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Rig Veda · 743 of 1027
Mandala 9: HYMN XX. Soma Pavamana.
1.FORTH through the straining-cloth the Sage flows to the banquet of the Gods, Subduing all our enemies.
2.For he, as Pavamana, sends thousandfold treasure in the shape Of cattle to the singing-men.
3.Thou graspest all things with thy mind, and purifiest thee with thoughts As such, O Soma, find us fame.
4.Pour lofty glory on us, send sure riches to our liberal lords, Bring food to those who sing thy praise.
5.As thou art cleansed, O Wondrous Steed, O Soma, thou hast entered, like A pious King, into the songs.
6.He, Soma, like a courser in the floods invincible, made clean With hands, is resting in the jars.
7.Disporting, like a liberal chief, thou goest, Soma, to the sieve, Lending the laud a Hero’s strength.
Asked of Guide
Why is Soma called 'Pavamana' and compared to a cleansing horse?
The hymn calls Soma Pavamana to insist on purification: “thou art cleansed” and “purifiest thee with thoughts” show Soma’s role as agent and symbol of ritual and mental cleansing that brings fame and bounty. The image of a horse — “Wondrous Steed,” “like a courser in the floods” — links sacrificial vigor and movement through sacred waters, portraying Soma as a living force that charges the ritual and carries rewards to worshippers.
This chapter echoes ideas in the Atharva Veda where Soma’s purifying power is likewise operative, and it also matches the broader Vedic pattern of equating divine drink with both inner purification and social prosperity: priests receive “thousandfold treasure,” and singers gain “glory” and “food,” because purification activates divine favor.
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