Hymn to Soma Pavamana
Rigveda IX.30 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. His streams, this mighty one's, have flowed freely forth into the filter. Being purified, he sends out his voice.
2. The drop, urged on by the pressers, being wiped clean, roaring — he raises a cry worthy of Indra.
3. Bring to us, in your stream, a power that overcomes men, rich in heroes, much desired — flow, purifying, O Soma.
4. Soma, purifying himself, has flowed forth with his stream, to settle into the wooden vats.
5. In the waters they urge you on with the pressing stones, sweetest one, tawny drop — for Indra to drink.
6. Press out the sweetest Soma for Indra, wielder of the mace — the lovely, intoxicating drink for his host.
Translator's note: "his host" (śardhāya, verse 6) most likely refers to the Maruts, Indra's troop of storm-companions, though the word is left general in the Sanskrit itself.
Colophon
Rigveda IX.30 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.30
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.
pra dhārā asya śuṣmiṇo vṛthā pavitre akṣaran |
punāno vācam iṣyati || 1 ||
indur hiyānaḥ sotṛbhir mṛjyamānaḥ kanikradat |
iyarti vagnum indriyam || 2 ||
ā naḥ śuṣmaṁ nṛṣāhyaṁ vīravantam puruspṛham |
pavasva soma dhārayā || 3 ||
pra somo ati dhārayā pavamāno asiṣyadat |
abhi droṇāny āsadam || 4 ||
apsu tvā madhumattamaṁ hariṁ hinvanty adribhiḥ |
indav indrāya pītaye || 5 ||
sunotā madhumattamaṁ somam indrāya vajriṇe |
cāruṁ śardhāya matsaram || 6 ||
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).