Hymn to Soma
Rigveda VIII.86 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.
Come swiftly, O Indra, to the pressing-stone! The stones have fallen upon the soma, and the sweet nectar riseth like the dawn. We call thee with voices like the cry of eagles; hear us, thou mighty one, and come unto us!
Thou art the soma-drinker, the beloved of the gods. When the soma floweth, thy power increaseth beyond measure. The strength of a thousand warriors dwelleth in thy breast. One draught of the sacred juice, and thy glory shineth forth like the sun upon the mountains.
Shatterer of fortresses! Breaker of the proud cities of the demons! Thou comest forth in thy chariot, drawn by thy bay-coloured steeds that run like the wind. The wheels of thy chariot thunder like the very heavens rolling across the sky. Where thou passest, the enemies tremble and fall.
The soma maketh thee invincible. It giveth thee courage that knoweth no limit. It sharpeneth thy bolt until it gleameth like lightning. It filleth thy heart with the will to overcome all obstacles. Therefore we press the soma with our hands, we strain it through the wool, we offer it unto thee with reverence and with joy.
Come, mighty Indra! Come to our sacrifice! Drink deeply of the sweetness we have prepared for thee. Let the soma touch thy lips and flood thy veins with power. Then shall there be none among all the gods who can stand against thee, none among all the foes of the righteous who can withstand thy wrath.
We have prepared the offering; the soma waiteth for thee. Come swift as the falcon! Come fierce as the storm! Come mighty as the mountains! Accept our gift, O king of the gods, and grant unto us the blessings of thy favour!
Thou art the greatest of all the immortals, O Soma-drinker, fortress-breaker, the lord of might and the friend of those who call upon thy name.
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.86
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.
ubhā hi dasrā bhiṣajā mayobhuvobhā dakṣasya vacaso babhūvathuḥ |
tā vāṁ viśvako havate tanūkṛthe mā no vi yauṣṭaṁ sakhyā mumocatam || 1 ||
kathā nūnaṁ vāṁ vimanā upa stavad yuvaṁ dhiyaṁ dadathur vasyaïṣṭaye |
tā vāṁ viśvako havate tanūkṛthe mā no vi yauṣṭaṁ sakhyā mumocatam || 2 ||
yuvaṁ hi ṣmā purubhujemam edhatuṁ viṣṇāpve dadathur vasyaïṣṭaye |
tā vāṁ viśvako havate tanūkṛthe mā no vi yauṣṭaṁ sakhyā mumocatam || 3 ||
uta tyaṁ vīraṁ dhanasām ṛjīṣiṇaṁ dūre cit santam avase havāmahe |
yasya svādiṣṭhā sumatiḥ pitur yathā mā no vi yauṣṭaṁ sakhyā mumocatam || 4 ||
ṛtena devaḥ savitā śamāyata ṛtasya śṛṅgam urviyā vi paprathe |
ṛtaṁ sāsāha mahi cit pṛtanyato mā no vi yauṣṭaṁ sakhyā mumocatam || 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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