Hymn to Soma
Rigveda IX.82 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.
Soma is pressed—the ruddy, tawny bull.
Wondrous as a king he roareth forth to the kine.
While he is cleansed, he whirleth round the sheep’s fair fleece, to rest, like a falcon, upon his womb brimmed with ghee.
As a bard well-skilled in rite, thou circlest the mighty sieve.
Groomed as a steed, thou rushest forth to the guerdon.
Fend off all harm, O Soma, show thy grace; clad in ghee as a mantle, thou drivest onward.
Parjanya, the father of the feathered buffalo, hath set his dwelling in the earth’s deep navel, upon the mount’s high places.
The sister streams have flowed unto the kine; he shall join with the stones when the rite is begun.
As a wife is gentle with her lord, so thou, O kindly one, art bounteous.
O seedling of the steadfast earth, give ear, for I do speak with thee.
Amid the singing band I shall rise to a life well-led.
Be thou watchful, O flawless Soma, in the sacred stead.
As thou didst once encircle the prize for those of old— a winner of hundreds, of thousands, shrinking not— so cleanse thyself again for new-blessèd paths.
The waters walk at thy word.
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.82
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.
asāvi somo aruṣo vṛṣā harī rājeva dasmo abhi gā acikradat |
punāno vāram pary ety avyayaṁ śyeno na yoniṁ ghṛtavantam āsadam || 1 ||
kavir vedhasyā pary eṣi māhinam atyo na mṛṣṭo abhi vājam arṣasi |
apasedhan duritā soma mṛḻaya ghṛtaṁ vasānaḥ pari yāsi nirṇijam || 2 ||
parjanyaḥ pitā mahiṣasya parṇino nābhā pṛthivyā giriṣu kṣayaṁ dadhe |
svasāra āpo abhi gā utāsaran saṁ grāvabhir nasate vīte adhvare || 3 ||
jāyeva patyāv adhi śeva maṁhase pajrāyā garbha śṛṇuhi bravīmi te |
antar vāṇīṣu pra carā su jīvase 'nindyo vṛjane soma jāgṛhi || 4 ||
yathā pūrvebhyaḥ śatasā amṛdhraḥ sahasrasāḥ paryayā vājam indo |
evā pavasva suvitāya navyase tava vratam anv āpaḥ sacante || 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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