Hymn to Uṣas
Rigveda VII.76 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 7 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. Up has risen the immortal light, born for all people; the god Savitar, friend of all men, has ascended. By the will of the gods the eye was born; Uṣas has made the whole world visible.
2. The paths that lead to the gods have appeared before me, unfailing, made ready with riches. The banner of Dawn has arisen in the east; she comes facing us, above the dwellings.
3. Many indeed were those days that lay before the sun's first rising, from which time Dawn has kept coming around like a lover — seen again, as though never to return.
4. They indeed were at the gods' shared feast — the ancient seers, keepers of truth. The fathers found the hidden light; with their true sacred words they brought Dawn into being.
5. Gathered together in the same wide realm, they are of one mind; they do not contend with one another. They do not violate the ordinances of the gods — unfailing, keeping company with the Vasus.
6. The Vasiṣṭhas approach you with hymns of praise, O fortunate one, waking at dawn, having sung to you — leader of the cows, mistress of bounty, shine for us. O nobly-born, foremost one, arise.
7. She is the leader of bounty, of generous gifts — Dawn, shining forth, is praised by the Vasiṣṭhas. Bestowing on us wealth renowned far and wide — protect us always, all you gods, with blessings.
Translator's note: Verse 3's "yataḥ pari jāra ivācaranti... na punar yatīva" is a compressed, ambiguous image (Dawn compared to a returning lover, "as if not going again") — rendered conservatively rather than resolved. Verse 6's "jarasva" is likewise uncertain; it is treated here as a call to Dawn to arise/appear rather than assigned a firmer sense the Sanskrit does not clearly support.
Colophon
Rigveda VII.76 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 VII.76
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.
ud u jyotir amṛtaṁ viśvajanyaṁ viśvānaraḥ savitā devo aśret |
kratvā devānām ajaniṣṭa cakṣur āvir akar bhuvanaṁ viśvam uṣāḥ || 1 ||
pra me panthā devayānā adṛśrann amardhanto vasubhir iṣkṛtāsaḥ |
abhūd u ketur uṣasaḥ purastāt pratīcy āgād adhi harmyebhyaḥ || 2 ||
tānīd ahāni bahulāny āsan yā prācīnam uditā sūryasya |
yataḥ pari jāra ivācaranty uṣo dadṛkṣe na punar yatīva || 3 ||
ta id devānāṁ sadhamāda āsann ṛtāvānaḥ kavayaḥ pūrvyāsaḥ |
gūḻhaṁ jyotiḥ pitaro anv avindan satyamantrā ajanayann uṣāsam || 4 ||
samāna ūrve adhi saṁgatāsaḥ saṁ jānate na yatante mithas te |
te devānāṁ na minanti vratāny amardhanto vasubhir yādamānāḥ || 5 ||
prati tvā stomair īḻate vasiṣṭhā uṣarbudhaḥ subhage tuṣṭuvāṁsaḥ |
gavāṁ netrī vājapatnī na ucchoṣaḥ sujāte prathamā jarasva || 6 ||
eṣā netrī rādhasaḥ sūnṛtānām uṣā ucchantī ribhyate vasiṣṭhaiḥ |
dīrghaśrutaṁ rayim asme dadhānā yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ || 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).