Hymn to Soma
Rigveda V.31 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 5 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 Indra, thou who drinkest the soma with mighty lips! The sacred draught hath entered thy flesh; thy sinews grow taut as bowstrings. The soma-fire burneth within thee, and thy limbs are full of radiance. Thou art emboldened now for battle, O thunder-wielder! The foe shall cower before thee.
We have poured the Soma upon the stone, that sacred flow. Thou hast drunk it deep, and thy valor hath doubled, tripled, grown beyond measure. No chariot can match thy might, no horse can bear thee but those fashioned by the gods themselves. Thy thunderbolt resteth in thy hand—the Vajra, golden and dreadful.
The enemy host mustereth in the plain, but thou laughest at their array. Thy strength is as ten thousand men; thy roar shaketh the pillars of heaven. When thou risest from the sacred enclosure, the very earth trembleth beneath thy feet. The waters part before thee; the mountains bow their crowns.
Grant us, O Indra, this same courage! Let thy mighty essence flow into our breasts as the Soma floweth down. Make us bold as thou art bold, fearless as thou art fearless. Let us drink the draught of victory with thee. Strike down our enemies as thou strikeest down the demons. Lead us forth from darkness into the light of triumph.
Thou art the greatest of all deities, O Indra! None can rival thy prowess, none can gainsay thy claims. We sing thy praises, we pour the libation, we raise our voices in this hymn. Receive our worship, hear our prayer, and grant us victory in all our undertakings.
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 V.31
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.
indro rathāya pravataṁ kṛṇoti yam adhyasthān maghavā vājayantam |
yūtheva paśvo vy unoti gopā ariṣṭo yāti prathamaḥ siṣāsan || 1 ||
ā pra drava harivo mā vi venaḥ piśaṅgarāte abhi naḥ sacasva |
nahi tvad indra vasyo anyad asty amenām̐ś cij janivataś cakartha || 2 ||
ud yat sahaḥ sahasa ājaniṣṭa dediṣṭa indra indriyāṇi viśvā |
prācodayat sudughā vavre antar vi jyotiṣā saṁvavṛtvat tamo 'vaḥ || 3 ||
anavas te ratham aśvāya takṣan tvaṣṭā vajram puruhūta dyumantam |
brahmāṇa indram mahayanto arkair avardhayann ahaye hantavā u || 4 ||
vṛṣṇe yat te vṛṣaṇo arkam arcān indra grāvāṇo aditiḥ sajoṣāḥ |
anaśvāso ye pavayo 'rathā indreṣitā abhy avartanta dasyūn || 5 ||
pra te pūrvāṇi karaṇāni vocam pra nūtanā maghavan yā cakartha |
śaktīvo yad vibharā rodasī ubhe jayann apo manave dānucitrāḥ || 6 ||
tad in nu te karaṇaṁ dasma viprāhiṁ yad ghnann ojo atrāmimīthāḥ |
śuṣṇasya cit pari māyā agṛbhṇāḥ prapitvaṁ yann apa dasyūm̐r asedhaḥ || 7 ||
tvam apo yadave turvaśāyāramayaḥ sudughāḥ pāra indra |
ugram ayātam avaho ha kutsaṁ saṁ ha yad vām uśanāranta devāḥ || 8 ||
indrākutsā vahamānā rathenā vām atyā api karṇe vahantu |
niḥ ṣīm adbhyo dhamatho niḥ ṣadhasthān maghono hṛdo varathas tamāṁsi || 9 ||
vātasya yuktān suyujaś cid aśvān kaviś cid eṣo ajagann avasyuḥ |
viśve te atra marutaḥ sakhāya indra brahmāṇi taviṣīm avardhan || 10 ||
sūraś cid ratham paritakmyāyām pūrvaṁ karad uparaṁ jūjuvāṁsam |
bharac cakram etaśaḥ saṁ riṇāti puro dadhat saniṣyati kratuṁ naḥ || 11 ||
āyaṁ janā abhicakṣe jagāmendraḥ sakhāyaṁ sutasomam icchan |
vadan grāvāva vedim bhriyāte yasya jīram adhvaryavaś caranti || 12 ||
ye cākananta cākananta nū te martā amṛta mo te aṁha āran |
vāvandhi yajyūm̐r uta teṣu dhehy ojo janeṣu yeṣu te syāma || 13 ||
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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