Hymn to Soma
Rigveda VI.20 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 6 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.
I.
O Indra, lord of Soma, thou whose strength is endless,
Who drinkest deep the sacred juice in heaven's high hall,
Whose might doth grow with every draught of Soma poured,
Grant us the wisdom and the courage of the gods.
II.
When Soma floweth forth like the breaking of the dawn,
When mortals pour it out in vessels shaped of wood,
Thou drinkest and thy power doth increase ten-fold,
Thy voice doth thunder through the three worlds all around.
III.
By Soma's gift thy body swelleth vast and mighty,
Thy arms grow long enough to span the very heavens,
Thy voice doth shake the mountains and the deeps of earth,
No foe can stand against thee when thy strength doth wake.
IV.
O drinker of the Soma, grant us too a portion,
That we may taste the sweetness of immortal grace,
Let not our cup be empty when we raise it up to thee,
But fill it with the nectar that doth make us whole.
V.
The Soma-drinker knoweth all the secrets,
The hidden treasures of the earth and sky,
He seeth what is hidden, knoweth what shall be,
And judgeth all the deeds of gods and mortal men.
VI.
O Indra, in thy friendship lies our safety,
In thy great power our hope and our delight,
Grant us the Soma's gift, grant us its wisdom,
That we may walk the path that leadeth unto thee.
VII.
The mighty ones do gather when the Soma floweth,
The Maruts, Vayu, Mitra, all the host of heaven,
They come to drink and celebrate thy glory,
While mortals sing below and pour the sacred wine.
VIII.
Make us, O Soma-lord, thy favored people,
Let us drink deep of thy celestial gift,
Grant us the strength and the immortal fortune,
And let us ever praise thy might and majesty.
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 VI.20
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.
dyaur na ya indrābhi bhūmāryas tasthau rayiḥ śavasā pṛtsu janān |
taṁ naḥ sahasrabharam urvarāsāṁ daddhi sūno sahaso vṛtraturam || 1 ||
divo na tubhyam anv indra satrāsuryaṁ devebhir dhāyi viśvam |
ahiṁ yad vṛtram apo vavrivāṁsaṁ hann ṛjīṣin viṣṇunā sacānaḥ || 2 ||
tūrvann ojīyān tavasas tavīyān kṛtabrahmendro vṛddhamahāḥ |
rājābhavan madhunaḥ somyasya viśvāsāṁ yat purāṁ dartnum āvat || 3 ||
śatair apadran paṇaya indrātra daśoṇaye kavaye 'rkasātau |
vadhaiḥ śuṣṇasyāśuṣasya māyāḥ pitvo nārirecīt kiṁ cana pra || 4 ||
maho druho apa viśvāyu dhāyi vajrasya yat patane pādi śuṣṇaḥ |
uru ṣa sarathaṁ sārathaye kar indraḥ kutsāya sūryasya sātau || 5 ||
pra śyeno na madiram aṁśum asmai śiro dāsasya namucer mathāyan |
prāvan namīṁ sāpyaṁ sasantam pṛṇag rāyā sam iṣā saṁ svasti || 6 ||
vi pipror ahimāyasya dṛḻhāḥ puro vajriñ chavasā na dardaḥ |
sudāman tad rekṇo apramṛṣyam ṛjiśvane dātraṁ dāśuṣe dāḥ || 7 ||
sa vetasuṁ daśamāyaṁ daśoṇiṁ tūtujim indraḥ svabhiṣṭisumnaḥ |
ā tugraṁ śaśvad ibhaṁ dyotanāya mātur na sīm upa sṛjā iyadhyai || 8 ||
sa īṁ spṛdho vanate apratīto bibhrad vajraṁ vṛtrahaṇaṁ gabhastau |
tiṣṭhad dharī adhy asteva garte vacoyujā vahata indram ṛṣvam || 9 ||
sanema te 'vasā navya indra pra pūravaḥ stavanta enā yajñaiḥ |
sapta yat puraḥ śarma śāradīr dard dhan dāsīḥ purukutsāya śikṣan || 10 ||
tvaṁ vṛdha indra pūrvyo bhūr varivasyann uśane kāvyāya |
parā navavāstvam anudeyam mahe pitre dadātha svaṁ napātam || 11 ||
tvaṁ dhunir indra dhunimatīr ṛṇor apaḥ sīrā na sravantīḥ |
pra yat samudram ati śūra parṣi pārayā turvaśaṁ yaduṁ svasti || 12 ||
tava ha tyad indra viśvam ājau sasto dhunīcumurī yā ha siṣvap |
dīdayad it tubhyaṁ somebhiḥ sunvan dabhītir idhmabhṛtiḥ pakthy a1rkaiḥ || 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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