Hymn to Soma
Rigveda IX.24 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 soma juices run their course—the self-cleansing drops flow forth.
Made ready, they are adorned amid the waters.
The kine hasten unto them, as streams run down a slope.
Purified in their going, they draw nigh unto Indra.
Thou runnest forth, O self-cleansing Soma, for Indra’s draught.
Held by men’s hands, thou art led through the woven sieve.
Bring delight to the high-hearted, O Soma—cleanse thyself for him who layeth low the borders, thou who art hailed as victor.
O drop, when crushed 'neath the stones,
thou circlest the sieve, made meet for Indra’s base.
Cleanse thyself, thou breaker of bars, worthy of song, bright, spotless, and true in thy path.
Bright and pure, he is hailed as Soma—he of the honeyed pressing, who seeketh the gods and striketh down the speakers of ill.
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.24
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 somāso adhanviṣuḥ pavamānāsa indavaḥ |
śrīṇānā apsu mṛñjata || 1 ||
abhi gāvo adhanviṣur āpo na pravatā yatīḥ |
punānā indram āśata || 2 ||
pra pavamāna dhanvasi somendrāya pātave |
nṛbhir yato vi nīyase || 3 ||
tvaṁ soma nṛmādanaḥ pavasva carṣaṇīsahe |
sasnir yo anumādyaḥ || 4 ||
indo yad adribhiḥ sutaḥ pavitram paridhāvasi |
aram indrasya dhāmne || 5 ||
pavasva vṛtrahantamokthebhir anumādyaḥ |
śuciḥ pāvako adbhutaḥ || 6 ||
śuciḥ pāvaka ucyate somaḥ sutasya madhvaḥ |
devāvīr aghaśaṁsahā || 7 ||
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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