Hymn to Soma
Rigveda IX.68 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. Forth toward the god the honey-sweet drops have streamed, like cows, like milch-cows; seated on the sacred grass, lowing, full-uddered, they have put on the flowing stream as their garment, the ruddy ones.
2. Bellowing, he has cried out to those before him; loosening his golden shoots, the tawny one grows sweet. Passing through the filter, circling the wide expanse, the god lays down his shafts wherever he chooses.
3. He who measured out the joined twin pair has filled the undecaying two, growing together, with milk — and both at once grew great. Still ranging the two great boundless worlds, he has taken on his full and undecaying form.
4. Wandering between the two mothers, driving the waters onward, the wise one swells forth his own place by his own power. The stalk is adorned with grain; guided by men, he joins with his kindred, and guards his own crest.
5. The poet is born together with skillful mind; the germ of truth is laid down beyond the twin pair. The two young ones were first to know it: one birth hidden in secret, the other raised up into the light.
6. The wise ones knew the form of the joyous one, when the hawk brought the plant from far away. They cleansed him, the well-flourishing one, in the rivers, circling in rite — the eager stalk, worthy of song.
7. The ten maidens cleanse you as you are pressed, O Soma, furthered by the seers' thoughts and insights, with the threads of the fleece and with calls to the gods; guided by men, you burst open strength for us to win.
8. The praise-songs, with thoughtful insight, have hailed Soma as he circles forth, desirable, well-seated — who, sweet with his stream, with his wave, sends forth voice from heaven, the immortal lord of riches.
9. This Soma, being purified, stirs the whole realm from heaven, and settles in the vessels. Pressed by the stones, he is cleansed with waters and milk; the purifying drop finds the beloved wide space.
10. So, O Soma, being poured around for us, bestowing most wondrous vigor, flow in purity. Let us call on Heaven and Earth, the two free of hostility; O gods, grant us wealth rich in heroes.
Translator's note: verse 5's "twin pair" (yamā) and "the two young ones" (yūnā) most likely again denote Heaven and Earth, tracking the hymn's recurring image of Soma's double birth — one form hidden, one manifest; the exact referents of these dual pronouns are debated among readers of the Sanskrit, and this rendering keeps them as unnamed duals rather than supplying names the text does not give.
Colophon
Rigveda IX.68 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.68
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 devam acchā madhumanta indavo 'siṣyadanta gāva ā na dhenavaḥ |
barhiṣado vacanāvanta ūdhabhiḥ parisrutam usriyā nirṇijaṁ dhire || 1 ||
sa roruvad abhi pūrvā acikradad upāruhaḥ śrathayan svādate hariḥ |
tiraḥ pavitram pariyann uru jrayo ni śaryāṇi dadhate deva ā varam || 2 ||
vi yo mame yamyā saṁyatī madaḥ sākaṁvṛdhā payasā pinvad akṣitā |
mahī apāre rajasī vivevidad abhivrajann akṣitam pāja ā dade || 3 ||
sa mātarā vicaran vājayann apaḥ pra medhiraḥ svadhayā pinvate padam |
aṁśur yavena pipiśe yato nṛbhiḥ saṁ jāmibhir nasate rakṣate śiraḥ || 4 ||
saṁ dakṣeṇa manasā jāyate kavir ṛtasya garbho nihito yamā paraḥ |
yūnā ha santā prathamaṁ vi jajñatur guhā hitaṁ janima nemam udyatam || 5 ||
mandrasya rūpaṁ vividur manīṣiṇaḥ śyeno yad andho abharat parāvataḥ |
tam marjayanta suvṛdhaṁ nadīṣv ām̐ uśantam aṁśum pariyantam ṛgmiyam || 6 ||
tvām mṛjanti daśa yoṣaṇaḥ sutaṁ soma ṛṣibhir matibhir dhītibhir hitam |
avyo vārebhir uta devahūtibhir nṛbhir yato vājam ā darṣi sātaye || 7 ||
pariprayantaṁ vayyaṁ suṣaṁsadaṁ somam manīṣā abhy anūṣata stubhaḥ |
yo dhārayā madhumām̐ ūrmiṇā diva iyarti vācaṁ rayiṣāḻ amartyaḥ || 8 ||
ayaṁ diva iyarti viśvam ā rajaḥ somaḥ punānaḥ kalaśeṣu sīdati |
adbhir gobhir mṛjyate adribhiḥ sutaḥ punāna indur varivo vidat priyam || 9 ||
evā naḥ soma pariṣicyamāno vayo dadhac citratamam pavasva |
adveṣe dyāvāpṛthivī huvema devā dhatta rayim asme suvīram || 10 ||
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).