Hymn to Soma
Rigveda IX.40 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.
Made pure, the boundless one hath risen against the scorners.
The poets adorn the seer with thoughts not their own, but breathed from above.
The red-hued one hath entered the womb; the mighty bull, when pressed, goeth unto Indra. He sitteth in the seat that moveth not.
Now for our sake, O drop—for all of us round about— O Soma, draw great treasure in thy cleansing. Treasure in thousands.
O self-cleansing Soma, O drop divine, bring hither all things that shine; thou shalt find delights in measureless number.
Being made pure, bring to us wealth, and a throng of valiant men for our singer’s praise; make strong the lays of him who singeth.
Cleansed art thou, O drop; now bring us a twin-towered wealth— O Soma, bull-born drop—bring us treasure fit for song.
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.40
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.
punāno akramīd abhi viśvā mṛdho vicarṣaṇiḥ |
śumbhanti vipraṁ dhītibhiḥ || 1 ||
ā yonim aruṇo ruhad gamad indraṁ vṛṣā sutaḥ |
dhruve sadasi sīdati || 2 ||
nū no rayim mahām indo 'smabhyaṁ soma viśvataḥ |
ā pavasva sahasriṇam || 3 ||
viśvā soma pavamāna dyumnānīndav ā bhara |
vidāḥ sahasriṇīr iṣaḥ || 4 ||
sa naḥ punāna ā bhara rayiṁ stotre suvīryam |
jaritur vardhayā giraḥ || 5 ||
punāna indav ā bhara soma dvibarhasaṁ rayim |
vṛṣann indo na ukthyam || 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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