Rig Veda 8.2.7: Mandala 8, Sukta 2, Mantra 7
Sukta 8.2
- Rishi
- Medhyātithi Kāṇva
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
त्रय इन्द्रस्य सोमाः सुतासः सन्तु देवस्य । स्वे क्षये सुतपाव्नः ॥
tráya índrasya sómāḥ sutā́saḥ santu devásya | své kṣáye sutapā́vnaḥ ||
تین دبائے ہوئے سوم کے پینے والے اندر کے لیے ہوں، دیوتا کے لیے، اپنے ہی شعور کے گھر میں، جو نچوڑے ہوئے جوہر کو پیتا ہے اور اس وجد سے ہماری طاقتوں کو پاک کرتا ہے۔
Word by Word
- त्रयः
- threeसंख्या/विशेषणपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (विधेय-सम्बन्धः; ‘सन्तु’ इत्यस्य कर्ता)Root त्रि (प्रातिपदिक) → त्रय-
- इन्द्रस्य
- of Indraनामपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी-सम्बन्धः)Root इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- सोमाः
- Soma-juicesनामपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (सन्तु इत्यस्य कर्ता; ‘त्रयः’ इत्यनेन विशेषिताः)Root सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- सुतासः
- pressed, expressedविशेषण (कृदन्त)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole विशेषण (सोमाः इत्यस्य)Root सु- (धातु, ‘सुनोति’ = to press) → सुत (कृदन्त, क्त) → सुत-
- सन्तु
- let them beक्रियालोट् (आज्ञार्थ/विधिलिङ्-सदृशः), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRole विधेय-क्रियाRoot अस् (धातु) → सन्तु
- देवस्य
- of the godनामपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (इन्द्रस्य इत्यस्यैव पुनरुक्त-सम्बन्धः)Root देव (प्रातिपदिक)
- स्वे
- in his ownविशेषण/सर्वनामपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (क्षये इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role अधिकरण (सप्तमी; ‘क्षये’ सह)Root स्व (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- क्षये
- dwelling, abodeनामपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरण (where: in the dwelling)Root क्षय (प्रातिपदिक; ‘निवास/धाम’)
- सुतपाव्नः
- the well-ardent (one), of strong heat/ardourविशेषण/उपाधि (नामवत्)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole सम्बोधन/विशेषण (देवस्य/इन्द्रस्य प्रति; वाक्ये विशेषणरूपेण)Root सु- (उपसर्ग) + तप् (धातु) → सुतपस् (प्रातिपदिक ‘well-ardent/very hot’) ; RV-पाठे: सुतपाव्नः (वेदिक-रूप/पदपाठ-परम्परा)
Sandhi Notes
- मन्त्रे प्रमुख-सन्धिः: ‘त्रय॒ इन्द्र॑स्य’ = ‘त्रयः + इन्द्रस्य’ (विसर्गस्य लोपः/वेदिक-प्रयोगः; संहितायां ‘त्रय इन्द्रस्य’). ‘सोमा॑:’ = ‘सोमाः’ (विसर्ग-चिह्नः). ‘सुतास॑:’ = ‘सुतासः’. ‘स्वे क्षये॑’ इति पदद्वयम् (सन्धि-परिवर्तनं नास्ति). ‘सुत॒पाव्न॑:’ पाठपरम्परायां विशेष-रूपम्
- सामान्य-प्रातिपदिक-आधारः ‘सुतपस्/सुतपावन्’ इत्यादि व्युत्पत्त्या गृह्यते।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Let the three pressed Soma draughts be for Indra, the god, in his own home; he, the drinker of the pressed, the purifier.
Inner meaning
The ‘three Soma pressings’ (trayaḥ somāḥ sutāsaḥ) signify a triple offering of delight/essence corresponding to the threefold being (body-life-mind) or three planes (physical-vital-mental) being refined and offered upward. Indra receives them ‘in his own home’ (sve kṣaye): the settled luminous consciousness where true force resides. As sutapāvnaḥ, Indra not only drinks but purifies—he cleanses the energies by converting delight into clarified power rather than desire.
Universal truth
Spiritual delight must be offered in ordered completeness—across the whole nature—so that higher intelligence can purify and organize life from its own stable seat of truth.
Themes
Three Soma pressings, Indra enthronement, Purification by ecstasy
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 8.2.4-8.2.8 (cluster on Soma-drinking and triple measures)
Significance
The verse encodes a practical yoga of integral offering: not partial uplift, but a triple consecration so purification becomes stable (sve kṣaye).
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- sutapā (drinker of the pressed), sutapāvnaḥ (purifying Soma-drinker), deva (luminous power)
- Related deities
- Soma, Agni, Vāyu
Cosmic role
Chief recipient of Soma; converts delight into victorious energy establishing r̥ta in action.
Inner power
Purifying illumination that stabilizes in its own domain and reorganizes the lower nature.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma-yajña: the three savanas/pressings (morning, midday, evening) offered to deities, prominently Indra
त्रय॒ इन्द्र॑स्य॒ सोमा॑: सु॒तास॑: सन्तु दे॒वस्य॑ । स्वे क्षये॑ सुत॒पाव्न॑: ॥
त्रयः॑ । इन्द्र॑स्य । सोमाः॑ । सु॒तासः॑ । स॒न्तु॒ । दे॒वस्य॑ । स्वे । क्षये॑ । सु॒त॒ऽपाव्नः॑ ॥
trayaḥ | indrasya | somāḥ | sutāsaḥ | santu | devasya | sve | kṣaye | suta-pāvnaḥ
32
4 × ~8
Measured and ritual-orderly; the opening ‘trayaḥ’ sets a counting cadence.
Creates a sense of structured offering and completeness; steadies the mind into a ‘home’ of practice.
- त्रयः (trayaḥ)
- Literal: three. Symbolic: Triple nature/three planes; completeness of offering
- सोमाः सुतासः (somāḥ sutāsaḥ)
- Literal: Soma draughts, pressed. Symbolic: Distilled delight extracted by inner discipline and consecration
- स्वे क्षये (sve kṣaye)
- Literal: in his own dwelling/home. Symbolic: Established plane of illumined mind; inner seat of truth-conscious force
- सुतपाव्नः (suta-pāvnaḥ)
- Literal: drinker/purifier of the pressed. Symbolic: Power that assimilates delight and purifies the instrument
Three Soma pressings (morning/midday/evening savanas) dedicated to Indra; establishing his seat (kṣaya) in the rite.
At the three Soma pressings (trisu savaneṣu) in Indra’s portion
Pressing, filtering, and offering Soma; recitation accompanies the offering of cups
Threefold daily offering: morning intention (mind), midday energy (life), evening rest/consecration (body) offered inwardly to illumined guidance.
(tráyaḥ) relates to PIE *tréyes ‘three’. (kṣáya) ‘dwelling’ from √ ‘to dwell, abide’. (sutapā́vnaḥ) compound: sutá ‘pressed’ + pā́vna ‘drinker/purifier’ from √/√ semantic field of purification and clarity; Soma both intoxicates and clarifies—key Vedic paradox.
Triple formation (threefold energies) offered to the illumined Mind, Establishing the deity in his ‘own house’ (proper inner seat)
The triple measure expresses r̥ta: delight distributed in right proportion, preventing excess and distortion.
‘Home of Indra’ suggests a stable satya-plane where purification is natural.
Refinement: turning raw experience into amṛta-like essence through pressing and offering.
Integral Vedic yoga: transformation of the whole being via ordered offerings.
tri-savana (dawn/noon/sunset)
Three daily cycles = recurring opportunities to extract essence from experience and offer it for purification.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The triple Soma for Indra: mythically the scheduled offerings that empower the god; psychologically the threefold energies of the seeker (often read as body-life-mind or three intensities of delight) are pressed out and offered so Indra can take his rightful seat and act.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The numeral ‘three’ is a stable IE inheritance (*tréyes). The ‘dwelling’ notion (kṣaya) corresponds to archaic Indo-Iranian patterns of locating the god in a ‘house/seat’, comparable to IE formulae of enthronement and ‘proper place’ in ritual speech.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi offers ordered abundance (threefold Soma) and invites Indra to abide ‘in his own dwelling’—a formula of inner installation. The reciprocity is: right offering and right seat lead to Indra’s purifying action in the being.
Threefold offering: (1) thoughts, (2) emotions/drive, (3) bodily sensation—press each into a quiet essence and offer to the inner Indra.
ājñā
Three-part breath awareness (lower/middle/upper) with a brief pause after exhale as ‘offering moment’.
Collected, purified, inwardly enthroned awareness.
Practice at three times daily; after each session, rest in ‘sve kṣaye’—the sense of an inner seat where clarity lives.
Counted emphasis on ‘trayaḥ’; keep a steady cadence appropriate to offering verses. Exact svara depends on recension.
Let ‘sve kṣaye’ be slightly more inward/soft—marking the ‘home’ idea.
kṣaye: pronounce ‘kṣ’ conjunct clearly (ksha-ye)., sutapāvnaḥ: keep long ā in pāv-; avoid turning v into w too strongly., somāḥ: long ā sustained.
Even, devotional, steady; slight warmth on ‘devasya’.
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