Rig Veda 9.30.4: Mandala 9, Sukta 30, Mantra 4
Sukta 9.30
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
प्र सोमो अति धारया पवमानो असिष्यदत् । अभि द्रोणान्यासदम् ॥
prá somó áti dhā́rayā pávamāno asisyadat | abhí droṇā́ny āsádam ||
Soma, khi đang được thanh lọc, trào tiến vượt khỏi dòng chảy; ngài thúc đến các drona (thùng/bồn), an tọa—đặt niềm hoan lạc đã được làm trong vào những bình chứa đã chuẩn bị (trong chúng tôi).
Word by Word
- प्र
- forth, forwardIndeclinableupasarga (preverb)Root प्र (upasarga)
- सोमः
- Soma (the pressed juice/deity)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
- अति
- over, beyondIndeclinableupasarga/avyayaRoot अति (upasarga/avyaya)
- धारया
- with/through the stream (current)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole करणRoot धारा (प्रातिपदिक)
- पवमानः
- purifying, being purified (as it flows)Adjective (participle)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (वर्तमान कृदन्तः, शानच्)Role कर्तृRoot पवमान (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √पू/पु ‘to purify’)
- असिष्यदत्
- flowed, streamedVerbलुङ् (अोरिस्ट), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot √स्यन्द् (to flow, stream) + अ (augment)
- अभि
- towards, uponIndeclinableupasarga/avyayaRoot अभि (upasarga/avyaya)
- द्रोणानि
- wooden vats/tubs (pressing-vessels)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot द्रोण (प्रातिपदिक)
- आसदम्
- approach, arrival; settling down (into)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot आसद (प्रातिपदिक; from ā-√सद् ‘to sit/settle, approach’)
Sandhi Notes
- External sandhi resolved as: सोमो → सोमः (visarga before vowel in pada-analysis)
- द्रोणान्य् + आसदम् → द्रोणानि आसदम् (y-insertion removed; final -i of neut. acc. pl. before initial ā-). Preverbs: प्र with √स्यन्द्
- अति as adverb with धारया
- अभि with the following object phrase. Accent marks in the saṃhitā text are noted but not re-applied in the normalized pada forms
The meaning
Outer meaning
Soma, in the act of purification, rushes forward beyond the flowing stream and goes toward the vats, taking his seat there.
Inner meaning
The Soma-consciousness (divine Ananda) when purified by inner discernment moves beyond the ordinary flow of mental-vital habit (“the stream”) and establishes itself in the prepared inner vessels—steady receptacles in the being (mind, life, body) capable of holding clarified delight without distortion.
Universal truth
When joy is purified of craving and turbulence, it surpasses reactive currents and becomes a stable, inhabitable presence—an established sweetness that can be contained, shared, and directed toward illumination.
Themes
Soma’s surge, Receptacle/vessel symbolism, Stabilization of delight, Purification process
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 9.30 (Soma Pavamāna), Rig Veda 9.31 (Soma Pavamāna)
Significance
The anonymity reflects the impersonal, repeatable yogic process: purification of delight and its establishment in the adhāra (support) of the seeker, a central theme of the Pavamāna hymns.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- pavamāna (purifying), indu (bright drop)
- Related deities
- Indra, Agni, Sūrya
Cosmic role
The clarifying current that carries delight into the worlds and makes it fit for the gods; a mediator between aspiration and illumination.
Inner power
Ananda that becomes luminous and steady—bliss not as excitement but as clarified sweetness supporting truth and force.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma pressing and filtration (pavamāna-stotra context)
प्र सोमो॒ अति॒ धार॑या॒ पव॑मानो असिष्यदत् । अ॒भि द्रोणा॑न्या॒सद॑म् ॥
प्र । सोमः॑ । अति॑ । धार॑या । पव॑मानः । अ॒सि॒स्य॒द॒त् । अ॒भि । द्रोणा॑नि । आ॒ऽसद॑म् ॥
pra | somaḥ | ati | dhārayā | pavamānaḥ | asisyadat | abhi | droṇāni | āsadam
48
4 pādas × 12 syllables (common in Soma-pavamāna movement-verses)
Long, streaming cadence with forward propulsion
Creates a felt sense of rushing purification culminating in repose (āsadam)—movement resolving into settled clarity.
- सोम (soma)
- Literal: Soma-juice, pressed offering. Symbolic: Divine Bliss/Ananda, delight of consciousness
- पवमान (pavamāna)
- Literal: Purifying, being filtered. Symbolic: The bliss-force refining itself through clarity and truth
- धारा (dhārā)
- Literal: Stream, flow. Symbolic: The habitual current of mind-life movements; the flow of mixed consciousness
- अति (ati)
- Literal: Beyond, overpassing. Symbolic: Transcendence of ordinary nature; exceeding limitation
- द्रोण (droṇa)
- Literal: Vat, trough, vessel. Symbolic: Prepared inner receptacles—quiet mind, purified life-force, receptive body-consciousness
- आसदम् (āsadam)
- Literal: Sitting down, taking a seat. Symbolic: Stabilization of the attained state; establishment in the being
Describes Soma’s movement into the collecting vats after filtration; recited as Soma reaches receptacles (droṇa) in the Soma sacrifice.
During Soma-yajña sequences when the Soma is filtered and led to the vats
Pressing, filtering through wool, collecting in droṇa-vessels
Use as a mantra for ‘settling’ purified joy after pranayama/meditation—invoking the transition from flow to stable inner containment.
pavamāna from √pū ‘purify’. āsadam from ā-√sad ‘sit, settle’ indicates establishment. droṇa ‘vat’ is ritual-technological but readily internalized as ‘vessels’ of the being prepared to receive the clarified Soma. asisyadat is a Vedic intensive expressing repeated/forceful motion.
establishment of purified consciousness in prepared receptivity, transition from movement to stable seat (ā-sad)
Purification is the movement of Soma into rita—delight aligned to right rhythm and law.
Delight becomes ‘clarified’ when it rests on truth rather than desire.
Establishing the nectar in prepared forms mirrors how consciousness builds stable worlds (adhāras) for higher powers.
Proto-Vedāntic / integral-yogic reading (Aurobindo): Ananda as a fundamental plane entering mind-life-body.
The stream is the moving nature; filtration is discernment; the vats are stable inner instruments capable of holding higher delight.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Soma’s arrival and enthronement in the vats: the purifying Soma surges and then ‘sits’ in the prepared containers. Inner myth: the clarified delight-force not only moves but becomes established in stable receptivity within the being.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The motion-to-settlement sequence (rush → sit/establish) is a common archaic narrative pattern; √sad ‘sit’ is an old Indo-European root (cf. Latin sedēre). The preverbs (pra-, ati-, abhi-, ā-) encode fine-grained spatial/psychological direction typical of Vedic verbal architecture.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi tracks Soma’s journey as an inner process: Soma is invoked to not merely pass through but to ‘take seat’ in the practitioner’s prepared vessels—signifying a lasting installation of the truth-delight power.
Let delight rise, pass beyond reactive thought-streams, and settle in the heart-mind as quiet sweetness.
Anāhata (heart)
Gentle nadi-śodhana followed by natural breath; feel ‘stream’ on inhale, ‘seating’ on exhale.
Quiet luminous ease (prasāda) with stable inner containment.
1) Recall a pure joy without object. 2) Watch the mind-stream; do not follow. 3) Invite the ‘drop’ to settle in a chosen inner vessel (heart/space behind forehead). 4) End with stillness, not excitement.
Mixed udatta/anudatta/svarita per Rigvedic accent; key lifts often on pavamāna and soma words (recitation tradition dependent).
Sustain the forward push through ‘pra… ati…’ and soften into repose on ‘āsadam’.
Keep retroflex ḍ in dhārayā clear (dhā-ra-yā, not dhā-ri-yā)., Maintain ‘pavamāno’ with clear ‘va’ and long ā., In ‘droṇāni’, keep long ō (dro-ṇā-ni).
Clear, flowing, then gently grounded at the cadence.
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