Hymn to Soma Pavamana
Rigveda IX.12 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. The soma drops have been released, pressed, in the seat of truth — most honeyed of all, for Indra.
2. The inspired singers have cried out to him, like mother cows lowing to their calf — calling Indra to drink of the soma.
3. Rousing exhilaration, he dwells in his seat, wise, in the wave of the river; Soma has settled upon the tawny one.
4. In the navel of heaven, far-seeing, he is exalted in the sheep's fleece — Soma, who is the wise-willed seer.
5. That Soma which is set down within the jars, within the filter — the drop has wrapped itself around it.
6. The drop sends forth its voice, over the surface of the ocean, quickening the vessel that drips with honey.
7. Ever praised, lord of the wood, milk-yielding within the hymns, he drives onward the generations of men.
8. Toward the beloved footsteps of heaven, Soma flows, being driven on — the seer, by the stream of the inspired singer.
9. O self-purifying one, pour out for us wealth of a thousand splendors — O drop, wealth that is truly our own.
Translator's note: "gaurī" in verse 3 (rendered "the tawny one") is an obscure epithet in this context — it may denote the reddish woolen filter, a ritual cow, or the buffalo-hide vessel; the Sanskrit is ambiguous and no single referent is certain. "vanaspati" in verse 7 ("lord of the wood") likely refers to the wooden vat or the soma plant itself rather than a forest deity.
Colophon
Rigveda IX.12 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.12
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.
somā asṛgram indavaḥ sutā ṛtasya sādane |
indrāya madhumattamāḥ || 1 ||
abhi viprā anūṣata gāvo vatsaṁ na mātaraḥ |
indraṁ somasya pītaye || 2 ||
madacyut kṣeti sādane sindhor ūrmā vipaścit |
somo gaurī adhi śritaḥ || 3 ||
divo nābhā vicakṣaṇo 'vyo vāre mahīyate |
somo yaḥ sukratuḥ kaviḥ || 4 ||
yaḥ somaḥ kalaśeṣv ām̐ antaḥ pavitra āhitaḥ |
tam induḥ pari ṣasvaje || 5 ||
pra vācam indur iṣyati samudrasyādhi viṣṭapi |
jinvan kośam madhuścutam || 6 ||
nityastotro vanaspatir dhīnām antaḥ sabardughaḥ |
hinvāno mānuṣā yugā || 7 ||
abhi priyā divas padā somo hinvāno arṣati |
viprasya dhārayā kaviḥ || 8 ||
ā pavamāna dhāraya rayiṁ sahasravarcasam |
asme indo svābhuvam || 9 ||
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).