Hymn to Soma
Rigveda IX.10 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 9 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.
While being pressed, the soma flows roar as chariots on the charge, seeking glory as do steeds in battle, and they surge forth in quest of wealth.
Driven as chariots are driven, they speed betwixt the hands of the priest; their winnings like those of warriors sure in triumph.
As kings by praise are anointed with kine, so are the soma draughts adorned; like the rite itself, ordained by the sacred seven.
With might and song they thunder, pressed for bliss—the shining drops whirl in streams, rushing headlong.
They have won the portion of Vivasvant, and bring forth the gift of Dawn; the Suns stretch wide their golden limbs across the gleaming fleece.
The seers of old flung wide the doors of poetic mind—the Ayus let loose for the bull's wild wrath.
Together they sit, the Hotars and their seven kin, guiding the path of the lone one with care and craft.
He hath fastened his navel unto ours, his eye unto the sun; he hath given to the poet offspring, as milk is giv’n from the breast.
Along his beloved tracks and the road of the heavens—hid by the Adhvaryus—he casteth his gaze with the sun's own eye.
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 IX.10
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.
pra svānāso rathā ivārvanto na śravasyavaḥ |
somāso rāye akramuḥ || 1 ||
hinvānāso rathā iva dadhanvire gabhastyoḥ |
bharāsaḥ kāriṇām iva || 2 ||
rājāno na praśastibhiḥ somāso gobhir añjate |
yajño na sapta dhātṛbhiḥ || 3 ||
pari suvānāsa indavo madāya barhaṇā girā |
sutā arṣanti dhārayā || 4 ||
āpānāso vivasvato jananta uṣaso bhagam |
sūrā aṇvaṁ vi tanvate || 5 ||
apa dvārā matīnām pratnā ṛṇvanti kāravaḥ |
vṛṣṇo harasa āyavaḥ || 6 ||
samīcīnāsa āsate hotāraḥ saptajāmayaḥ |
padam ekasya piprataḥ || 7 ||
nābhā nābhiṁ na ā dade cakṣuś cit sūrye sacā |
kaver apatyam ā duhe || 8 ||
abhi priyā divas padam adhvaryubhir guhā hitam |
sūraḥ paśyati cakṣasā || 9 ||
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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