Rig Veda 9.58.3: Mandala 9, Sukta 58, Mantra 3
Sukta 9.58
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
ध्वस्रयोः पुरुषन्त्योरा सहस्राणि दद्महे । तरत्स मन्दी धावति ॥
dhvasráyoḥ puruṣántyor ā sahásrāṇi dadmahe | tarát sa mandī dhā́vati ||
จากธารสว่างไสวสองสาย อันอุดมไม่รู้พร่อง เรารับเอาทรัพย์ภายในนับพัน; โสมผู้บันดาลความรื่นรมย์ข้ามพ้นไป และแล่นต่อในกระแสอันรวดเร็วของตน.
Word by Word
- ध्वस्रयः
- the tawny/grey (ones) (i.e., Soma-streams)Adjective (used substantively)पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot ध्वस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- पुरुषन्त्योः
- of/in the two man-filled (regions)Adjective (feminine)स्त्रीलिङ्गः, षष्ठी/सप्तमी, द्विवचनम् (वेदे रूपसाम्यं) — ‘of/in the two man-filled (regions)’Role अधिकरण (सन्दर्भ/स्थान-सम्बन्धः) अथवा सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root पुरुषन्ती (स्त्री. प्रातिपदिक; ‘abounding in men/people, man-filled’)
- आ
- towards; untoIndeclinableनिपातः (आगमन/सम्प्राप्ति-अर्थे)Root आ (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- सहस्राणि
- thousandsNounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम्Role कर्मRoot सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- दद्महे
- we give; we bestowVerbलट् (वेदे/छन्दसि), आत्मनेपदम्, उत्तमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Root √दा (दाने)
- तरत्
- he crosses; he overcomesVerb (participle-like finite injunctive/aoristic form in Vedic usage)वेदिक-रूपम्: अोरिस्ट/इञ्जङ्क्टिव्-प्रायः, तृतीयपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Root √तॄ (तरणे) / √तॄ (तॄ-धातु, ‘to cross/overcome’)
- सः
- hePronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- मन्दी
- the gladdening one (Soma)Adjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृ (सः मन्दी = ‘he, the gladdener’)Root मन्दी (प्रातिपदिक; ‘gladdening/joyous’, epithet of Soma) অথবা मन्द्-सम्बद्धः
- धावति
- runs; rushesVerbलट्, परस्मैपदम्, तृतीयपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Root √धाव् (गत्यर्थे)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (सम्भाव्यः): ध्वस्रयः | पुरुषन्त्योः | आ | सहस्राणि | दद्महे | तरत् | सः | मन्दी | धावति || 1) ‘पुरुषन्त्योः’ इति द्विवचन-सम्बद्धं रूपम्
- वेदेषु षष्ठी/सप्तमी-द्विवचनयोः रूपसाम्यं दृश्यते, अतः ‘of the two / in the two’ इति द्वयार्थ-सम्भावना। 2) ‘तरत्’ वेदिक-प्रयोगे अोरिस्ट/इञ्जङ्क्टिव्-प्रायं (finite) रूपं, ‘he crosses/overcomes’ इत्यर्थे। 3) ‘सः मन्दी’ इति समासो न, किन्तु सर्वनाम + विशेषण-सम्बन्धः।
The meaning
Outer meaning
From the two bright, abundant streams we receive thousands (of gifts); the gladdening Soma crosses beyond and runs on.
Inner meaning
The ‘two bright streams’ indicate a dual channel of purified delight—often experienced as a twin movement: descent of higher joy and ascent of the aspiring consciousness (or mind and life made luminous). From these, the seeker receives ‘thousands’—multiplying insights, energies, and harmonies. Soma, as glad force, continuously overpasses obstacles and keeps the sadhana moving.
Universal truth
When higher joy flows in both complementary currents (receiving and offering, descent and ascent), inner wealth multiplies and progress becomes sustained and self-renewing.
Themes
Soma-ritual, purification, plenty-of-force, inner-crossing
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 9.58.2, Rig Veda 9.58.4
Significance
Points to a shared yogic knowledge of ‘double streams’ in the Soma experience, suggesting a school of practice rather than an individual signature.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Mandī (gladdening), Puruṣantī (abounding), Dhvasra (bright)
- Related deities
- Indra (releases the streams), Sarasvatī (inspirational flow), Agni (carrier and leader of inner offering)
Cosmic role
As purified Soma, he becomes the abundant giver of riches to gods and men, sustaining the forward movement of the sacrifice.
Inner power
A dual-flow ananda that both descends as grace and rises as aspiration, generating multiplicity of realizations.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma filtration chants in Soma-yajña
ध्व॒स्रयो॑: पुरु॒षन्त्यो॒रा स॒हस्रा॑णि दद्महे । तर॒त्स म॒न्दी धा॑वति ॥
ध्व॒स्रयोः॑ । पु॒रु॒ऽसन्त्योः॑ । आ । स॒हस्रा॑णि । द॒द्म॒हे॒ । तर॑त् । सः । म॒न्दी । धा॒व॒ति॒ ॥
dhvasrayoḥ | puru-santyoḥ | ā | sahasrāṇi | dadmahe | tarat | saḥ | mandī | dhāvati
Likely Jagatī (12-syllable pādas; refrain cadence)
48
4 pādas × ~12; with repeated close tarat sa mandī dhāvati
Alternation of ‘receiving thousands’ with ‘crossing and running’ gives a pulse of abundance → propulsion.
Elicits a sense of widening and acceleration—good for breaking stagnation and invoking plenitude.
- dhvasrayoḥ
- Literal: of the two bright/shining ones (streams). Symbolic: twin currents of luminous ananda: descent/ascent or mind/life purified
- puru-santyoḥ
- Literal: ever-abounding, richly giving. Symbolic: inexhaustible spiritual supply once the channel is opened
- sahasrāṇi
- Literal: thousands. Symbolic: innumerable inner gains: lights, powers, joys
- dadmahe
- Literal: we give/receive, we take to ourselves. Symbolic: active participation in receiving and establishing the gifts
- mandī
- Literal: gladdening. Symbolic: joy-force that becomes motive power
- tarat ... dhāvati
- Literal: crosses beyond ... runs. Symbolic: surmounts resistance and maintains swift continuity
Soma-pavamāna sequence in the Soma sacrifice: purification through the strainer (vāra), flowing into the kalaśa; used in the pressing and filtering rites (e.g., Agniṣṭoma context broadly).
During pavamāna recitations as Soma passes through the strainer
Chanting to accompany flow and invoke abundance of gifts
Meditate on the ‘two streams’ as breath and awareness: inhale as ascent, exhale as descent, receiving ‘thousands’ of quiet insights.
Key roots: √tṛ 'to cross over' → spiritual overpassing of obstruction; √dhāv 'to run/flow' → the dynamic streaming of Soma through the filters into the vessel; √mand 'to rejoice/become exhilarated' → Soma as intensifier of ananda. puru- 'much, abundant' + sant- (present/being, from √as 'to be') gives 'abundantly existent/giving'. dhvasrá- is a difficult Vedic adjective; here treated as 'bright/streaming' dual flows (gen. dual -yoḥ), consistent with Soma’s twin currents (outer: pressings; inner: dual channels of luminous delight).
ṛta (right order as the law of the flow), ananda (delight as Soma’s essence), transcending limitation (crossing over: √tṛ)
The twin streams imply regulated channels of right movement, not chaotic emotion.
Abundance is not mere quantity but truth-multiplicity—many forms of one truth.
From unity of delight arise countless formations (‘thousands’) in the manifested being.
Integral/Vedāntic tendency: ananda as generative power of manifestation.
Dawn/early light (suggested by brightness)
Idā–Piṅgalā-like twin currents (as an experiential symbol), harmonized by a central flow of bliss-consciousness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is the ‘twofold flow of Soma’ yielding plenitude: Soma as a dual-streaming power (outer pressings/inner channels) that, once set in motion, ‘crosses beyond’ (tarat) and rushes onward. Inwardly this is the emergence of purified delight/illumination from dual currents in the being, producing innumerable gains of consciousness.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √tṛ ‘cross’ (tarat) aligns with PIE *terh₂- ‘to cross over, pass through’ (cf. English ‘through’ via Germanic developments; also Latin trans- as a functional parallel). √dhāv ‘run’ is Indo-Iranian with parallels in the semantic field of rushing/flowing; the verse’s paired motion-verbs (tarat, dhāvati) encode a typical Indo-European poetic formula: overpassing + swift coursing, applied to a sacred liquid/power.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The speaker positions the community/self as the receiver-establisher (dadmahe, middle nuance) of Soma’s gifts: the Devata’s flow provides ‘thousands’ (sahasrāṇi), while the human side must actively take in and stabilize the influx. Reciprocity is expressed as Soma’s self-moving grace (mandī dhāvati) met by the aspirant’s receptivity and right placing (ā…dadmahe) within ṛta.
Contemplate two luminous currents meeting in the heart; allow a third sense of central stillness to appear as the ‘receiver’.
Anāhata (meeting point) with support from Ājñā (clarity of reception)
Nāḍī-śodhana (alternate nostril) gently, then repeat sahasrāṇi dadmahe mentally on the balanced breath.
Widened receptivity with dynamic forward energy.
If the mind demands ‘results’, return to the felt sense of abundance; let gifts arrive as subtle shifts—more space, more ease, more light.
Rigvedic svara with refrain; keep a slight lift on sahasrāṇi and a forward push through tarat ... dhāvati.
Do not clip conjuncts in dhvasrayoḥ; sustain the long vowels in sahasrāṇi and mandī.
dhvasrayoḥ: aspirate ‘dh’, cluster ‘dhv’ cleanly; end ‘yoḥ’ with visarga-like breath only if present in your śākhā style, puru-santyoḥ: keep sandhi break in mind; ‘santyoḥ’ with clear ‘ty’, dadmahe: ‘dm’ cluster smooth, not ‘damahe’
Full, buoyant, slightly brighter on the abundance phrase; flowing on the refrain.
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