Hymn to Soma
Rigveda IX.59 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.
Cleanse thyself, O Soma—bringer of kine, bringer of steeds, winner of all things sweet and fair.
Bring unto us a hoard of offspring, a treasure of life.
Cleanse thyself, thou whom naught beguileth, for the waters; cleanse thyself for the green-growing things; cleanse thyself for the holy steads.
In thy cleansing, O Soma, pass through each strait and steep; as the poet, take thy place upon the sacred grass.
Self-cleansing art thou; thou findest the Sun; at thy first begetting, thou wert made mighty.
O drop divine, thou rulest over all.
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.59
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.
pavasva gojid aśvajid viśvajit soma raṇyajit |
prajāvad ratnam ā bhara || 1 ||
pavasvādbhyo adābhyaḥ pavasvauṣadhībhyaḥ |
pavasva dhiṣaṇābhyaḥ || 2 ||
tvaṁ soma pavamāno viśvāni duritā tara |
kaviḥ sīda ni barhiṣi || 3 ||
pavamāna svar vido jāyamāno 'bhavo mahān |
indo viśvām̐ abhīd asi || 4 ||
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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