Hymn to Soma
Rigveda IX.32 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 9 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. The soma-juices, stirred with rapture, pressed out at the sacred gathering, have gone forth for the glory of our generous lord.
2. Then the maidens of Trita speed the tawny one on with their pressing-stones — the drop, for Indra to drink.
3. Then, as a gander calls out to his flock, he has set the thought of everyone crying aloud; he is anointed with milk, like a racehorse.
4. Looking upon both worlds, O Soma, you rush on like a hastening wild creature, settling into the womb of truth.
5. The cows have lowed toward him, as a young woman toward her dear lover; he has come to the contest as to what is appointed.
6. Grant to us bright glory, O god — to our patrons and to me — gain, wisdom, and fame.
Translator's note: verse 3's "atyo na gobhir ajyate" (he is anointed with milk/cow-offerings like a racehorse) and verse 4's "ubhe" (both worlds/realms) are terse images left as close to the Sanskrit as modern English allows, rather than expanded.
Colophon
Rigveda IX.32 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 IX.32
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.
pra somāso madacyutaḥ śravase no maghonaḥ |
sutā vidathe akramuḥ || 1 ||
ād īṁ tritasya yoṣaṇo hariṁ hinvanty adribhiḥ |
indum indrāya pītaye || 2 ||
ād īṁ haṁso yathā gaṇaṁ viśvasyāvīvaśan matim |
atyo na gobhir ajyate || 3 ||
ubhe somāvacākaśan mṛgo na takto arṣasi |
sīdann ṛtasya yonim ā || 4 ||
abhi gāvo anūṣata yoṣā jāram iva priyam |
agann ājiṁ yathā hitam || 5 ||
asme dhehi dyumad yaśo maghavadbhyaś ca mahyaṁ ca |
sanim medhām uta śravaḥ || 6 ||
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).