Hymn to Soma
Rigveda X.78 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 10 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 by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
Rich in their aim, as poets stirred by heaven-born thought; rich in reward, as those who serve the gods with holy gifts; fair to behold, as kings in glory clad;
pure and unmarked, as youths of well-born towns.
Their breasts aglow with gleaming stones, they flash as fire; they race like winds, yoked to their own breath, bringing swift aid; their counsel sound as greybeards wise in forethought, their shelter sweet as soma to the truth-seeker's lips.
Like gusts of wind, they stir and never settle, their radiance flickers like the tongues of flame; they burn with strength, as mailed men in battle; they gift like sires remembered in song and rite.
As chariot spokes all meet in one still navel, so are they bound, heavenward like victors crowned; they rain down ghee as lusty youths their gold, and beat in time like chanters in their song.
Fleet as high-bred steeds, they bear good bounty, like suitors seeking hearts with bridled speed; they flow as streams that hold the deeps in trust, and show forth every shape in song, as Aṅgirases of old.
Like stones that press, their patrons spring from rivers, like steadfast rocks they ceaselessly do strike; they play as children do with loving mothers, or march as mighty hosts, unrest their war-drum’s cry.
Like dawn-fires blazing bright upon the altar, they shine as seekers drawn to beauty’s gleam; they stream as rivers, spear-tips catching sunlight, they mark their path as wayfarers through far-off lands.
O gods, grant us good lot and rich upholding; strengthen us, Maruts, we who sing your name.
Give heed unto our praise and to our kinship— for treasure-gifts of old are still your right.
Colophon
This hymn is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, translated independently from the Sanskrit. Reference translations consulted during original translation are to be documented during audit.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: ṛgveda X.78
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.
viprāso na manmabhiḥ svādhyo devāvyo3 na yajñaiḥ svapnasaḥ |
rājāno na citrāḥ susaṁdṛśaḥ kṣitīnāṁ na maryā arepasaḥ || 1 ||
agnir na ye bhrājasā rukmavakṣaso vātāso na svayujaḥ sadyaūtayaḥ |
prajñātāro na jyeṣṭhāḥ sunītayaḥ suśarmāṇo na somā ṛtaṁ yate || 2 ||
vātāso na ye dhunayo jigatnavo 'gnīnāṁ na jihvā virokiṇaḥ |
varmaṇvanto na yodhāḥ śimīvantaḥ pitṝṇāṁ na śaṁsāḥ surātayaḥ || 3 ||
rathānāṁ na ye1 'rāḥ sanābhayo jigīvāṁso na śūrā abhidyavaḥ |
vareyavo na maryā ghṛtapruṣo 'bhisvartāro arkaṁ na suṣṭubhaḥ || 4 ||
aśvāso na ye jyeṣṭhāsa āśavo didhiṣavo na rathyaḥ sudānavaḥ |
āpo na nimnair udabhir jigatnavo viśvarūpā aṅgiraso na sāmabhiḥ || 5 ||
grāvāṇo na sūrayaḥ sindhumātara ādardirāso adrayo na viśvahā |
śiśūlā na krīḻayaḥ sumātaro mahāgrāmo na yāmann uta tviṣā || 6 ||
uṣasāṁ na ketavo 'dhvaraśriyaḥ śubhaṁyavo nāñjibhir vy aśvitan |
sindhavo na yayiyo bhrājadṛṣṭayaḥ parāvato na yojanāni mamire || 7 ||
subhāgān no devāḥ kṛṇutā suratnān asmān stotṝn maruto vāvṛdhānāḥ |
adhi stotrasya sakhyasya gāta sanād dhi vo ratnadheyāni santi || 8 ||
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).
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