Hymn to Soma Pavamana
Rigveda IX.94 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. When splendors contend over him like racing mares, like clans gathering toward the sun—choosing the waters, he flows in purification, acting as a seer, shaping his thought like a pen built for the increase of cattle.
2. Twice over he uncovers the realm of the immortal; the worlds spread wide for the one who finds the sun. Swelling insights, like cows at their own stall, seeking the true order, have lowed aloud toward the drop.
3. When the poet-seer carries his poetic powers all around, like a hero's chariot circling all the worlds, he fashions glory among the gods for mortal man, and wins wealth for strength—ever new among the many.
4. Born for splendor, he has come forth in splendor; he grants splendor and vigor to the singers. Clothed in splendor, they go toward immortality; their gatherings become true beside the measured-flowing one.
5. Flow toward nourishment and strength, toward horse and cow; make the light wide, gladden the gods. For all these things are easily won by you; O self-purifying Soma, you drive off enemies.
Translator's note: "mitadrau" in verse 4 (literally "in the measured-runner") is a compact epithet, likely for the flowing Soma stream or its measured course through the filter; rendered here conservatively as "the measured-flowing one." "Vājinīva" in verse 1 compares the contending splendors/insights to racing mares or prize-winning steeds; rendered as "racing mares."
Colophon
Rigveda IX.94 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.94
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.
adhi yad asmin vājinīva śubhaḥ spardhante dhiyaḥ sūrye na viśaḥ |
apo vṛṇānaḥ pavate kavīyan vrajaṁ na paśuvardhanāya manma || 1 ||
dvitā vyūrṇvann amṛtasya dhāma svarvide bhuvanāni prathanta |
dhiyaḥ pinvānāḥ svasare na gāva ṛtāyantīr abhi vāvaśra indum || 2 ||
pari yat kaviḥ kāvyā bharate śūro na ratho bhuvanāni viśvā |
deveṣu yaśo martāya bhūṣan dakṣāya rāyaḥ purubhūṣu navyaḥ || 3 ||
śriye jātaḥ śriya ā nir iyāya śriyaṁ vayo jaritṛbhyo dadhāti |
śriyaṁ vasānā amṛtatvam āyan bhavanti satyā samithā mitadrau || 4 ||
iṣam ūrjam abhy a1rṣāśvaṁ gām uru jyotiḥ kṛṇuhi matsi devān |
viśvāni hi suṣahā tāni tubhyam pavamāna bādhase soma śatrūn || 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).