Rig Veda 9.2.8: Mandala 9, Sukta 2, Mantra 8
Sukta 9.2
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
तं त्वा मदाय घृष्वय उ लोककृत्नुमीमहे । तव प्रशस्तयो महीः ॥
táṃ tvā mադā́ya ghṛ́ṣvaya u lóka-kṛtnum īmahe | táva práśastayo mahī́ḥ ||
ہم تجھے خوشی کے لیے ڈھونڈتے ہیں اے آگ جیسے جوشیلے، سارے جہانوں کے بنانے والے، تیری تعریفیں بہت وسیع ہیں کیونکہ تیری خوشی ہم میں ایک مکمل اور منظم تخلیق بناتی ہے۔
Word by Word
- तम्
- him / that onePronounपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- त्वा
- you (acc. sg.)Pronounद्वितीया एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- मदाय
- for exhilaration / for intoxication (rapture)Nounपुंलिङ्गे चतुर्थी एकवचनम्Role सम्प्रदानRoot मद (प्रातिपदिक)
- घृष्वये
- for the vigorous/ardent oneAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गे चतुर्थी एकवचनम् (सम्बोधनार्थे/प्रयोजनार्थे दत्तिवत्)Role सम्प्रदानRoot घृष्वि (प्रातिपदिक; विशेषण)
- उ
- indeed / and / surelyIndeclinableनिपातः (अवधारण/समुच्चय/प्रेरणार्थकः) — पदपूरणःRoot उ (निपात)
- लोककृत्नुम्
- world-fashioning / world-orderingAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role कर्म (त्वा-विशेषणम्)Root लोककृत्नु (प्रातिपदिक; बहुव्रीहि/कर्मधारय-समासः: लोक + कृत्नु)
- ईमहे
- we seek / we imploreVerbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपदम्, उत्तमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Role कर्तृ (वयं)Root ईम्/ई (धातु; वैदिक ‘ईमहे’ = याचामहे/इच्छामहे/प्रार्थयामहे)
- तव
- of you / yourPronounषष्ठी एकवचनम्Role सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रशस्तयः
- praises / laudationsNounस्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role कर्तृ (स्तुतयः) / विषयःRoot प्रशस्ति (प्रातिपदिक; स्त्री)
- महीः
- great / mightyAdjective (substantival)स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role विशेषणम् (प्रशस्तयः-विशेषणम्)Root मही (प्रातिपदिक; स्त्री)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: तम् | त्वा | मदाय | घृष्वये | उ | लोककृत्नुम् | ईमहे | तव | प्रशस्तयः | महीः || 1) ‘तं त्वा’ इत्यत्र अनुस्वार-परसवर्णः/सन्धिः: तम् + त्वा → तं त्वा (मकारस्य अनुस्वारः)
- 2) ‘लोककृत्नुमीमहे’ इत्यत्र: लोककृत्नुम् + ईमहे → लोककृत्नुमीमहे (अकारान्त-व्यञ्जनान्त ‘म्’ परे स्वरारम्भे संयोगः; पदान्त ‘म्’ + ‘ई’ संधौ लेखनेन संयोगः)
The meaning
Outer meaning
We seek you for exhilaration, O ardent one, maker of all the worlds; vast are your praises.
Inner meaning
The seeker turns to Soma not for escape but for ‘mada’—the uplifting rapture that empowers right creation. Soma is ghṛṣvaya (ardent, glowing): delight with heat of aspiration, capable of shaping worlds (loka-kṛtnuṃ) within—levels of consciousness ordered and complete. Praise (praśasti) here is also affirmation: acknowledging the vastness of the Ananda that can build an integral inner cosmos.
Universal truth
A purified, ardent joy is creative: it can organize the many parts of life into a coherent world when consciously sought and affirmed.
Themes
Aspiration, Ecstasy (mada), Cosmic/inner creation, Great praise
The seer
- Rishi
- Vasiṣṭha
- Lineage
- Vasiṣṭha (Maitrāvaruṇa)
- Other hymns
- RV 7.87 (Varuṇa: upholding worlds/order, thematic parallel), RV 7.88 (vastness and truth, thematic), RV 9.2.1-9.2.10
Family tradition
Vasiṣṭha’s tradition is constructive and integrative: realization is to be made stable and world-forming, not merely visionary.
Significance
The seer frames Soma as a builder of inner worlds—suggesting a yoga where delight is a creative principle establishing harmony across planes.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Ghṛṣvī (glowing/ardent), Loka-kṛt (world-maker), Madhu (honeyed)
- Related deities
- Viśvakarman (world-former), Prajāpati (creative lord), Agni (tapas)
Cosmic role
Creative delight that fashions and sustains the worlds; gives cohesion to cosmic and psychological planes.
Inner power
Ananda as organizing Shakti—rapture that builds order rather than dissolving it.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma-yāga: invocation to Soma during purification/offerings, emphasizing his creative potency
तं त्वा॒ मदा॑य॒ घृष्व॑य उ लोककृ॒त्नुमी॑महे । तव॒ प्रश॑स्तयो म॒हीः ॥
तम् । त्वा॒ । मदा॑य । घृष्व॑ये । ऊँ॒ इति॑ । लो॒क॒ऽकृ॒त्नुम् । ई॒म॒हे॒ । तव॑ । प्रऽश॑स्तयः । म॒हीः ॥
tam | tvā | madāya | ghṛṣvaye | oṃ iti | loka-kṛtnum | īmahe | tava | pra-śastayaḥ | mahīḥ
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3×8
Invocatory and aspiring; each pāda feels like a step of seeking
Stirs aspiration and constructive joy; good for beginning a practice session (īmahe).
- मदाय (madāya)
- Literal: for rapture. Symbolic: uplift of consciousness that empowers transformation
- घृष्वये (ghṛṣvaye)
- Literal: to the glowing/ardent one. Symbolic: delight joined to tapas; luminous heat of aspiration
- लोककृत्नु (loka-kṛtnu)
- Literal: world-maker, maker of the worlds entire. Symbolic: power that forms ordered planes/states within being
- ईमहे (īmahe)
- Literal: we seek, we implore. Symbolic: aspiration; conscious turning of the will
- प्रशस्तयः (praśastayaḥ)
- Literal: praises, commendations. Symbolic: affirmations that align mind with the higher force
- महीः (mahīḥ)
- Literal: great, vast. Symbolic: wideness of the Ananda’s creative scope
Invocation in Soma rite: aspirant community ‘seeks’ Soma for madá; Soma is lauded as world-maker—ritually, as the power that perfects the sacrifice’s ‘world’ (loka) of ordered forces.
When inviting Soma’s power for the rite’s success and cosmic support
Recited as soma flows/ is prepared; reinforces intention of the sacrifice
Use as a sankalpa mantra: seek a joy that builds an integral life—order in mind, heart, and action.
ghṛṣvaya from √ghṛṣ ‘rub/shine/heat’ suggests tapas-like intensity; Soma as ardent energy. loka from √lok ‘see’ (world as ‘field of seeing/manifestation’): inner worlds of consciousness. kṛt from √kṛ ‘make’—Soma as fashioner of complete inner order. īmahe is Vedic desiderative/aspirational verb-form ‘we seek’. pra-śas from √śaṃs ‘praise/declare’: praise as proclamation that increases manifestation.
Tapas-like intensity as means of manifestation, Loka as ordered field of consciousness
World-making implies establishing ṛta across planes—each ‘loka’ arranged in right relation.
Creation is meant to be truth-based, not fantasy—praise/affirmation aligns with satya.
Soma as world-former: delight is a principle of manifestation.
Integral creationism: bliss as a formative power (anticipating later ānanda as brahman-support).
Glow = tapas in delight; lokas = stable states/levels of consciousness; praise = aligning mental formation with higher force.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Soma as loka-kṛt (world-maker): the divine drink is not only offered but is a creative principle. Psychologically, delight—when ardent and purified—constructs an integral inner world, an ordered totality of consciousness.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The creative verb √kṛ (‘make’) is a basic IE action root (cf. Latin creare is different, but the ‘make/do’ root is universal; Indo-Iranian √kar- is cognate with several IE ‘do/make’ formations). loka as ‘seen-space’ aligns with archaic IE notions of world as a visible order, here internalised.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi-community openly states the aim: madá (divine rapture) and integral formation (loka-kṛt). Praise is not flattery but a force of manifestation; by praising Soma’s creative power, the seeker invites that power to build a complete inner order.
Invoke a glowing joy in the heart and crown that can ‘build worlds’: organize your inner life into clear levels—body calm, breath steady, mind luminous, heart wide.
Anāhata (joy) rising to Sahasrāra (world-order from above)
Slow inhale imagining a golden glow expanding; exhale setting each ‘loka’ in order (body, life, mind).
Constructive ecstasy—uplift with coherence.
After chanting, do a brief inner ‘world-building’: (1) settle body, (2) harmonize emotions, (3) clarify thought, (4) offer all upward—let delight be the binder.
Rigvedic accents as per śākhā; keep ‘madāya’ and ‘ghṛṣvaye’ clearly articulated with appropriate udātta rise.
First pāda as aspiration (seeking), second as proclamation (world-maker), third as widening (mahīḥ).
taṃ tvā: nasalized taṃ; tv cluster crisp, ghṛṣvaye: gh aspirated; ṛ vocalic; ṣ retroflex, loka-kṛtnum: kṛ vocalic ṛ; avoid ‘kritnum’, īmahe: long ī; h light, praśastayo: ś palatal; keep a-y-o sequence clear, mahīḥ: long ī; final ḥ light
Warm, ardent, upward-moving; end with expansive softness on ‘mahīḥ’.
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