Hymn to Soma
Rigveda IX.71 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 storm-swift one is sent surging, gift-cow beside him, to take his seat in this holy place.
Watchful, he hunts out falsehood, and wardeth off the fiend.
The tawny one adorneth his brow—clouds and milk his underlay in the twin cups, and sacred spell his robe.
Like a smiter of tribes, he bursteth forth, roaring full loud and oft.
He poureth down his kingly hue,
Sheddeth his cloak, and goeth to his tryst with the Father.
What floateth nigh, he taketh full—milk as his fresh array.
Pressed ‘twixt the stones, he maketh himself pure between the twin hands.
With cloud he playeth the bull, he quaketh in mind with godly fire.
He delighteth in the song, he meeteth it, he gaineth his end thereby.
He batheth in the waters, and in his wholeness he doth his own rite.
On every side they scatter him, the heaven-ruling son of strength and honey, grown stout on the mount, breaker of the stronghold, on whose crown the cows do ready their foremost milk, in wide streams, for him who eateth the fair offering—Indra.
The ten sisters on the twin hands have shaped him like a wain, here in the bosom of Aditi.
As he fareth, he draweth nigh the hidden path of the cow, which the wise in thought have brought forth for him.
As a falcon to her nest, so hasteneth the god to sit on the golden stool wrought by insight.
They let the loved one pour upon the sacred grass with song.
As a horse to its stall, the one meet for the rite cometh unto the gods.
Afar gleameth the ruddy poet of the heavens, all decked and bright.
The three-backed bull hath lowed to the kine.
The steward of a thousand ways—Soma—doth shine forth, like the hoarse-throated singer, o’er many dawns as they fade.
He shapeth for himself a gleaming hue—his own bright mark.
When he lieth in the clash of stones, he beateth back all wrong.
Winning the waters, he driveth of his own will unto the deathless folk.
He is joined to the lovely chant, to that which is cow-blest.
As a bull among herds he belloweth, circling in pride.
He hath donned the golden gleams of the sun.
The sky-faring eagle casteth his eye upon the earth.
Soma beholdeth all beings, and guideth them as he will.
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.71
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.
ā dakṣiṇā sṛjyate śuṣmy ā3sadaṁ veti druho rakṣasaḥ pāti jāgṛviḥ |
harir opaśaṁ kṛṇute nabhas paya upastire camvo3r brahma nirṇije || 1 ||
pra kṛṣṭiheva śūṣa eti roruvad asurya1ṁ varṇaṁ ni riṇīte asya tam |
jahāti vavrim pitur eti niṣkṛtam upaprutaṁ kṛṇute nirṇijaṁ tanā || 2 ||
adribhiḥ sutaḥ pavate gabhastyor vṛṣāyate nabhasā vepate matī |
sa modate nasate sādhate girā nenikte apsu yajate parīmaṇi || 3 ||
pari dyukṣaṁ sahasaḥ parvatāvṛdham madhvaḥ siñcanti harmyasya sakṣaṇim |
ā yasmin gāvaḥ suhutāda ūdhani mūrdhañ chrīṇanty agriyaṁ varīmabhiḥ || 4 ||
sam ī rathaṁ na bhurijor aheṣata daśa svasāro aditer upastha ā |
jigād upa jrayati gor apīcyam padaṁ yad asya matuthā ajījanan || 5 ||
śyeno na yoniṁ sadanaṁ dhiyā kṛtaṁ hiraṇyayam āsadaṁ deva eṣati |
e riṇanti barhiṣi priyaṁ girāśvo na devām̐ apy eti yajñiyaḥ || 6 ||
parā vyakto aruṣo divaḥ kavir vṛṣā tripṛṣṭho anaviṣṭa gā abhi |
sahasraṇītir yatiḥ parāyatī rebho na pūrvīr uṣaso vi rājati || 7 ||
tveṣaṁ rūpaṁ kṛṇute varṇo asya sa yatrāśayat samṛtā sedhati sridhaḥ |
apsā yāti svadhayā daivyaṁ janaṁ saṁ suṣṭutī nasate saṁ goagrayā || 8 ||
ukṣeva yūthā pariyann arāvīd adhi tviṣīr adhita sūryasya |
divyaḥ suparṇo 'va cakṣata kṣāṁ somaḥ pari kratunā paśyate jāḥ || 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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