Hymn to Soma
Rigveda VIII.37 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 8 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.
Sing, O my soul, to him whose bolt doth shatter the demon hosts!
Indra the drinker, Indra the slayer, whose thunder burns at the uttermost coasts.
His thunderbolt is sharpened sharp as any blade of death;
With it he breaketh all enemies in twain, spending his awful breath.
Come thou and drink this soma sweet, pressed out by priestly hands!
The singers are assembled here from all the distant lands.
We call thee down from heaven high, from all thy dwelling-places—
Come, O Indra, and find thy joy in the soma that we raise!
The joy of soma filleth thee like water filleth vessels wide.
Thou drinkest deep and art refreshed; thy strength cannot be tried.
The demons flee before thy face; the serpents hiss and die.
The Maruts leap beside thee here and dance across the sky.
We ask thee for protection now, for wealth and many kine.
Let enemies be scattered far; let all our fortunes shine.
The man who giveth soma drink to thee, O golden god,
Shall prosper all his days on earth, and find the gods will nod.
Thy victories are numbered past the counting of all men.
Thou hast slain the demons countless times, and thou wilt slay again.
With every draught of soma pure that mortals ever bring,
Thy strength is multiplied and grows, O mighty, thundering king.
In thee is all the joy of earth, all pleasure of the dance.
Thy laughter shaketh mountains vast; thy glance is like a lance.
So drink deep of the soma here, and be our strong defense,
That we may live in happiness and peace and opulence.
O Indra, let thy favor rest upon this home and hearth.
Let all who dwell within these walls find joy and merriment and mirth.
We offer unto thee the soma; be thou pleased and well,
And grant us all the blessings that within thy power dwell.
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 VIII.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.
predam brahma vṛtratūryeṣv āvitha pra sunvataḥ śacīpata indra viśvābhir ūtibhiḥ |
mādhyaṁdinasya savanasya vṛtrahann anedya pibā somasya vajrivaḥ || 1 ||
sehāna ugra pṛtanā abhi druhaḥ śacīpata indra viśvābhir ūtibhiḥ |
mādhyaṁdinasya savanasya vṛtrahann anedya pibā somasya vajrivaḥ || 2 ||
ekarāḻ asya bhuvanasya rājasi śacīpata indra viśvābhir ūtibhiḥ |
mādhyaṁdinasya savanasya vṛtrahann anedya pibā somasya vajrivaḥ || 3 ||
sasthāvānā yavayasi tvam eka ic chacīpata indra viśvābhir ūtibhiḥ |
mādhyaṁdinasya savanasya vṛtrahann anedya pibā somasya vajrivaḥ || 4 ||
kṣemasya ca prayujaś ca tvam īśiṣe śacīpata indra viśvābhir ūtibhiḥ |
mādhyaṁdinasya savanasya vṛtrahann anedya pibā somasya vajrivaḥ || 5 ||
kṣatrāya tvam avasi na tvam āvitha śacīpata indra viśvābhir ūtibhiḥ |
mādhyaṁdinasya savanasya vṛtrahann anedya pibā somasya vajrivaḥ || 6 ||
śyāvāśvasya rebhatas tathā śṛṇu yathāśṛṇor atreḥ karmāṇi kṛṇvataḥ |
pra trasadasyum āvitha tvam eka in nṛṣāhya indra kṣatrāṇi vardhayan || 7 ||
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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