Hymn to Soma
Rigveda VI.37 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.
O generous Indra! Thou givest to those who honor thee with the soma-sacrifice. They press the juice; they sing thy praises; they lay the butter upon the fire—and thou rememberest them. Thy rewards fall upon them like rain upon parched earth.
The man who hath pressed the soma shall not lack for anything. His cattle multiply; his herds grow fat; his enemies scatter before him like birds fleeing the hawk. His wife beareth him sons; his fields yield abundant grain. All good things come to him because he hath honored thee, O lord.
The priest who singeth thy hymns with true devotion shall know no poverty. His voice shall be sweet and persuasive; his words shall have power over men's hearts. He shall be honored in the assembly; his counsel shall be heeded. Kings shall seek his favor; the people shall listen when he speaketh.
This is the bond between thee and those who worship thee, O Indra—a bond of mutual exchange, of gift and counter-gift. We offer unto thee the soma and the butter, the songs and the prayers. Thou acceptest these offerings and pourest out thy blessings upon us.
But know this, O lord—there are those who offer nothing, who sing no hymn in thy honor, who press no soma and lay no butter before thee. These shall know only hardship and fear. Let them see the prosperity of those who honor thee, and let them rue their foolishness!
Therefore let us sing louder, O Indra! Let us press the soma more carefully; let us lay upon thy fire the richest butter. Let us be among those who know thy generosity, those whom thou regardest with favor. Grant us the reward of the faithful, the blessings that flow from thy hand!
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.37
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.
arvāg rathaṁ viśvavāraṁ ta ugrendra yuktāso harayo vahantu |
kīriś cid dhi tvā havate svarvān ṛdhīmahi sadhamādas te adya || 1 ||
pro droṇe harayaḥ karmāgman punānāsa ṛjyanto abhūvan |
indro no asya pūrvyaḥ papīyād dyukṣo madasya somyasya rājā || 2 ||
āsasrāṇāsaḥ śavasānam acchendraṁ sucakre rathyāso aśvāḥ |
abhi śrava ṛjyanto vaheyur nū cin nu vāyor amṛtaṁ vi dasyet || 3 ||
variṣṭho asya dakṣiṇām iyartīndro maghonāṁ tuvikūrmitamaḥ |
yayā vajrivaḥ pariyāsy aṁho maghā ca dhṛṣṇo dayase vi sūrīn || 4 ||
indro vājasya sthavirasya dātendro gīrbhir vardhatāṁ vṛddhamahāḥ |
indro vṛtraṁ haniṣṭho astu satvā tā sūriḥ pṛṇati tūtujānaḥ || 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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