Hymn to Soma
Rigveda VI.36 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.
We have pressed the soma, O Indra! The juice flows golden in the bowl, waiting for thy lips. Drink deep, O lord! Let the intoxicating draught flow through thy being. Feel thy strength swell beyond all measure; let thy consciousness expand to fill the three worlds!
The soma entereth thee; thy eyes blaze with inner light. Thy thunderbolt grows heavier in thy hand; thy voice deepens to the voice of creation itself. The mortals cannot approach thee now, so terrible is thy beauty, so immense is thy presence. Even the lesser gods stand back in awe.
What deeds shalt thou accomplish now, O lord drunk with the soma? What enemies shall fall before thy wrath? In this state of divine intoxication, thou becomest something beyond the gods themselves—neither wholly god nor wholly the sacred draught, but something born from the union of both.
Thy power flows into the earth beneath thy feet. The mountains quake; the sky trembles; the waters rise up in reverence. All creation feels the surge of thy might. This is the moment when anything is possible, when even the impossible becomes merely difficult.
The warriors who drink soma with thee become invincible. The priests who drink with thee perceive the hidden worlds. The ordinary man who tastes it sees visions of truth. But thou, O Indra, thou drinkest not as they drink—thou drinkest as the god drinks, and thy intoxication shaketh the very foundations of being.
O mighty lord, let this ecstasy lead thee to generosity! Remember those who pressed the soma for thee; remember those who sang thy praise. In thy exultation, look down upon us with favor. Grant us a share of the power that flows through thee; grant us a taste of the soma's bliss!
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.36
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.
satrā madāsas tava viśvajanyāḥ satrā rāyo 'dha ye pārthivāsaḥ |
satrā vājānām abhavo vibhaktā yad deveṣu dhārayathā asuryam || 1 ||
anu pra yeje jana ojo asya satrā dadhire anu vīryāya |
syūmagṛbhe dudhaye 'rvate ca kratuṁ vṛñjanty api vṛtrahatye || 2 ||
taṁ sadhrīcīr ūtayo vṛṣṇyāni pauṁsyāni niyutaḥ saścur indram |
samudraṁ na sindhava ukthaśuṣmā uruvyacasaṁ gira ā viśanti || 3 ||
sa rāyas khām upa sṛjā gṛṇānaḥ puruścandrasya tvam indra vasvaḥ |
patir babhūthāsamo janānām eko viśvasya bhuvanasya rājā || 4 ||
sa tu śrudhi śrutyā yo duvoyur dyaur na bhūmābhi rāyo aryaḥ |
aso yathā naḥ śavasā cakāno yuge-yuge vayasā cekitānaḥ || 5 ||
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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