Rig Veda · 736 of 1027
Mandala 9: HYMN XIII. Soma Pavamana.
1.PASSED through, the fleece in thousand streams the Soma, purified, flows on To Indra’s, Viyu’s special place.
2.Sing forth, ye men who long for help, to Pavamana, to the Sage, Effused to entertain the Gods.
3.The Soma-drops with thousand powers are purified for victory, Hymned to become the feast of Gods.
4.Yea, as thou flowest bring great store of food that we may win the spoil Indu, bring splendid manly might.
5.May they in flowing give us wealth in thousands, and heroic power,— These Godlike Soma-drops effused.
6.Like coursers by their drivers urged, they were poured forth, for victory, Swift through the woollen straining-cloth.
7.Noisily flow the Soma-drops, like milch-kine lowing to their calves: They have run forth from both the hands.
8.As Gladdener whom Indra loves, O Pavamana, with a roar Drive all our enemies away.
9.O Pavamamas, driving off the godless, looking on the light, Sit in the place of sacrifice.
Asked of Guide
Why does the hymn call Soma 'Pavamana' and describe it flowing through a fleece?
The hymn names Soma Pavamana to stress its ritual purity: Pavamana means “purified” or “flowing-purifier,” and the poem repeats that purification—“passed through, the fleece in thousand streams the Soma, purified, flows on”—to show the drink becoming fit for the gods and for victory. The fleece and straining-cloth image stage the sacrificial process: Soma is pressed, filtered, and transformed into a divine gift that “effused” nourishes and empowers warriors and deities alike.
Casting Soma as a Gladdener and Indu links its physical cleansing to its social and cosmic effects—it “bring[s] great store of food,” gives “wealth in thousands,” and with a “roar” drives enemies away. This emphasis on purification and potency matches how later Vedic texts like the Brahmanas treat Soma as both a literal pressed juice and a symbol of sacred efficacy in ritual.
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