Rig Veda · 757 of 1027
Mandala 9: HYMN XXXIV. Soma Pavamana.
1.THE drop of Soma juice effused flows onward with this stream impelled. Rending strong places with its might.
2.Poured forth to Indra, Varuṇa, to Vāyu and the Marut hosts, To Viṣṇu, flows the Soma juice.
3.With stones they press the Soma forth, the Strong conducted by the strong: They milk the liquor out with skill. 4 ’Tis he whom Trita must refine, ’tis he who shall make Indra glad: The Tawny One is decked with tints. 5 Him do the Sons of Pṛśni milk, the dwelling-place of sacrifice, Oblation lovely and most dear. 6 To him in one united stream these songs flow on straight forward. he, Loud voiced, hath made the milch-kine low.
Asked of Guide
Why does the hymn call Soma both a poured drink and a living, loud-voiced being?
The hymn treats Soma as a ritual substance and as an active presence: the verses describe men pressing and pouring “the drop of Soma juice” while attributing agency—“Loud voiced, hath made the milch-kine low”—to the Soma that flows to Indra, Varuṇa, Vāyu, the Marut hosts and Viṣṇu. This double language ties the physical act of extraction and offering to a felt, divine efficacy that attends the rite.
This movement from material to presence mirrors other Vedic hymns where ritual substances become gods through use; compare Rig Veda Mandala 8’s treatment of Agni as both flame and messenger, which also names the deity while recounting human action. The point is that ritual work and divine agency are presented as a single continuing event.
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