Sukta 82
Sukta 9.82
Soma Pavamāna.
Likely Triṣṭubh (requires verification).
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.
Mantras
Mantra 1
असावि सोमो अरुषो वृषा हरी राजेव दस्मो अभि गा अचिक्रदत् । पुनानो वारं पर्येत्यव्ययं श्येनो न योनिं घृतवन्तमासदम् ॥
सोम निकला है, लाल रंग का और ताकतवाला। राजा की तरह वो चीखता है और रोशनी की तरफ देखता है। वो साफ होके उस छेदे के पास जाता है जो कभी खत्म नहीं होता। बाज़ की तरह अपने घरों की तरफ जाता है जहाँ घी भी है।
Mantra 2
कविर्वेधस्या पर्येषि माहिनमत्यो न मृष्टो अभि वाजमर्षसि । अपसेधन्दुरिता सोम मृळय घृतं वसानः परि यासि निर्णिजम् ॥
सोम, तुम जो सब जानते हो, तुम बड़े हो और चारों तरफ हो। तुम तेज़ घोड़े की तरह दौड़ते हो जीत के लिए। बुरी चीज़ें दूर करो और हमपे मेहरबानी करो। तुम चमक के कपड़े पहन के साफ हो रहे हो।
Mantra 3
पर्जन्यः पिता महिषस्य पर्णिनो नाभा पृथिव्या गिरिषु क्षयं दधे । स्वसार आपो अभि गा उतासरन्त्सं ग्रावभिर्नसते वीते अध्वरे ॥
पर्जन्य बाप की तरह बड़ा आदमी के लिए जगह बनाता है पहाड़ों में धरती के बीच में। पानी बहन-बहन रोशनी की तरफ जाते हैं। पत्थरों से सोम निचोड़ा जाता है यज्ञ के लिए जहाँ सब मिलते हैं।
Mantra 4
जायेव पत्यावधि शेव मंहसे पज्राया गर्भ शृणुहि ब्रवीमि ते । अन्तर्वाणीषु प्र चरा सु जीवसेऽनिन्द्यो वृजने सोम जागृहि ॥
सोम, तुम अपने पति के पास ऐसे आते हो जैसे पत्नी अपने पति के पास आती है। तुम खुशी और बड़ाई लाते हो। पज्रा लाइन के गर्भ हो तुम, जो मैं बोल रहा हूँ वो सुनो। आवाज़ों के बीच चलो, बोलने की ताकत में घूमो, ताकि तुम्हारा जीना सही हो। सोम, तुम पर कोई इल्ज़ाम नहीं, हमारे जीने के क्षेत्र में जागो।
Mantra 5
यथा पूर्वेभ्यः शतसा अमृध्रः सहस्रसाः पर्यया वाजमिन्दो । एवा पवस्व सुविताय नव्यसे तव व्रतमन्वापः सचन्ते ॥
इन्दु, पहले भी तुम गए थे और सौ गुना, हज़ार गुना जीता था, बिना कोई हार। अब भी ऐसे ही अपने आप को साफ करो, ताकि नई और बड़ी खुशी मिले। पानी तुम्हारा काम फ़ॉलो करता है, तुम्हारे तरीके से चलता है, तुम्हारे डिसीज़न को सपोर्ट करता है।
Inside Sukta 82
How it unfolds
- Where it opens
Soma is born by pressing—ruddy, powerful, kinglike—crying out toward the luminous ‘cows/rays’ and setting the hymn’s tone of dynamic emergence.
- Development
The hymn expands the scene into a cosmic-liturgical convergence: Parjanya as fatherly rain-force, the Waters as sisters, and the stones and streams cooperating to prepare Soma in the sacrifice.
- Climax
Soma’s triumphant purification through the imperishable filter and arrival at the ghee-rich seat—an image of perfected potency made fit for offering and blessing.
- Where it settles
A remembered pattern of past victories (hundredfold, thousandfold) becomes a present prayer: ‘purify now for new felicity,’ with the Waters following Soma’s ordained law (vrata).
The deity: Soma Pavāmāna
- In the VedaSoma is the pressed and purified sacred draught—ruddy, strong, tawny—praised as a kingly, wondrous force who roars toward the ‘cows’ (often read as rays of light or luminous herds) and takes his ghee-rich seat after passing the filter.
- Cosmic functionMediator of vitality and inspiration: he links heaven, earth, waters, and rain (Parjanya), quickens fertility, and empowers gods and sacrificers through the consecrated drink.
- Inner significanceThe refining of Soma through the filter symbolizes the purification of consciousness—raw impulse and power becoming clarified insight, joy, and disciplined strength aligned with ṛta (cosmic order).
The seer
- Anirukta (R̥ṣi not securely identified for RV 9.82)This hymn belongs to the Mandala 9 Pavāmāna collection, where many sūktas are transmitted as part of the Soma-pressing tradition and are not always securely attributable from a small excerpt alone.
Famous verses
avyayaṃ vāram (the imperishable filter)
पर्जन्यः पिता महिषस्य पर्णिनो नाभा पृथिव्या गिरिषु क्षयं दधे । स्वसार आपो अभि गा उतासरन्त्सं ग्रावभिर्नसते वीते अध्वरे ॥tava vratam anv āpaḥ sacante (the Waters follow your law)
Attributes of the deity
- Purifying (pavāmāna)
- Kingly, victorious power
- Ruddy/tawny brilliance
- Moves through the imperishable filter (avyaya vāra)
- Allied with Waters and rain-force (Parjanya)
- Giver of vāja (strength, prize, victory)
Also by this seer
- Associated broadly with the Pavāmāna Soma corpus (RV 9), a specialized liturgical cycle for Soma purification and offering.
- Connected with the ritual-poetic tradition of Soma stotras used in the pressing (abhiṣava) and straining (pavana) sequences.
The rite, step by step
- Press Soma with stones (grāvan) to express the juice.
- Mix/guide the flow with Waters (āpaḥ), ritually and symbolically.
- Strain through the woolen filter (vāra), described as imperishable (avyaya).
- Collect the purified Soma in vessels; seat it in the ghee-bright place of offering.
- Offer Soma in the well-spread sacrifice (adhvara) with recitation of Pavāmāna verses for strength and well-being.
Offerings
- Purified Soma (Indu)
- Ghee (ghṛta) as the bright, nourishing accompaniment
- Libations in the Soma vessels (grahas)
Frequently Asked Questions
It praises Soma as he is pressed and purified, describing his passage through the straining filter and his readiness to be offered in the sacrifice for strength, victory, and well-being.
They express the idea that Soma’s power is not only ritual but cosmic: rain-force (Parjanya) and the Waters cooperate in nourishing, flowing, and purifying—mirroring how Soma is prepared and how life is sustained.
Ritually it is the woolen strainer used to clarify Soma; symbolically it suggests a timeless principle of purification—power becoming fit, luminous, and aligned with sacred order (vrata/ṛta).
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