Hymn to Uṣas
Rigveda VII.79 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. Uṣas has opened up the paths of the peoples, waking the five human tribes. With fair-shining cattle she has kindled her radiance; Sūrya has laid bare the two world-halves with his gaze.
2. At the borders of heaven the lights are set gleaming; like yoked tribes, the dawns press onward. Your cows roll back the darkness; they stretch out light as Savitṛ stretches out his two arms.
3. Uṣas has come into being, most powerful like Indra, bounteous; she has brought forth glories for our well-being. The divine daughter of heaven, most akin to the Aṅgirases, gives riches to the one who does good deeds.
4. Grant us, O Uṣas, as much bounty as you have carved out for your praisers when hymned — you, whom they knew by the bull's roar, who threw open the doors of the firm rock.
5. She urges each god in turn toward generosity, sending true bounties our way. Dawning, set insight in us for our gain. Protect us always, all of you, with blessings.
Translator's note: verse 4's "bull's roar" and "doors of the firm rock" allude to the Vala myth, in which the cave holding the hidden cows and light is broken open; Uṣas's arrival is identified with that opening. "Cows" in verse 1 (ukṣabhiḥ, literally oxen) is a common Rigvedic figure for the dawn's rays.
Colophon
Rigveda VII.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 VII.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.
vy u1ṣā āvaḥ pathyā3 janānām pañca kṣitīr mānuṣīr bodhayantī |
susaṁdṛgbhir ukṣabhir bhānum aśred vi sūryo rodasī cakṣasāvaḥ || 1 ||
vy añjate divo anteṣv aktūn viśo na yuktā uṣaso yatante |
saṁ te gāvas tama ā vartayanti jyotir yacchanti saviteva bāhū || 2 ||
abhūd uṣā indratamā maghony ajījanat suvitāya śravāṁsi |
vi divo devī duhitā dadhāty aṅgirastamā sukṛte vasūni || 3 ||
tāvad uṣo rādho asmabhyaṁ rāsva yāvat stotṛbhyo arado gṛṇānā |
yāṁ tvā jajñur vṛṣabhasyā raveṇa vi dṛḻhasya duro adrer aurṇoḥ || 4 ||
devaṁ-devaṁ rādhase codayanty asmadryak sūnṛtā īrayantī |
vyucchantī naḥ sanaye dhiyo dhā yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ || 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).