Rig Veda Sukta 39
Mandala 9Sukta 396 Mantras

Sukta 39

Sukta 9.39

Devata

Soma Pavamāna (the purifying Soma)

Este breve hino a Pavamāna celebra Soma como o fluxo veloz e auto-luminoso que é purificado através do filtro e levado ao plano divino, onde os deuses afirmam a Realidade eterna. Ele retrata a descida e o derramamento de Soma como uma poderosa vaga de rio, e culmina com sua entronização no «ventre de Ṛta» — a verdade ordenada que sustenta o sacrifício e o cosmos.

Recitation with translationRig Veda 9.39

Mantras

Mantra 1

आशुरर्ष बृहन्मते परि प्रियेण धाम्ना । यत्र देवा इति ब्रवन् ॥

Corre veloz, ó Soma, para o de vasta mente, em torno segundo a lei amada da tua morada luminosa — lá onde os deuses, ao dizê-lo, afirmam o eterno «É».

Mantra 2

परिष्कृण्वन्ननिष्कृतं जनाय यातयन्निषः । वृष्टिं दिवः परि स्रव ॥

Aperfeiçoando para o homem o que ainda não está aperfeiçoado, impelindo adiante os impulsos da nossa busca, flui ao nosso redor — como a chuva do céu, derramamento da Luz mais alta.

Mantra 3

सुत एति पवित्र आ त्विषिं दधान ओजसा । विचक्षाणो विरोचयन् ॥

Espremido, ele vem ao purificador, tomando brilho por sua força; com visão discernente, faz resplandecer os mundos interiores.

Mantra 4

अयं स यो दिवस्परि रघुयामा पवित्र आ । सिन्धोरूर्मा व्यक्षरत् ॥

Este é ele, que, veloz em seus cursos, vem de além do céu ao purificador; como uma onda do grande rio, derrama-se e se espalha.

Mantra 5

आविवासन्परावतो अथो अर्वावतः सुतः । इन्द्राय सिच्यते मधु ॥

Ele resplandeceu do longínquo e também do próximo; espremido, o Soma melífluo é derramado para Indra.

Mantra 6

समीचीना अनूषत हरिं हिन्वन्त्यद्रिभिः । योनावृतस्य सीदत ॥

Em justa consonância eles o entoam; impelem o fulvo (Hari) com as pedras de prensar. Senta-te no seio da Ṛta, no assento ordenado do rito.

Inside Sukta 39

How it unfolds

  1. Where it opens

    An urgent invocation: Soma is urged to stream swiftly, encircling the vast-minded Truth by his beloved, luminous law (dhāman).

  2. Development

    Soma’s movement is portrayed as a descent/outflow from beyond heaven into the purifier, spreading like a powerful river-wave and becoming fit for divine affirmation.

  3. Climax

    The revelation of destination and status: Soma reaches the plane ‘where the gods say “It is”’—the realm of affirmed Reality—and becomes fully established as truth-bearing essence.

  4. Where it settles

    The rite and the inner life converge: rightly-directed powers chant, the stones impel the tawny Soma, and he is asked to sit in the womb/seat of Ṛta—stabilized order within the sacrifice and within us.

The deity: Soma Pavamāna

  • In the VedaSoma is praised as a swift-flowing, tawny (hari) current that is pressed by stones, purified in the pavitra (filter), and made fit for the gods; he is luminous, truth-bearing, and a divine drink that awakens inspired speech and right order.
  • Cosmic functionHe mediates between earth and heaven: drawn from the heights, purified, and offered, Soma invigorates the gods, sustains Ṛta (cosmic order), and renews life, rain, and vitality through his flowing potency.
  • Inner significanceAs an inner symbol, Pavamāna is the purified current of consciousness—clarified mind and inspired breath—streaming toward truth, establishing inner order (ṛta) and seating awareness in its rightful center.

Famous verses

yatra devā iti bravan
Verse 9.39.1Sets the hymn’s metaphysical aim: Soma’s purified flow is directed toward bṛhat (the Vast) and the plane where the gods affirm ultimate Reality—linking ritual purification with ontological truth.Read verse 9.39.1 →
sindhor ūrmā
Verse 9.39.4Gives the striking cosmic image of Soma arriving from beyond heaven and spreading like a wave of a great river—capturing both transcendence and immanent outpouring in the rite.Read verse 9.39.4 →
yonau ṛtasya sīdata
Verse 9.39.6Concludes with the key ritual-psychological synthesis: chanting powers and pressing-stones propel Soma, who is enthroned ‘in the womb of Ṛta,’ expressing stabilization of purified energy in right order.Read verse 9.39.6 →

Attributes of the deity

  • Swift-flowing (āśu)
  • Purifying (pavamāna) through the filter (pavitra)
  • Tawny/bright (hari)
  • Truth-oriented (ṛtasya)
  • River-like, expansive outpouring (sindhor ūrmā)
  • God-nourishing, world-sustaining

Also by this seer

  • Part of the Pavamāna (Soma purification) hymns used as stotras in the Soma sacrifice
  • Associated in practice with the Udgatṛ’s chanting tradition of Soma laudations (Sāmavedic reuse of Ṛgvedic Pavamāna material)

The rite, step by step

  • Press Soma with stones (adri) to release the juice
  • Let the juice flow and be clarified through the pavitra (wool/grass filter)
  • Collect the purified Soma in vessels (droṇa/āhavanīya context varies by śrauta procedure)
  • Chant/recite Pavamāna verses during the flowing and clarification
  • Offer libations to the gods (especially Indra and associated deities)
  • Conclude with seating/establishing the purified Soma in the rite—symbolically ‘in the womb of Ṛta’

Offerings

  • Purified Soma juice (primary)
  • Ghee and ancillary oblations as required by the Soma rite (context-dependent)

Frequently Asked Questions

The hymn praises Soma Pavamāna—Soma as the juice that is pressed, purified through the filter, and offered to the gods.

It points to Soma reaching the plane of affirmed Reality—truth (sat/ṛta) recognized by the gods—showing that purification leads toward the highest order and certainty.

It is the ordered seat of truth: ritually, the properly established sacrifice; inwardly, a stable, disciplined consciousness where purified energy can dwell.

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