Rig Veda · 751 of 1027
Mandala 9: HYMN XXVIII. Soma Pavamana.
1.URGED by the men, this vigorous Steed, Lord of the mind, Omniscient, Runs to the woollen straining-cloth.
2.Within the filter hath he flowed, this Soma for the Gods effused, Entering all their essences.
3.He shines in beauty there, this God Immortal in his dwelling-place, Foe-slayer, dearest to the Gods.
4.Directed by the Sisters ten, bellowing on his way this Steer Runs onward to the wooden vats.
5.This Pavamana, swift and strong, Omniscient, gave spleudour to The Sun and all his forms of light.
6.This Soma being purified, flows mighty and infallible, Slayer of sinners, dear toGods.
Asked of Guide
Why is Soma called a 'steed' and 'Pavamana' in this hymn?
The hymn personifies Soma as a vigorous Steed and as Pavamana — the purified, flowing one — to make the ritual motion visible: Soma is described running to the straining-cloth and wooden vats, conveying movement from plant to offering. Calling him Omniscient and “Lord of the mind” ties that bodily flow to inner illumination, so the drink’s physical purification signals mental and divine presence.
The sisters and the vats matter because they stage the transformation: “Directed by the Sisters ten” and the filter imagery show Soma’s passage through ritual channels into the gods’ essences. This concrete ritual narrative resembles the emphasis in Max Müller’s translations on how Vedic hymns link sacrament, cosmology, and cognition.
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