Hymn to Soma
Rigveda IX.36 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. He is set loose like a chariot-horse, pressed out into the filter and into the two bowls; the prize-winning steed has stepped up to the finish-line.
2. As the wakeful carrier, O Soma, purify yourself, crossing over as the gods' champion, toward the vessel that drips with honey.
3. Ancient one, self-purifying Soma, make our lights shine forth; drive us on toward purpose and toward skill.
4. Adorned by those who seek what is true, cleaned by the two hands, he purifies himself in the sheep's fleece.
5. May Soma pour out for the worshipper all goods — those of heaven, of earth, and of the space between.
6. You climb to the ridge of the sky, O Soma, seeking horses, seeking cattle, seeking heroes, O lord of might.
Translator's note: "kārṣman" (verse 1) denotes a race-course marker or finish-line; the exact technical sense in early Vedic racing is uncertain, so it is rendered conservatively. "dāśuṣe" (verse 5) means one who gives or makes offering, rendered here as "the worshipper."
Colophon
Rigveda IX.36 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.36
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.
asarji rathyo yathā pavitre camvoḥ sutaḥ |
kārṣman vājī ny akramīt || 1 ||
sa vahniḥ soma jāgṛviḥ pavasva devavīr ati |
abhi kośam madhuścutam || 2 ||
sa no jyotīṁṣi pūrvya pavamāna vi rocaya |
kratve dakṣāya no hinu || 3 ||
śumbhamāna ṛtāyubhir mṛjyamāno gabhastyoḥ |
pavate vāre avyaye || 4 ||
sa viśvā dāśuṣe vasu somo divyāni pārthivā |
pavatām āntarikṣyā || 5 ||
ā divas pṛṣṭham aśvayur gavyayuḥ soma rohasi |
vīrayuḥ śavasas pate || 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).