Hymn to Soma Pavamana
Rigveda IX.65 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. The ruddy sisters, close kinswomen, speed on the sun, their lord; exalting him, they speed the great drop.
2. O Pavamana, with light upon light, a god among gods, enter into all good things.
3. O Pavamana, flow hither bringing fine praise, rain, and homage to the gods; purify yourself, bringing us steady nourishment.
4. For you are a bull, radiant; we call on you, shining one, O Pavamana, with devout thoughts.
5. Flow hither bringing strong vigor, rejoicing, O well-armed one; come here indeed, O drop.
6. When you are poured round with waters, cleansed in the two hands, you reach your seat within the wood.
7. Sing forth to Soma Pavamana, as Vyaśva once sang, to the great one of a thousand eyes.
8. Whose tawny color drips honey — they speed him on with the stones, the drop, for Indra to drink.
9. We choose your friendship, you the prize-winner who has won all the stakes.
10. Purify yourself, bull, in a stream, and be the gladdening drink for him who comes with the Maruts, holding all things by your strength.
11. You, bearer borne by the two arms, Pavamana, seer of heaven's light — I speed you, the prize-winner, on toward the prizes.
12. Noticed through this inspiring song, flow tawny in a stream; urge your yoke-fellow onward to the prizes.
13. Pour forth to us great nourishment, O drop seen by all; find the way for us, O Soma.
14. The vats have roared for you, O drop, with force, in their streams; enter, for Indra's drinking.
15. You whose sharp, intoxicating sap they press out with the stones — purify yourself, breaker of hostile designs.
16. The king proceeds by the sacred rites, purifying himself before Manu, to journey through the midair.
17. Bring to us, O drop, a hundredfold thriving of cattle, good horses, and a share of fortune, for our aid.
18. Bring us strength and speed, O Soma, like a form given for splendor, being pressed for the gods' feast.
19. Flow, O Soma, most brilliant, roaring toward the wooden vats, settling like a falcon into its nest.
20. Winning the waters, Soma flows for Indra, for Vāyu, for Varuṇa, for the Maruts, for Viṣṇu.
21. Granting nourishment for our children, O Soma, from every side pour forth to us a thousandfold wealth.
22. The Somas that are pressed far away, or near at hand, or yonder at Śaryaṇāvat —
23. those among the Ārjīka lands, those in the midst of the settlements, or those among the five tribes —
24. let them, the divine drops, being pressed, pour down to us rain from heaven and good vigor.
25. The lovely tawny one flows, praised by Jamadagni, being sped on upon the cowhide.
26. The bright ones rush forth, quickened with vigor, sped on like steeds; mingled together, they are groomed in the waters.
27. You — the attendants have sped you on, amid the pressed juices, for the service of the gods; purify yourself with this radiance.
28. Today we choose your skill that brings joy, the carrier, the protector, the much-desired one.
29. The gladdening one, the excellent, the inspired, the wise — the protector, the much-desired one.
30. Wealth, and clear insight, in our very bodies, O one of good power — the protector, the much-desired one.
Translator's note: Verses 22–24 and 28–30 are each a single sense-unit spanning three verses (a common Vedic device); the concluding verb of each unit — "let them... pour down" in 22–24, "we choose" in 28–30 — governs all three lines together. In verse 11, "oṇyoḥ" (dual, "of the two arms/channels") is rendered conservatively as "the two arms." In verse 12, "vipānayā" (an inspired or exciting utterance) is rendered as "this inspiring song."
Colophon
Rigveda IX.65 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.65
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.
hinvanti sūram usrayaḥ svasāro jāmayas patim |
mahām indum mahīyuvaḥ || 1 ||
pavamāna rucā-rucā devo devebhyas pari |
viśvā vasūny ā viśa || 2 ||
ā pavamāna suṣṭutiṁ vṛṣṭiṁ devebhyo duvaḥ |
iṣe pavasva saṁyatam || 3 ||
vṛṣā hy asi bhānunā dyumantaṁ tvā havāmahe |
pavamāna svādhyaḥ || 4 ||
ā pavasva suvīryam mandamānaḥ svāyudha |
iho ṣv indav ā gahi || 5 ||
yad adbhiḥ pariṣicyase mṛjyamāno gabhastyoḥ |
druṇā sadhastham aśnuṣe || 6 ||
pra somāya vyaśvavat pavamānāya gāyata |
mahe sahasracakṣase || 7 ||
yasya varṇam madhuścutaṁ hariṁ hinvanty adribhiḥ |
indum indrāya pītaye || 8 ||
tasya te vājino vayaṁ viśvā dhanāni jigyuṣaḥ |
sakhitvam ā vṛṇīmahe || 9 ||
vṛṣā pavasva dhārayā marutvate ca matsaraḥ |
viśvā dadhāna ojasā || 10 ||
taṁ tvā dhartāram oṇyo3ḥ pavamāna svardṛśam |
hinve vājeṣu vājinam || 11 ||
ayā citto vipānayā hariḥ pavasva dhārayā |
yujaṁ vājeṣu codaya || 12 ||
ā na indo mahīm iṣam pavasva viśvadarśataḥ |
asmabhyaṁ soma gātuvit || 13 ||
ā kalaśā anūṣatendo dhārābhir ojasā |
endrasya pītaye viśa || 14 ||
yasya te madyaṁ rasaṁ tīvraṁ duhanty adribhiḥ |
sa pavasvābhimātihā || 15 ||
rājā medhābhir īyate pavamāno manāv adhi |
antarikṣeṇa yātave || 16 ||
ā na indo śatagvinaṁ gavām poṣaṁ svaśvyam |
vahā bhagattim ūtaye || 17 ||
ā naḥ soma saho juvo rūpaṁ na varcase bhara |
suṣvāṇo devavītaye || 18 ||
arṣā soma dyumattamo 'bhi droṇāni roruvat |
sīdañ chyeno na yonim ā || 19 ||
apsā indrāya vāyave varuṇāya marudbhyaḥ |
somo arṣati viṣṇave || 20 ||
iṣaṁ tokāya no dadhad asmabhyaṁ soma viśvataḥ |
ā pavasva sahasriṇam || 21 ||
ye somāsaḥ parāvati ye arvāvati sunvire |
ye vādaḥ śaryaṇāvati || 22 ||
ya ārjīkeṣu kṛtvasu ye madhye pastyānām |
ye vā janeṣu pañcasu || 23 ||
te no vṛṣṭiṁ divas pari pavantām ā suvīryam |
suvānā devāsa indavaḥ || 24 ||
pavate haryato harir gṛṇāno jamadagninā |
hinvāno gor adhi tvaci || 25 ||
pra śukrāso vayojuvo hinvānāso na saptayaḥ |
śrīṇānā apsu mṛñjata || 26 ||
taṁ tvā suteṣv ābhuvo hinvire devatātaye |
sa pavasvānayā rucā || 27 ||
ā te dakṣam mayobhuvaṁ vahnim adyā vṛṇīmahe |
pāntam ā puruspṛham || 28 ||
ā mandram ā vareṇyam ā vipram ā manīṣiṇam |
pāntam ā puruspṛham || 29 ||
ā rayim ā sucetunam ā sukrato tanūṣv ā |
pāntam ā puruspṛham || 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).