Hymn to Soma
Rigveda IX.79 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.
Let not our tawny drops be stayed in their flow— forth let them run, when press’d, unto them that dwell in the heights of heaven.
If foes should reach our draughts of cheer, then shall the stranger's hope be dashed; our wise-born thoughts shall overcome.
Forth let the drops be loosed—those that stir the soul, those by which we speed the coursers to the goal, o’er all the winding ways of men.
May we bear off the prize evermore.
Now if strife rise among our own, we say, "Lo, he is no kin, but alien!" And if it be the foe, "Lo, he is a wolf!"
Let thirst seize them, as in a waste.
O Soma, self-cleansing one, smite the ill-willed from our midst.
It was in heaven’s heart thy loftiest self was set; thy fingers stretch o’er the earth’s broad back.
The stones do gnaw thee where the cow's hide lies, and they of vision milk thee in the waters with their hands.
So then, O drop, let those most bright and foremost press from thee thy sap of finest worth and fairest grace.
Thou, self-cleansing, shalt lay low each scorner; show forth thy storm-born strength—thy dearest rapture, rise and shine.
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.79
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.
acodaso no dhanvantv indavaḥ pra suvānāso bṛhaddiveṣu harayaḥ |
vi ca naśan na iṣo arātayo 'ryo naśanta saniṣanta no dhiyaḥ || 1 ||
pra ṇo dhanvantv indavo madacyuto dhanā vā yebhir arvato junīmasi |
tiro martasya kasya cit parihvṛtiṁ vayaṁ dhanāni viśvadhā bharemahi || 2 ||
uta svasyā arātyā arir hi ṣa utānyasyā arātyā vṛko hi ṣaḥ |
dhanvan na tṛṣṇā sam arīta tām̐ abhi soma jahi pavamāna durādhyaḥ || 3 ||
divi te nābhā paramo ya ādade pṛthivyās te ruruhuḥ sānavi kṣipaḥ |
adrayas tvā bapsati gor adhi tvacy a1psu tvā hastair duduhur manīṣiṇaḥ || 4 ||
evā ta indo subhvaṁ supeśasaṁ rasaṁ tuñjanti prathamā abhiśriyaḥ |
nidaṁ-nidam pavamāna ni tāriṣa āvis te śuṣmo bhavatu priyo madaḥ || 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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