Rig Veda · 750 of 1027
Mandala 9: HYMN XXVII. Soma Pavamana.
1.THIS Sage, exalted by our lauds, flows to the purifying cloth, Scattering foes as he is cleansed.
2.As giving power and winning light, for Indra and for Vāyu he Is poured upon the filtering-cloth.
3.The men conduct him, Soma, Steer, Omniscient, and the Head of Heaven, Effused into the vats of wood.
4.Longing for kine, longing for gold hath Indu Pavamana lowed, Still Conqueror, never overcome.
5.This Pavamana, gladdening draught, drops on the filtering cloth, and then Mounts up with Sūrya to the sky.
6.To Indra in the firmament this mighty tawny Steer hath flowed, This Indu, being purified.
Asked of Guide
Why does the hymn call Soma a 'tawny Steer' and say he 'flows' onto the filtering-cloth?
The hymn personifies Soma as a living, sacred being—“tawny Steer”—to capture his strength, fertility, and sacrificial value while the ritual proceeds. The image links the drink’s vitality to a sacrificial animal whose color and power suit Indra and Vāyu, so the juice and the beast become the same nourishing force in the rite.
The verb “flows” describes the literal pressing of the plant juice onto the filtering-cloth and the mythic movement of Soma into the gods’ domain: “drops on the filtering cloth, and then / Mounts up with Sūrya to the sky.” This doubles the physical act and its cosmological meaning, a theme also emphasized in other Rigveda hymns where Soma’s pressing produces both drink and divine ascent.
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