ve, bestowest.

Do thou, O Soma, on all sides
Protect us, king, from him that sins,
No harm touch friend of such as thou.

Whatever the enjoyments be
Thou hast, to help thy worshipper,
With these our benefactor be.

This sacrifice, this song, do thou,
Well-pleased, accept; come unto us;
Make for our weal, O Soma, thou.

In songs we, conversant with words,
O Soma, thee do magnify;
Be merciful and come to us.

* * *[33]

All saps unite in thee and all strong powers,
All virile force that overcomes detraction;
Filled full, for immortality, O Soma,
Take to thyself the highest praise in heaven.
The sacrifice shall all embrace--whatever
Places thou hast, revered with poured oblations.
Home-aider, Soma, furtherer with good heroes,
Not hurting heroes, to our houses come thou.
Soma the cow gives; Soma, the swift charger;
Soma, the hero that can much accomplish
(Useful at home, in feast, and in assembly
His father's glory)--gives, to him that worships.

In war unharmed; in battle still a saviour;
Winner of heaven and waters, town-defender,
Born mid loud joy, and fair of home and glory,
A conqueror, thou; in thee may we be happy.
Thou hast, O Soma, every plant begotten;
The waters, thou; and thou, the cows; and thou hast
Woven the wide space 'twixt the earth and heaven;
Thou hast with light put far away the darkness.
With mind divine, O Soma, thou divine[34] one,
A share of riches win for us, O hero;
Let none restrain thee, thou art lord of valor;
Show thyself foremost to both sides in battle[35].

Of more popular songs, Hillebrandt cites as sung to Soma (!) VIII. 69.
8-10:

Sing loud to him, sing loud to him;
Priyamedhas, oh, sing to him,
And sing to him the children, too;
Extol him as a sure defence....
To _Indra_ is the prayer up-raised.

The three daily _soma_-oblations are made chiefly to Indra and
V[=a]yu; to Indra at mid-day; to the Ribhus, artisans of the gods, at
evening; and to Agni in the morning.

Unmistakable references to Soma as the moon, as, for instance, in X.
85. 3: "No one eats of that _soma_ which the priests know," seem
rather to indicate that the identification of moon and Soma was
something esoteric and new rather than the received belief of
pre-Vedic times, as will Hillebrandt. This moon-_soma_ is
distinguished from the "_soma_-plant which they crush."

The floods of _soma