Rig Veda · 764 of 1027
Mandala 9: HYMN XLI. Soma Pavamana.
1.ACTIVE and bright have they come forth, impetuous in speed like bulls, Driving the black skin far away.
2.Quelling the riteless Dasyu, may we think upon the bridge of bliss, Leaving the bridge of woe behind.
3.The mighty Pavamana’s roar is heard as ’twere the rush of rain Lightnings are flashing to the sky.
4.Pour out on us abundant food, when thou art pressed, O Indu wealth In kine and gold and steeds and spoil.
5.Flow on thy way, Most Active, thou. fill full the mighty heavens and earth, As Dawn, as Sūrya with his beams.
6.On every side, O Soma, flow round us with thy protecting stream, As Rasā flows around the world.
Asked of Guide
Why does this hymn repeatedly call Soma 'Active' and compare it to bulls and rain?
The hymn calls Soma “Active” to emphasize its dynamic, world-shaping force: it comes “impetuous in speed like bulls” and its “roar is heard as ’twere the rush of rain,” portraying Soma as an energetic purifier and provider. The similes of bulls, rain, Dawn, and Sūrya compress ideas of vigor, fertility, renewal, and solar radiance into one active deity who clears the “black skin” and brings abundance.
Those images tie ritual ingestion and libation to cosmic ordering: Soma drives away the “riteless Dasyu,” secures the “bridge of bliss,” and brings “kine and gold and steeds and spoil,” linking sacrificial action to material and spiritual prosperity. This aligns with later Vedic readings in Sayana and with the theme in Max Mueller’s translations that Soma is both intoxicant and sacrificial agent who enlivens heaven and earth.
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