Rig Veda · 773 of 1027
Mandala 9: HYMN L. Soma Pavamana.
1.LOUD as a river’s roaring wave thy powers have lifted up themselves: Urge on thine arrow’s sharpened point.
2.At thine effusion upward rise three voices full of joy, when thou Flowest upon the fleecy ridge.
3.On to the fleece they urge with stone the tawny well-beloved One, Even Pavamana, dropping meath.
4.Flow with thy current to the sieve, O Sage most powerful to cheer, To seat thee in the place of song.
5.Flow, Most Exhilarating! flow anointed with the milk for balm, Indu, for Indra, for his drink.
Asked of Guide
Why is Soma called Pavamana and urged to 'flow' repeatedly in this hymn?
The hymn addresses Soma as Pavamana—“the purifier” or “one who purifies”—and repeatedly commands him to flow because the ritual needs his libation to become effective; verses speak of his effusion, rising “three voices full of joy,” and moving “to the sieve,” which are stages of pressing and consecration. The poet treats Soma as an active sacramental force whose movement—flowing, anointing, cheering—brings ritual potency and divine presence.
This chapter casts Soma as both a drink and a sacred current: pouring him seats the sacrificer “in the place of song” and readies Indra’s drink, linking the physical pressing to cosmic hospitality. For a parallel that names Soma’s liturgical role, see the hymns collected in Mandala 8 where Soma’s pressing and consecration likewise transform plant-sap into divine offering.
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