Hymn to Soma Pavamana

Rigveda IX.54 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. Maṇḍala 9 is devoted entirely to Soma Pavamana — the purified Soma juice as it is pressed and strained for offering. 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. Following his ancient brightness, the fearless ones have milked the clear milk of the seer who wins a thousand rewards.

2. This one, bright to look upon like the sun, runs to the lakes, up the seven slopes, toward heaven.

3. This one, being purified, stands over all beings — Soma the god, like the sun.

4. Flow around for us, toward the feast of the gods, bringing prizes rich in cattle — O purifying drop, seeking Indra.

Translator's note: In verse 1, "the seer who wins a thousand rewards" (ṛṣim sahasrasām) stands in apposition to Soma himself, cast as a seer-poet; "the fearless ones" (ahrayaḥ) likely refers to the priests or purifying waters who press and strain him. In verse 4, "seeking Indra" (indrayuḥ) reflects Soma's usual role as the drink prepared to invigorate Indra.

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Rigveda IX.54 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.54

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.

asya pratnām anu dyutaṁ śukraṁ duduhre ahrayaḥ |
payaḥ sahasrasām ṛṣim || 1 ||

ayaṁ sūrya ivopadṛg ayaṁ sarāṁsi dhāvati |
sapta pravata ā divam || 2 ||

ayaṁ viśvāni tiṣṭhati punāno bhuvanopari |
somo devo na sūryaḥ || 3 ||

pari ṇo devavītaye vājām̐ arṣasi gomataḥ |
punāna indav indrayuḥ || 4 ||

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).