Sukta 60
Sukta 9.60
Soma Pavamāna (Indu)
Gāyatrī (explicitly invoked; the verse is a gāyatrī-style invocation though full metrical verification is not provided here)
Este breve himno a Pavamāna llama a los cantores a alabar a Soma en gāyatrī, celebrando la gota resplandeciente (Indu) como un poder de muchos ojos, que todo lo percibe. Sigue el movimiento ritual de Soma — precipitándose más allá de los coladores hacia las vasijas — y vincula ese flujo purificado con el gozo interior y la fuerza de Indra. El himno culmina en una plegaria para que Soma, al purificarse, se convierta en paz y traiga prajāvat retaḥ, la fuerza creativa generativa, portadora de prosperidad.
Mantras
Mantra 1
प्र गायत्रेण गायत पवमानं विचर्षणिम् । इन्दुं सहस्रचक्षसम् ॥
Cantad en metro Gāyatrī al Soma purificador, de amplia acción; al Indu luminoso, de mil ojos.
Mantra 2
तं त्वा सहस्रचक्षसमथो सहस्रभर्णसम् । अति वारमपाविषुः ॥
A ti, de mil ojos, y también portador de mil potencias, te han purificado a través del colador, más allá del cedazo separador.
Mantra 3
अति वारान्पवमानो असिष्यदत्कलशाँ अभि धावति । इन्द्रस्य हार्द्याविशन् ॥
Purificándose, ha corrido más allá de los coladores; hacia las vasijas se lanza, entrando en el corazón de Indra.
Mantra 4
इन्द्रस्य सोम राधसे शं पवस्व विचर्षणे । प्रजावद्रेत आ भर ॥
Para el cumplimiento de Indra, oh Soma, purifícate hacia la paz y el bien, oh de amplia acción; trae la fuerza seminal, rica en progenie — el devenir creador.
Inside Sukta 60
How it unfolds
- Where it opens
A direct liturgical command: praise Soma with the Gāyatrī, naming him the purifying, wide-working, many-eyed Indu.
- Development
The hymn tracks Soma’s kinetic passage—surging beyond the strainers and hastening toward the jars—depicting purification as both physical flow and divine intensification.
- Climax
Soma’s entry ‘into the heart of Indra’ (indrasya hārdi āviśan), the moment where purified essence becomes god-strength and victorious inspiration.
- Where it settles
A concluding prayer for Indra’s fulfillment: Soma to purify into peace and to bestow prajāvat retaḥ—creative, progeny-rich potency and prosperity.
The deity: Soma Pavamāna
- In the VedaSoma as Pavamāna is the ‘self-purifying’ bright drop that runs through the filters (vāra) into the vessels (kalaśa), radiant, swift, and life-giving; he is praised as vicarṣaṇi (wide-working) and sahasracakṣas (thousand-eyed).
- Cosmic functionHe mediates between earth and heaven as the consecrated essence: purifier of offerings, awakener of divine powers, and sustainer of ṛta by invigorating Indra and the other gods for victorious action.
- Inner significanceInwardly Soma Pavamāna symbolizes clarified consciousness: the mind’s essence filtered of obscurity, becoming luminous perception (many ‘eyes’) and a peaceful, creative potency that supports strength, joy, and right action.
Famous verses
प्र गायत्रेण गायत (pra gāyatreṇa gāyata)इन्द्रस्य हार्दि आविशन् (indrasya hārdi āviśan)प्रजावद् रेतः (prajāvad retaḥ)Attributes of the deity
- Pavamāna (self-purifying, flowing through filters)
- Indu (bright drop/essence)
- Vicarṣaṇi (wide-working, far-reaching efficacy)
- Sahasracakṣas (many-eyed: manifold perception)
- Swift, pressing-forward current toward the jars
- Indra-energizing, heart-entering delight
- Bestower of śam (peace) and prajāvat retaḥ (generative force)
Also by this seer
- Associated with the wider Pavamāna (Soma purification) hymn-cycle of Rig Veda Maṇḍala 9
- Part of the Gāyatrī-invocation style praise used in Soma-stotra recitation traditions
The rite, step by step
- Press Soma (savana) and prepare the flow for purification.
- Chant the Gāyatrī-invocation to ‘sing forth’ Soma Pavamāna as he begins to run.
- Filter the Soma through the vāra (strainers), guiding the stream onward.
- Collect the purified Soma into the kalaśa (jars/vessels).
- Offer the purified Soma to Indra (and allied deities), envisioning Soma ‘entering Indra’s heart’ as strength and delight.
- Conclude with a petition: Soma to purify into śam (peace) and to bring prajāvat retaḥ (prosperity/generative power).
Offerings
- Purified Soma juice (Indu)
- Libations to Indra
- Accompanying oblations customary to Soma rites (e.g., ghee/grain as per śrauta procedure)
Frequently Asked Questions
It praises Soma as he purifies (Pavamāna), describing his flow through the filters into the jars and praying that this purified essence strengthen and delight Indra.
The first verse calls the singers to chant with the Gāyatrī, signaling the intended metrical/chanting mode and framing the praise as a focused, luminous invocation for Soma’s purification.
Ritually it means the offered Soma becomes Indra’s drink and power; symbolically it means purified delight and clarity enter the force of will, producing strength, peace, and creative prosperity.
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