A Hymn of Maṇḍala 9
Rigveda IX.105 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.
Comrades, lift your voices whilst the shining draught is cleansed, that your own hearts may leap with gladness. As a tender babe is soothed with gifts and gentle words, so do ye sweeten him with sacrifice and reverent greeting.
Even as a young calf is urged to the side of its lowing dams, so is the golden liquor driven and anointed, chasing after the gods. All round about, the rapture-bringing drink is decked with luminous thoughts.
Lo, he that crowneth art with triumph is at hand; he that goeth in quest of the heavenly host. Behold the crushed ambrosia—richest honey to the immortals.
When thou art pressed, O deft-wrought Drop, speed thou to us laden with kine and steeds. I have set thy radiant hue amid the herds, a token gleaming bright.
O lordly Drop, master of the tawny coursers, thou giver of rare delight unto the gods—stand by us as a stalwart friend beside his fellow, and shed thy light upon our way.
Sweep far from us, with all his gear, each faithless devourer; and thou, victorious Drop, ward off oppression, turning aside the double-tongued conspirer.
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.105
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.
taṁ vaḥ sakhāyo madāya punānam abhi gāyata |
śiśuṁ na yajñaiḥ svadayanta gūrtibhiḥ || 1 ||
saṁ vatsa iva mātṛbhir indur hinvāno ajyate |
devāvīr mado matibhiḥ pariṣkṛtaḥ || 2 ||
ayaṁ dakṣāya sādhano 'yaṁ śardhāya vītaye |
ayaṁ devebhyo madhumattamaḥ sutaḥ || 3 ||
goman na indo aśvavat sutaḥ sudakṣa dhanva |
śuciṁ te varṇam adhi goṣu dīdharam || 4 ||
sa no harīṇām pata indo devapsarastamaḥ |
sakheva sakhye naryo ruce bhava || 5 ||
sanemi tvam asmad ām̐ adevaṁ kaṁ cid atriṇam |
sāhvām̐ indo pari bādho apa dvayum || 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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