Hymn to Uṣas
Rigveda IV.52 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 4 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 for the Good Works Library from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
1. She has been seen — this lovely, dawning woman, surpassing her sister. The daughter of heaven has appeared.
2. Brilliant and ruddy like a mare, mother of the cows, true to the cosmic order — Uṣas has become friend of the Aśvins.
3. And you are friend of the Aśvins, and you are mother of the cows, and, O Uṣas, you rule over wealth.
4. You who drive away hostility, aware, gracious one — we have wakened to you with our hymns of praise.
5. Her lovely rays have appeared, like herds of cows let loose; Uṣas has filled the wide expanse.
6. Filling all things, O shining one, she has uncovered the darkness with light. O Uṣas, favor us according to your own nature.
7. You stretch out to the sky with your rays, and to the wide, dear middle realm, O Uṣas, with your bright radiance.
Translator's note: "cows" (gavām) in verses 2, 3, and 5 is the standard Vedic image of dawn's rays as a released herd; it is kept literal rather than expanded. "abhutsmahi" (v. 4) is rendered "we have wakened," following its root budh, "to wake/perceive." "antarikṣam" (v. 7) is rendered "the middle realm," the atmospheric space between earth and sky.
Colophon
Rigveda IV.52 is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE. This is a Good Works Translation rendered verse by verse from the Sanskrit text printed below. Prepared for the Good Work Library by the Tianmu Anglican Church with AI-assisted translation.
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Source Text: ṛgveda IV.52
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.
prati ṣyā sūnarī janī vyucchantī pari svasuḥ |
divo adarśi duhitā || 1 ||
aśveva citrāruṣī mātā gavām ṛtāvarī |
sakhābhūd aśvinor uṣāḥ || 2 ||
uta sakhāsy aśvinor uta mātā gavām asi |
utoṣo vasva īśiṣe || 3 ||
yāvayaddveṣasaṁ tvā cikitvit sūnṛtāvari |
prati stomair abhutsmahi || 4 ||
prati bhadrā adṛkṣata gavāṁ sargā na raśmayaḥ |
oṣā aprā uru jrayaḥ || 5 ||
āpapruṣī vibhāvari vy āvar jyotiṣā tamaḥ |
uṣo anu svadhām ava || 6 ||
ā dyāṁ tanoṣi raśmibhir āntarikṣam uru priyam |
uṣaḥ śukreṇa śociṣā || 7 ||
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).