Rig Veda · 799 of 1027
Mandala 9: HYMN LXXVI. Soma Pavamana.
1.ON flows the potent juice, sustainer of the heavens, the strength of Gods, whom men must hail with shouts of joy. The Gold-hued, started like a courser by brave men, impetuously winneth splendour in the streams.
2.He takes his weapons, like a hero, in his hands, fain to win light, car-borne, in forays for the kine. Indu, while stimulating India’s might, is urged forward and balmed by sages skilful in their task.
3.Soma, as thou art purified with flowing wave, exhibiting thy strength enter thou Indra’s throat. Make both worlds stream for us, as lightning doth the clouds: mete out exhaustless powers for us, as ’twere through song.
4.Onward he flows, the King of all that sees the light: the Ṛṣis’ Lord hath raised the song of sacrifice; Even he who is adorned with Sūrya’s arrowy beam, Father of hymns, whose wisdom is beyond our reach.
5.Like as a bull to herds, thou flowest to the pail, bellowing as a steer upon the water’s lap. So, best of Cheerers, thou for Indra flowest on that we, with thy protection, may o’ercome in fight.
Asked of Guide
Why does the hymn call Soma both a juice and a warrior for Indra?
The hymn presents Soma as a sacred drink and as an active force that wins “light” and “splendour” for the gods; lines say he “takes his weapons, like a hero” and is “car-borne, in forays for the kine,” which ties the intoxicating sap to martial, world-shaping action. The image makes Soma the means and the agent of divine power: drinking and pressing it sustain the gods’ strength and let Indra achieve victory and cosmic order.
This fusion appears across the Rig Veda where ritual substances act; compare Mandala 8 and 10 hymns where Vedic heroes and deities are likewise fused with sacrificial elements to explain how ritual turns material substance into divine efficacy. The hymn frames religious practice as converting the poured juice into a warrior’s potency for both gods and worshippers.
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