Hymn to Soma
Rigveda I.91 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) addressed to Soma, the sacred plant-king whose pressed juice is both oblation and deity. It is one of the 1,028 hymns of the Rigveda organized within Maṇḍala 1, the first of ten books. The ṛṣi (seer) to whom this hymn is attributed and its precise liturgical context are recorded in the traditional Śākalya Anukramaṇī.
The Rigveda is the oldest of the four Vedas and one of the oldest surviving religious texts in the world, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in the Vedic Sanskrit of the Indus-Sarasvatī region. Its hymns were preserved through oral transmission across millennia before being committed to writing. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
Hail unto thee, O Soma! Divine plant of the immortals! Thy praises have been sung since time immemorial. In thee dwelleth the very essence of divinity itself. To drink of thee is to taste the nectar of eternity. To know thee is to pass beyond the gates of mortality and dwell forever in the realm of the gods.
Thou art born of heaven yet rooted in earth. Thy leaves are as green as spring. Thy juices flow like liquid starlight. When the priests do press thee with the sacred stones, the very heavens do ring out in celebration. All the gods do gather to receive thy precious gift. Their thirsts are quenched. Their strength is restored. They do receive back their immortality.
Soma, thou art the lord of growth and abundance! The fields grow verdant where thou art honored. The crops grow tall. The herds multiply beyond numbering. Wives become fertile. Children are born healthy and strong. The aged do recover their youth. The sick do rise from their beds and walk again.
In thy essence dwelleth the secret of eternal youth. Those who do drink of thee do taste the honey of immortality. Time hath no power over them. Death cannot touch them. They dwell in a realm beyond age and sorrow, beyond pain and loss.
O precious Soma! We mortals do hunger and thirst for thy blessing. We grind thee between the sacred stones. We mix thee with milk and grain. We offer thee unto the gods with hearts full of devotion. Accept our humble offerings. Thou art supreme among all plants. Thou art the lord of herbs. Grant unto us thy favor. Make us strong and wise. Let thy blessing flow through our veins like sacred fire.
Colophon
Rigveda I.91 is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, the version that has been transmitted and is considered canonical in the mainstream tradition. The Rigveda was composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE; this hymn addresses Soma, the sacred plant-king whose pressed juice is both oblation and deity. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, translated independently from the Sanskrit. Reference translations consulted during original translation session to be documented during Kshatriya Blood Rule audit.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
🌲
Source Text: ṛgveda I.91
tvaṁ soma pra cikito manīṣā tvaṁ rajiṣṭham anu neṣi panthām |
tava praṇītī pitaro na indo deveṣu ratnam abhajanta dhīrāḥ || 1 ||
tvaṁ soma kratubhiḥ sukratur bhūs tvaṁ dakṣaiḥ sudakṣo viśvavedāḥ |
tvaṁ vṛṣā vṛṣatvebhir mahitvā dyumnebhir dyumny abhavo nṛcakṣāḥ || 2 ||
rājño nu te varuṇasya vratāni bṛhad gabhīraṁ tava soma dhāma |
śuciṣ ṭvam asi priyo na mitro dakṣāyyo aryamevāsi soma || 3 ||
yā te dhāmāni divi yā pṛthivyāṁ yā parvateṣv oṣadhīṣv apsu |
tebhir no viśvaiḥ sumanā aheḻan rājan soma prati havyā gṛbhāya || 4 ||
tvaṁ somāsi satpatis tvaṁ rājota vṛtrahā |
tvam bhadro asi kratuḥ || 5 ||
tvaṁ ca soma no vaśo jīvātuṁ na marāmahe |
priyastotro vanaspatiḥ || 6 ||
tvaṁ soma mahe bhagaṁ tvaṁ yūna ṛtāyate |
dakṣaṁ dadhāsi jīvase || 7 ||
tvaṁ naḥ soma viśvato rakṣā rājann aghāyataḥ |
na riṣyet tvāvataḥ sakhā || 8 ||
soma yās te mayobhuva ūtayaḥ santi dāśuṣe |
tābhir no 'vitā bhava || 9 ||
imaṁ yajñam idaṁ vaco jujuṣāṇa upāgahi |
soma tvaṁ no vṛdhe bhava || 10 ||
soma gīrbhiṣ ṭvā vayaṁ vardhayāmo vacovidaḥ |
sumṛḻīko na ā viśa || 11 ||
gayasphāno amīvahā vasuvit puṣṭivardhanaḥ |
sumitraḥ soma no bhava || 12 ||
soma rārandhi no hṛdi gāvo na yavaseṣv ā |
marya iva sva okye || 13 ||
yaḥ soma sakhye tava rāraṇad deva martyaḥ |
taṁ dakṣaḥ sacate kaviḥ || 14 ||
uruṣyā ṇo abhiśasteḥ soma ni pāhy aṁhasaḥ |
sakhā suśeva edhi naḥ || 15 ||
ā pyāyasva sam etu te viśvataḥ soma vṛṣṇyam |
bhavā vājasya saṁgathe || 16 ||
ā pyāyasva madintama soma viśvebhir aṁśubhiḥ |
bhavā naḥ suśravastamaḥ sakhā vṛdhe || 17 ||
saṁ te payāṁsi sam u yantu vājāḥ saṁ vṛṣṇyāny abhimātiṣāhaḥ |
āpyāyamāno amṛtāya soma divi śravāṁsy uttamāni dhiṣva || 18 ||
yā te dhāmāni haviṣā yajanti tā te viśvā paribhūr astu yajñam |
gayasphānaḥ prataraṇaḥ suvīro 'vīrahā pra carā soma duryān || 19 ||
somo dhenuṁ somo arvantam āśuṁ somo vīraṁ karmaṇyaṁ dadāti |
sādanyaṁ vidathyaṁ sabheyam pitṛśravaṇaṁ yo dadāśad asmai || 20 ||
aṣāḻhaṁ yutsu pṛtanāsu papriṁ svarṣām apsāṁ vṛjanasya gopām |
bhareṣujāṁ sukṣitiṁ suśravasaṁ jayantaṁ tvām anu madema soma || 21 ||
tvam imā oṣadhīḥ soma viśvās tvam apo ajanayas tvaṁ gāḥ |
tvam ā tatanthorv a1ntarikṣaṁ tvaṁ jyotiṣā vi tamo vavartha || 22 ||
devena no manasā deva soma rāyo bhāgaṁ sahasāvann abhi yudhya |
mā tvā tanad īśiṣe vīryasyobhayebhyaḥ pra cikitsā gaviṣṭau || 23 ||
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).
🌲