Hymn to Soma Pavamāna
Rigveda IX.80 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 stream of Soma, who watches over men, purifies itself; with truth he calls the gods down from heaven.
He flashes forth with the roar of Bṛhaspati; like seas, the waters have taken in the pressed drafts.
2. O prize-winner, whom the cows have bellowed toward — shining, you mount the iron-wrought vessel.
Prolonging the lifespan of the generous and their great fame, you purify yourself for Indra, O Soma, a bull in your rapture.
3. Most exhilarating, he purifies himself in Indra's belly, clad in strength, auspicious, for glory.
Turned toward all, he has spread over all beings; playing, the tawny stallion, a bull, streams forth.
4. You, sweetest of all for the gods, of a thousand streams — men, with ten fingers, milk you forth.
Set in motion by men, O Soma, pressed with the stones, purify all the gods to this place, you who win by the thousand.
5. You, honeyed bull, the men with hands milk with the stones into the waters, ten fingers at work.
Gladdening Indra, O Soma, and the divine folk, purifying yourself you rush on like the wave of a river.
Translator's note: "in Indra's belly" (verse 3, endrasya kukṣā) renders a compact locative image — the pressed Soma poured toward Indra's inner being/vessel — kept literal rather than paraphrased. "Ten fingers" (daśa kṣipaḥ, verses 4–5) is the standard Rigvedic figure for the priests' hands pressing the plant; it is left as the text gives it rather than expanded.
Colophon
Rigveda IX.80 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.80
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.
somasya dhārā pavate nṛcakṣasa ṛtena devān havate divas pari |
bṛhaspate ravathenā vi didyute samudrāso na savanāni vivyacuḥ || 1 ||
yaṁ tvā vājinn aghnyā abhy anūṣatāyohataṁ yonim ā rohasi dyumān |
maghonām āyuḥ pratiran mahi śrava indrāya soma pavase vṛṣā madaḥ || 2 ||
endrasya kukṣā pavate madintama ūrjaṁ vasānaḥ śravase sumaṅgalaḥ |
pratyaṅ sa viśvā bhuvanābhi paprathe krīḻan harir atyaḥ syandate vṛṣā || 3 ||
taṁ tvā devebhyo madhumattamaṁ naraḥ sahasradhāraṁ duhate daśa kṣipaḥ |
nṛbhiḥ soma pracyuto grāvabhiḥ suto viśvān devām̐ ā pavasvā sahasrajit || 4 ||
taṁ tvā hastino madhumantam adribhir duhanty apsu vṛṣabhaṁ daśa kṣipaḥ |
indraṁ soma mādayan daivyaṁ janaṁ sindhor ivormiḥ pavamāno arṣasi || 5 ||
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).