navagraha sūkta - soma (Moon)
The adhidevatā and pratyadhidevatā for soma are ap (water) and gaurī.
ऋषि: - गॊतमः राहूगणः (सायण - राहूगणः गॊतम: । छन्दः - गायत्री । दॆवता - सॊम: (सोमः पवमान:
आप्यायस्व समेतुते विश्वतस्सोम वृष्ण्यम् ।
भवा वाजस्य संगथे ॥ ऋ. वे. १.९१.१६, ९.३१.४
ருஷி - கோதம ராஹுகண: (ஸாயணர் பாஷ்யப்படி ராஹுகண கோதம: | சந்தஸ் - காயத்ரீ | தேவதை - ஸோம: {ஸோம: பவமான:}
ஆப்யாயஸ்வ ஸமேதுதே விச்வதஸ்ஸோம வ்ருஷ்ண்யம் |
பவா வாஜஸ்ய ஸம்கதே || ரு. வே. ௧.௯௧.௧௬, ௯.௩௧.௪
ṛṣi: - gotama rāhugaṇaḥ (sāyaṇa - rāhugaṇa gotama: | chandaḥ - gāyatrī | devatā - soma: {soma: pavamāna:}
āpyāyasva sametute viśvatassoma vṛṣṇyam |
bhavā vājasya saṃgathe || ṛ. ve. 1.91.16, 9.31.4
As shown above, this ṛk appears in the ṛgveda twice without any change. The ṛṣi: and chandaḥ are, naturally the same, but the devata is soma in RV 1.91.16 while it is soma: pavamaana: in RV 9.31.4. It is an accepted fact the entire Book 9 contains verses relating to soma: pavamaana: and the purification of soma for sacrifice. The latter is 'soma being purified' or 'soma the purified (by straining)' and obviously applies to the divine herb soma and the juice of the same name which was considered the favourite drink of indra and other devatas. But the whole hymn (sūkta) 1.91 depicts soma as the herb, juice as also the shining orb by night. This gives ground for the conclusion that soma was the name of the herb and the juice to begin with, and that name got applied to the moon also at some subsequent period, and that probably, the vedic ṛṣis were perfectly at ease in applying the name to both at the same time, as exemplified by the hymn 1.91. On that vein, soma became the god of herbs also, perhaps.
As to repetitions in ṛgveda, that itself is a fascinating topic, which I will try to deal with after completing this navagrahasūkta.
The meaning of this verse is as given below:
O soma! May thee grow: may thy strength, power, also increase and always remain with you. Having grown and with increased vigour, may thee provide us with bountiful food.
ऋषिः - मेधातिथि: काण्वः । छन्दः - अनुष्टुप् । दॆवता - आपः
अप्सु मे सॊमो अब्रवीतन्तर्विश्वानि भॆषजा ।
अग्निञ्च विशवशम्भुवमापश्च विश्वभॆषजीः ॥ ऋ. वे. १.२३.२०
ருஷி - மேதாதிதி: காண்வ: | சந்தஸ் - அனுஷ்டுப் | தேவதை - ஆப:
அப்ஸு மே ஸோமோ அப்ரவீதந்தர்விச்வாநி பேஷஜா |
அக்நிஞ்ச விச்வசம்புவமாபச்ச விச்வப்பேஷஜீஃ || ரு. வே. ௧.௨௩.௨0
ṛṣiḥ - medhātithi: kāṇvaḥ | chandaḥ - anuṣṭup | devatā - āpaḥ
apsu me somo abravītantarviśvāni bheṣajā |
agniñca viśavaśambhuvamāpaśca viśvabheṣajīḥ || R.V. 1.23.20
This ṛk appears almost fully as R.V. 10.9.6 also, with the ending words "āpaśca viśvabheṣajīḥ" omitted. (Hence the metre becomes gāyatrī .) In that hymn the ṛṣiḥ is given - in kātyāyana’s sarvānukramaṇī as "triśirāḥ tvāṣṭraḥ or sindhudvīpaḥ āmbarīṣaḥ" and the devata, of course is āpaḥ. This shows that the vedic ṛṣis depended on one another, borrowing, copying, altering, each other's hymns and utilising them. To me it even seems possible that the different composers had learnt certain "core" ṛks or sūktas and utilised them in composing their own, more elaborate hymns. For people with a knack for research, it may be worthwhile to search for this "core" of the ṛgveda.
Now, for the meaning: soma and all the waters (āpaḥ) told me that all the medicines are present in waters, that agni who bestows all comforts to the world is (also) present in waters.
ऋषि: - दीर्घतमा: औचथ्यः । छन्दः - जगती । देवता - वागापः ।
गौरीर्मिमाय सलिलानि तक्षत्येकपदी द्विपदी सा चतुष्पदी ।
अष्टापदी नवपदी बभूवुषी सहस्राक्षरा परमे व्योमन् ॥ ऋ. वे. १.१६४.४१
ருஷி - தீர்கதமா: ஔசத்ய: | சந்தஸ் - ஜகதீ | தேவதை - வாகாப:
கௌரீர்மிமாய ஸலிலாநி தக்ஷத்யேகபதீ த்விபதீ ஸா சதுஷ்பதீ |
அஷ்டாபதீ நவபதீ பபூவுஷீ ஸஹஸ்ராக்ஷரா பரமே வ்யோமந் ॥ ரு. வே. ௧.௧௬௪.௪௧
ṛṣi: - dīrghatamā: aucathyaḥ | chandaḥ - jagatī | devatā - vāgāpaḥ |
gaurīrmimāya salilāni takṣatyekapadī dvipadī sā catuṣpadī |
aṣṭāpadī navapadī babhūvuṣī sahasrākṣarā parame vyoman ||
As may be seen from the description of the devatā, namely "vāgāpaḥ", this verse is supposed to be addressed to both the deities vāk as vell as āpaḥ (word and waters). It is my opinion that even by the time of the sarvānukramaṇī, which is dated at around the 2nd. century B.C., the people had lost much of the clear perceptions about the ṛgveda and hence this choice of devatas and, in other cases, of ṛṣis as well. In accordance with the two devatas, there are two different meanings are given.
1. With "vāk" as devatā:
That vāk endowed with soft sound, in its form of "śabdabrahma", embedded itself in the "dhātus" or layers, and of itself became sentence. It was ’ekapadī’ as praṇava, 'dvipadī’ in the form of subantaḥ and tiṅṅantaḥ (two grammar-only terms of pāṇini), 'catuṣpadī ' in the form of noun, verb, preposition and particle, 'aṣṭāpadī ' as the vibhaktis (including sambodhanā vibhakti), navapadī itself alongwith the eight vibhaktis, and then into very many words and spreads all over the heavens (sky).
2. With "āpaḥ" as devatā:
Here the word "gaurī:" is not separately explained by sāyaṇa in the context of 'waters'. But "salilāni" is denoted as rain waters whereas this is overlooked in the vāk-version (given at 1 above). This itself shows, according to me, some uncertainty about the actual meaning of this ṛk.
’mimāya’ is explained as 'makes sound, noise'. And so, the meaning is as follows:
The rain waters make sound and is ’ekapadī’ as the water in the rainclouds, 'dvipadī’ as the water in the clouds and sky,'catuṣpadī and 'aṣṭāpadī ' as waters reaching the cardinal directions and that along with the mid-angles (NE, SW, NW and SE),and navapadī with the eight diks and the zenith. Then it grows thousands of times and fills the entire sky.
Both these meanings seem to me as contrived. It will be a good exercise for scholars to look into this.
"takṣ" means to cut, to chisel, to pare, to split and "salila" means water. Hence I feel there is an underlying theme of some gaurī (meaning 'fair', 'whitish') hitting or splitting water, making noise. From that, the vedic ṛṣi goes on to describe ’ekapadī’, 'dvipadī’,'catuṣpadī , 'aṣṭāpadī ' and 'navapadī ' and then says it becomes many and fills the entire sky. This might therefore be a description of some natural phenomenon. To my mind it looks like a description of some very high and powerful waterfall.
It will be a good exercise for scholars to look into this.
