Rig Veda · 747 of 1027
Mandala 9: HYMN XXIV. Soma Pavamana.
1.HITHERWARD have the Soma streamed, the drops while they are purified: When blent, in waters they are rinsed.
2.The milk hath run to meet them like floods rushing down a precipice: They come to Indra, being cleansed.
3.O Soma Pavamana, thou art flowing to be Indra’s drink: The men have seized and lead thee forth.
4.Victorious, to be hailed with joy, O Soma, flow, delighting men, To him who ruleth o’er mankind.
5.Thou, Indu, when, effused by stones, thou runnest to the filter, art, Ready for Indra’s high decree.
6.Flow on, best Vṛtra-slayer; flow meet to be hailed with joyful lauds. Pure, purifying, wonderful.
7.Pure, purifying is he called the Soma of the meath eflused, Slayer of sinners, dear to Gods.
Asked of Guide
Why does this hymn keep calling Soma 'pure' and 'purifying'?
The hymn repeatedly calls Soma “pure” and “purifying” because it describes the juice’s ritual journey: it is “streamed,” “rinsed,” and “effused by stones,” so its physical cleansing becomes a sacred quality that makes it suitable for Indra’s drink. The purification language links the drink’s bodily preparation to its role in enabling divine favor—Soma arrives “ready for Indra’s high decree.”
Calling Soma “purifying” also assigns it agency; the hymn says Soma is “pure, purifying, wonderful” and even a “Slayer of sinners,” which places the substance as an active moral and cosmic cleanser. This mirrors themes in other Vedic hymns (see Rig Veda Mandala 8 hymns to Soma) where the plant’s ritual use effects both holiness and victory for worshippers.
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