trai-vidyā māṁ soma-pāḥ pūta-pāpā
yajñair iṣhṭvā svar-gatiṁ prārthayante
te puṇyam āsādya surendra-lokam
aśhnanti divyān divi deva-bhogān
Word meanings
trai-vidyāḥ—the science of karm kāṇḍ (Vedic Rituals); mām—me; soma-pāḥ—drinkers of the Soma juice; pūta—purified; pāpāḥ—sins; yajñaiḥ—through sacrifices; iṣhṭvā—worship; svaḥ-gatim—way to the abode of the king of heaven; prārthayante—seek; te—they; puṇyam—pious; āsādya—attain; sura-indra—of Indra; lokam—abode; aśhnanti—enjoy; divyān—celestial; divi—in heaven; deva-bhogān—the pleasures of the celestial gods
English translation
The knowers of the three Vedas, the drinkers of Soma, purified of all sins, worshipping Me through sacrifices, pray for the way to heaven; they reach the holy world of the Lord of the gods and enjoy the divine pleasures of the gods in heaven.
Translation by Swami Sivananda
Hindi meaning
।।9.20।। तीनों वेदों के ज्ञाता (वेदोक्त सकाम कर्म करने वाले), सोमपान करने वाले एवं पापों से पवित्र हुए पुरुष मुझे यज्ञों के द्वारा पूजकर स्वर्ग प्राप्ति चाहते हैं; वे पुरुष अपने पुण्यों के फलरूप इन्द्रलोक को प्राप्त कर स्वर्ग में दिव्य देवताओं के भोग भोगते हैं।।
Hindi rendering by Swami Tejomayananda
English meaning
Those who are versed in the scriptures, who drink the mystic Soma-juice and are purified from sin, and who, while worshipping Me with sacrifices, pray that I will lead them to heaven; they reach the holy world where the Controller of the Powers of Nature resides, and they enjoy the feasts of Paradise.
Shri Purohit Swami
The masters of the three Vedas, the soma-drinkers, purified of their sins, aspire for the heavenly goal by offering sacrifices to Me. They attain the meritorious world of the Lord of Gods and taste in the heavens the heavenly pleasures of the gods.
Dr. S. Sankaranarayan
Detailed explanation
May aspirants climb up to a certain height on the ladder of Yoga. They are irresistibly swept away by the temptation of the higher planes (the heaven, and the plane of the celestial beings, etc.). They lose their power of discrimination and right understanding and thery lose themselves in heavenly enjoyments. The dwellers of the higher planes, the shining ones, tempt the aspirants in a variety of ways. They say unto them, O Yogi, we are very much pleased with your austerities and dispassion, spiritual practices and divine alities. This is the plane for your final resting which you have obtained through your merit and your austerities. We are all your servants to obey your orders and carry out your ?nds or behests. Here is the celestial car for you. You can move about anywhere you like. Here are the celestial damsels to attend on you. They will please you with their celestial music. Here is the wishfulfilling ree which will give you whatever you want. Here is the celestial nectar in the golden cup, which will make you immortal. Here is the celestial lake of supreme joy. You can swim freely in this lake. The uncautious Yogi is easily carried away by the invitations of the gods and the sweet flowery speeches. He gets false satisfaction or contentment. He thinks that he has reached the highest goal of Yoga. He yields to the templations and his energy is dissipated in various directions. As soon as his merits are exhausted he comes down to this earthplane. He will have to start his upward climb on the spiritual lader once more. But that dispassionate Yogi who is endowed with strong discrimination rejects ruthlessly these invitations from the gods, marches boldly on his spiritual path and stops not till he attains the highest rung on the ladder of Yoga or the highest summit on the hill of knowledge or Nirvikalpa Samadhi. He is fully conscious that enjoyments in heaven are as much worthless as those of this illusory world. The pleasures of heaven are subtle, exceedingly intense and extremely intoxicating. That is the reason why the uncautious, nonvigilant and less dispassionate aspirant yields easily to the temptations of the higher planes. Even in this physical plane, in the West and in America where there is abundance of wealth, plenty of dollars and gold, people enjoy subtle and intense sensual pleasures. Every day scientists bring out new inventions, new forms of sensual pleasures for the gratification of the mischievous and revolting senses. Even an abstemious man of simple habits of India becomes a changed man when he lives in America or Europe for some time. He yields to the temptations. Such is the power of Maya. Such is the influence of temptation. Such is the strength of the senses. That man who is endowed with strong discrimination, sustained dispassion, good selfanalytic power, and burning yearning for liberation, can resist temptations and he aloen can be really happy. He alone can attain the highest goal of life, the final beatitude or the sublime vision of the Infinite.Those who drink the Soma juice are purified from sin.Sacrifices Such as the Agnistoma, Jyotistoma. They worship Me as the Vasus and other deities (Rudras and Adityas) by sacrifices such as the Agnistoma.Indra is the Lord of the gods. He is called Satakratu because he had performed a hundred sacrifices. The divine pleasures are the supernatural pleasures of the heaven.DivyaBhoga An enjoyment that is beyond the reach of man or an enjoyment that can be had only by the celestial body of the gods or an enjoyment given by the gods in the heaven. The term Bhoga indicates sensual pleasures. Though the heavenly pleasuresare of a very subtle nature, yet,they are sensual pleasures only. (Cf.II.45)
।।9.20।। व्याख्या--'त्रैविद्याः मां सोमपाः ৷৷. दिव्यान्दिवि देवभागान्'--संसारके मनुष्य प्रायः यहाँके भोगोंमें ही लगे रहते हैं उनमें जो भी विशेष बुद्धिमान् कहलाते हैं, उनके हृदयमें भी उत्पत्ति-विनाशशील वस्तुओंका महत्त्व रहनेके कारण जब वे ऋक्, साम और यजुः -- इन तीनों वेदोंमें कहे हुए सकाम कर्मोंका तथा उनके फलका वर्णन सुनते हैं, तब वे (वेदोंमें आस्तिकभाव होनेके कारण) यहाँके भोगोंकी इतनी परवाह न करके स्वर्गके भोगोंके लिये ललचा उठते हैं और स्वर्गप्राप्तिके लिये वेदोंमें कहे हुए यज्ञोंके अनुष्ठानमें लग जाते हैं। ऐसे मनुष्योंके लिये ही यहाँ 'त्रैविद्याः' पद आया है।
सोमलता अथवा सोमवल्ली नामकी एक लता होती है। उसके विषयमें शास्त्रमें आता है कि जैसे शुक्लपक्षमें प्रतिदिन चन्द्रमाकी एक-एक कला बढ़ते-बढ़ते पूर्णिमाको कलाएँ पूर्ण हो जाती हैं और कृष्णपक्षमें प्रतिदिन एक-एक कला क्षीण होते-होते अमावस्याको कलाएँ सर्वथा क्षीण हो जाती हैं ऐसे ही उस सोमलताका भी शुक्लपक्षमें प्रतिदिन एक-एक पत्ता निकलते-निकलते पूर्णिमातक पंद्रह पत्ते निकल आते हैं और कृष्णपक्षमें प्रतिदिन एक-एक पत्ता गिरते-गिरते अमावस्यातक पूरे पत्ते गिर जाते हैं (टिप्पणी प0 506)। उस सोमलताके रसको सोमरस कहते हैं। यज्ञ करनेवाले उस सोमरसको वैदिक मन्त्रोंके द्वारा अभिमन्त्रित करके पीते हैं, इसलिये उनको 'सोमपाः' कहा गया है।
Swami Ramsukhdas
Key teachings
May aspirants climb up to a certain height on the ladder of Yoga.
They are irresistibly swept away by the temptation of the higher planes (the heaven, and the plane of the celestial beings, etc.).
They lose their power of discrimination and right understanding and thery lose themselves in heavenly enjoyments.
Spiritual significance
In Raja Vidya Yoga (Yoga through the King of Sciences), this verse belongs to the Gita’s teaching on bhakti yoga. Here the text presents that teaching through these words: The knowers of the three Vedas, the drinkers of Soma, purified of all sins, worshipping Me through sacrifices, pray for the way to heaven; they reach the holy world of the Lord of the gods and enjoy the divine pleasures of the gods in heaven.
Chapter 9, verse 20 is part of Raja Vidya Yoga. In the English translation used on this page, it says: The knowers of the three Vedas, the drinkers of Soma, purified of all sins, worshipping Me through sacrifices, pray for the way to heaven; they reach the holy world of the Lord of the gods and enjoy the divine pleasures of the gods in heaven.
What is the spiritual context of this verse?
It appears in Raja Vidya Yoga, a chapter associated with Bhakti Yoga. God pervading all beings.
