Hymn to Soma
Rigveda IV.16 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 4 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.
O mighty Indra, whom the gods made chief among all powers! Soma-drinker, the strong-armed one who breaketh the enemy's chariot and smasheth his citadel — we call upon thee now. Thou art the lord of battles, the golden-armed, the wielder of the thunderbolt.
What praise can match thy deeds, O Indra? When thou drinkest the soma pressed by mortal hands, thy body swelleth, thy sinews tighten, thy heart burneth with the fire of cosmic fury. Thou art no weakling god, timid or hesitant. Nay — thou art muscular, vast as a mountain, thy shoulders broad as the sky itself.
The soma maketh thee invincible. In that cup of pressed juice, the strength of ten thousand warriors pooleth. Thou drinkest deep, and lo — the heavens tremble. The earth coweth beneath thy foot. Even the mighty serpent Vṛtra feareth thee when thou art empowered thus.
We singers praise thy victory. We praise thy generosity — for thou givest cattle to the faithful, gold to those who offer thee libations. Thou art no miserly god. What thou winnest in battle, thou dividest among thy worshippers. The riches of the slain Dasyus flow to our herds.
Come to us, O Indra, in this moment. Drink the soma that we have pressed. Let thy sinews swell. Let thy heart blaze. Come as the protector of those who invoke thee, as the slayer of our foes, as the guardian of the Āryan peoples. We depend upon thy strength.
The mortal who honoreth thee with offerings shall not perish. His enemies shall be scattered as dust before the wind. Thou art our shield, our fortress, our eternal champion.
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 IV.16
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.
ā satyo yātu maghavām̐ ṛjīṣī dravantv asya haraya upa naḥ |
tasmā id andhaḥ suṣumā sudakṣam ihābhipitvaṁ karate gṛṇānaḥ || 1 ||
ava sya śūrādhvano nānte 'smin no adya savane mandadhyai |
śaṁsāty uktham uśaneva vedhāś cikituṣe asuryāya manma || 2 ||
kavir na niṇyaṁ vidathāni sādhan vṛṣā yat sekaṁ vipipāno arcāt |
diva itthā jījanat sapta kārūn ahnā cic cakrur vayunā gṛṇantaḥ || 3 ||
sva1r yad vedi sudṛśīkam arkair mahi jyotī rurucur yad dha vastoḥ |
andhā tamāṁsi dudhitā vicakṣe nṛbhyaś cakāra nṛtamo abhiṣṭau || 4 ||
vavakṣa indro amitam ṛjīṣy u1bhe ā paprau rodasī mahitvā |
ataś cid asya mahimā vi recy abhi yo viśvā bhuvanā babhūva || 5 ||
viśvāni śakro naryāṇi vidvān apo rireca sakhibhir nikāmaiḥ |
aśmānaṁ cid ye bibhidur vacobhir vrajaṁ gomantam uśijo vi vavruḥ || 6 ||
apo vṛtraṁ vavrivāṁsam parāhan prāvat te vajram pṛthivī sacetāḥ |
prārṇāṁsi samudriyāṇy ainoḥ patir bhavañ chavasā śūra dhṛṣṇo || 7 ||
apo yad adrim puruhūta dardar āvir bhuvat saramā pūrvyaṁ te |
sa no netā vājam ā darṣi bhūriṁ gotrā rujann aṅgirobhir gṛṇānaḥ || 8 ||
acchā kaviṁ nṛmaṇo gā abhiṣṭau svarṣātā maghavan nādhamānam |
ūtibhis tam iṣaṇo dyumnahūtau ni māyāvān abrahmā dasyur arta || 9 ||
ā dasyughnā manasā yāhy astam bhuvat te kutsaḥ sakhye nikāmaḥ |
sve yonau ni ṣadataṁ sarūpā vi vāṁ cikitsad ṛtacid dha nārī || 10 ||
yāsi kutsena saratham avasyus todo vātasya haryor īśānaḥ |
ṛjrā vājaṁ na gadhyaṁ yuyūṣan kavir yad ahan pāryāya bhūṣāt || 11 ||
kutsāya śuṣṇam aśuṣaṁ ni barhīḥ prapitve ahnaḥ kuyavaṁ sahasrā |
sadyo dasyūn pra mṛṇa kutsyena pra sūraś cakraṁ vṛhatād abhīke || 12 ||
tvam piprum mṛgayaṁ śūśuvāṁsam ṛjiśvane vaidathināya randhīḥ |
pañcāśat kṛṣṇā ni vapaḥ sahasrātkaṁ na puro jarimā vi dardaḥ || 13 ||
sūra upāke tanva1ṁ dadhāno vi yat te cety amṛtasya varpaḥ |
mṛgo na hastī taviṣīm uṣāṇaḥ siṁho na bhīma āyudhāni bibhrat || 14 ||
indraṁ kāmā vasūyanto agman svarmīḻhe na savane cakānāḥ |
śravasyavaḥ śaśamānāsa ukthair oko na raṇvā sudṛśīva puṣṭiḥ || 15 ||
tam id va indraṁ suhavaṁ huvema yas tā cakāra naryā purūṇi |
yo māvate jaritre gadhyaṁ cin makṣū vājam bharati spārharādhāḥ || 16 ||
tigmā yad antar aśaniḥ patāti kasmiñ cic chūra muhuke janānām |
ghorā yad arya samṛtir bhavāty adha smā nas tanvo bodhi gopāḥ || 17 ||
bhuvo 'vitā vāmadevasya dhīnām bhuvaḥ sakhāvṛko vājasātau |
tvām anu pramatim ā jaganmoruśaṁso jaritre viśvadha syāḥ || 18 ||
ebhir nṛbhir indra tvāyubhiṣ ṭvā maghavadbhir maghavan viśva ājau |
dyāvo na dyumnair abhi santo aryaḥ kṣapo madema śaradaś ca pūrvīḥ || 19 ||
eved indrāya vṛṣabhāya vṛṣṇe brahmākarma bhṛgavo na ratham |
nū cid yathā naḥ sakhyā viyoṣad asan na ugro 'vitā tanūpāḥ || 20 ||
nū ṣṭuta indra nū gṛṇāna iṣaṁ jaritre nadyo3 na pīpeḥ |
akāri te harivo brahma navyaṁ dhiyā syāma rathyaḥ sadāsāḥ || 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).
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