Rig Veda 4.32.14: Mandala 4, Sukta 32, Mantra 14
Sukta 4.32
- Rishi
- Gautama lineage
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Trishtubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
अर्वाचीनो वसो भवास्मे सु मत्स्वान्धसः । सोमानामिन्द्र सोमपाः ॥
arvācīnó vaso bhavā́sme sú matsv ā́ndhasaḥ | sómānām indra soma-pāḥ ||
اس طرف رخ کر، اے دولت دینے والے، ہمارے ساتھ رہو؛ سوما کے نچڑے ہوئے رس کو خوب پیو، اے اندر، سوما پینے والے۔
Word by Word
- अर्वाचीनः
- hitherward, turned towards (us)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole विशेषण (सम्बोधन ‘इन्द्र’ का)Root अर्वाचीन (प्रातिपदिक; अर्वाच् + चिन्/ईन प्रत्यय) अथवा अव्यय ‘अर्वाच्’ से निष्पन्न विशेषण
- वसो
- O good one / O bountiful oneNoun (vocative)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot वसु (प्रातिपदिक)
- भव
- become; beVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole (क्रिया) —Root भू
- अस्मे
- for us / to usPronounद्वितीया/चतुर्थी?— यहाँ प्रचलित वैदिक रूप: चतुर्थी (सम्प्रदान), बहुवचन ‘अस्मे’ = ‘अस्मभ्यं/अस्माकम्’ के अर्थ मेंRole सम्प्रदानRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- सु
- well; indeedIndeclinableनिपात (बल/शोभा/सुविधा सूचक)Role (क्रियाविशेषण)Root सु (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- मत्स्व
- be exhilarated; rejoiceVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद (मदस्व/मत्स्व वैदिक संधि-रूप)Role (क्रिया) —Root मद्
- अन्धसः
- of the soma-juice; of the draughtNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (हेतु/साधन-सम्बन्ध: ‘अन्धस्’ का)Root अन्धस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- सोमानाम्
- of the soma (draughts)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNoun (vocative)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- सोमपाः
- O soma-drinkerNoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (वैदिक: -पाः सम्बोधन एकवचन)Role सम्बोधन (इन्द्र का विशेषण)Root सोमपा (प्रातिपदिक; सोम + पा ‘पिबति’ से ‘पा’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद: अर्वाचीनः | वसो | भव | अस्मे | सु | मत्स्व | अन्धसः | सोमानाम् | इन्द्र | सोमपाः || 1) ‘भवा अस्मे’ → ‘भवास्मे’ (स्वर-संधि/स्वर-लोप सहित)
- 2) ‘मत्स्व’ वैदिक आज्ञार्थ आत्मनेपद रूप (मद् धातु) ‘मदस्व’ का संक्षिप्त/संधिगत रूप माना जाता है
- 3) ‘सोमानामिन्द्र’ → ‘सोमानाम् इन्द्र’ (अनुस्वार/व्यंजन-संधि से संयुक्त लेखन)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Come here, O giver of riches; be with us; drink well of the pressed Soma juices, O Indra, Soma-drinker.
Inner meaning
The seeker asks the illumined Mind to turn ‘arvācīnaḥ’—toward the human field—bringing its wealth (vasu: riches = inner treasures of light, right force, delight). ‘Drink the andhas of Soma’: let Indra take in the pressed bliss-substance—the purified delight offered by the soul—so that illumination is energized by ānanda and becomes active in the system.
Universal truth
Higher intelligence becomes most effective when it is nourished by purified delight. When consciousness turns inward toward the seeking being, it drinks the essence of joy and acts with abundance.
Themes
Soma-ritual, Invitation to drink, Inner delight
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- RV 4.26, RV 4.27, RV 4.32
Family tradition
Emphasis on the reciprocity of invocation: the god comes, receives the offering (Soma), and then acts as an inner ally.
Significance
The rishi teaches the yogic economy of exchange: aspiration offers purified delight; illumination drinks it and becomes a dynamic presence.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- vasu-dā (giver of riches; implied by vaso), soma-pā (soma-drinker), maghavan
- Related deities
- Soma, Agni, Maruts
Cosmic role
Mediator of victorious light; receives Soma to increase his power for releasing the rays/waters.
Inner power
Illumined mind energized by bliss; clarity that is not dry but joy-filled and potent.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma offering to Indra (Indra-Soma context)
अ॒र्वा॒ची॒नो व॑सो भवा॒स्मे सु म॒त्स्वान्ध॑सः । सोमा॑नामिन्द्र सोमपाः ॥
अ॒र्वा॒ची॒नः । व॒सो॒ इति॑ । भ॒व॒ । अ॒स्मे इति॑ । सु । म॒त्स्व॒ । अन्ध॑सः । सोमा॑नाम् । इ॒न्द्र॒ । सो॒म॒ऽपाः॒ ॥
arvācīnaḥ | vaso iti | bhava | asme iti | su | matsva | andhasaḥ | somānām | indra | soma-pāḥ
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4 pādas × ~11 syllables
Invitational and flowing; a ‘turning’ rhythm that feels like drawing near.
Creates a sense of approach and communion; encourages receptivity and sweet intensity.
- अर्वाचीनः (arvācīnaḥ)
- Literal: turned hitherward. Symbolic: descent/turning of higher power into the human instrument
- वसो (vaso)
- Literal: O giver of riches. Symbolic: bestower of inner wealth: clarity, force, wideness, right enjoyment
- अस्मे (asme)
- Literal: with us/in us. Symbolic: in the embodied nature; within mind-life-body
- अन्धसः (andhasaḥ)
- Literal: pressed juice. Symbolic: essence extracted by discipline—purified delight/consciousness-substance
- सोमानाम् (somānām)
- Literal: of the somas. Symbolic: many currents of bliss/ānanda offered in experience
- सोमपाः (soma-pāḥ)
- Literal: soma-drinker. Symbolic: the power that can receive and use ānanda to intensify illumination
Direct Soma invitation: calls Indra to drink Soma; used in Soma pressing liturgy where Indra is principal recipient
During Soma pressing/offerings where Indra is invited to drink; also in general Indra praise sequences.
Invitation (āvāhana) + offering of Soma; recitation while presenting libation.
Before meditation, invite ‘clear intelligence’ to come close and be nourished by gratitude/joy; works well as a prelude mantra.
‘turned this way’ frames descent/approach. (vasu) ‘good, wealth’ (PIE *wesu- ‘good’), in Vedic often ‘riches’; inwardly ‘felicity, plenitude of being’. from √mad ‘be glad, intoxicated’—Soma joy as spiritual ecstasy. (andhas) ‘pressed juice’ is also ‘essence’; psychologically the extracted delight (ānanda) from the plant of consciousness through pressure (tapas).
ānanda (delight) as divine nourishment, descent of force into the human vessel (arvācīna)
When Indra drinks Soma, his action aligns with Ṛta—right force guided by joy and truth.
Pressed essence (andhas) symbolizes truth distilled from experience.
Descent of power through delight: bliss as a creative substance that empowers formation.
Aurobindonian: Soma = ānanda as indispensable to integral illumination.
evening (Soma pressing often linked to ritual times; broadly twilight-invocation)
Pressing = concentration and purification; drinking = assimilation of bliss into illumined mind.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Indra as Soma-drinker invited to turn toward the sacrificer and drink the pressed essence. Innerly, the victorious Force is asked to enter the human field and be nourished by the extracted delight, so it may act powerfully within.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √bhū (bhava) from PIE *bʰuH- ‘become’. √mad (matsva) has Indo-Iranian parallels for ecstatic gladness. The IE poetic pattern ‘come hither + drink/feast’ is an archaic hospitality formula reinterpreted as inner reception of divine power.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi offers Soma-delight as the medium of intimacy: ‘be in us’ and ‘rejoice/drink’. The exchange is psychological and transformative—divine force is welcomed, delighted, and thereby made operative as inner wealth (vasu).
Invite the ‘higher clarity’ to turn toward you; offer the distilled sweetness of gratitude and aspiration as Soma.
viśuddha (purified expression)
Inhale: ‘arvācīnaḥ’; exhale: ‘matsva andhasaḥ’—feel sweetness spreading through chest and throat.
From dryness/strain to luminous joy that empowers right action.
Begin with 3 slow recitations; then sit and sense a ‘drinking’ of inner sweetness by the higher mind—allow guidance to arise naturally.
RV accents with prominent lift on ‘índra’ and ‘sómapāḥ’; keep ‘arvācīnaḥ’ clearly segmented.
Maintain the call-like tone on imperatives ‘bhava’ and ‘matsva’; avoid swallowing consonant clusters in ‘somānām indra’.
arvācīnaḥ: long ā; palatal cī; visarga on -naḥ, matsva: clear ts cluster, andhasaḥ: dental dh; short a in -saḥ, soma-pāḥ: long ā in pāḥ
Warm, inviting, with a gentle rising on the invocatory words.
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