Hymn to Soma Pavamana
Rigveda IX.108 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 9 of the Rigveda, one of the 1,028 hymns organized within the ten books of the oldest Veda. The Rigveda was composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in Vedic Sanskrit and preserved through oral transmission across millennia.
This is a Good Works Translation produced for the Good Works Library from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
1. Purify yourself, sweetest one, for Indra, O Soma — most power-finding draught, the great draught, most heavenly of all.
2. Having drunk you, the bull behaves like a bull; having drunk of this sun-finding draught, he, of clear sign, strode toward the food, toward the prize, like swift Etaśa.
3. You indeed, O Pavamana, most brilliant one, make the divine races proclaim you, for the sake of immortality.
4. By whom Navagva and Dadhyañc uncovered the cow-pen; by whom the inspired poets obtained, in the favor of the gods, their share of the pleasant immortal draught; by whom they reached renown.
5. Here, pressed out, in a stream, through the hairs of the sheep's fleece, he flows, most exhilarating, playing like a wave of the waters.
6. Who cut out the ruddy, watery cows from within the rock by his might — you have reached out over the pen of cattle and horses; like an armored warrior, break it open, bold one.
7. O pressers, splash him all around like a horse — this praise-born Soma, crossing the waters, crossing the airy realm, roaring in the wood, swimming in the wave.
8. The thousand-streamed bull, waxing strong with milk, dear to the divine race; who, born of Truth, has grown mighty by Truth — king, god, the great Truth itself.
9. Shine forth splendor, great glory, O lord of refreshment; O god who loves the gods, release the middle bucket of rain.
10. Wind your way, O skillful one, pressed in the two bowls, like the bearer of the clans, their lord; pour out the rain of heaven, the flow of the waters, and quicken our thoughts in the quest for cattle.
11. This same rapture-stirring, thousand-streamed bull they have milked from heaven, bearing all treasures.
12. The bull was born forth, begetting, immortal, scorching the darkness with his light. He, well-praised by the poets, puts on his garment — his threefold garment, by his own wondrous power.
13. He is pressed — he who brings goods, who is the bringer of riches, who brings the offerings, Soma who brings good dwellings.
14. Whose draught our Indra shall drink, whose the Maruts, whose Aryaman and Bhaga; by whom we shall draw Mitra and Varuṇa here, and mighty Indra, for great help.
15. For Indra to drink, O Soma, guided by men, well-weaponed, most exhilarating — purify yourself, sweetest one.
16. Enter Indra's heart, the soma-holding vessel, as rivers enter the sea — pleasing to Mitra, to Varuṇa, to Vāyu, the highest pillar of heaven.
Translator's note: verse 9's "kośam madhyamam" (the "middle bucket") and verse 10's "ā vacyasva" ("wind your way") refer to the mid-air rain-vessel and Soma's winding flow through the pressing bowls — both conventional but compressed images in Pavamana hymns, rendered here as literally as English allows. Verse 14's "vāryamaṇā" is read as "vā Aryamā" ("or Aryaman"), the standard resolution.
Colophon
Rigveda IX.108 is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE. This is a Good Works Translation rendered verse by verse from the Sanskrit text printed below. Prepared for the Good Work Library by the Tianmu Anglican Church with AI-assisted translation.
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Source Text: ṛgveda IX.108
Sanskrit source text from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input). Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
pavasva madhumattama indrāya soma kratuvittamo madaḥ |
mahi dyukṣatamo madaḥ || 1 ||
yasya te pītvā vṛṣabho vṛṣāyate 'sya pītā svarvidaḥ |
sa supraketo abhy akramīd iṣo 'cchā vājaṁ naitaśaḥ || 2 ||
tvaṁ hy a1ṅga daivyā pavamāna janimāni dyumattamaḥ |
amṛtatvāya ghoṣayaḥ || 3 ||
yenā navagvo dadhyaṅṅ aporṇute yena viprāsa āpire |
devānāṁ sumne amṛtasya cāruṇo yena śravāṁsy ānaśuḥ || 4 ||
eṣa sya dhārayā suto 'vyo vārebhiḥ pavate madintamaḥ |
krīḻann ūrmir apām iva || 5 ||
ya usriyā apyā antar aśmano nir gā akṛntad ojasā |
abhi vrajaṁ tatniṣe gavyam aśvyaṁ varmīva dhṛṣṇav ā ruja || 6 ||
ā sotā pari ṣiñcatāśvaṁ na stomam apturaṁ rajasturam |
vanakrakṣam udaprutam || 7 ||
sahasradhāraṁ vṛṣabham payovṛdham priyaṁ devāya janmane |
ṛtena ya ṛtajāto vivāvṛdhe rājā deva ṛtam bṛhat || 8 ||
abhi dyumnam bṛhad yaśa iṣas pate didīhi deva devayuḥ |
vi kośam madhyamaṁ yuva || 9 ||
ā vacyasva sudakṣa camvoḥ suto viśāṁ vahnir na viśpatiḥ |
vṛṣṭiṁ divaḥ pavasva rītim apāṁ jinvā gaviṣṭaye dhiyaḥ || 10 ||
etam u tyam madacyutaṁ sahasradhāraṁ vṛṣabhaṁ divo duhuḥ |
viśvā vasūni bibhratam || 11 ||
vṛṣā vi jajñe janayann amartyaḥ pratapañ jyotiṣā tamaḥ |
sa suṣṭutaḥ kavibhir nirṇijaṁ dadhe tridhātv asya daṁsasā || 12 ||
sa sunve yo vasūnāṁ yo rāyām ānetā ya iḻānām |
somo yaḥ sukṣitīnām || 13 ||
yasya na indraḥ pibād yasya maruto yasya vāryamaṇā bhagaḥ |
ā yena mitrāvaruṇā karāmaha endram avase mahe || 14 ||
indrāya soma pātave nṛbhir yataḥ svāyudho madintamaḥ |
pavasva madhumattamaḥ || 15 ||
indrasya hārdi somadhānam ā viśa samudram iva sindhavaḥ |
juṣṭo mitrāya varuṇāya vāyave divo viṣṭambha uttamaḥ || 16 ||
Source Colophon
Sanskrit text of the Rigveda, Śākala recension. The standard scholarly edition is the Bombay Oriental (Vishva Bandhu, 5 vols., 1963–66). IAST transliteration available from GRETIL (Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages) and Vedaweb (University of Cologne). Both sources are open access. IAST transliteration from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).