Hymn to Soma
Rigveda VIII.79 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 8 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. This Soma is skillful, ungrasped, all-conquering, truly bursting forth — a seer, wise through his poetic power.
2. He covers whoever is naked; he heals whatever is afflicted. The blind sees, the lame walks.
3. You, Soma, are a wide shelter against hatreds — those we bring on ourselves and those made by others.
4. By your insight, by your powers, from heaven to earth, O Ṛjīṣin, you drive away even the hatred of the evil one.
5. Those in need go toward their goal; going surely, they reach the giver's gift. May they attain the desire of the thirsty.
6. He found what ancient thing was lost, and raised up the one devoted to truth; he carried life across — life not yet crossed.
7. Be very kind to us, merciful, your purpose free of arrogance, steady — be, O Soma, a blessing to our heart.
8. Do not terrify us, O Soma; do not frighten us, O king; do not strike our heart with your blazing force.
9. When, in your own dwelling-place, you look upon the ill will of the gods, O king, drive away hatred; O bounteous one, drive away failure.
Translator's note: "Ṛjīṣin" (v. 4) is a standing epithet of Soma of uncertain etymology, kept untranslated rather than guessed at. In verse 6, "raised up the one devoted to truth" may instead mean Soma raised the lost thing up for the one devoted to truth — the Sanskrit allows either reading, and both are given here as a single conservative rendering.
Colophon
Rigveda VIII.79 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 VIII.79
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.
ayaṁ kṛtnur agṛbhīto viśvajid udbhid it somaḥ |
ṛṣir vipraḥ kāvyena || 1 ||
abhy ūrṇoti yan nagnam bhiṣakti viśvaṁ yat turam |
prem andhaḥ khyan niḥ śroṇo bhūt || 2 ||
tvaṁ soma tanūkṛdbhyo dveṣobhyo 'nyakṛtebhyaḥ |
uru yantāsi varūtham || 3 ||
tvaṁ cittī tava dakṣair diva ā pṛthivyā ṛjīṣin |
yāvīr aghasya cid dveṣaḥ || 4 ||
arthino yanti ced arthaṁ gacchān id daduṣo rātim |
vavṛjyus tṛṣyataḥ kāmam || 5 ||
vidad yat pūrvyaṁ naṣṭam ud īm ṛtāyum īrayat |
prem āyus tārīd atīrṇam || 6 ||
suśevo no mṛḻayākur adṛptakratur avātaḥ |
bhavā naḥ soma śaṁ hṛde || 7 ||
mā naḥ soma saṁ vīvijo mā vi bībhiṣathā rājan |
mā no hārdi tviṣā vadhīḥ || 8 ||
ava yat sve sadhasthe devānāṁ durmatīr īkṣe |
rājann apa dviṣaḥ sedha mīḍhvo apa sridhaḥ sedha || 9 ||
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).