Hymn to Soma Pavamana
Rigveda IX.61 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. Flow around, O drop, by this course — you who in your exhilarations struck down ninety-nine strongholds.
2. In a single day, for Divodāsa of such purpose, you struck down Śambara's strongholds — and that Turvaśa and Yadu too.
3. Pour around to us a horse, O horse-finder, O drop — wealth in cattle and gold; stream forth a thousandfold portions of nourishment.
4. We choose the friendship of you, the self-purifying one, as you stream over the filter.
5. With those waves of yours that flow in a stream toward the filter — with those, O Soma, show us grace.
6. Being purified, bring us wealth and nourishment rich in strong sons, O Soma, ruler over all.
7. The ten fingers groom this one whose mother is the river; he has joined with the Ādityas.
8. Pressed out, he goes to the filter together with Indra and Vāyu, together with the rays of the sun.
9. Purify yourself for us, honeyed one — for Bhaga, for Vāyu, for Pūṣan — dear to Mitra and Varuṇa.
10. Your birth from the stalk is on high; though seated in heaven, you have taken your abode on earth — mighty shelter, great fame.
11. With this we, seeking to win, would gain all the bright riches of men, even those of the stranger.
12. Flow around for us, finder of freedom, for Indra worthy of worship, for Varuṇa, for the Maruts.
13. To him, newborn, crossing the waters, adorned with milk, made ready — to that drop the gods have drawn near.
14. Let our songs strengthen him, as cows with calves together nurse their calf — him who wins Indra's heart.
15. Flow, O Soma, for the welfare of our cattle; yield abundant nourishment; swell the ocean worthy of praise.
16. Streaming clear, he has generated the vast light belonging to all people, like the wondrous thunder of heaven.
17. Your sap, O king, streaming clear — the exhilarating draught that brings no harm — flows out through the sheep's wool.
18. O self-purifying one, your sap shines out brilliantly, all light — the sun to see.
19. With that choicest exhilaration of yours, with that plant-juice, purify yourself — seeker of the gods, destroyer of the curser.
20. Slayer of hostile Vṛtra, winner of the prize day after day — you are the gainer of cattle and horses.
21. Become ruddy, mingling with the milk like fair-uddered cows, settling into your place like a hawk into its nest.
22. Purify yourself, you who helped Indra slay Vṛtra, who had penned in the great waters.
23. May we, blessed with strong sons, win the prizes, O bounteous Soma; as you purify yourself, strengthen our songs.
24. Helped by you, aided by your protection, may we overcome the foolish; O Soma, watch over our observances.
25. Driving off scorners, Soma streams pure, away from the niggardly, going to Indra's appointed meeting-place.
26. Bring us great wealth, O self-purifying one; strike down the scorners; grant, O drop, glory rich in strong sons.
27. Not even a hundred crooked snares hinder you when you mean to give freely, when, purifying yourself, you are eager to bestow.
28. Purify yourself, O drop, the bull, once pressed; make us famous among the people; drive away all hatreds.
29. In this friendship of yours, O drop, in your highest splendor, may we overcome those who attack us.
30. Your fearsome, sharp weapons that exist for destroying — with them protect us from every reproach.
Translator's note: "vīti" (v.1) carries a range of senses — course, enjoyment, invitation — rendered here as "course." "Vaiśvānara" (v.16), an epithet meaning "belonging to all men," is translated descriptively rather than left as a proper name, since the hymn uses it as a quality of the light Soma generates, not as an address to the fire-god Agni Vaiśvānara.
Colophon
Rigveda IX.61 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.61
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.
ayā vītī pari srava yas ta indo madeṣv ā |
avāhan navatīr nava || 1 ||
puraḥ sadya itthādhiye divodāsāya śambaram |
adha tyaṁ turvaśaṁ yadum || 2 ||
pari ṇo aśvam aśvavid gomad indo hiraṇyavat |
kṣarā sahasriṇīr iṣaḥ || 3 ||
pavamānasya te vayam pavitram abhyundataḥ |
sakhitvam ā vṛṇīmahe || 4 ||
ye te pavitram ūrmayo 'bhikṣaranti dhārayā |
tebhir naḥ soma mṛḻaya || 5 ||
sa naḥ punāna ā bhara rayiṁ vīravatīm iṣam |
īśānaḥ soma viśvataḥ || 6 ||
etam u tyaṁ daśa kṣipo mṛjanti sindhumātaram |
sam ādityebhir akhyata || 7 ||
sam indreṇota vāyunā suta eti pavitra ā |
saṁ sūryasya raśmibhiḥ || 8 ||
sa no bhagāya vāyave pūṣṇe pavasva madhumān |
cārur mitre varuṇe ca || 9 ||
uccā te jātam andhaso divi ṣad bhūmy ā dade |
ugraṁ śarma mahi śravaḥ || 10 ||
enā viśvāny arya ā dyumnāni mānuṣāṇām |
siṣāsanto vanāmahe || 11 ||
sa na indrāya yajyave varuṇāya marudbhyaḥ |
varivovit pari srava || 12 ||
upo ṣu jātam apturaṁ gobhir bhaṅgam pariṣkṛtam |
induṁ devā ayāsiṣuḥ || 13 ||
tam id vardhantu no giro vatsaṁ saṁśiśvarīr iva |
ya indrasya hṛdaṁsaniḥ || 14 ||
arṣā ṇaḥ soma śaṁ gave dhukṣasva pipyuṣīm iṣam |
vardhā samudram ukthyam || 15 ||
pavamāno ajījanad divaś citraṁ na tanyatum |
jyotir vaiśvānaram bṛhat || 16 ||
pavamānasya te raso mado rājann aducchunaḥ |
vi vāram avyam arṣati || 17 ||
pavamāna rasas tava dakṣo vi rājati dyumān |
jyotir viśvaṁ svar dṛśe || 18 ||
yas te mado vareṇyas tenā pavasvāndhasā |
devāvīr aghaśaṁsahā || 19 ||
jaghnir vṛtram amitriyaṁ sasnir vājaṁ dive-dive |
goṣā u aśvasā asi || 20 ||
sammiślo aruṣo bhava sūpasthābhir na dhenubhiḥ |
sīdañ chyeno na yonim ā || 21 ||
sa pavasva ya āvithendraṁ vṛtrāya hantave |
vavrivāṁsam mahīr apaḥ || 22 ||
suvīrāso vayaṁ dhanā jayema soma mīḍhvaḥ |
punāno vardha no giraḥ || 23 ||
tvotāsas tavāvasā syāma vanvanta āmuraḥ |
soma vrateṣu jāgṛhi || 24 ||
apaghnan pavate mṛdho 'pa somo arāvṇaḥ |
gacchann indrasya niṣkṛtam || 25 ||
maho no rāya ā bhara pavamāna jahī mṛdhaḥ |
rāsvendo vīravad yaśaḥ || 26 ||
na tvā śataṁ cana hruto rādho ditsantam ā minan |
yat punāno makhasyase || 27 ||
pavasvendo vṛṣā sutaḥ kṛdhī no yaśaso jane |
viśvā apa dviṣo jahi || 28 ||
asya te sakhye vayaṁ tavendo dyumna uttame |
sāsahyāma pṛtanyataḥ || 29 ||
yā te bhīmāny āyudhā tigmāni santi dhūrvaṇe |
rakṣā samasya no nidaḥ || 30 ||
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).