Rig Veda · 827 of 1027
Mandala 9: HYMN CIV. Soma Pavamana.
1.SIT down, O friends, and sing aloud to him who purifies himself: Deck him for glory, like a child, with holy rites.
2.Unite him bringing household wealth, even as a calf, with mother kine, Him who hath double strength, the God, delighting juice.
3.Purify him who gives us power, that he, most Blessed One, may be A banquet for the Troop, Mitra, and Varuṇa.
4.Voices have sung aloud to thee as finderout of wealth for us: We clothe the hue thou wearest with a robe of milk.
5.Thou, Indu, art the food of Gods, O Sovran of all gladdening drinks: As Friend for friend, be thou best finder of success.
6.Drive utterly away from us each demon, each voracious fiend, The godless and the false: keep sorrow far away.
Asked of Guide
Who is this hymn praying to when it calls someone 'who purifies himself' and 'Indu'?
The hymn addresses Soma, the sacred juice and the god who is both the ritual drink and the divine purifier. Lines like “him who purifies himself” and the repeated epithet “Indu” (line 5) point to Soma as the sacrificer’s gift and a deity who “delight[s] juice” and becomes “the food of Gods.”
The poem treats Soma as a bringer of prosperity and protection: it asks Soma to “unite him bringing household wealth” and to “drive utterly away” demons (lines 2, 6). This fits how later Vedic works, such as the Brhaddevata, also describe Soma as both ritual libation and a patron of success and purification.
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