Hymn to Soma
Rigveda IX.100 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.
The guileless cry aloud to him who is dear unto Indra; and the Mothers, as milk-cows their newborn calf, lap the tawny draught at his first uprising.
While thou art strained, O drop of Soma, bear us wealth twice lofty; for in the righteous household thou cherishest all fair things.
Unleash the piercing thought, yoke-mated with the mind, even as thunder lets the rain go free; so dost thou nourish treasures of earth and of the sky, O Soma.
Pressed, thy torrent wheels in ring, the victor’s steed in full career, sweeping through the fleece as a champion homeward laden with his spoil.
For our will and cunning, O poet-juice, refine thyself in plenteous flow—Soma pressed for Indra’s bowl, for Mitra and for Varuṇa.
Be thou made pure, prime winner of rich rewards, within the sieve; stream forth most honey-sweet for Indra and for Viṣṇu, yea, for every god, O Soma.
The spotless Mothers lick thee, tawny beam, within the cloth, as kine caress their newborn calf, O self-brightening one, when thou dost swell in might.
Self-cleansing drop, thou drivest unto ringing fame with thy resplendent shafts; in pride thou dashest every shadow from the godly man’s abode.
O thou of sovereign mandate, towering beyond both heaven and earth, thou hast girt thy shining mantle round about thee in thine immeasurable majesty.
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.100
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.
abhī navante adruhaḥ priyam indrasya kāmyam |
vatsaṁ na pūrva āyuni jātaṁ rihanti mātaraḥ || 1 ||
punāna indav ā bhara soma dvibarhasaṁ rayim |
tvaṁ vasūni puṣyasi viśvāni dāśuṣo gṛhe || 2 ||
tvaṁ dhiyam manoyujaṁ sṛjā vṛṣṭiṁ na tanyatuḥ |
tvaṁ vasūni pārthivā divyā ca soma puṣyasi || 3 ||
pari te jigyuṣo yathā dhārā sutasya dhāvati |
raṁhamāṇā vy a1vyayaṁ vāraṁ vājīva sānasiḥ || 4 ||
kratve dakṣāya naḥ kave pavasva soma dhārayā |
indrāya pātave suto mitrāya varuṇāya ca || 5 ||
pavasva vājasātamaḥ pavitre dhārayā sutaḥ |
indrāya soma viṣṇave devebhyo madhumattamaḥ || 6 ||
tvāṁ rihanti mātaro harim pavitre adruhaḥ |
vatsaṁ jātaṁ na dhenavaḥ pavamāna vidharmaṇi || 7 ||
pavamāna mahi śravaś citrebhir yāsi raśmibhiḥ |
śardhan tamāṁsi jighnase viśvāni dāśuṣo gṛhe || 8 ||
tvaṁ dyāṁ ca mahivrata pṛthivīṁ cāti jabhriṣe |
prati drāpim amuñcathāḥ pavamāna mahitvanā || 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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