Hymn to Soma
Rigveda IX.80 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.
It purifieth itself—the flood of Soma, whose gaze is upon mankind. With truth he calleth the gods down from the heights.
With the bellow of Bṛhaspati he hath burst forth; like the seas, the waters enfold the pressings.
Thou, O prize-bearer, for whom the kine have lowed—shining, thou ascendest the hammered cup.
Stretching forth the life-days of the generous, and their high renown, thou, O Soma, dost cleanse thyself in bullish mirth for Indra.
The most gladdening flow cleanseth itself in the mouth of Indra, clothed in goodly milk, for glory’s sake.
He stretcheth himself forth, turned to all that liveth.
Sportful, the tawny, bullish steed doth stream.
Thee, sweetest of all, do men draw forth for the gods; thee of a thousand streams do ten fingers milk.
O Soma, stirred by men, pressed with stone, by thy cleansing bring thou the gods to this place—thou who winnest in thousands.
Thee, honeyed one, do hands draw with stones; thee, bull among draughts, do ten fingers milk from the waters.
Rousing Indra and the godly host, O Soma, purifying thyself, thou rushest as the wave of a river.
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.80
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.
somasya dhārā pavate nṛcakṣasa ṛtena devān havate divas pari |
bṛhaspate ravathenā vi didyute samudrāso na savanāni vivyacuḥ || 1 ||
yaṁ tvā vājinn aghnyā abhy anūṣatāyohataṁ yonim ā rohasi dyumān |
maghonām āyuḥ pratiran mahi śrava indrāya soma pavase vṛṣā madaḥ || 2 ||
endrasya kukṣā pavate madintama ūrjaṁ vasānaḥ śravase sumaṅgalaḥ |
pratyaṅ sa viśvā bhuvanābhi paprathe krīḻan harir atyaḥ syandate vṛṣā || 3 ||
taṁ tvā devebhyo madhumattamaṁ naraḥ sahasradhāraṁ duhate daśa kṣipaḥ |
nṛbhiḥ soma pracyuto grāvabhiḥ suto viśvān devām̐ ā pavasvā sahasrajit || 4 ||
taṁ tvā hastino madhumantam adribhir duhanty apsu vṛṣabhaṁ daśa kṣipaḥ |
indraṁ soma mādayan daivyaṁ janaṁ sindhor ivormiḥ pavamāno arṣasi || 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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