Rig Veda · 744 of 1027
Mandala 9: HYMN XXI. Soma Pavamana.
1.To Indra flow these running drops, these Somas frolicsome in mood. Exhilarating, finding light;
2.Driving off foes, bestowing room upon the presser, willingly Bringing their praiser vitalforce.
3.Lightly disporting them, the drops flow to one common reservoir, And fall into the river’s wave.
4.These Pavamanas have obtained all blessings much to be desired, Like coursers harnessed to a car.
5.With view to us, O Soma-drops, bestow his manifold desire On him who yet hath given us naught.
6.Bring us our wish with this design, as a wright brings his new-wrought wheel: Flow pure and shining with the stream.
7.These drops have cried with resonant voice: like swift steeds they have run the course, And roused the good man’s hymn to life.
Asked of Guide
Why does the hymn call the Soma-drops 'Pavamanas' and praise their motion so much?
The hymn calls the Soma-drops “Pavamanas” — purifiers — because it celebrates Soma as a cleansing, life-giving stream: the drops “flow to one common reservoir” and “fall into the river’s wave,” images of movement that make purification and renewal visible. The motion shows effectiveness; the running, “frolicsome” drops are portrayed as agents that “drive off foes” and “bestow…vitalforce,” so their flow is the means by which blessings arrive.
This poem treats the ritual liquor as a living force whose travel enacts benefits: arriving like “coursers harnessed to a car,” they bring desires and strengthen the worshipper. For a parallel, see the Hymns to Soma elsewhere in the Rig Veda where Soma’s pouring and stirring likewise link motion to potency and divine favor.
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