A Soma-Drinker's Self-Praise
Rigveda X.119 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 10 of the Rigveda, one of the 1,028 hymns organized within the ten books of the oldest Veda. The Rigveda was composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in Vedic Sanskrit and preserved through oral transmission across millennia.
This is a Good Works Translation produced for the Good Works Library from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
1. Yes indeed! Yes indeed! — so says my mind: "May I win cattle, a horse!" — Have I not drunk of the soma?
2. Like raging winds rushing forth, the draughts I have drunk have lifted me up. Have I not drunk of the soma?
3. The draughts I have drunk have lifted me up, as swift horses draw a chariot. Have I not drunk of the soma?
4. A thought has drawn near to me, as a lowing cow to her dear calf. Have I not drunk of the soma?
5. Like a carpenter shaping a chariot-seat, I shape the thought with my heart. Have I not drunk of the soma?
6. The five tribes do not weigh with me even as much as a splinter. Have I not drunk of the soma?
7. Not even both world-halves together match one wing of mine. Have I not drunk of the soma?
8. In my greatness I have surpassed the sky, and surpassed this great earth. Have I not drunk of the soma?
9. Come now — shall I set this earth down here, or over there? Have I not drunk of the soma?
10. Shall I scorch the earth, shall I strike it here, or over there? Have I not drunk of the soma?
11. One of my wings is in heaven; the other I have drawn down below. Have I not drunk of the soma?
12. I am immensely great, risen up toward the clouds. Have I not drunk of the soma?
13. Like a well-appointed house I go, carrying offerings to the gods. Have I not drunk of the soma?
Translator's note: verse 6 turns on "akṣipat cana," rendered here as "even as much as a splinter" — a mote or chip thrown off, marking something negligible; the exact image is uncertain but the sense of contempt is clear. The refrain "kuvit somasyāpām iti" (literally "have I indeed drunk of the soma?") is a self-questioning exclamation, not a request — it is rendered consistently as "Have I not drunk of the soma?" throughout.
Colophon
Rigveda X.119 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 X.119
Sanskrit source text from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input). Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
iti vā iti me mano gām aśvaṁ sanuyām iti |
kuvit somasyāpām iti || 1 ||
pra vātā iva dodhata un mā pītā ayaṁsata |
kuvit somasyāpām iti || 2 ||
un mā pītā ayaṁsata ratham aśvā ivāśavaḥ |
kuvit somasyāpām iti || 3 ||
upa mā matir asthita vāśrā putram iva priyam |
kuvit somasyāpām iti || 4 ||
ahaṁ taṣṭeva vandhuram pary acāmi hṛdā matim |
kuvit somasyāpām iti || 5 ||
nahi me akṣipac canācchāntsuḥ pañca kṛṣṭayaḥ |
kuvit somasyāpām iti || 6 ||
nahi me rodasī ubhe anyam pakṣaṁ cana prati |
kuvit somasyāpām iti || 7 ||
abhi dyām mahinā bhuvam abhī3mām pṛthivīm mahīm |
kuvit somasyāpām iti || 8 ||
hantāham pṛthivīm imāṁ ni dadhānīha veha vā |
kuvit somasyāpām iti || 9 ||
oṣam it pṛthivīm ahaṁ jaṅghanānīha veha vā |
kuvit somasyāpām iti || 10 ||
divi me anyaḥ pakṣo3 'dho anyam acīkṛṣam |
kuvit somasyāpām iti || 11 ||
aham asmi mahāmaho 'bhinabhyam udīṣitaḥ |
kuvit somasyāpām iti || 12 ||
gṛho yāmy araṁkṛto devebhyo havyavāhanaḥ |
kuvit somasyāpām iti || 13 ||
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).