Hymn to Uṣas
Rigveda V.79 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 5 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. Awaken us today, O Uṣas, radiant one, for great wealth — just as you once awakened us for Satyaśravas Vāyya. O well-born one, O joyous with horses.
2. You who dawned forth for Sunītha, for Śaucadratha, O daughter of heaven — dawn forth now more mightily, for Satyaśravas Vāyya. O well-born one, O joyous with horses.
3. You, bringing wealth, dawn forth for us today, O daughter of heaven — you who once dawned forth more mightily for Satyaśravas Vāyya. O well-born one, O joyous with horses.
4. Those who carry the offerings praise you with hymns, O shining one, with their gifts, O bounteous one — splendid, generous, freely giving. O well-born one, O joyous with horses.
5. Even now these your bands gladden you toward bounty; the eager ones have set down their offerings, giving their gift without shame. O well-born one, O joyous with horses.
6. Set among these patrons, O Uṣas, O bounteous one, glory rich in strong sons — among the generous ones who have granted us gifts without stinting. O well-born one, O joyous with horses.
7. Bring to them splendor, O Uṣas, and lofty glory, O bounteous one — to the patrons who have shared with us gifts of horses and cattle. O well-born one, O joyous with horses.
8. And bring to us, O daughter of heaven, nourishment rich in cattle, together with the sun's rays — the bright, blazing beams. O well-born one, O joyous with horses.
9. Dawn forth, O daughter of heaven; do not draw out your labor too long, lest the sun burn you with its flame as it would a thief, an enemy. O well-born one, O joyous with horses.
10. This much you know, O Uṣas — or you are worthy to give still more — you who, shining, dawning for your praisers, never fail. O well-born one, O joyous with horses.
Translator's note: the refrain "satyaśravasi vāyye" names a human patron of the sacrifice, Satyaśravas Vāyya, invoked as precedent ("as you once dawned for him, so dawn for us"); it is not an epithet of Uṣas. "Sunīthe śaucadrathe" (v. 2) likewise appear to be further names or epithets tied to that patron lineage; their exact referents are uncertain and are rendered here as proper names rather than resolved further. "Aśvasūnṛte," rendered "joyous with horses," combines "horse" with a term for bounty, gladness, or true speech (sūnṛtā); the compound's precise sense is debated and translated conservatively here.
Colophon
Rigveda V.79 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 V.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.
mahe no adya bodhayoṣo rāye divitmatī |
yathā cin no abodhayaḥ satyaśravasi vāyye sujāte aśvasūnṛte || 1 ||
yā sunīthe śaucadrathe vy auccho duhitar divaḥ |
sā vy uccha sahīyasi satyaśravasi vāyye sujāte aśvasūnṛte || 2 ||
sā no adyābharadvasur vy ucchā duhitar divaḥ |
yo vy aucchaḥ sahīyasi satyaśravasi vāyye sujāte aśvasūnṛte || 3 ||
abhi ye tvā vibhāvari stomair gṛṇanti vahnayaḥ |
maghair maghoni suśriyo dāmanvantaḥ surātayaḥ sujāte aśvasūnṛte || 4 ||
yac cid dhi te gaṇā ime chadayanti maghattaye |
pari cid vaṣṭayo dadhur dadato rādho ahrayaṁ sujāte aśvasūnṛte || 5 ||
aiṣu dhā vīravad yaśa uṣo maghoni sūriṣu |
ye no rādhāṁsy ahrayā maghavāno arāsata sujāte aśvasūnṛte || 6 ||
tebhyo dyumnam bṛhad yaśa uṣo maghony ā vaha |
ye no rādhāṁsy aśvyā gavyā bhajanta sūrayaḥ sujāte aśvasūnṛte || 7 ||
uta no gomatīr iṣa ā vahā duhitar divaḥ |
sākaṁ sūryasya raśmibhiḥ śukraiḥ śocadbhir arcibhiḥ sujāte aśvasūnṛte || 8 ||
vy ucchā duhitar divo mā ciraṁ tanuthā apaḥ |
net tvā stenaṁ yathā ripuṁ tapāti sūro arciṣā sujāte aśvasūnṛte || 9 ||
etāvad ved uṣas tvam bhūyo vā dātum arhasi |
yā stotṛbhyo vibhāvary ucchantī na pramīyase sujāte aśvasūnṛte || 10 ||
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).