Hymn to Soma
Rigveda VIII.90 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.
Hark! The pressing-stones sound out their cry! The soma floweth forth like honey from the comb. The yellow juice falleth into the bowl, waiting to be offered unto the mighty god. Come, O Indra! Come and drink thy fill!
The sacred liquid is pressed from the plant; it is strained through the woven cloth. It shineth like liquid gold in the light of the sacred fires. Its sweetness is beyond all telling. When it toucheth the lips of the god, his power is renewed tenfold. His strength floweth back like the tide returning to the shore.
We call upon thee, O mighty one! Thy chariot is ready; the paths before thee lie open. Hear the sound of the pressing-stones! It is the voice of thy worshippers crying out for thy presence. We have prepared the offering; the soma awaiteth thee. Come swiftly, O Indra!
When thou drinkest of this soma, thy glory shall be magnified. Thy thunderbolt shall become as lightning itself. Thy steeds shall run like the very wind. Thy strength shall be as great as the mountains. No enemy shall dare to lift his hand against thee. All the foes of the righteous shall flee before thy wrath.
The soma giveth life to the god. The soma giveth power to the soma-drinker. It is the sacred link between earth and heaven, between mortal man and the immortal gods. Through the soma, we commune with thee. Through the soma, we offer unto thee our devotion and our love.
Come and drink deeply, O Indra! Be strengthened by the offering we have prepared. And when thou art satisfied, when thy glory shineth forth like the sun upon the mountains, then remember us, thy faithful worshippers, and grant unto us thy blessing and thy protection!
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.90
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.
ā no viśvāsu havya indraḥ samatsu bhūṣatu |
upa brahmāṇi savanāni vṛtrahā paramajyā ṛcīṣamaḥ || 1 ||
tvaṁ dātā prathamo rādhasām asy asi satya īśānakṛt |
tuvidyumnasya yujyā vṛṇīmahe putrasya śavaso mahaḥ || 2 ||
brahmā ta indra girvaṇaḥ kriyante anatidbhutā |
imā juṣasva haryaśva yojanendra yā te amanmahi || 3 ||
tvaṁ hi satyo maghavann anānato vṛtrā bhūri nyṛñjase |
sa tvaṁ śaviṣṭha vajrahasta dāśuṣe 'rvāñcaṁ rayim ā kṛdhi || 4 ||
tvam indra yaśā asy ṛjīṣī śavasas pate |
tvaṁ vṛtrāṇi haṁsy apratīny eka id anuttā carṣaṇīdhṛtā || 5 ||
tam u tvā nūnam asura pracetasaṁ rādho bhāgam ivemahe |
mahīva kṛttiḥ śaraṇā ta indra pra te sumnā no aśnavan || 6 ||
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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