Rig Veda 9.67.22: Mandala 9, Sukta 67, Mantra 22
Sukta 9.67
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
पवमानः सो अद्य नः पवित्रेण विचर्षणिः । यः पोता स पुनातु नः ॥
pávamānaḥ sá adyá naḥ pavítreṇa ví-carṣaṇiḥ | yáḥ pótā sá punātu naḥ ||
لِيُطَهِّرْنا اليومَ ذلك البَفامانا بالمِصفاة—هو الواسعُ الفعل؛ هو الكاهنُ المُطهِّرُ في الباطن، فليُنقِّنا.
Word by Word
- पवमानः
- the purifying one (Soma)Adjective (used as noun/epithet)पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role सम्बोधन/कर्तृ (addressing Soma as agent)Root पवमान- (√पू ‘to purify/cleanse’, शानच्-प्रत्यय) अथवा √पु/√पू (पवते)
- सः
- hePronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role कर्तृ (resumptive ‘he’ = Soma)Root तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अद्य
- today, nowIndeclinableकालवाचकम् अव्ययम्Role अधिकारण (time)Root अद्य (अव्यय)
- नः
- of us / usPronounषष्ठी बहुवचनम् (our/of us) [वैकल्पिकं: चतुर्थी बहुवचनम् ‘to us’]Role सम्प्रदान/सम्बन्ध (beneficiary/possessor; contextually ‘us’)Root अस्मद् (एनद्-आदेशः/अस्मद्-षष्ठी/चतुर्थी रूपम्)
- पवित्रेण
- with the filter (strainer)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, तृतीया एकवचनम्Role करण (instrument)Root पवित्र- (नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग प्रातिपदिक; ‘filter, purifier’)
- विचर्षणिः
- the far-seeing oneNoun/Adjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role कर्तृ (apposition to सः/पवमानः)Root विचर्षणि- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘far-seeing/men-observing’, Soma-epithet)
- यः
- whoRelative pronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role कर्तृ (of the relative clause)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- पोताः
- the purifierNoun (agent)पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role कर्तृ (predicate nominative to यः)Root पोतृ- (√पू ‘to purify’ + तृच्; ‘purifier’)
- सः
- hePronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role कर्तृ (of the main injunctive/imperative)Root तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- पुनातु
- may (he) purifyVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Role क्रियाRoot √पू (पुनाति) ‘to purify’
- नः
- usPronounद्वितीया बहुवचनम् (us) [वैकल्पिकं: चतुर्थी बहुवचनम् ‘for us’]Role कर्म/सम्प्रदान (object/beneficiary)Root अस्मद् (एनद्-आदेशः/अस्मद्)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: पवमानः | सः | अद्य | नः | पवित्रेण | विचर्षणिः || यः | पोताः | सः | पुनातु | नः || 1) ‘पवमानः सो’ इति संहितायां ‘सः’ + स्वरादि-परः (अद्य) इत्यादि
- पाठे ‘सो’ रूपं ‘सः’ का ओ-आदेश (वेदे प्रचलितः) इति ग्राह्यम्। 2) ‘नः’ एन्क्लिटिक सर्वनाम—प्रसङ्गानुसारं षष्ठी (‘our’) वा द्वितीया/चतुर्थी (‘us/to us’) अर्थे
- अत्र ‘पुनातु नः’ इत्यत्र कर्मरूपेण ‘us’ स्पष्टम्।
The meaning
Outer meaning
May Soma in his flowing, clarified state (Pavamāna) today purify us by the strainer; he who works widely, who is the purifying priest, may cleanse us.
Inner meaning
The bliss-consciousness (Soma) as it “flows” through the inner disciplines (pavitra, the sieve of discernment) clarifies the mind-life and becomes the inmost officiant (potā) who separates truth from mixture. The seeker prays that this wide-working force (vicarṣaṇiḥ) cleanse the whole being—thought, emotion, impulse—so the inner sacrifice can proceed without obscuration.
Universal truth
Transformation requires a conscious filtering: when delight is purified by discernment and offered inwardly, it becomes a priestly power that continually refines the personality, making it transparent to truth.
Themes
cleansing prayer, inner priest, Soma as purifier, R̥ta through purification
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 9.67 (hymn context), RV 9.66–9.68 (adjacent Pavamāna sequences on purification)
Family tradition
Pavamāna Soma mandala (RV 9): hymns of purification and ascent of Soma; often linked to specialized Soma-seer lineages rather than a single stable gotra per hymn.
Significance
The seer-voice here is archetypal: the inner sacrificer seeking catharsis (śuddhi) so Ananda can become a stable, guiding priest within consciousness.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- pavamāna (flowing/being purified), vicarṣaṇi (wide-working), potā (purifier-priest)
- Related deities
- Agni, Indra, Savitar, Bṛhaspati
Cosmic role
Soma is the clarifying current in the sacrifice, pressed and filtered to become fit for the gods; cosmically, he mediates between earth-life and the luminous worlds by delight.
Inner power
Ananda that purifies—bliss that, when clarified, dissolves depression, restlessness, and obscurity, and makes the mind receptive to illumination.
In ritual
Where it is used
Soma Pavitra rites / Pavamāna chanting during Soma pressing and filtration
पव॑मान॒: सो अ॒द्य न॑: प॒वित्रे॑ण॒ विच॑र्षणिः । यः पो॒ता स पु॑नातु नः ॥
पव॑मानः । सः । अ॒द्य । नः॒ । प॒वित्रे॑ण । विऽच॑र्षणिः । यः । पो॒ता । सः । पु॒ना॒तु॒ । नः॒ ॥
pavamānaḥ | saḥ | adya | naḥ | pavitreṇa | vi-carṣaṇiḥ | yaḥ | potā | saḥ | punātu | naḥ
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4 pādas × ~12 syllables (probable)
Even, forward-flowing cadence suitable to the image of ‘flowing’ purification.
Supports a sense of continuous inner cleansing; the rhythm encourages steady attention and a feeling of being ‘washed’ by a current of clarity.
- पवमान (pavamāna)
- Literal: flowing, being purified (esp. Soma). Symbolic: the streaming current of clarified Ananda moving through the being
- पवित्र (pavitra)
- Literal: strainer, purifier. Symbolic: inner discernment; the subtle filter that separates truth from ego-mixture
- विचर्षणि (vicarṣaṇi)
- Literal: wide-working, widely active. Symbolic: a consciousness-force that operates through all planes (mind, life, body)
- पोतृ (potā)
- Literal: purifier-priest in the Soma rite. Symbolic: the inner officiant-power that purifies offerings (thoughts, desires) before they rise
Explicit purification petition; aligns with the Potṛ function in Soma sacrifice and with the act of filtration (pavitra). Suitable as a climactic purification request within Pavamāna sequences.
During Soma pressing (savana) and especially filtration/clarification passages
Chanted as Soma is strained; invokes purification of sacrificers alongside Soma’s own clarification
Use as a daily ‘inner purification’ invocation before meditation or japa: offering the day’s mind and emotions to be filtered into clarity.
punātu optative/imperative from √pū ‘purify’. pavitra- instrument of √pū. vi-carṣaṇi- (often epithet of gods) from carṣaṇi ‘men/peoples’ or √car ‘move, act’; sense: ‘active widely, operative through the human field’. potā is Potṛ, a Soma-ritual priest responsible for purification; here Soma himself is identified as the true ‘inner Potṛ’—the power that purifies consciousness.
purification of the human instrument, divine priesthood within (Potṛ as inner function), present realization (adya) as immediate sādhanā
Purification aligns the being to Ṛta: what is mixed becomes ordered and true.
The ‘strained’ Soma symbolizes Satya extracted from the mixture of appearances.
Refinement/selection: creation advances by separating light from obscurity within consciousness.
Proto-Vedāntic/Integral (Aurobindo’s psychological reading of Soma as Ananda; Kashyap’s inner yajña emphasis).
A stream of delight passing through discernment, cleansing the nerves and mind of turbulence and dullness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘Soma as Potṛ (purifier-priest)’ mythologem: Soma is not only filtered by a strainer; he is himself the purifier who cleanses the sacrificer. Innerly, the delight-consciousness becomes the priestly function within, clarifying the whole being so it can host the gods in right order (R̥ta).
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √pū ‘purify’ participates in an IE semantic field of cleansing/clarifying (often linked with brightness). The identification of a substance/power with a priestly role is a characteristic archaic IE sacral-poetic move: agency is transferred from human officiant to divine force.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The r̥ṣi asks for collective purification (naḥ) ‘today’—immediate transformation rather than distant reward. Soma is invoked as both means (pavitreṇa) and agent (potā), indicating surrender of the inner work to the divine power that simultaneously acts and perfects the instrument.
Let a ‘stream of clear delight’ descend and pass through the mind as a filter, releasing agitation and dullness.
Ājñā (discernment) and Anāhata (purified delight)
Gentle nāḍī-śodhana or slow exhale-focused breathing while repeating ‘punātu naḥ’ mentally.
Śuddha-sattva: quiet clarity with subtle joy.
Before meditation, observe thoughts as offerings; allow only what is true and luminous to pass the ‘pavitra’; let Soma-Ananda become the inner priest that rejects inner falsehood without struggle.
Vedic accents follow the Śākala tradition; apply udātta/anudātta/svarita as marked in samhita (requires pada-based svara notation from a recitation source for precision).
Keep udātta syllables slightly raised; avoid stress-like force—use pitch, not volume.
Maintain retroflex clarity in ‘ṇ’ of punātu (pu-nā-tu)., ‘vicarṣaṇiḥ’: articulate ‘ṣa’ clearly; light aspiration not needed., Hold long vowels: ‘pavitreṇa’ (e), ‘punātu’ (ā).
Clear, flowing, unforced; imagine the sound as a stream passing through a filter.
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