Hymn to Soma
Rigveda IX.11 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.
Sing ye unto him, ye men—to the self-cleansing draught, for he maketh his way unto the gods on high.
The men of Atharvan have mingled thy milk with honey, a god for the gods they have brewed in their seeking.
Make thyself clean, a blessing to our kine, a blessing to our folk, a blessing to our steed, a blessing to our growing things, O kingly draught.
Now unto the brown one of boundless strength, the ruddy one who toucheth the heavens, to Soma, lift ye a song.
Make pure the Soma, pressed with stones that move by hand; wash honey in honey, and let it be sweet indeed.
Draw nigh in homage alone; with curds do thou blend it.
Set the drop in Indra, where might abideth.
O Soma, thou that smitest without end, cleanse thyself for the good of our kine, doing the will of the gods with thy deeds.
Thou art poured all about, O Soma, for Indra to drink, to gladden his soul—who knoweth all thought, and ruleth o’er mind.
O self-cleansing Soma, grant us wealth,
and a host of mighty ones,
O drop divine, with Indra as our yoke-fellow.
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.11
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.
upāsmai gāyatā naraḥ pavamānāyendave |
abhi devām̐ iyakṣate || 1 ||
abhi te madhunā payo 'tharvāṇo aśiśrayuḥ |
devaṁ devāya devayu || 2 ||
sa naḥ pavasva śaṁ gave śaṁ janāya śam arvate |
śaṁ rājann oṣadhībhyaḥ || 3 ||
babhrave nu svatavase 'ruṇāya divispṛśe |
somāya gātham arcata || 4 ||
hastacyutebhir adribhiḥ sutaṁ somam punītana |
madhāv ā dhāvatā madhu || 5 ||
namased upa sīdata dadhned abhi śrīṇītana |
indum indre dadhātana || 6 ||
amitrahā vicarṣaṇiḥ pavasva soma śaṁ gave |
devebhyo anukāmakṛt || 7 ||
indrāya soma pātave madāya pari ṣicyase |
manaścin manasas patiḥ || 8 ||
pavamāna suvīryaṁ rayiṁ soma rirīhi naḥ |
indav indreṇa no yujā || 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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