Hymn to Pavamana Soma
Rigveda IX.3 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. This immortal god flies like a bird on the wing, toward the wooden vats, to take his seat.
2. This god, shaped by inspired song, runs past every crooked snare, purifying himself, undeceivable.
3. This god, purifying himself, the tawny one, is groomed for the prize by the eloquent singers who seek the truth.
4. This one, like a hero going out with his warriors, purifying himself, seeks to win every desirable thing.
5. This god rides forth as in a chariot; purifying himself he grants his gifts, and makes his voice heard.
6. Praised by the inspired poets, this god plunges into the waters, bestowing treasures on the one who offers.
7. This one runs across the sky, through the airy realms, in a stream, purifying himself, roaring again and again.
8. This one has sped across the sky, through the airy realms, unchecked, purifying himself, performing good rites.
9. This god, by his ancient birth, pressed out for the gods — the tawny one flows into the filter.
10. And this one, of many ordinances, being born and bringing forth nourishment, pressed out, purifies himself in a stream.
Translator's note: a few terms resist a single confident rendering — "vipā kṛto" (2) as "shaped by inspired song," "vagvanum" (5) as "voice" (a rare word for a cry or roaring sound), and "puruvrato" (10) as "of many ordinances" (possibly "much-invoked"). Each is translated conservatively from the Sanskrit rather than smoothed into certainty.
Colophon
Rigveda IX.3 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.3
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.
eṣa devo amartyaḥ parṇavīr iva dīyati |
abhi droṇāny āsadam || 1 ||
eṣa devo vipā kṛto 'ti hvarāṁsi dhāvati |
pavamāno adābhyaḥ || 2 ||
eṣa devo vipanyubhiḥ pavamāna ṛtāyubhiḥ |
harir vājāya mṛjyate || 3 ||
eṣa viśvāni vāryā śūro yann iva satvabhiḥ |
pavamānaḥ siṣāsati || 4 ||
eṣa devo ratharyati pavamāno daśasyati |
āviṣ kṛṇoti vagvanum || 5 ||
eṣa viprair abhiṣṭuto 'po devo vi gāhate |
dadhad ratnāni dāśuṣe || 6 ||
eṣa divaṁ vi dhāvati tiro rajāṁsi dhārayā |
pavamānaḥ kanikradat || 7 ||
eṣa divaṁ vy āsarat tiro rajāṁsy aspṛtaḥ |
pavamānaḥ svadhvaraḥ || 8 ||
eṣa pratnena janmanā devo devebhyaḥ sutaḥ |
hariḥ pavitre arṣati || 9 ||
eṣa u sya puruvrato jajñāno janayann iṣaḥ |
dhārayā pavate sutaḥ || 10 ||
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).