Rig Veda 9.20.4: Mandala 9, Sukta 20, Mantra 4
Sukta 9.20
- Rishi
- Pavamāna Soma seer tradition
- Devata
- Soma Pavamana
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism) and Shanta (peace)
अभ्यर्ष बृहद्यशो मघवद्भ्यो ध्रुवं रयिम् । इषं स्तोतृभ्य आ भर ॥
ábhyàrṣa bṛhádyáśo maghávadbhyo dhruváṃ rayím | íṣaṃ stotṛ́bhya ā́ bhara ||
Magbuhos ka patungo sa amin, o Soma, na may malawak na kaluwalhatian; para sa mga may-ari ng alay, magdala ka ng matatag na sagana. Magdala ka rin ng pagganyak ng paglago para sa mga mangunguna na nagpapatibay sa iyo sa pamamagitan ng awit, upang ang panloob na pagkatao ay mapuspos at matibay sa Katotohanan.
Word by Word
- अभि
- towards, untoIndeclinableउपसर्ग (preverb), अव्ययRoot अभि (उपसर्ग) / PIE *h₂epi
- अर्ष
- flow! rush forth!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), मध्यम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole (क्रिया) —Root ऋष् (धातु) ‘गत्यर्थ/स्रवण’
- बृहद्
- great, loftyAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया, एकवचन (विशेषणम्)Role Karma (विशेष्य-विशेषणभावेन)Root बृहन्त् (प्रातिपदिक) < √बृह् ‘वर्धने’
- यशः
- glory, fameNounनपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot यशस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- मघवद्भ्यः
- to the bountiful ones (patrons)Noun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी, बहुवचनRole SampradānaRoot मघवत् (प्रातिपदिक) ‘दानशील/समृद्ध’
- ध्रुवम्
- firm, lastingAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया, एकवचन (विशेषणम्)Role Karma (विशेष्य-विशेषणभावेन)Root ध्रुव (प्रातिपदिक) < √ध्रु ‘स्थैर्ये’
- रयिम्
- wealth, treasureNounपुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot रयि (प्रातिपदिक)
- इषम्
- nourishment, refreshmentNounस्त्रीलिङ्गे, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot इष् (प्रातिपदिक) ‘बल/पोषण/आहार’
- स्तोतृभ्यः
- to the praisers (singers)Nounपुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी, बहुवचनRole SampradānaRoot स्तोतृ (प्रातिपदिक) < √स्तु ‘स्तुतौ’
- आ
- hither, forth; intensivelyIndeclinableउपसर्ग (preverb), अव्ययRoot आ (उपसर्ग) / PIE *h₂e-
- भर
- bring! bestow!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), मध्यम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole (क्रिया) —Root भृ (धातु) ‘धारण-पोषण’
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: अभि | अर्ष | बृहद् यशः | मघवद्भ्यः | ध्रुवम् रयिम् | इषम् | स्तोतृभ्यः | आ | भर । 1) बृहद् + यशः → बृहद्यशः (व्यञ्जन-सन्धि: द् + य → द्य). 2) अन्यत्र स्पष्ट सन्धि-परिवर्तनं न
- ‘अभ्यर्ष’ इति संहितायां अभि + अर्ष (उपसर्ग-योगः; इकारस्य यकारादेशः) ।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Flow toward us, Soma, with vast glory; for the generous offerers grant a steadfast wealth. Bring also nourishment/increase for the praising priests.
Inner meaning
Soma is asked to rush inward (abhy arṣa) as a wide luminous greatness (bṛhad yaśaḥ): the expansive radiance of purified Ananda. To the maghavat—those who can give and are open in offering—he brings dhruva rayi, a stable plenitude (not mere riches but firm inner substance: peace, force, clarity). He also brings iṣ, the impulsion and growth-power, to the stotṛ—our affirming speech and inner seer-will—so the mantra-force increases and the being becomes steady in Truth.
Universal truth
True increase is twofold: a stable inner foundation (dhruva rayi) and a living growth-impulse (iṣ) guided by inspired affirmation; both arise when delight is purified into luminous power.
Themes
Soma-ritual, inner purification, bestowal of plenitude (rayi), mantric empowerment of the seer (stotṛ)
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 9.20.1-7
Family tradition
Part of the Pavamāna corpus where attribution is sometimes to a seer-family but not preserved in the supplied data; the voice is that of the Soma-seer within the sacrificial tradition.
Significance
The seer asks not merely for ecstasy but for stable inner attainment (dhruva rayi) and progressive growth (iṣ) through mantra-affirmation.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Bṛhad-yaśas (of vast glory), Rayidā (giver of plenitude), Iṣadā (giver of increase)
- Related deities
- Indra (receives Soma, illumination), Agni (carrier of offering), Bṛhaspati (lord of mantra)
Cosmic role
Giver of wideness and stability; increases the powers that uphold the sacrifice and the worlds.
Inner power
Transforms delight into a steady foundation and an upward life-impulse aligned with truth-speaking.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma purification/pressing sequences
अ॒भ्य॑र्ष बृ॒हद्यशो॑ म॒घव॑द्भ्यो ध्रु॒वं र॒यिम् । इषं॑ स्तो॒तृभ्य॒ आ भ॑र ॥
अ॒भि । अ॒र्ष॒ । बृ॒हत् । यशः॑ । म॒घव॑य्त्ऽभ्यः । ध्रु॒वम् । र॒यिम् । इष॑म् । स्तो॒तृऽभ्यः । आ । भ॒र॒ ॥
abhi | arṣa | bṛhat | yaśaḥ | maghavat-bhyaḥ | dhruvam | rayim | iṣam | stotṛ-bhyaḥ | ā | bhara
Likely brisk ‘flow’ cadence typical of Pavamāna verses
Supports invocation of descent and increase; energizes aspiration while maintaining steadiness.
- अभि अर्ष (abhi arṣa)
- Literal: flow towards. Symbolic: descent/approach of the purified current into the adhara (our nature)
- बृहत् यशः (bṛhat yaśaḥ)
- Literal: vast glory. Symbolic: expansive luminous consciousness, greatness of being
- मघवद्भ्यः (maghavadbhyaḥ)
- Literal: to the bountiful/possessors of gifts. Symbolic: those who can offer and receive—inner generosity and capacity
- ध्रुवम् रयिम् (dhruvam rayim)
- Literal: firm wealth. Symbolic: stable plenitude: fixed peace, strength, right resources of consciousness
- इषम् (iṣam)
- Literal: refreshment, nourishment, impulsion. Symbolic: evolutionary push of the life-force uplifted and guided
- स्तोतृभ्यः (stotṛbhyaḥ)
- Literal: to the praisers. Symbolic: to the affirming word and the inner ‘chanter’—our soul’s consent
Soma-pavamāna context: verses used in the Soma pressing/purification sequence (pavamāna-stotras) to invoke Soma’s flow through the filter and his bestowal of rayi and iṣ to the sacrificer and chanters.
While Soma is made to flow and is offered to the gods; accompanying stotra/śastra recitations
Calling Soma to stream forth, to grant rayi and iṣ to the sacrificers/chanters
Chant for inner stability plus growth: before creative work, sādhanā intensification, or when seeking steady progress without agitation.
(√ṛṣ/√arṣ) ‘to flow, stream’ (esp. Soma); imperative 2sg. from √bṛh ‘to grow, expand’ → Vast. from √yaś ‘to shine forth / be renowned’ → glory as radiance. ‘bountiful’ from maghá ‘gift, bounty’; dative plural. from √dhṛ ‘to hold, sustain’ → fixed/steady. ‘wealth’ possibly from √rā/√rai ‘to give, bestow; abundance’—in RV often a concrete+spiritual plenitude. from √iṣ ‘to impel, invigorate, seek’ → energizing impulse/increase. (√bhṛ) ‘to carry, bring’; imperative 2sg.
Bṛhat (the Vast consciousness), stability/establishment (dhruva as enduring foundation), increase/impulsion (iṣ as conscious energizing)
Dhruva rayi signifies a fixed alignment of the being with Ṛta—order that does not collapse under pressure.
The stotṛ (affirming word) becomes a vehicle of Satya when empowered by Soma.
Expansion (bṛhat) and stabilization (dhruva) as twin movements of manifestation.
Integral/Vedantic psychology: wideness and stability as signs of higher consciousness establishing itself in the adhara.
A descending stream that both grounds (dhruva) and quickens growth (iṣ) in the inner life.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythic action is Soma’s ‘flowing’ descent as a luminous current that brings established plenitude (dhruva rayi) and energizing increase (iṣ) to the community of offerers and chanters. In the inner reading, the pressing/flow becomes the release of the truth-bearing delight into the human system, stabilizing the being rather than producing a transient intoxication.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Key verbal roots are archaic and Indo-European in profile: √bhṛ ‘to carry’ aligns with PIE *bher- (carry, bear) (cf. Greek phérō, Latin ferō, English bear). The expansion semantic of √bṛh ‘to grow, swell’ relates to PIE *bʰerǵʰ-/*bʰerH- type ‘rise/high/strong’ (comparanda debated), but the RV usage clearly preserves an old poetic abstraction ‘the Vast’ (bṛhat). The ‘flow’ verb (arṣ/ṛṣ) belongs to an old hydrodynamic lexicon typical of IE poetics (river/flow imagery for inspired speech and divine drink).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The chanter (stotṛ) offers formative speech (stotra) and in return Soma is asked to ‘bring’ (ā bhara) inner resources: stable plenitude (rayi) and conscious impulsion (iṣ). The reciprocity is not commercial but yogic: mantra shapes a receptive vessel; Soma, as the purifying power, fills it with wideness (bṛhat) and luminous efficacy (yaśas).
Invoke a ‘wide luminous descent’ that stabilizes the system and then awakens a steady growth-impulse.
Muladhara (dhruva foundation) to Manipura (iṣ as uplifted dynamism)
Inhale on abhy arṣa (drawing in), exhale on ā bhara (receiving/settling); 6–8 breaths per minute
From rajasic striving to sattvic, stable expansion
After chanting, feel two layers: (1) a quiet base spreading through the body, (2) a clean upward push for right action and right speech.
Follow Vedic accent marks where available; maintain clean pitch steps and avoid melodic ornament.
Emphasize the verbal impulses (arṣa, bhara) with clear articulation; keep long vowels fully timed (dhruvām).
abhy arṣa: keep ‘bhy’ conjunct crisp; vocalic ṛ in arṣa, bṛhad: vocalic ṛ; final -d light, maghavadbhyo: articulate gh, and cluster -dbhy- carefully, dhruvam: aspirated dh; ‘ru’ clear, iṣam: retroflex ṣ, short i
bright, invoking, forward-moving; settle slightly on dhruvaṃ rayim
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