Hymn to Soma Pavamāna
Rigveda IX.43 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. He who, desired, is groomed like a racehorse with milk for exhilaration — him we clothe in songs.
2. All our songs, seeking his favor, adorn him as before — the drop, for Indra to drink.
3. Purifying himself, the desired Soma goes forth, adorned by the songs of the inspired poet Medhyātithi.
4. O purifying one, find for us wealth, O Soma — glorious wealth, O drop, of a thousand splendors.
5. The drop, like a racehorse racing for the prize, whinnies in the filter, when, seeking the gods, he has flowed through.
6. Flow on for the winning of strength, for the strengthening of the inspired singer who praises you. O Soma, grant us a host of heroes.
Translator's note: verse 3 names the ṛṣi Medhyātithi (of the Kāṇva line), to whom this hymn is traditionally attributed; "viprasya medhyātitheḥ" is read here as "of the inspired poet Medhyātithi," i.e. it is his songs that adorn the god.
Colophon
Rigveda IX.43 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.43
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.
yo atya iva mṛjyate gobhir madāya haryataḥ |
taṁ gīrbhir vāsayāmasi || 1 ||
taṁ no viśvā avasyuvo giraḥ śumbhanti pūrvathā |
indum indrāya pītaye || 2 ||
punāno yāti haryataḥ somo gīrbhiḥ pariṣkṛtaḥ |
viprasya medhyātitheḥ || 3 ||
pavamāna vidā rayim asmabhyaṁ soma suśriyam |
indo sahasravarcasam || 4 ||
indur atyo na vājasṛt kanikranti pavitra ā |
yad akṣār ati devayuḥ || 5 ||
pavasva vājasātaye viprasya gṛṇato vṛdhe |
soma rāsva suvīryam || 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).