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.
In this hymn
Addressed to
Mantras
Mantra 1
सखाय आ नि षीदत पुनानाय प्र गायत । शिशुं न यज्ञैः परि भूषत श्रिये ॥
दोस्तों, यहाँ बैठो और गाओ उसके लिए जो खुद को साफ कर रहा है। यज्ञ के काम से उसे सजाओ, जैसे बच्चे को सजाते हैं। ताकि उसकी चमक बढ़े।
Mantra 2
समी वत्सं न मातृभिः सृजता गयसाधनम् । देवाव्यं मदमभि द्विशवसम् ॥
उसे मिलाओ साथ में, जैसे बच्चा अपनी माँ के पास जाता है। यह खुशी ज़िन्दगी का काम करती है। भगवान की यह मधुशाला बड़ी ताकत वाली है।
Mantra 3
पुनाता दक्षसाधनं यथा शर्धाय वीतये । यथा मित्राय वरुणाय शंतमः ॥
वो साफ करे ताकि काम में दम आए। ताकि सब मिलके खाना खा सकें। मित्र और वरुण के लिए वो शांति और खुशी लाए।
Mantra 4
अस्मभ्यं त्वा वसुविदमभि वाणीरनूषत । गोभिष्टे वर्णमभि वासयामसि ॥
हमारी आवाज़ें तुम्हे पुकारती हैं, जो सब कुछ देने वाला है। रोशनी की किरण से तुम्हे ऐसे कवर करते हैं जैसे कपड़ा पहनाते हैं। तुम्हारी चमक हमारे आस-पास दिखने लगती है।
Mantra 5
स नो मदानां पत इन्दो देवप्सरा असि । सखेव सख्ये गातुवित्तमो भव ॥
हे इंदु, तुम हमारे लिए खुशी का मालिक हो। तुम भगवान की तरफ से नया खयाल देते हो। जैसे कोई दोस्त अपने दोस्त के काम आता है, वैसे तुम हमारे लिए सही रास्ता ढूँढने वाले बड़े हो। तुम हमारे सफर में सही दिशा दिखाते हो।
Mantra 6
सनेमि कृध्यस्मदा रक्षसं कं चिदत्रिणम् । अपादेवं द्वयुमंहो युयोधि नः ॥
हमारे लिए सुरक्षा की बाउंड्री बना दो। जो भी बुरी ताकत हमारे पास आती है, उसे भगा दो। जो लोग भगवान को नहीं मानते और दो तरह की बात करते हैं, उनकी बुराई को हमारे रास्ते से हटा दो। हमारी तरफ से लड़के उसे दूर कर दो।
Inside Sukta 104
How it unfolds
- Where it opens
A communal call: companions sit together and sing to the self-purifying Soma, treating him like a cherished child to be beautifully adorned.
- Development
Praise intensifies around Soma’s prosperity-giving power and visible radiance—voices rise to him as ‘finder of wealth,’ and his form is ‘clothed’ in light.
- Climax
Soma’s brilliance is made manifest around the worshippers, linking successful purification with the spread of splendour and well-being.
- Where it settles
The hymn turns protective: Soma is asked to establish a secure boundary and to repel Rakṣasas and godless, double-faced harm from the community’s way.
The deity: Soma Pavamāna
- Cosmic functionHe mediates between humans and gods through the offering, quickening vitality, clarity, and auspicious power; as purifier, he repels hostile forces and establishes protective boundaries for the ritual community.
- Inner significanceThe purifying Soma symbolizes the refinement of consciousness—speech and intention clarified through discipline—so inner light (go/‘rays’) becomes manifest and protective against deception and destructive impulses.
Famous verses
śiśuṃ na yajñaiḥ pari bhūṣata
vasuvidam
सनेमि कृध्यस्मदा रक्षसं कं चिदत्रिणम् । अपादेवं द्वयुमंहो युयोधि नः ॥Attributes of the deity
- Self-purifying (pavamāna), flowing and clarified
- Luminous radiance (varṇa, go/rays of light)
- Wealth-giving and plenitude-finding (vasuvid)
- Child-like, to be ‘adorned’ by yajña
- Protective, boundary-making, Rakṣasa-dispelling
Also by this seer
- Part of the Soma Pavamāna cycle (RV 9), widely employed in Soma pressing/clarification rites
- Typical of Maṇḍala 9 style: communal exhortation, praise of Soma’s brilliance, and apotropaic (protective) petition
The rite, step by step
- Ritual companions (ṛtvij-s/assistants) assemble and take their seats near the pressing/clarification area.
- Soma is pressed and set to flow through the strainer (pavitra), while the hymn is sung/recited to accompany purification.
- The officiants ‘adorn’ Soma with yajña-actions: measured chanting, orderly offering, and attentive handling of the clarified juice.
- Invocation of Soma as vasuvid: request for prosperity and the manifestation of radiance around the sacrificers.
- Apotropaic close: petition Soma to set a secure boundary and drive away Rakṣasas, the devouring, and double-faced harms.
- Offer the clarified Soma in the proper libations according to the rite (graha offerings).
Offerings
- Clarified Soma juice (pavamāna)
- Ghee/oblations as prescribed within the Soma rite
- Accompanying praise (stotra/śastra) as a ‘verbal offering’
Frequently Asked Questions
It accompanies the purification of Soma: the singers praise the flowing, self-purifying Soma, ask for prosperity and radiance, and end with a prayer for protection from hostile forces.
Because Soma is treated as a precious presence during the rite—carefully tended and ‘adorned’ by correct sacrificial actions, so his splendour and blessings can grow.
The hymn asks Soma to set a secure boundary and to drive away devouring Rakṣasas and ‘double-faced’ godless harm—anything deceptive or destructive that could obstruct the sacrificers.
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