḥ) marks means/agency: divine will + divine support.
stability of realization (jyok), knowledge as vision (paś)
Continuity (jyok) indicates establishment in ṛta—right order that does not lapse.
‘Seeing the Sun’ is the experiential form of Satya—truth made visible to consciousness.
Sustained illumination reshapes the being (kṛdhi) into a higher creation.
Vedic yoga toward stable truth-consciousness (integral interpretation).
Full day / sustained daylight (symbol of uninterrupted awareness)
Unbroken inner daylight—clarity that remains through changing mental weather.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- ‘Beholding the Sun’ as the culmination of Soma’s purification: the mythic sun is not merely seen but held continuously (jyok), indicating stabilized entry into the luminous order.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √paś ‘see’ corresponds to PIE *speḱ- ‘to see, observe’ (cf. Latin specere, English spy via Germanic routes). The optative mood (paśyema) preserves an old Indo-European desiderative/volitive modality used in prayer.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The seer asks for a durable state, not a transient experience: Soma’s will and aid are requested to establish sustained vision, after which the refrain demands transformation of the whole being (‘make us better’).
Abiding solar seeing: let inner delight support continuous clarity.
Ājñā (brow) with support from Anāhata (quiet joy)
4-4-6 breathing (in-hold-out) while mentally placing ‘jyok’ as a steady flame of awareness; keep it gentle.
Sustained witness-illumination (dīrgha-smṛti/steady remembrance).
In meditation, recall a moment of clear insight; invoke Soma as sweetness/peace; repeat ‘jyok paśyema sūryam’ until the clarity becomes continuous; conclude with ‘vasyasas kṛdhi’ as an intention to embody the light.
Maintain udatta on accented syllables (kratvā́, ūtíbhíḥ, sū́ryam); ‘jyok’ should be crisp and slightly lifted without overemphasis.
Link ‘tava kratvā tava ūtibhir’ smoothly; give a gentle elongation to long vowels in ‘paśyema sūryam’.
jyok: pronounce ‘jyo’ as a single syllabic glide, not ‘ji-yok’, paśyema: ‘śy’ cluster clear; short ‘e’ then long ‘ā’ absent—keep correct vowel lengths, sūryam: long ‘ū’; final ‘m’ as anusvāra-like closure if in sandhi context
Even, sustained, luminous; avoid dramatic dynamics—aim for continuity.
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