Hymn to Soma Pavamana
Rigveda IX.42 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. Begetting the luminous realms of heaven, begetting the sun within the waters, the tawny one clothes himself in milk and in waters.
2. This god, by ancient thought, surpassing the other gods, flows pure in a stream when pressed.
3. For him who grows strong and overpowers, the soma-drops of a thousand forms flow pure, to win the prize.
4. Milking out the ancient milk, he is poured through the filter; roaring, he has brought the gods to life.
5. Toward all things to be desired, toward the gods who grow strong through truth, soma streams as he is purified.
6. Pressed for us, rich in cattle, rich in men, rich in horses, rich in strength — O Soma, flow pure, bringing abundant nourishment.
Translator's note: "pājas" (verse 3, "thousand pājas") can mean form, luster, or bodily aspect; rendered here as "forms." "Ṛtāvṛdhaḥ" (verse 5) literally "growing/increasing through ṛta (truth/cosmic order)," rendered "who grow strong through truth."
Colophon
Rigveda IX.42 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.42
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.
janayan rocanā divo janayann apsu sūryam |
vasāno gā apo hariḥ || 1 ||
eṣa pratnena manmanā devo devebhyas pari |
dhārayā pavate sutaḥ || 2 ||
vāvṛdhānāya tūrvaye pavante vājasātaye |
somāḥ sahasrapājasaḥ || 3 ||
duhānaḥ pratnam it payaḥ pavitre pari ṣicyate |
krandan devām̐ ajījanat || 4 ||
abhi viśvāni vāryābhi devām̐ ṛtāvṛdhaḥ |
somaḥ punāno arṣati || 5 ||
goman naḥ soma vīravad aśvāvad vājavat sutaḥ |
pavasva bṛhatīr iṣaḥ || 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).