Mandala 9
मण्डल 9
The Soma Mandala
Mandala 9, the Soma Mandala, is wholly devoted to Soma Pavamāna—the pressed soma that purifies itself as it rushes through the woolen filter (pavitra) into the vats for the sacrifice. Across its hymns, Soma is praised as a radiant, self-moving stream that becomes clarified brilliance, invigorating Indra and sustaining the gods, priests, and ritual order. The poetry repeatedly links purification with transformation: from raw plant-juice into luminous, potent draught that awakens inspired speech, strength, and victory. In two anuvākas, the collection presents a sustained liturgical vision of soma’s filtering, shining, and empowering as the central engine of the yajña.
Suktas in Mandala 9
Sukta 1
Sukta 9.1
This opening hymn of the Soma Pavamāna book invokes Soma as he is pressed and strained, asking him to flow in a supremely sweet, exhilarating stream for Indra’s drinking. The verses trace Soma’s purification through the filter, his clarification into luminous potency, and the resulting surge of Indra’s victorious power that breaks obstacles (vṛtra) and brings abundance.
Sukta 2
Sukta 9.2
RV 9.2 is a Soma Pavamāna hymn in which the seer urges Soma to stream through the filter (pavitra), becoming bright, forceful, and fit for offering. As Soma is purified, he is invited to “enter Indra,” empowering divine heroism, victory, and the sacrificial work. The hymn culminates by praising Soma as the ancient inner Self of the yajña, the essential power that makes the offering effective.
Sukta 3
Sukta 9.3
This Pavamāna Soma hymn celebrates the pressed Soma as an immortal, winged power hastening to the vats and settling-place, then plunging into the waters to be purified. As Soma flows in a steady stream, he is praised for generating invigorating impulses (iṣaḥ) and distributing treasures to the sacrificer, linking ritual purity with prosperity and inspired energy.
Sukta 4
Sukta 9.4
This Pavamāna Soma hymn praises the purifying Soma as he is pressed and filtered, asking him to conquer repeatedly, win great fame, and transform the worshippers into a better, more luminous condition. The refrain “athā no vasyasas kṛdhi” frames each petition: long life and vision of the Sun, radiant wealth, and sustaining prosperity through Soma’s will and aid.
Sukta 5
Sukta 9.5
This Soma Pavamāna hymn praises the self-purifying Soma as he is kindled into radiance and power, moving through the act of purification and awakening the vital energies. It presents Soma as a mighty, delight-giving force whose manifestation alternates like Night and Dawn, and it culminates by inviting the host of deities to the Soma-offering made potent by the svāhā-cry.
Sukta 6
Sukta 9.6
This Pavamāna Soma hymn celebrates Soma’s joyful, forceful flow through the woolen filters as he is purified for the gods and made fit for offering. It portrays Soma as a powerful “bull” and a swift steed, cleansed by ritual agencies, producing inspired speech and the intoxicating rapture especially desired by Indra.
Sukta 7
Sukta 9.7
This short Pavamāna Soma hymn celebrates the Soma-drops as they set forth on the ordained path of Ṛta, becoming radiant as they are purified through the filter. It portrays Soma as a conscious, tawny power that “takes its seat” after purification, while the singer’s inspired thought turns toward him in service. The hymn also widens into a prayer for unified victory—riches, sweetness, fame, and lasting treasures—supported by Heaven and Earth.
Sukta 8
Sukta 9.8
This Pavamāna Soma hymn celebrates the freshly purified Soma-streams as they flow toward Indra’s beloved desire, strengthening his vīrya (heroic power) and bringing divine exhilaration. It portrays Soma as a swift, forceful purifier—released for the gods’ delight—who becomes nourishment for humans as progeny, vitality, and fulfillment.
Sukta 9
Sukta 9.9
This Pavamāna Soma hymn praises the pressed and flowing Soma as a luminous seer-power moving through the two realms and becoming fit for the gods through purification. It links Soma’s clarified stream with inspired speech, right order (ṛta), and Indra’s victorious law, and ends by asking for lasting fame, strength, intelligence, and svah (the luminous world).
Sukta 10
Sukta 9.10
This Soma Pavamāna hymn celebrates the self-impelled rush of the purified Soma-stream as it is pressed, filtered, and set in motion toward rāyī (plenitude, wealth, fullness of being). As Soma brightens, the hymn links his flow with solar radiance (Vivasvat), Dawn’s blessing (Uṣas, Bhaga), and a hidden heavenly station perceived by the seer’s inner eye—suggesting that ritual purification mirrors an ascent of consciousness.
Sukta 11
Sukta 9.11
This Pavamāna Soma hymn calls the purified Indu to be sung to as he streams through the filters, hastening toward the gods and making divine powers accessible. It praises the sweetness and energizing force of Soma and petitions him for wealth, heroic vigor, and victorious companionship—especially in union with Indra.
Sukta 12
Sukta 9.12
This Pavamāna Soma hymn celebrates the pressed Soma-drops as they rush through the purifier into the seat of Ṛta (cosmic order), becoming most sweet and luminous for Indra’s strengthening. It describes Soma’s clarification in jars and through the filter, and culminates in a prayer that the purified Indu establish in the worshipper a self-sustaining, thousand-rayed abundance (rayi).
Sukta 13
Sukta 9.13
This Pavamāna Soma hymn praises the self-purifying Soma as it rushes through the woolen strainer in “a thousand streams,” becoming fit for the gods. It especially presents Soma’s clarified essence as the prepared oblation for Vāyu and Indra, asking that the flowing Indu-forces bring abundant wealth, heroic energy, and the defeat of hostile powers. The hymn culminates in Soma’s settlement in the “womb of Ṛta,” establishing purity, right order, and luminous vision.
Sukta 14
Sukta 9.14
This Soma Pavamāna hymn celebrates the purified Soma as a seer-like power moving upon the cosmic waters, bearing inspired speech and awakening both heavenly and earthly realms. Through repeated cleansing, Soma becomes radiant, wins the “cows” (rays/illumining powers), and is invited to come to the sacrificer bringing vasu—riches of light, force, and well-being.
Sukta 15
Sukta 9.15
This Pavamāna Soma hymn celebrates the purified Soma rushing through the filters, shining with bright rays, and moving toward Indra’s “open field” of victorious power. It portrays Soma’s cleansing as both a ritual action and a cosmic-spiritual process: the luminous draught becomes strength, joy, and an inner weapon that clears the way for triumph and right action.
Sukta 16
Sukta 9.16
This Pavamāna Soma hymn celebrates the pressed Soma as it rushes forth from the stones and runs through the woollen filter, becoming a radiant, intoxicating (inspiring) essence fit for the gods. It links Soma’s swift, streaming movement with the awakening of inner power—especially Indra’s strength—and with the sharpening of insight and life-force in the worshipper.
Sukta 17
Sukta 9.17
This Pavamāna Soma hymn celebrates the pressed Soma as it rushes forward like a river, smashing obstacles and purifying itself through the filter on its way to the gods. Soma is praised for ascending beyond the “three luminous realms,” shining with a sun-like impulse that drives light and vitality forward. The hymn culminates in inviting the sweet, potent stream to take its seat in the shared ritual space, beautiful for ṛta (truth/order) and fit for divine drinking.
Sukta 18
Sukta 9.18
This short Pavamāna hymn praises Soma as he is pressed and purified through the filter, moving from the mountain source into the vessels prepared for the sacrifice. Each verse returns to the refrain “madeṣu sarvadhā asi,” affirming Soma’s pervasive presence in every uplifted state and sacred exhilaration. The hymn’s purpose is both ritual (sanctifying the flowing Soma) and spiritual (invoking clarity, strength, and prosperity through the purified essence).
Sukta 19
Sukta 9.19
This short Soma-pavamāna hymn praises Soma as he is purified through the filter, asking him to bring “bright treasure” from both heaven and earth. It blends sacrificial imagery (the flowing, clarified draught and its nurturing powers) with a practical petition: Soma’s purified might should also subdue enemies, whether near or far.
Sukta 20
Sukta 9.20
This short Gāyatrī hymn praises Soma Pavamāna as he rushes through the woolen filter (pavitra), a seer-like stream prepared for the gods’ enjoyment. The poet asks the purified Soma to overcome all opposing forces and to bring firm wealth (dhruva rayi), nourishment/impulse of increase (iṣ), and heroic power (suvīrya) into the hymn and the sacrificer’s life.
Sukta 21
Sukta 9.21
This short Pavamāna hymn praises the Soma streams as they rush through the filter, becoming bright, forceful, and fit for Indra’s exhilaration and victory. The verses emphasize Soma’s purifying motion, its power to win “sun-world” light (svar) and treasures, and its capacity to press forth inspired thought (mati) from the Real (sat). In ritual and in inner meaning, the hymn celebrates clarified delight as the energizer of Indra-like strength and luminous knowledge.
Sukta 22
Sukta 9.22
This Soma Pavamāna hymn celebrates the pressed Soma as swift, thundering streams that surge like chariots, bringing vigor, plenty, and inspired vision to the sacrificer. It emphasizes Soma’s purification and clarifying power—moving through the filter, becoming “clear-seeing,” and awakening dhī (inspired thought). Soma is also praised as a recoverer of hidden wealth from the Paṇis and as one who makes firm the “stretched thread,” symbolizing continuity of rite and realization.
Sukta 23
Sukta 9.23
This Soma Pavamāna hymn praises the swift, honey-streaming Soma as he is purified and set flowing, awakening inspired poetry (kāvya) and establishing strength in the sacrificer. Soma is celebrated as the bearer of Indra’s power (indriya rasa): when Indra drinks these ecstasies, he repeatedly overcomes the Vṛtra-forces of obstruction, while Soma also protects the worshipper from hostile speech and attack.
Sukta 24
Sukta 9.24
This short Pavamāna hymn praises Soma as he rushes forth through the waters and filters, cleansing himself and becoming fit for the rite. It asks the purified Soma to gladden and strengthen human beings, to prevail for the peoples, and to repel hostile speech and darkness by his bright, sweet, pressed essence.
Sukta 25
Sukta 9.25
This short Pavamāna Soma hymn invokes Soma to purify himself through the filter (pavitra) and become the exhilarating drink for the Gods, especially the Maruts and Vāyu. As he is strained, Soma is praised as the accomplisher of inspired discernment (dakṣa) who pervades “all forms” and moves toward the realm where the deathless ones abide. The hymn’s purpose is both ritual—consecrating the pressed Soma for offering—and mystical—describing Soma’s ascent into the luminous womb of sacred song (arka).
Sukta 26
Sukta 9.26
This short Pavamāna Soma hymn praises the sacred drink as it is purified and set in motion through inspired seer-vision, described as being cleansed “on the lap of Aditi,” the boundless cosmic order. Soma is driven forward clothed in solar radiance (Vivasvat) and acclaimed as the unfailing lord of Vāc (sacred speech), ultimately being impelled into the exhilaration meant for Indra. The hymn’s purpose is both ritual—sanctifying the pressing and straining of Soma—and contemplative, linking purification with truth, speech, and cosmic wholeness.
Sukta 27
Sukta 9.27
This short Pavamāna hymn praises Soma as he flows over the purifier (pavitra), becoming bright and powerful through the act of cleansing. As the inspired “kavi,” Soma drives away crookedness and harm, seeks the radiant “herds” (rays/wealth), and hastens through the mid-region toward Indra to empower victorious divine action.
Sukta 28
Sukta 9.28
This short Pavamāna hymn praises Soma as he is set in motion by human hands and powers, rushing through the woolen filter to become a clarified, chosen stream for the gods. Soma is celebrated as all-knowing and as the lord of mind, a bull-like force driven by “ten kindred powers,” filling the vessels prepared for offering. The hymn culminates in Soma’s invincible purifying flow that brings divine heroism and destroys harmful, false speech (aghaśaṃsa).
Sukta 29
Sukta 9.29
This short Pavamāna hymn celebrates Soma as the mighty, self-purifying stream whose flowing radiance follows the Gods and strengthens divine action. It asks Soma to win “all riches” (both earthly and heavenly), to drive away hostility and inner resistance, and to bring luminous power (dyumat śuṣma) for victory and upliftment.
Sukta 30
Sukta 9.30
This short Pavamāna hymn praises Soma as he rushes through the filter in powerful streams, becoming clarified and awakening inspired speech (vāc) in the worshippers. It follows the ritual movement of Soma from flowing purification to his “seating” in the vats, culminating in an explicit injunction to press the sweetest Soma for Indra, so the divine host may enter exhilaration and strength.
Sukta 31
Sukta 9.31
This short Pavamāna hymn praises Soma as he “goes forth” in the act of purification, moving as living streams that bring awakened, conscious wealth (cetaná rayí). It asks Soma to swell with gathered strength from all sides and to be present at the assembly of vāja (victorious force), culminating in a prayer for Indu’s friendship as the lord who upholds becoming and the worlds.
Sukta 32
Sukta 9.32
This short Soma Pavamāna hymn celebrates the pressed Soma as it streams forth in exhilarating power, entering the ritual gathering and bringing fame, inspired hearing, and upliftment to the patrons and singers. Soma is praised as a radiant force that illumines both worlds, rushes like a swift creature, and finally “seats” itself in the womb of Ṛta (cosmic order). The hymn culminates in a direct request that Soma establish luminous glory, winning increase, intelligence (medhā), and enduring renown (śravas) in the worshippers.
Sukta 33
Sukta 9.33
This short Pavamāna hymn praises Soma in his many flowing streams as he is purified and set in motion like the waves of water, forcefully pressing forward like bulls. It links the outward ritual of filtration and libation with inner illumination—Soma’s ‘tawny’ energy, the rising of inspired speech, and the bestowal of vast, fourfold abundance.
Sukta 34
Sukta 9.34
This short Pavamāna hymn praises Soma as he is pressed, purified, and set flowing in a steady stream, breaking through resistances by innate force. It links the outer rite of filtration with inner inspiration: Soma becomes the cleanser (mārjya) and the awakener of Indra’s heroic ecstasy, while hymns themselves pour toward him like a milk-cow’s lowing.
Sukta 35
Sukta 9.35
This short Pavamāna Soma hymn invokes the purified Soma to flow toward the sacrificers in a strong stream, bringing broad rayi (plenitude) and the knowing of Light. It portrays Soma (Indu) as a forward-driving force that empowers the seer for victorious action while establishing beings in dharma through his purifying vow.
Sukta 36
Sukta 9.36
This short Pavamāna hymn celebrates Soma as he is released from pressing, enters the woolen filter, and streams into the twin bowls, becoming purified and empowered for the gods. The verses praise his ordered, truth-seeking flow (ṛta), his strengthening might, and his ascent toward the heavenly realm, bringing vigor, light, and heroic force to the sacrificer.
Sukta 37
Sukta 9.37
This short Pavamāna hymn praises Soma as he is freshly pressed and rushes through the filter (pavitra) toward the vats, fit to be drunk by the gods. Soma is celebrated as a divine, truth-bringing purifier who breaks hostile powers (rakṣas) and, in alliance with kindred luminous forces, manifests light—culminating in his energizing gift to Indra.
Sukta 38
Sukta 9.38
This short Pavamāna hymn praises Soma as he is pressed and purified, streaming forward like a powerful bull-chariot toward abundance and strength. The verses dwell on Soma’s swift movement into the human sphere and his intimate approach to the “dear womb”—the settling place where he becomes fit for offering and drinking. Its purpose is to sacralize the purification-flow and invite Soma’s invigorating, life-supporting power into the rite.
Sukta 39
Sukta 9.39
This short Pavamāna hymn celebrates Soma as the swift, self-luminous stream that is purified through the filter and carried to the divine plane where the gods affirm the eternal Reality. It depicts Soma’s descent and outpouring like a mighty river-wave, and culminates in his enthronement in the ‘womb of Ṛta’—the ordered truth that sustains sacrifice and cosmos.
Sukta 40
Sukta 9.40
This short Pavamāna hymn praises Soma as he is purified in the pressing and filtering, striding beyond all hostile forces and being “adorned” by inspired thoughts. The poet asks the bright Indu to bring dyumna (luminous powers of success), thousandfold nourishing impulses (iṣaḥ), and a “double-supporting” abundance that sustains both worldly welfare and inner uplift.
Sukta 41
Sukta 9.41
This short Pavamāna hymn praises Soma in his flowing, purified form as he rushes through the filter, casting off the “black skin” of obscurity and revealing bright, tireless power. It petitions Soma to stream toward the sacrificers with abundant nourishment—cattle, gold-like radiance, horses, and victorious strength—and to encircle them with peace-giving protection. The hymn’s purpose is both ritual (empowering the soma-pressing) and spiritual (clarifying consciousness through the rasa of Soma).
Sukta 42
Sukta 9.42
This short Pavamāna Soma hymn praises the tawny Soma as he is pressed and purified through the filter, described as generating the luminous spaces of heaven and even the sun “in the waters.” It links the ritual act of straining Soma with a cosmic act of illumination and life-giving flow, and ends by asking Soma to purify himself for the sacrificers and bestow expansive nourishment, cattle, heroes, horses, and strength.
Sukta 43
Sukta 9.43
This short Pavamāna Soma hymn celebrates Soma as he is purified in the filter, compared to a swift steed cleansed by the radiant “cows” (rays) and then adorned by the poets’ hymns. It asks the bright Indu to bring splendid wealth (rayi), many-radianced brilliance, and to empower the chanting seer with victorious strength and noble hero-energy (suvīrya).
Sukta 44
Sukta 9.44
This short Pavamāna hymn invokes Soma as he streams forth in purification, carrying a wave-like surge of life and pressing toward the Gods to invite their presence. The verses align Soma’s clarified flow with the “beautiful sacrifice” (adhvara), asking him to establish the sacred seat and to grant strength, right guidance, and expansive fame.
Sukta 45
Sukta 9.45
This short Pavamāna hymn urges Soma (Indu) to purify himself through the filter and flow as the intoxicating, insight-giving delight that summons the gods. The verses emphasize Soma’s forward surge beyond the strainer, his being drunk especially by Indra, and the resulting expansion of vision and heroic power for the worshippers’ chant.
Sukta 46
Sukta 9.46
This short Pavamāna hymn celebrates Soma as he surges forth in the act of purification, rushing for the gods’ enjoyment and gaining luminous power as he flows. It vividly portrays the pressing and cleansing—seizing the bright Soma with the churning staff, mixing him with “cows” (rays/milk), and preparing his exhilarating potency especially for Indra. The purpose is both ritual and symbolic: to empower the sacrifice and to manifest purified, uplifted consciousness.
Sukta 47
Sukta 9.47
This short Pavamāna hymn celebrates Soma as he is purified and made fit for offering, growing in might through “right-doing” and surging forth with invigorating power. It highlights Soma’s capacity to generate Indra’s heroic energy (indriya) and even the thunderbolt-like force that arises when praise is born, while also portraying Soma as a bestower of wealth and victory in contests.
Sukta 48
Sukta 9.48
This short Pavamāna hymn praises Soma as he is purified and set in the sacred seats, bearing heroic powers and beauty that support successful, “well-done” ritual work. Soma is addressed as kingly and heaven-born, bringing wealth and strength, and—when impelled—growing into the greater “Indra-force,” granting desired aid and expansive might.
Sukta 49
Sukta 9.49
This short Pavamāna Soma hymn invokes Soma’s self-purification as a cosmic and ritual cleansing that brings rain-like nourishment and powerful, health-giving impulses to the worshippers. Soma is asked to stream in a clear, ghee-like flow through the sacrifice, repel hostile forces, and rekindle the ancient lights of truth and order.
Sukta 50
Sukta 9.50
This short Pavamāna hymn celebrates Soma as he surges in power and sound like a river-wave while being pressed and purified through the woolen filter. It highlights Soma’s sweet, exhilarating essence and his readiness to become Indra’s draught, strengthening victorious might and inspired speech.
Sukta 51
Sukta 9.51
This short Pavamāna hymn directs the Adhvaryu to set the stone-pressed Soma flowing into the filter so it becomes ritually and spiritually purified for Indra’s drinking. It praises Soma as honeyed essence enjoyed by the gods (including the Maruts) and prays that the clarified stream bring strength (vāja) and lasting fame (śravas) to the sacrificer.
Sukta 52
Sukta 9.52
This short Pavamāna Soma hymn invokes the freshly pressed Soma to flow to the filter (pavitra), shining and wealth-bearing, and to encircle the worshippers with ancient prosperity and strength. It also presents Soma as unshakable in his generosity and as a protector who “shakes down” the violent assailant, concluding with a prayer for hundredfold or thousandfold aids and an increase of rayi (abundance).
Sukta 53
Sukta 9.53
This short Pavamāna hymn invokes Soma as he is pressed and purified, urging his rising powers to smash rakṣas (demonic obstructions) and drive away hostile rivals. It affirms the inviolable “vratas” (fixed laws) of the purifying Soma and culminates in the image of the tawny Indu rushing like a river-current, becoming Indra’s exhilarating strength in battle and victory.
Sukta 54
Sukta 9.54
This short Pavamāna hymn praises Soma in the very act of purification, as the bright, ancient power whose “milk” (essence) is drawn out by tireless hands and made fit for the gods. Soma is acclaimed as standing above all worlds like the Sun, establishing luminous order, and is urged to flow for the gods’ delight, bringing strength (vāja) and abundance from the radiant “cows” (rays/wealth).
Sukta 55
Sukta 9.55
This short Pavamāna hymn invokes Soma as the repeatedly flowing, self-purifying essence that brings nourishment, prosperity, and complete well-being to the sacrificer. It asks Soma to rush swiftly with his invigorating power, to reveal “cows” (rays/wealth) and “horses” (energies), and to become an unconquerable force that defeats inner and outer adversaries.
Sukta 56
Sukta 9.56
This short Pavamāna hymn praises Soma as he rushes through the filter (pavitra), aligning with the vast cosmic Order (ṛtam bṛhat) and shattering obstructive forces (rakṣas/vighna). It also depicts the classic imagery of Soma being cleansed by the “ten maidens” (the fingers/streams of preparation) so that he becomes sweet and fit for Indra and Viṣṇu. The hymn ends in a protective prayer: may the purified Soma safeguard the singers from sin and distress.
Sukta 57
Sukta 9.57
This short Soma Pavamāna hymn praises Soma as he flows in unbroken streams through the filter, like rain descending from heaven, moving toward abundant strength (vāja). As the juice is purified and ‘polished,’ Soma is envisioned as kingly, law-abiding, and swift like a falcon settling on treasure, and he is asked to bring all riches from heaven and earth to the worshippers.
Sukta 58
Sukta 9.58
This short Pavamāna hymn praises Soma as the exhilarated, purified stream that “overpasses and overcomes” all obstacles as it rushes through the filters. It links Soma’s swift, victorious flow with abundance—“thousands” of gains—arriving from the two bright streams, and culminates in the sense of expansive increase and establishment through Soma’s moving power.
Sukta 59
Sukta 9.59
This short Pavamāna Soma hymn invokes Soma as he is purified through the filter, celebrated as an all-conquering power who wins vitality, abundance, and joy for the sacrificer. It asks Soma to bring a progeny-rich treasure, to help the worshipper cross all hardships, and to seat his inspired, poetic intelligence within the rite and within the inner altar of consciousness.
Sukta 60
Sukta 9.60
This brief Pavamāna hymn calls the singers to praise Soma with the Gāyatrī, celebrating the shining drop (Indu) as a many-eyed, all-perceiving power. It follows Soma’s ritual movement—rushing beyond the strainers into the jars—and links that purified flow to Indra’s inner delight and strength. The hymn culminates in a prayer that Soma purify into peace and bring prajāvat retaḥ, the generative, prosperity-bearing creative force.
Sukta 61
Sukta 9.61
RV 9.61 is a Pavamāna Soma hymn that celebrates Soma’s flowing purification through the filter, invoking him to descend with abundant currents of power and to fill the sacrificers with inspired ecstasy (mada). As Soma clarifies, he is praised as a bringer of vast light—likened to heavenly lightning and the great Vaiśvānara radiance—while also being invoked as a fierce protector who wards off slander and hostile negation.
Sukta 62
Sukta 9.62
This Pavamāna hymn celebrates Soma as he is pressed, released, and made to flow through the strainer (pavitra), becoming radiant and fit for the gods. The verses repeatedly link Soma’s purification with the gaining of saubhaga (good fortune), vāja (strength/abundance), and suvīrya (noble heroic power) for the singers and sacrificers.
Sukta 63
Sukta 9.63
Rig Veda 9.63 is a Pavamāna (self-purifying) Soma hymn that accompanies the pressing and filtering of Soma through the pavitra, praising Soma’s sweet exhilaration (mada) and his power to bestow abundance (rayi), fame (śravas), and heroic force (su-vīrya). Across its Gāyatrī-driven cadence, the hymn repeatedly urges Soma to “flow” toward the sacrificer, carrying divine energies into human life. It culminates in a comprehensive request for all desirable riches—celestial and terrestrial—secured through Soma’s purified outpouring.
Sukta 64
Sukta 9.64
RV 9.64 praises Soma Pavamāna as he is pressed, filtered, and made radiant—an invigorating “bull” power that establishes ṛta (true order) and awakens clear vision. The hymn follows the movement of the Soma drops through purification toward their vast goal (the “ocean”), asking that this clarified delight become light, strength, and well-being for the sacrificers.
Sukta 65
Sukta 9.65
This Pavamāna Soma hymn celebrates the living current of Soma as he is pressed, filtered, and made radiant—praised as a kingly power that moves between worlds and establishes inspired clarity in the human mind. The verses repeatedly portray Soma’s “kin” (the pressing stones, waters, and streams of purification) urging him forward, so that his purified flow grants rayi (plenitude), protection, and uplift to the sacrificer and the community.
Sukta 66
Sukta 9.66
This Pavamāna Soma hymn praises the flowing, self-purifying Soma as he is strained through the woolen filter and made fit for the gods. Soma is invoked as the friends’ beloved, the mighty eldest among the fierce, whose luminous “milk” brought from heaven grants strength, victory, and the grace that sustains life. The hymn’s purpose is both ritual—energizing the Soma-pressing—and spiritual—celebrating Soma as inspired speech and vital power.
Sukta 67
Sukta 9.67
This Pavamāna Soma hymn praises the pressed Soma as he runs through the filter, becoming bright, strong, and fit for the gods’ drinking in the sacrifice. The verses celebrate Soma’s swift currents, his power to bestow wealth, vigor, and inspired fullness, and his role as the refined essence (rasa) gathered by the seers. It culminates with a metahymnic fruit (phalaśruti): the reciter of the Pavamānī verses is nourished by Sarasvatī with milk, ghee, honey, and water—symbols of inspired abundance.
Sukta 68
Sukta 9.68
This Pavamāna Soma hymn celebrates the honeyed Soma-drops rushing toward the gods and being purified as they stream through the filters and waters. It recalls Soma’s mythic acquisition from the “far beyond” and praises the seers’ role in cleansing and establishing Soma as radiant, hymn-worthy power. The hymn culminates in a prayer that Soma’s purification may found in the worshippers vitality, harmony with Heaven-and-Earth, and wealth rich in heroic strength.
Sukta 69
Sukta 9.69
This Pavamāna Soma hymn celebrates the rushing, self-purifying Soma as it is pressed and strained, surging forward in bright streams to empower the gods—especially Indra. Using vivid similes (arrow, calf, sunrays), it portrays Soma’s ordered movement through the ritual “threads” of the filter and asks for radiant wealth, protection, and the successful completion of the rite.
Sukta 70
Sukta 9.70
This Pavamāna Soma hymn celebrates the purified Indu as he is pressed, strained, and made luminous—an embodiment of Ṛta (cosmic truth-law) and the true delight that nourishes gods and worlds. It portrays Soma’s ascent and widening power: milked by the “seven” fostering forces, clothing himself in radiant realms, and finally rushing like a steed into Indra’s belly to grant strength, guidance, and protection from reproach.
Sukta 71
Sukta 9.71
This Soma-Pavamāna hymn celebrates Soma as he is pressed and filtered, becoming a vigilant, luminous power that protects the rite from distortion (druḥ) and hostile forces (rakṣas). It links Soma’s purification with Dakṣiṇā (right offering/skill) and Brahman (mantric potency), portraying the clarified Soma as clothing himself in radiance and moving toward a secret, divinely prepared “step” or station of light.
Sukta 72
Sukta 9.72
This Soma Pavamāna hymn praises the purified Soma as he is cleansed, pressed, and poured with milk into the vessel, where he becomes a radiant, inspiring power. Soma is celebrated as the awakener of speech and thought, the renewer of life in the seat of Ṛta (cosmic order), and the giver of abundant wealth and well-being to the worshipper.
Sukta 73
Sukta 9.73
This Pavamāna Soma hymn praises the purifying flow of Soma as it is strained through the pavitra, generating luminous inspiration and strengthening Indra’s power. The hymn repeatedly links Soma’s clarification with the clarification of Vāc (inspired speech) and with the protection of vrata (sacred law/observance) under Varuṇa and Ṛta, portraying purification as both ritual and cosmic-moral ordering.
Sukta 74
Sukta 9.74
This Pavamāna Soma hymn praises the pressed Soma as a radiant, newborn-like power that rushes toward svar (the Light), roaring through the woolen filter and mingling with the waters. It depicts Soma as heaven’s seed and Aditi’s womb-force, increasing plenitude (milk, strength, offspring) for the sacrificer. The hymn culminates in Soma’s final purification and the explicit prayer that he become sweet and exhilarating for Indra’s drinking.
Sukta 75
Sukta 9.75
This short Pavamāna hymn praises Soma as he is purified and set in motion toward what is beloved and auspicious, gaining potency through sacred names and human ritual action. Soma is imagined with solar vastness—mounting the Sun’s expansive chariot—then entering golden vessels, shining with the Dawns, and finally empowering Indra to bestow abundance and well-being.
Sukta 76
Sukta 9.76
This short Pavamāna hymn praises Soma as he streams through purification, described as the heaven-upholding, god-skilled essence released into the ‘rivers’ (channels) and made fit for divine enjoyment. It repeatedly links Soma’s clarified surge with Indra’s empowerment—entering the inner receptacles, awakening the worlds like lightning, and granting vigor and victory to the worshippers.
Sukta 77
Sukta 9.77
This short Pavamāna hymn praises Soma as he is purified and made ready in the vessel, shining as Indra’s vajra—an irresistible force that brings victory and abundance. The verses picture the filtered Soma as sweet, radiant, and law-bearing (ṛta), drawing to himself the rich streams of ghee-like essence and energizing the sacrificer with strength, “rays” (go), and inspired speech. In its closing movement, the Soma-flow is identified with the wide, faithful powers of Varuṇa and Mitra, making the purification not only a ritual act but a harmonizing of cosmic order and inner truth.
Sukta 78
Sukta 9.78
This short Pavamāna hymn praises Soma in the very act of purification: the “King” surges forward clothed in waters, seizing impurity and becoming fit for the gods’ offering-place. It links Soma’s cleansing to inspired speech, divine companionship, and the granting of wealth, wide “pasture” (gavyūti), and fearlessness, while asking him to strike enemies near and far.
Sukta 79
Sukta 9.79
This short Pavamāna Soma hymn celebrates the pressed Soma-drops as they rush forward in purification, spreading nourishment and inspired thought for the worshippers. It also turns the purifying Soma into a moral and protective power, asking him to destroy “withholding” and hostile forces that obstruct prosperity and right-mindedness. The hymn culminates in a prayer that Soma’s strength and beloved ecstasy carry the sacrificers safely “from level to level.”
Sukta 80
Sukta 9.80
This Soma Pavamāna hymn praises Soma as he is pressed, released, and purified into a radiant, thousand-streamed flow meant especially to exhilarate Indra and sustain the divine order. Soma is celebrated as the bull of ecstasy who repels life-diminishing forces, brings fame and strength, and moves like a river-wave through the waters toward the gods.
Sukta 81
Sukta 9.81
This short Pavamāna hymn celebrates Soma’s living “waves” as they rush through purification and enter Indra, invigorating him for victorious generosity and the bestowal of light/wealth. It also turns into a direct prayer: purified Soma is asked to “scatter” riches and strengthen vitality and clear insight, while keeping prosperity near. The hymn closes with a broad consecration, inviting Heaven and Earth, Ādityas, and all gods to delight in the purified Soma.
Sukta 82
Sukta 9.82
This short Pavāmāna hymn celebrates Soma as he is freshly pressed and purified, moving through the imperishable woolen filter toward his ghee-bright seat like a hawk returning to its nest. The verses weave ritual imagery (stones, waters, straining) with cosmic correspondences (Parjanya, the Waters, the “cows/rays of light”), portraying Soma as a kingly power that brings strength, victory, and well-being to the sacrifice.
Sukta 83
Sukta 9.83
This short Pavāmāna hymn praises Soma as he is purified through the stretched filter (pavitra), becoming fit to enter the sacrifice and carry the offering-force to the divine seat. The verses emphasize that only what is “ripened/heated” (prepared, refined) can pass the sieve—an image for both ritual clarification and inner maturation. Soma is then celebrated as world-upholding, dawn-radiant, and royal-victorious, winning wide fame (śravas) through his purifying movement.
Sukta 84
Sukta 9.84
This short Pavāmāna hymn celebrates Soma in the very act of purification—moving through the waters and straining—so that his clarified essence may energize Indra, harmonize with Varuṇa’s order, and be borne by Vāyu. The poet asks Soma to create “wide space” (varivas) and well-being (svasti), portraying the filtered juice as lightning-swift, sun-finding, and wealth-conquering, uplifting the “divine people” (daivya janam) within and around the sacrificer.
Sukta 85
Sukta 9.85
This Pavamāna Soma hymn celebrates the well-pressed Soma as it is purified, made fit for Indra, and empowered to drive away sickness and Rakṣas-like hostile forces. The verses move between the concrete ritual scene—filtering, cups, and priestly action—and a luminous cosmic vision in which Soma’s guardian-power (Gandharva motif) radiates through Heaven and Earth. Overall, the sukta frames Soma as both sacramental drink and a protective, exorcistic force that secures vitality, clarity, and victory.
Sukta 86
Sukta 9.86
This Soma Pavamāna hymn celebrates the living rush of Soma as it is purified through wool and strainers, becoming sweet, exhilarating, and fit for the gods. It links the visible ritual flow—drops circling the vessel and filter—with cosmic order (ṛta), asking Soma to drive away hostile powers and to empower the singers with “vast” speech and heroic strength.
Sukta 87
Sukta 9.87
This Pavamāna Soma hymn celebrates Soma’s swift, purposeful flow as he is purified through the ritual filters and led to the sacred seat (barhis) like a well-groomed racehorse. The verses link Soma’s cleansing with the gaining of strength (vāja), fame (śravas), nourishment (iṣ), and immortality (amṛta), culminating in Soma’s companionship with Indra and a prayer for right praise and effective inspiration.
Sukta 88
Sukta 9.88
This Pavamāna Soma hymn celebrates the freshly pressed Soma as it is purified and offered, urging Indra to drink and take up strength for action. Soma is pictured as a rushing, wave-like power moving through the waters and filters, while also being praised as pure, lawful, and aligned with the ethical order associated with Varuṇa, Mitra, and Aryaman. The hymn’s purpose is both ritual (consecrating the offering) and spiritual (invoking clarity, vigor, and right order through Soma’s purifying force).
Sukta 89
Sukta 9.89
This short Pavamāna hymn praises Soma as he is purified—streaming like rain from heaven, settling in the “mother’s lap” (the filter/pressing-place), and entering the worshippers as strength and sweetness. Soma is imagined as a powerful, honey-backed steed yoked to a wide-wheeled chariot, cleansed by “sisters” (the waters) and driven toward the gods. The hymn culminates in a direct petition: may Soma, purified for Indra, grant radiant wealth and beautiful hero-power that overcomes obstruction.
Sukta 90
Sukta 9.90
This Pavamāna Soma hymn praises Soma as he is urged forward through purification, advancing like a victorious chariot toward Indra with sharpened power and abundant gifts. The seer asks Soma to open wide, safe paths, to bring the Waters, Dawns, and solar “cows” (light), and to grant strength for inspired speech. It culminates in a royal image of Soma crushing misfortune and protecting the worshippers with lasting well-being.
Sukta 91
Sukta 9.91
This short Pavamāna hymn celebrates Soma as he is “sent forth” through the woolen filter, moving like a race-chariot toward the gods’ seats while carrying an inner fire (vahni). As Soma becomes purified, he is invoked to shatter hostile powers (rakṣas), spread victorious plenitudes (vājās), and finally to grant waters, solar “cows” (rays/illumined powers), offspring, broad fields, and enduring vision of the Sun (truth-light).
Sukta 92
Sukta 9.92
This short Pavamāna hymn praises Soma as he is pressed and made to run through the woolen filter, rushing like a chariot toward victory and reward. It portrays the purification as a cosmic collaboration—gods and the “seven rivers” cleansing and empowering Soma—so that he becomes an accepted offering who brings strength (indriya) and nourishment to the worshippers.
Sukta 93
Sukta 9.93
This short Pavamāna hymn praises Soma as he is purified—rushing like a swift steed to the trough, shining, and becoming fit for offering. It portrays the pressing and straining as a sacred “polishing” by sisterly powers, after which Soma swells abundance, strengthens vitality, and grants wealth and a safe passage through life to the praiser.
Sukta 94
Sukta 9.94
This short Pavamāna hymn praises Soma as he is purified through the waters and fleece, where awakened thoughts and inspired insights contend and become ordered into a stable “fold” of increase. Soma is celebrated as the kavi who carries poetic power through all worlds, granting glory among the gods and practical abundance to the capable worshipper. The hymn culminates in a direct request for nourishment, wide light, divine delight, and the repulsion of hostile forces.
Sukta 95
Sukta 9.95
This short Pavamāna Soma hymn praises the tawny Soma as he is released, purified, and clothed in a radiant “cleansing robe” within the wooden pressing-vessel and filter. The poet depicts inspired thoughts and prayers rushing to Soma like water-waves, and asks the purifying Indu to expand sacred speech and insight. The hymn culminates in a joint aspiration for prosperity with Indra and for mastery of true heroic strength born of Soma’s purification.
Sukta 96
Sukta 9.96
This Pavamāna Soma hymn praises the pressed Soma as he rushes forward through the filters, shining, roaring in the waters, and becoming fit for Indra and the other gods. Soma is celebrated as a victorious leader who drives away hostility and poverty, widens the path for the sacrificer, and clothes the comrades in new “vestures” of light—strength, clarity, and inspired power.
Sukta 97
Sukta 9.97
This Pavamāna Soma hymn celebrates Soma’s pressing and purification as he streams through the filter into the bowls, becoming fit to mingle with the gods. It repeatedly portrays Soma as a vigilant, chanting, priestly power who enters the bright dwelling of sacrifice and brings increase—cattle, strength, and ordered prosperity. The hymn also widens the blessing by invoking allied cosmic supports (Mitra, Varuṇa, Aditi, Heaven and Earth) to stabilize the gains bestowed through Soma.
Sukta 98
Sukta 9.98
This Pavamāna Soma hymn celebrates Indu as he is purified through the waters and woolen filters, prayed to “flow” toward the singers with abundant wealth, force, and victory. As Soma’s clarified stream rises, he is portrayed as moving in joyous concord with all the gods, empowering the sacrificers and opening the “home” of plenitude. The hymn culminates in a shared aspiration of the seers and companions to attain Soma’s radiant lead and secure enduring strength and prosperity.
Sukta 99
Sukta 9.99
This Pavamāna Soma hymn celebrates Soma in the very act of purification—pressed, flowing, filtered through wool, and prepared as the exhilarating draught for Indra. The poets portray the ritual as a cosmic process: the shining drink is clothed in radiance, directed like a messenger, and seated in the bowls to empower victory, inspiration, and right-ordered strength.
Sukta 100
Sukta 9.100
This Pavamāna Soma hymn celebrates the living flow of Soma as it is pressed, purified through the woolen filter, and made fit for the gods—especially as the beloved drink of Indra. Using intimate imagery (mothers tending a newborn calf), it portrays purification as both ritual refinement and the unveiling of Soma’s true, radiant form. The hymn culminates in Soma’s cosmic magnitude—surpassing Heaven and Earth and casting off the resisting “cloak”—so the purified stream can empower divine order and human insight.
Sukta 101
Sukta 9.101
This Pavamāna hymn celebrates Soma as he is pressed and purified through the woolen filter, urged on by the priestly companions to become a victorious, strength-giving draught. It asks Soma to drive away obstructing forces, to bring the most potent fame and nourishment, and to stream toward Indra’s prepared “open space,” empowering the sacrifice and the people.
Sukta 102
Sukta 9.102
This Soma Pavamāna hymn praises the purified Soma as a growing, luminous power that impels the “shining thought of Ṛta” and makes the sacrifice advance. Soma is portrayed as beloved and all-pervading, harmonizing the gods under one law (vrata) and opening the “pen of heaven,” releasing light and order into the ritual and the world.
Sukta 103
Sukta 9.103
This short Pavamāna hymn offers an “uplifted word” to Soma as he purifies through the filter and enters the ritual vessels, becoming clear, bright, and acceptable to the gods. Soma is praised as the infallible leader of inspired thoughts (matīnāṃ netā), moving in circuits like a victorious steed and spreading nourishment and expansive enjoyment. The purpose is both liturgical—sanctifying the pressed juice for offering—and visionary—invoking Soma’s clarifying power within the worshipper.
Sukta 104
Sukta 9.104
This short Soma Pavamāna hymn invites the ritual companions to sit, sing, and “adorn” the self-purifying Soma as it is clarified, so its splendour and prosperity may increase. It praises Soma as the finder of wealth and luminous radiance, and concludes with a protective prayer: may Soma set a secure boundary and drive away Rakṣasas and double-faced, godless harms from the sacrificers’ path.
Sukta 105
Sukta 9.105
This short Pavamāna Soma hymn urges the companions of the sacrifice to sing to Soma as he purifies, so that his flowing essence becomes sweet, exhilarating, and fit for the gods. It asks Soma to bestow luminous wealth (symbolized by cows and horses) and to establish his pure radiance among the rays of light. The hymn also petitions Soma as a protector to drive away the godless devourer and the “dual-minded” force that divides the seeker’s will.
Sukta 106
Sukta 9.106
This Pavamāna Soma hymn celebrates the freshly pressed, self-purifying Soma streams as they rush through the filter and go forth to Indra, the Bull of might. Soma’s clarified “honeyed” flow is praised for awakening divine exhilaration (mada), strengthening Indra for victory, and granting the solar world (svar) and immortality to the gods and worshippers.
Sukta 107
Sukta 9.107
This Pavamāna Soma hymn praises the freshly pressed Soma as the supreme oblation, urging its streams to be poured, purified, and set in the ritual circuit. As Soma runs “clothed in the waters,” it becomes intoxicating delight for gods and seers, establishes itself on the cosmic “ocean-seat,” and generates light—making the radiant “cows/rays” shine forth.
Sukta 108
Sukta 9.108
This Pavamāna Soma hymn praises the freshly purified Soma as a honeyed, luminous rapture prepared specifically for Indra’s empowerment. It asks Soma to blaze forth as lord of plenitude, to open inner treasuries of strength and glory, and finally to enter Indra’s heart like rivers entering the ocean, becoming a supreme support upheld also by Mitra, Varuṇa, and Vāyu.
Sukta 109
Sukta 9.109
This Pavamāna Soma hymn celebrates the “sweet drop” as it is pressed and purified through the filter, then directed as an offering that empowers Indra and also serves Mitra, Pūṣan, and Bhaga. The verses portray Soma as newborn and tawny, made bright for the gods, whose clarified force brings joy, strength, and the release of the waters—images of abundance and inner clarity.
Sukta 110
Sukta 9.110
This Pavamāna Soma hymn praises Soma as he “flows” through the filter, pressing forward to win abundance, fame, and heroic strength for the sacrificer. Soma is invoked as a conquering power who encircles and breaks obstacles (vṛtra), carries the worshipper beyond haters and debts, and drives away hostile forces and inner enemies. The hymn’s purpose is both ritual—empowering the Soma pressing and offering—and protective, asking for victory, purification, and fearless vigor.
Sukta 111
Sukta 9.111
This short Pavamāna hymn praises Soma as he is purified in the filter, shining with golden light and overcoming all hostility as he flows in the rite. Soma is portrayed as the revealer of hidden treasure, the establisher of vitality through threefold powers, and as the divine chariot whose forward-moving radiance supports Indra’s victorious might in battle.
Sukta 112
Sukta 9.112
This short Pavamāna hymn praises Soma (Indu) as he is purified and set to flow for Indra’s strengthening. Using vivid, almost proverbial images of varied human callings and natural impulses, it declares that though minds and pursuits differ, all converge upon the sacrificial flow that empowers Indra and sustains order.
Sukta 113
Sukta 9.113
This Pavamāna Soma hymn celebrates the pressed and purified Soma as it streams through the filter, calling it to surge forth for Indra so that Indra may take in strength and accomplish victorious heroic deeds. Alongside the ritual imagery of stones, chant, and pressing, the hymn opens into a vision of Soma as the giver of ānanda (bliss) and the aspiration toward amṛtatva (immortality). The recurring refrain “indrāyendo pari srava” binds the outer sacrifice to an inner movement of uplift and fulfillment.
Sukta 114
Sukta 9.114
This short Pavamāna hymn praises Soma as he is purified and set in motion through his “stations,” asking that the rightly prepared Soma bring protection, right-mindedness, and prosperity to the sacrificers. It repeatedly directs the flowing Soma toward Indra, while invoking a sevenfold cosmic-ritual order (directions, priests, Ādityas) to guard the worshippers from hostility and defeat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Because every one of its 114 hymns is addressed to Soma in his purifying form (Soma Pavamāna), describing the pressed juice flowing through the filter and becoming fit for offering.
The central theme is soma’s ritual purification—its rushing flow, filtering, and transformation into radiant potency that invigorates Indra, nourishes the gods, and empowers the sacrifice.
It serves as a liturgical collection for the soma rite: the hymns accompany the actions of pressing and filtering, using repetitive, performative language to align praise with the ritual process.