Hymn to Soma
Rigveda II.11 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 2 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.
Indra, thou art the warrior-god supreme! When thou drinkest the soma, thy strength becometh infinite. The cup raiseth itself to thy lips; the golden liquid floweth into thy mouth; and lo, thy power swelleth beyond all measure! The very worlds tremble at thy might!
It is the soma that maketh thee terrible. It is the soma that giveth thee thy lightning-strength, thy thunderbolt-arm, thy voice like rolling thunder. When thou hast drunk deep, thy roar shaketh the foundations of the earth. The mountains bow before thee. The winds flee before thy passage.
In thy hand is the Vajra — the diamond-thunderbolt, the weapon that cannot be broken, the tool with which thou didst slay the serpent Vṛtra who held back the waters of the world! None can withstand thee when the soma hath entered thy veins and made thee fierce as a beast! The demons shriek and hide; the asuras flee like cowards before thy approach.
Yet thou art not a wild beast, though the soma maketh thy fury terrible. Thou art wise as well as strong. The soma giveth thee counsel; it sharpeneth thy wit; it revealeth to thee the hidden places where thy enemies hide. The gods trust thee with their most dangerous tasks, for they know thou shalt accomplish them flawlessly.
O soma-drinking Indra, we bring thee our praise! We kindle the fire; we pour out the ghee; we press the sacred plants! Drink deep of our offering! Let the soma make thee mighty in our behalf! Turn thy thunderbolt against our enemies! Smite them down as thou smotest Vṛtra! Let thy roar make them flee in terror! Be for us the invincible warrior, the protector, the victor eternal!
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.
🌲
Source Text: ṛgveda II.11
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.
śrudhī havam indra mā riṣaṇyaḥ syāma te dāvane vasūnām |
imā hi tvām ūrjo vardhayanti vasūyavaḥ sindhavo na kṣarantaḥ || 1 ||
sṛjo mahīr indra yā apinvaḥ pariṣṭhitā ahinā śūra pūrvīḥ |
amartyaṁ cid dāsam manyamānam avābhinad ukthair vāvṛdhānaḥ || 2 ||
uktheṣv in nu śūra yeṣu cākan stomeṣv indra rudriyeṣu ca |
tubhyed etā yāsu mandasānaḥ pra vāyave sisrate na śubhrāḥ || 3 ||
śubhraṁ nu te śuṣmaṁ vardhayantaḥ śubhraṁ vajram bāhvor dadhānāḥ |
śubhras tvam indra vāvṛdhāno asme dāsīr viśaḥ sūryeṇa sahyāḥ || 4 ||
guhā hitaṁ guhyaṁ gūḻham apsv apīvṛtam māyinaṁ kṣiyantam |
uto apo dyāṁ tastabhvāṁsam ahann ahiṁ śūra vīryeṇa || 5 ||
stavā nu ta indra pūrvyā mahāny uta stavāma nūtanā kṛtāni |
stavā vajram bāhvor uśantaṁ stavā harī sūryasya ketū || 6 ||
harī nu ta indra vājayantā ghṛtaścutaṁ svāram asvārṣṭām |
vi samanā bhūmir aprathiṣṭāraṁsta parvataś cit sariṣyan || 7 ||
ni parvataḥ sādy aprayucchan sam mātṛbhir vāvaśāno akrān |
dūre pāre vāṇīṁ vardhayanta indreṣitāṁ dhamanim paprathan ni || 8 ||
indro mahāṁ sindhum āśayānam māyāvinaṁ vṛtram asphuran niḥ |
arejetāṁ rodasī bhiyāne kanikradato vṛṣṇo asya vajrāt || 9 ||
aroravīd vṛṣṇo asya vajro 'mānuṣaṁ yan mānuṣo nijūrvāt |
ni māyino dānavasya māyā apādayat papivān sutasya || 10 ||
pibā-pibed indra śūra somam mandantu tvā mandinaḥ sutāsaḥ |
pṛṇantas te kukṣī vardhayantv itthā sutaḥ paura indram āva || 11 ||
tve indrāpy abhūma viprā dhiyaṁ vanema ṛtayā sapantaḥ |
avasyavo dhīmahi praśastiṁ sadyas te rāyo dāvane syāma || 12 ||
syāma te ta indra ye ta ūtī avasyava ūrjaṁ vardhayantaḥ |
śuṣmintamaṁ yaṁ cākanāma devāsme rayiṁ rāsi vīravantam || 13 ||
rāsi kṣayaṁ rāsi mitram asme rāsi śardha indra mārutaṁ naḥ |
sajoṣaso ye ca mandasānāḥ pra vāyavaḥ pānty agraṇītim || 14 ||
vyantv in nu yeṣu mandasānas tṛpat somam pāhi drahyad indra |
asmān su pṛtsv ā tarutrāvardhayo dyām bṛhadbhir arkaiḥ || 15 ||
bṛhanta in nu ye te tarutrokthebhir vā sumnam āvivāsān |
stṛṇānāso barhiḥ pastyāvat tvotā id indra vājam agman || 16 ||
ugreṣv in nu śūra mandasānas trikadrukeṣu pāhi somam indra |
pradodhuvac chmaśruṣu prīṇāno yāhi haribhyāṁ sutasya pītim || 17 ||
dhiṣvā śavaḥ śūra yena vṛtram avābhinad dānum aurṇavābham |
apāvṛṇor jyotir āryāya ni savyataḥ sādi dasyur indra || 18 ||
sanema ye ta ūtibhis taranto viśvāḥ spṛdha āryeṇa dasyūn |
asmabhyaṁ tat tvāṣṭraṁ viśvarūpam arandhayaḥ sākhyasya tritāya || 19 ||
asya suvānasya mandinas tritasya ny arbudaṁ vāvṛdhāno astaḥ |
avartayat sūryo na cakram bhinad valam indro aṅgirasvān || 20 ||
nūnaṁ sā te prati varaṁ jaritre duhīyad indra dakṣiṇā maghonī |
śikṣā stotṛbhyo māti dhag bhago no bṛhad vadema vidathe suvīrāḥ || 21 ||
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).
🌲