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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 786 of 1027

Mandala 9: HYMN LXIII. Soma Pavamana.

1.POUR hitherward, O Soma, wealth in thousands and heroic strength, And keep renown secure for us.

2.Thou makest food and vigour swell for Indra, best of gladdeners! Within the cups thou seatest thee.

3.For Indra and for Viṣṇu poured, Soma hath flowed into the jar: May Vāyu find it rich in sweets.

4.These Somas swift and brown of hue, in stream of solemn sacrifice Have flowed through twisted obstacles,

5.Performing every noble work, active, augmenting Indra’s strength, Driving away the godless ones.

6.Brown Soma-drops, effused that seek Indra, to their appropriate place Flow through the region hitherward.

7.Flow onward with that stream of thine wherewith thou gavest Sūrya light, Urging on waters good to men.

8.He, Pavamana, high o’er man yoked the Sun’s courser Etaśa To travel through the realm of air.

9.And those ten Coursers, tawny-hued, he harnessed that the Sun might come Indu, he said, is Indra’s self.

10.Hence, singers, pour the gladdeningjuice to Vāyu and to Indra, pour The drops upon the fleecy cloth.

11.O Soma Pavamana, find wealth for us not to be assailed, Wealth which the foeman may not win.

12.Send riches hither with thy stream in thousands, both of steeds and kine, Send spoil of war and high renown.

13.Soma the God, expressed with stones, like Sūrya, floweth on his way, Pouring the juice within the jar.

14.These brilliant drops have poured for us, in stream of solemn sacrifice, Worshipful laws and strength in kine.

15.Over the cleansing sieve have flowed the Somas, blent with curdled milk, Effused for Indra Thunder-armed.

16.Soma, do thou most rich in sweets, a gladdening drink most dear to Gods, Flow to the sieve to bring us wealth.

17.For Indra, living men adorn the Tawny Courser in the streams, Indu, the giver of delight.

18.Pour for us, Soma, wealth in gold, in horses and heroic sons, Bring hither strength in herds of kine.

19.For Indra pour ye on the fleece him very sweet to taste, who longs. For battle as it were in war.

20.The singers, seeking help, adorn the Sage who must be decked with songs: Loud bellowing the Steer comes on,

21.The singers with their thoughts and hymns have, in the stream of sacrifice, Caused Soma, active Steer, to roar.

22.God, working with mankind, flow on; to Indra go thy gladdening juice: To Vāyu mount as Law commands

23.O Soma, Pavamana, thou pourest out wealth that brings renown: Enter the lake, as one we love.

24.Soma thou flowest chasing foes and bringing wisdom and delight: Drive off the folk who love not Gods.

25.The Pavamanas have been poured, the brilliant drops of Soma juice, For holy lore of every kind.

26.The Pavamanas have been shed, the beautiful swift Soma-drops, Driving all enemies afar.

27.From, heaven, from out the firmament, hath Pavamana been effused Upon the summit of the earth.

28.O Soma, Indu, very wise, drive, being purified, with thy stream All foes, all Rākṣasas away.

29.Driving the Rākṣasas afar, O Soma, bellowing, pour for us Most excellent and splendid strength.

30.Soma, do thou secure for us the treasures of the earih and heaven, Indu, all boons to be desired.

Asked of Guide

Why does the hymn call Soma “Pavamana” and talk about it flowing and purifying so often?

The hymn names Soma “Pavamana,” which means the Purifier, because it is being poured and strained in the ritual until it becomes a cleansing, invigorating stream. The repeated images of flowing, effusion, and passing through the sieve show Soma’s ritual role: as it is purified it confers strength, wealth, and victory to Indra and the sacrificers, “effused for Indra Thunder-armed.”

Those same flow-images link Soma to cosmic renewal: lines that say he “gavest Sūrya light” and that Pavamana comes “from heaven… upon the summit of the earth” present the drink as a medium that transports divine power into the world. This reading matches what G. S. Arundale and other translators note in Rigveda studies about Soma’s dual role as a physical sacrament and a carrier of divine potency.

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