Hymn to Soma Pavamana
Rigveda IX.9 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 sage-poet, set between his two granddaughters, moves around the dear vigors of heaven; pressed out, of a seer's purpose, he goes forth.
2. Onward, onward flow to the admirable dwelling, to the guileless people, welcomed there; flow with the finest delight to the feast.
3. He, the bright son, once born, made his two mothers shine, newborn as they were — he the great one, they the two great ones, both strengthened through truth.
4. Urged on by seven thoughts, he quickened the guileless rivers, who in turn have strengthened the one eye.
5. They set the ever-present, unconquered youth toward greatness — the drop, O Indra, under your command.
6. The immortal bearer, ever drawing, beholds the seven; Krivi has gladdened the goddesses.
7. Help us in our rites, O strong one; the darknesses, O Soma, are to be fought — keep smiting them as you purify yourself.
8. Now make straight the paths for the new, the ever-newer hymn of praise; make the lights shine again as in ancient times.
9. O Purifying One, grant great fame, cow and horse together with heroic sons; grant too, ever, wisdom, ever the sun's light.
Translator's note: verse 1's "two granddaughters" (naptyoḥ) and verse 6's "Krivi" are obscure ritual/mythic references — likely the two press-stones or waters, and a proper name or epithet tied to Soma — rendered conservatively rather than resolved. "Sanā" in verse 9 is read as the adverb "ever, always" rather than an imperative "win," since it parallels rāsi ("you grant").
Colophon
Rigveda IX.9 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.9
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.
pari priyā divaḥ kavir vayāṁsi naptyor hitaḥ |
suvāno yāti kavikratuḥ || 1 ||
pra-pra kṣayāya panyase janāya juṣṭo adruhe |
vīty arṣa caniṣṭhayā || 2 ||
sa sūnur mātarā śucir jāto jāte arocayat |
mahān mahī ṛtāvṛdhā || 3 ||
sa sapta dhītibhir hito nadyo ajinvad adruhaḥ |
yā ekam akṣi vāvṛdhuḥ || 4 ||
tā abhi santam astṛtam mahe yuvānam ā dadhuḥ |
indum indra tava vrate || 5 ||
abhi vahnir amartyaḥ sapta paśyati vāvahiḥ |
krivir devīr atarpayat || 6 ||
avā kalpeṣu naḥ pumas tamāṁsi soma yodhyā |
tāni punāna jaṅghanaḥ || 7 ||
nū navyase navīyase sūktāya sādhayā pathaḥ |
pratnavad rocayā rucaḥ || 8 ||
pavamāna mahi śravo gām aśvaṁ rāsi vīravat |
sanā medhāṁ sanā svaḥ || 9 ||
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).