Sukta 48
Sukta 9.48
Soma (Pavamāna)
Himne Pavamāna yang singkat ini memuji Soma ketika ia dimurnikan dan ditempatkan pada singgasana-siggasana suci, membawa daya kepahlawanan dan keindahan yang menopang keberhasilan karya yajña yang “terlaksana dengan baik”. Soma disapa sebagai raja, lahir dari surga, pembawa kekayaan dan kekuatan; dan ketika didorong, ia bertumbuh menjadi “daya Indra” yang lebih agung, menganugerahkan pertolongan yang diinginkan serta keperkasaan yang meluas.
Mantras
Mantra 1
तं त्वा नृम्णानि बिभ्रतं सधस्थेषु महो दिवः । चारुं सुकृत्ययेमहे ॥
Engkau kami cari—yang memanggul daya-daya kepahlawanan di tempat-tempat perhimpunan langit yang agung; Engkau yang indah, demi kebajikan kami dan karya yang disempurnakan.
Mantra 2
संवृक्तधृष्णुमुक्थ्यं महामहिव्रतं मदम् । शतं पुरो रुरुक्षणिम् ॥
Yang tersaring dan berani, layak bagi kidung pujian—māda (ekstasi) dari hukum yang luas dan perkasa; yang menjaga seratus muka keberadaan dari serbuan.
Mantra 3
अतस्त्वा रयिमभि राजानं सुक्रतो दिवः । सुपर्णो अव्यथिर्भरत् ॥
Maka, karena itu Burung bersayap elok, tanpa gentar, membawa kepadamu—wahai raja—kelimpahan dari surga, wahai yang kuat dalam kecerdasan yang benar.
Mantra 4
विश्वस्मा इत्स्वर्दृशे साधारणं रजस्तुरम् । गोपामृतस्य विर्भरत् ॥
Kepada setiap pelihat cahaya ia membawa harta bersama—cepat melintasi ruang-ruang antara—seraya membawa penjaga ṛta (Kebenaran-Kosmis).
Mantra 5
अधा हिन्वान इन्द्रियं ज्यायो महित्वमानशे । अभिष्टिकृद्विचर्षणिः ॥
Lalu, ketika didorong maju, ia meraih daya-Indra yang lebih besar dan mencapai kebesaran yang luas—dia yang menghadirkan pertolongan yang didambakan, kuasa yang menjelajah luas.
Inside Sukta 48
How it unfolds
- Where it opens
Soma is sought and invoked as beautiful and power-bearing, established in the shared sacred seats of the great heaven, to perfect the rite’s ‘right-doing.’
- Development
He is celebrated as kingly and richly endowed, connected to heaven’s abundance; imagery expands to convey conveyance of prosperity and unhindered movement.
- Climax
The suparṇa (fair-winged ‘bird’) motif bears heavenly abundance to Soma the king—highlighting a dramatic transfer of divine wealth and power into the ritual.
- Where it settles
Urged onward, Soma attains greater Indra-force and vast greatness, becoming the wide-ranging helper who grants the desired aid to the worshippers.
The deity: Soma
- In the VedaSoma is the sacred plant-juice pressed, filtered, and made to “flow clear” (pavamāna), praised as radiant, beautiful, kingly, and a bearer of strength and prosperity. He is depicted as moving through the filter, taking his seat among the gods, and empowering Indra and the sacrificers.
- Cosmic functionMediator between heaven and earth through the sacrifice: Soma’s purified flow renews vitality, supports divine powers (especially Indra’s), and conveys wealth, victory, and inspired force from the heavenly realm to the human ritual arena.
- Inner significanceThe clarified Soma symbolizes clarified consciousness—purified intention and energized insight—by which the practitioner gains inner strength (indriya), right intelligence (sukratu), and the capacity to secure desired help (abhiṣṭi).
The seer
- Ascribed to the Soma-Pavamāna tradition (exact rishi uncertain)These verses belong to the Mandala 9 stream of Soma hymns, where the poet-seer voice is often collective and liturgical, focused on the pressing and purification of Soma rather than personal genealogy.
Famous verses
तं त्वा नृम्णानि बिभ्रतं सधस्थेषु महो दिवः । चारुं सुकृत्ययेमहे ॥suparṇo avyathir bharat
abhiṣṭikṛd vicarṣaṇiḥ
Attributes of the deity
- Pavamāna (self-purifying, clear-flowing)
- Rājā (kingly presence)
- Heaven-linked (divya) giver of abundance
- Empowerer of Indra (indriya enhancer)
- Beautiful/auspicious (cāru)
- Bestower of aid and success in works (sukṛti, abhiṣṭi)
Also by this seer
- Pavamāna (Soma) hymns across Rigveda Mandala 9 (as a liturgical corpus rather than a single identifiable author)
- Development of Soma’s royal and purificatory imagery used in later Śrauta recitations
The rite, step by step
- Press Soma and mix with water as prescribed; begin purification through the strainer (pavitra).
- Recite the hymn as Soma ‘takes his seat’ in the ritual space—establishing him as kingly and heaven-supported.
- Invoke Soma’s bestowal of wealth and right intelligence, aligning the sacrifice with ‘sukṛti’ (successful performance).
- Offer the purified Soma to the gods (notably Indra), seeking strength, protection, and fulfillment of aims.
- Conclude by affirming Soma’s onward impulse and attainment of vast greatness, sealing the rite’s intention.
Offerings
- Purified Soma juice (filtered through pavitra)
- Libations to Indra and associated deities per the Soma rite
- Optional accompanying oblations (ghee/grain) according to the śrauta sequence
Frequently Asked Questions
The hymn praises Soma in his Pavamāna form—Soma as the pressed juice that is purified and made to flow clear during the sacrifice.
It portrays a divine, unhindered carrier bringing abundance from heaven—an image for Soma’s heavenly support and the swift arrival of prosperity through the rite.
It asks for successful performance of sacred work (sukṛti), wealth and abundance from heaven, and strengthened power (indriya) that grants the desired help and protection.
Ask anything about Sukta 48 of the Rig Veda
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