Hymn to Soma
Rigveda I.91 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) addressed to Soma, the sacred plant-king whose pressed juice is both oblation and deity. It is one of the 1,028 hymns of the Rigveda organized within Maṇḍala 1, the first of ten books. The ṛṣi (seer) to whom this hymn is attributed and its precise liturgical context are recorded in the traditional Śākalya Anukramaṇī.
The Rigveda is the oldest of the four Vedas and one of the oldest surviving religious texts in the world, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in the Vedic Sanskrit of the Indus-Sarasvatī region. Its hymns were preserved through oral transmission across millennia before being committed to writing. This is a Good Works Translation produced for the Good Works Library from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
1. You, Soma, are wise through insight; you lead along the straightest path. By your guidance, O drop, our wise fathers obtained their share of treasure among the gods.
2. You, Soma, became strong-willed through your powers; you became skillful through your skills, all-knowing. You, the bull, through your bull-strength and greatness, became splendid through your splendors, watching over men.
3. Your ordinances, now, are those of King Varuṇa; your domain, Soma, is vast and deep. You are pure, dear like Mitra; you are worthy of honor, like Aryaman, Soma.
4. Your domains that are in heaven, on earth, in the mountains, in the plants, in the waters — with all of these, being well-disposed and not angry toward us, O King Soma, receive our offerings.
5. You, Soma, are the lord of true beings; you are king, and also the slayer of Vṛtra. You are gracious power.
6. And you, Soma, by your will, grant us life so that we do not die — you who love praise, lord of the forest plants.
7. You, Soma, grant great fortune; to the young man who follows the truth you give strength to live.
8. You, Soma, protect us on every side, O king, from the one who wishes us harm. Let no friend of yours come to grief.
9. Soma, those delightful aids of yours that exist for the one who offers to you — with those, be our protector.
10. Delighting in this sacrifice, in this speech, come to us. Soma, be the source of our growth.
11. Soma, with our songs we exalt you, we who are skilled in speech. Enter into us, gracious one.
12. Increaser of the household, destroyer of affliction, finder of wealth, increaser of prosperity — be a good friend to us, Soma.
13. Soma, take your delight in our heart, as cows delight in the pastures, as a young man in his own home.
14. The mortal, O god, who delights in friendship with you, Soma — skill, the wise power, attends him.
15. Protect us from curses, Soma; guard us from distress. Be our kind friend.
16. Swell up; let your virile strength gather to you from every side, Soma. Be with us in the contest for the prize.
17. Swell up, most intoxicating one, Soma, with all your stalks. Be our most glorious friend, for our prospering.
18. Let your fluids gather, let your strengths gather, let your virile powers gather, O you who overcome hostility. Swelling up toward immortality, Soma, seize the highest glories in heaven.
19. May all your domains, which they worship with oblation, encompass our sacrifice. Increaser of the household, one who carries us forward, rich in heroes, never a slayer of heroes — proceed, Soma, to our dwellings.
20. Soma gives a milk-cow, Soma gives a swift steed, Soma gives a capable son — fit for the ritual seat, fit for the assembly, fit for the council, one who honors the fathers — to the one who has made an offering to him.
21. Unconquerable in battles and combats, the rewarder, winner of sunlight and waters, guardian of the community, born amid the fighting, dwelling well, of great renown — may we rejoice, following you as you conquer, Soma.
22. You, Soma, made all these plants; you generated the waters, you brought forth the cows. You stretched out the vast midair; you drove back the darkness with light.
23. With a divine mind, on our behalf, god Soma, fight for our share of wealth, mighty one. Let nothing diminish you — you have power over valor. Take heed of both sides in the quest for cattle.
Translator's note: verse 20's "pitṛśravaṇam" (one who heeds/honors the fathers) and verse 23's "gaviṣṭau" (the quest or contest for cattle, sometimes also meaning battle generally) carry a compressed ritual and martial vocabulary with no single clean English equivalent; both are rendered conservatively, close to their literal sense.
Colophon
Rigveda I.91 is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE. This is a Good Works Translation rendered verse by verse from the Sanskrit text printed below. Prepared for the Good Work Library by the Tianmu Anglican Church with AI-assisted translation.
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Source Text: ṛgveda I.91
tvaṁ soma pra cikito manīṣā tvaṁ rajiṣṭham anu neṣi panthām |
tava praṇītī pitaro na indo deveṣu ratnam abhajanta dhīrāḥ || 1 ||
tvaṁ soma kratubhiḥ sukratur bhūs tvaṁ dakṣaiḥ sudakṣo viśvavedāḥ |
tvaṁ vṛṣā vṛṣatvebhir mahitvā dyumnebhir dyumny abhavo nṛcakṣāḥ || 2 ||
rājño nu te varuṇasya vratāni bṛhad gabhīraṁ tava soma dhāma |
śuciṣ ṭvam asi priyo na mitro dakṣāyyo aryamevāsi soma || 3 ||
yā te dhāmāni divi yā pṛthivyāṁ yā parvateṣv oṣadhīṣv apsu |
tebhir no viśvaiḥ sumanā aheḻan rājan soma prati havyā gṛbhāya || 4 ||
tvaṁ somāsi satpatis tvaṁ rājota vṛtrahā |
tvam bhadro asi kratuḥ || 5 ||
tvaṁ ca soma no vaśo jīvātuṁ na marāmahe |
priyastotro vanaspatiḥ || 6 ||
tvaṁ soma mahe bhagaṁ tvaṁ yūna ṛtāyate |
dakṣaṁ dadhāsi jīvase || 7 ||
tvaṁ naḥ soma viśvato rakṣā rājann aghāyataḥ |
na riṣyet tvāvataḥ sakhā || 8 ||
soma yās te mayobhuva ūtayaḥ santi dāśuṣe |
tābhir no 'vitā bhava || 9 ||
imaṁ yajñam idaṁ vaco jujuṣāṇa upāgahi |
soma tvaṁ no vṛdhe bhava || 10 ||
soma gīrbhiṣ ṭvā vayaṁ vardhayāmo vacovidaḥ |
sumṛḻīko na ā viśa || 11 ||
gayasphāno amīvahā vasuvit puṣṭivardhanaḥ |
sumitraḥ soma no bhava || 12 ||
soma rārandhi no hṛdi gāvo na yavaseṣv ā |
marya iva sva okye || 13 ||
yaḥ soma sakhye tava rāraṇad deva martyaḥ |
taṁ dakṣaḥ sacate kaviḥ || 14 ||
uruṣyā ṇo abhiśasteḥ soma ni pāhy aṁhasaḥ |
sakhā suśeva edhi naḥ || 15 ||
ā pyāyasva sam etu te viśvataḥ soma vṛṣṇyam |
bhavā vājasya saṁgathe || 16 ||
ā pyāyasva madintama soma viśvebhir aṁśubhiḥ |
bhavā naḥ suśravastamaḥ sakhā vṛdhe || 17 ||
saṁ te payāṁsi sam u yantu vājāḥ saṁ vṛṣṇyāny abhimātiṣāhaḥ |
āpyāyamāno amṛtāya soma divi śravāṁsy uttamāni dhiṣva || 18 ||
yā te dhāmāni haviṣā yajanti tā te viśvā paribhūr astu yajñam |
gayasphānaḥ prataraṇaḥ suvīro 'vīrahā pra carā soma duryān || 19 ||
somo dhenuṁ somo arvantam āśuṁ somo vīraṁ karmaṇyaṁ dadāti |
sādanyaṁ vidathyaṁ sabheyam pitṛśravaṇaṁ yo dadāśad asmai || 20 ||
aṣāḻhaṁ yutsu pṛtanāsu papriṁ svarṣām apsāṁ vṛjanasya gopām |
bhareṣujāṁ sukṣitiṁ suśravasaṁ jayantaṁ tvām anu madema soma || 21 ||
tvam imā oṣadhīḥ soma viśvās tvam apo ajanayas tvaṁ gāḥ |
tvam ā tatanthorv a1ntarikṣaṁ tvaṁ jyotiṣā vi tamo vavartha || 22 ||
devena no manasā deva soma rāyo bhāgaṁ sahasāvann abhi yudhya |
mā tvā tanad īśiṣe vīryasyobhayebhyaḥ pra cikitsā gaviṣṭau || 23 ||
Source Colophon
Sanskrit text of the Rigveda, Śākala recension. The standard scholarly edition is the Bombay Oriental (Vishva Bandhu, 5 vols., 1963–66). IAST transliteration available from GRETIL (Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages) and Vedaweb (University of Cologne). Both sources are open access. IAST transliteration from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).