Hymn to Soma
Rigveda IX.78 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 King, begetting speech, hath poured himself forth; clad in the waters, he seeketh the kine.
The ewe taketh his blemish; the stems clinging to his flesh.
Washed clean, he maketh way to his tryst with the gods.
For Indra, O Soma, men pour thee round in circle; as a wave that draweth the eyes of all, as a bard, thou art driven to the wood, for thy paths are many, and a thousand pale bay steeds bide in the cups.
The sea-born Apsarases, dwelling within, have streamed toward thee, O Soma of the awoken mind.
They goad thee on, breaker of the walled stead; they entreat the deathless, self-cleansing one for his favor.
He that winneth cows for us, and chariots, and gold; that gaineth sun and water, and thousands besides—
Soma doth cleanse himself, whom the gods have chosen as their rousing draught, the fairest red drop, the very delight of delight.
O Soma, in thy purging thou rushest to find us, bringing these hoards to life.
Lay low the foe nearby and afar;
make us wide field and heart untroubled.
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.78
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 rājā vācaṁ janayann asiṣyadad apo vasāno abhi gā iyakṣati |
gṛbhṇāti ripram avir asya tānvā śuddho devānām upa yāti niṣkṛtam || 1 ||
indrāya soma pari ṣicyase nṛbhir nṛcakṣā ūrmiḥ kavir ajyase vane |
pūrvīr hi te srutayaḥ santi yātave sahasram aśvā harayaś camūṣadaḥ || 2 ||
samudriyā apsaraso manīṣiṇam āsīnā antar abhi somam akṣaran |
tā īṁ hinvanti harmyasya sakṣaṇiṁ yācante sumnam pavamānam akṣitam || 3 ||
gojin naḥ somo rathajid dhiraṇyajit svarjid abjit pavate sahasrajit |
yaṁ devāsaś cakrire pītaye madaṁ svādiṣṭhaṁ drapsam aruṇam mayobhuvam || 4 ||
etāni soma pavamāno asmayuḥ satyāni kṛṇvan draviṇāny arṣasi |
jahi śatrum antike dūrake ca ya urvīṁ gavyūtim abhayaṁ ca nas kṛdhi || 5 ||
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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