Hymn to Soma
Rigveda VII.20 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 7 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! The soma that the priests do press floweth forth like rivers of liquid gold. The draught is sweet beyond all telling; the fragrance riseth like incense unto heaven.
Come, O Thunderer, and drink of this offering! Let the pressed juice delight thy heart; let thy belly be filled with rapture. When thou dost drink the soma, thy strength increaseth a thousandfold. The enemies of the gods do tremble and do hide themselves away.
With thy bolt of lightning thou dost smash the strongholds of the demons. The fortresses that seemed eternal, thou dost shatter like clay vessels. The enemy kings, though they think themselves mighty, are but as straw before thy tempest.
Thou art the lord of the rains; the rivers do obey thy command. When thou dost will it, the thunder-clouds gather and the rain falls upon the earth. The fields do flourish; the grain doth grow. The cattle are watered; the people do drink. Through thy power, all life is sustained.
O giver of gifts! Thou art generous beyond all measure. The king who worships thee with soma shall never lack for treasure. The warrior who calls upon thy name shall never lack for victory. The priest who maketh offering unto thee shall never lack for blessing.
The storms do follow thee; the winds obey thy voice. Thou ridest forth upon the tempest with the Maruts at thy side. The clouds break and the rain falls at thy command. Thou art the power that maketh all things grow.
Indra, accept our offering! Hear thou our hymn! Drink of the soma and be pleased. Grant unto us thy favor, thy strength, and thy protection. Let us ever walk beneath thy shadow and dwell in the radiance of thy power.
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 VII.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.
ugro jajñe vīryāya svadhāvāñ cakrir apo naryo yat kariṣyan |
jagmir yuvā nṛṣadanam avobhis trātā na indra enaso mahaś cit || 1 ||
hantā vṛtram indraḥ śūśuvānaḥ prāvīn nu vīro jaritāram ūtī |
kartā sudāse aha vā u lokaṁ dātā vasu muhur ā dāśuṣe bhūt || 2 ||
yudhmo anarvā khajakṛt samadvā śūraḥ satrāṣāḍ januṣem aṣāḻhaḥ |
vy āsa indraḥ pṛtanāḥ svojā adhā viśvaṁ śatrūyantaṁ jaghāna || 3 ||
ubhe cid indra rodasī mahitvā paprātha taviṣībhis tuviṣmaḥ |
ni vajram indro harivān mimikṣan sam andhasā madeṣu vā uvoca || 4 ||
vṛṣā jajāna vṛṣaṇaṁ raṇāya tam u cin nārī naryaṁ sasūva |
pra yaḥ senānīr adha nṛbhyo astīnaḥ satvā gaveṣaṇaḥ sa dhṛṣṇuḥ || 5 ||
nū cit sa bhreṣate jano na reṣan mano yo asya ghoram āvivāsāt |
yajñair ya indre dadhate duvāṁsi kṣayat sa rāya ṛtapā ṛtejāḥ || 6 ||
yad indra pūrvo aparāya śikṣann ayaj jyāyān kanīyaso deṣṇam |
amṛta it pary āsīta dūram ā citra citryam bharā rayiṁ naḥ || 7 ||
yas ta indra priyo jano dadāśad asan nireke adrivaḥ sakhā te |
vayaṁ te asyāṁ sumatau caniṣṭhāḥ syāma varūthe aghnato nṛpītau || 8 ||
eṣa stomo acikradad vṛṣā ta uta stāmur maghavann akrapiṣṭa |
rāyas kāmo jaritāraṁ ta āgan tvam aṅga śakra vasva ā śako naḥ || 9 ||
sa na indra tvayatāyā iṣe dhās tmanā ca ye maghavāno junanti |
vasvī ṣu te jaritre astu śaktir yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ || 10 ||
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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