Rig Veda 9.63.6: Mandala 9, Sukta 63, Mantra 6
Sukta 9.63
- Rishi
- Pavamāna Soma hymns
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
सुता अनु स्वमा रजोऽभ्यर्षन्ति बभ्रवः । इन्द्रं गच्छन्त इन्दवः ॥
sutā́ ánu svám ā́ rájo ’bhy àrṣanti babhrávaḥ | índraṃ gáchanta índavaḥ ||
เมื่อคั้นแล้ว เหล่าผู้มีสีทองน้ำตาลก็พวยพุ่งไปตามทางของตน เข้าสู่แดนเรืองรอง; หยดโสมะเหล่านี้มุ่งไปสู่อินทระ—มุ่งสู่พลังที่ชิงเอาแสงสว่าง.
Word by Word
- सुताः
- pressed (Soma-drops), the pressed onesNoun/Adjective (past passive participle used substantively)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot √सु (सुते) / प्रातिपदिक: सुत-
- अनु
- along, after, followingIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot अनु
- स्वम्
- one’s ownAdjective/Pronoun (reflexive/possessive)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (कर्मणि प्रयोगः: ‘स्वं रजः’ = ‘one’s own region’)Role कर्मRoot स्व (प्रातिपदिक: स्व-)
- रजः
- space/region; airy realmNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot रजस् (प्रातिपदिक: रजस्-)
- अभि
- towards, uponIndeclinableउपसर्गRoot अभि
- अर्षन्ति
- they flow/streamVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot √ऋष्/अर्ष् (गत्यर्थः ‘to flow, move swiftly’)
- बभ्रवः
- the brown/tawny onesAdjective (used substantively)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (विशेषणम् ‘सुताः’)Root बभ्रु (प्रातिपदिक: बभ्रु-)
- इन्द्रम्
- IndraNoun (proper)पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक: इन्द्र-)
- गच्छन्ति
- they goVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot √गम् (गच्छति)
- इन्दवः
- Soma-dropsNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot इन्दु (प्रातिपदिक: इन्दु-)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: सुताः अनु स्वम् रजः अभि अर्षन्ति बभ्रवः । इन्द्रम् गच्छन्ति इन्दवः ॥ 1) रजोऽभ्यर्षन्ति = रजः + अभि + अर्षन्ति
- विसर्गः ‘रजः’ परे स्वरादौ (अ-) ‘ओ’ भवति (रजो), तथा ‘अभि’ उपसर्गः धातोः पूर्वं संहितायाम् ‘ऽभ्य-’ (अभ्य-) रूपेण दृश्यते। 2) अन्ये स्पष्टाः (अनु, स्वम्, इन्द्रम्) संधिरहिताः/स्वरूपेण।
The meaning
Outer meaning
The pressed tawny (Soma drops) surge along their own path into the rajas (luminous realm); the Soma drops go to Indra.
Inner meaning
When delight is expressed (sutāḥ) and purified, it naturally moves along its own true channel (svam…path) into the luminous mid-region (rajaḥ)—the clarified field of consciousness. There it seeks Indra: the illumined mind that can receive, organize, and wield this joy-force to win the light.
Universal truth
What is purified in us moves by its own law toward higher clarity; authentic joy (not desire) gravitates to illumination and strengthens the mind’s power to overcome obscurity.
Themes
Soma-flow, ascent, Indra-oriented offering, purified movement
The seer
- Rishi
- Pavamāna Soma seers (RV 9; traditional attributions vary)
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 9.63.1-11, Rig Veda 9.61, Rig Veda 9.65
Family tradition
Ninth Maṇḍala lineage of Soma-vision: emphasis on movement (gati) of Soma from pressing to divine reception.
Significance
The seer describes an inner lawfulness: once delight is purified, it ‘knows’ its way to the illumined mind—suggesting a guided evolutionary current in consciousness.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna (moving toward Indra)
- Epithets
- Indu, Pavamāna, Suta
- Related deities
- Indra, Vāyu (often paired with Soma), Maruts (dynamic forces)
Cosmic role
Carrier of offering and inspiration from earth to heaven; mediator-current that nourishes Indra’s victories.
Inner power
A streaming ananda that rises into luminous mind-space and becomes usable force (śakti) when received by Indra.
In ritual
Where it is used
Pavamāna chants during Soma filtration
सु॒ता अनु॒ स्वमा रजो॒ऽभ्य॑र्षन्ति ब॒भ्रव॑: । इन्द्रं॒ गच्छ॑न्त॒ इन्द॑वः ॥
सु॒ताः । अनु॑ । स्वम् । आ । रजः॑ । अ॒भि । अ॒र्ष॒न्ति॒ । ब॒भ्रवः॑ । इन्द्र॑म् । गच्छ॑न्तः । इन्द॑वः ॥
sutāḥ | anu | svam | ā | rajaḥ | abhi | arṣanti | babhravaḥ | indram | gacchantaḥ | indavaḥ
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8|8|8
Swift, flowing cadence matching ‘arṣanti’ (surging).
Induces a sense of upward motion and directedness; helpful for gathering scattered energies into a single ascent.
- sutāḥ
- Literal: pressed (Soma). Symbolic: Delight brought out by practice—extracted essence from experience
- svam
- Literal: one’s own. Symbolic: The soul’s proper channel; dharma of the inner movement
- rajaḥ
- Literal: mid-space/atmosphere, luminous realm. Symbolic: The intermediate consciousness between physical and pure mind—field of formation and illumination
- abhi arṣanti
- Literal: they flow/surge toward. Symbolic: A spontaneous uprush of clarified energy
- babhravaḥ
- Literal: tawny/brownish. Symbolic: Warm vital-gold energy becoming luminous through purification
- indavaḥ
- Literal: Soma drops. Symbolic: Discrete currents of delight-consciousness
- indraṃ gacchantaḥ
- Literal: going to Indra. Symbolic: Offering the joy-force to illumined mind for right action and victory
Description of Soma streams moving through purification towards offering for Indra
While Soma is flowing through the filter into the collecting vessel; often associated with inviting Indra to drink.
Chanting to accompany the flow and offering; mental ‘sending’ of Soma to Indra.
Use to align one’s energy with a clear inner pathway (svam): before meditation, feel breath and attention ‘flow’ to the forehead-center (Indra).
indu: ‘drop, bright Soma’ (connected with brightness; cf. Indic semantic field of shining). rajas: from √raj (to be colored, shine) → region/space with luminous quality. arṣanti: √ṛṣ/√arṣ (to flow, rush).
svam path as true nature, movement towards Indra as ascent towards victorious illumination
The phrase ‘anu svam’ implies ṛta as inherent guidance: the true movement follows its own ordained track.
Entering rajas suggests emergence into truth-illumined formation where falsehood thins out.
Ascent of essence: from pressed substance to luminous realm to divine intelligence.
Yoga of ascent (Aurobindonian): ananda rising to illumined mind to become effective power.
A warm-gold current in the subtle body rising through the ‘mid-region’ of awareness toward the seat of clarity.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The procession of Soma-drops to Indra: a recurrent mythic motif where the purified essence travels through luminous regions to empower the warrior of light—psychologically, the refined delight ascends to strengthen illumined will.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The motion verb √gam ‘go’ (gacchanti) reflects PIE *gʷem- (go/come) (cf. Greek baínō via different root; more directly Old Irish do·téit from *gʷem is debated; Sanskrit gam is a clear Indo-European inheritance).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi tracks the inner ritual dynamic: Soma, once pressed, naturally seeks Indra. The human aligns with that movement by allowing the purified current to rise toward the illumined governing power.
Let purified joy and breath move ‘by their own path’ upward; offer the gathered energy to illumined mind for clarity.
viśuddha to ājñā (rising current into illumination)
ujjāyī-lite or smooth lengthened exhale; imagine the exhale as Soma flowing into a luminous space.
Flow-state: from effortful pressing to effortless streaming toward clarity.
Begin with a few minutes of quiet; chant 12 times; after each repetition, feel a tawny-gold current rising and settling as a clear light in the forehead.
Maintain RV accents; highlight udātta on ‘sutā́’ and ‘índraṃ’; keep the flow smooth through ‘rajo’bhy arṣanti’.
Let ‘abhi arṣanti’ be slightly quicker and fluid; pause lightly before ‘indraṃ’.
rajo ’bhi: observe sandhi; slight avagraha break, not a hard stop, babhravaḥ: aspirated ‘bh’ clear, indavaḥ: short ‘i’, dental ‘d’
Flowing, liquid tone; avoid harsh consonantal attack except clear ‘dra’ in indraṃ.
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