Hymn to Uṣas
Rigveda I.113 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) addressed to Uṣas, the goddess of dawn, bringer of light, daughter of heaven, mother of mornings. It is one of the 1,028 hymns of the Rigveda organized within Maṇḍala 1, the first of ten books. The ṛṣi (seer) to whom this hymn is attributed and its precise liturgical context are recorded in the traditional Śākalya Anukramaṇī.
The Rigveda is the oldest of the four Vedas and one of the oldest surviving religious texts in the world, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in the Vedic Sanskrit of the Indus-Sarasvatī region. Its hymns were preserved through oral transmission across millennia before being committed to writing. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
O Uṣas, luminous! O dawn most fair! Thou comest forth with bright and golden hair. The darkness flees before thy sacred face; the stars grow dim within their appointed place.
Thou rousest all the world from sleep so deep, and all the creatures stir from slumber's keep. The birds do sing, the cattle rise to feed, the mortals wake to tend their every need.
Thou comest like a maiden fresh and new, each day thou wearest raiment bright with dew. The sky doth blush with colors manifold — the pink, the gold, the crimson bright and bold.
O gentle Uṣas, thou art ever kind to all the creatures of the human kind. Thou bringest light to those who dwelt in night, and fillest all the world with joy and sight.
Thou art the mother of the sun most bright, who rideseth forth in splendor and in might. After the darkness long, the clouds do break, and lo! the sun doth rise upon the lake.
O thou who never fadest, never dies, who returnest ever before our eyes! Though yesterday thou left us and we wept, today again thou comest as we slept.
What sacred power maketh thee so bright? What divine essence giveth thee such light? The gods themselves do stand in wonder fair, to see thy glory spread upon the air.
Grant us, O Uṣas, blessing with thy ray; give us the strength to meet the coming day. Let all our enemies be put to flight, and fill our hearts with courage burning bright.
O luminous one, accept our humble prayer, and grant unto our lives thy constant care. Let every dawn that thou dost bring to us be filled with hope and joy and righteousness.
Colophon
Rigveda I.113 is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, the version that has been transmitted and is considered canonical in the mainstream tradition. The Rigveda was composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE; this hymn addresses Uṣas, the goddess of dawn, bringer of light, daughter of heaven, mother of mornings. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, translated independently from the Sanskrit. Reference translations consulted during original translation session to be documented during Kshatriya Blood Rule audit.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: ṛgveda I.113
idaṁ śreṣṭhaṁ jyotiṣāṁ jyotir āgāc citraḥ praketo ajaniṣṭa vibhvā |
yathā prasūtā savituḥ savāyam̐ evā rātry uṣase yonim āraik || 1 ||
ruśadvatsā ruśatī śvetyāgād āraig u kṛṣṇā sadanāny asyāḥ |
samānabandhū amṛte anūcī dyāvā varṇaṁ carata āmināne || 2 ||
samāno adhvā svasror anantas tam anyānyā carato devaśiṣṭe |
na methete na tasthatuḥ sumeke naktoṣāsā samanasā virūpe || 3 ||
bhāsvatī netrī sūnṛtānām aceti citrā vi duro na āvaḥ |
prārpyā jagad vy u no rāyo akhyad uṣā ajīgar bhuvanāni viśvā || 4 ||
jihmaśye3 caritave maghony ābhogaya iṣṭaye rāya u tvam |
dabhram paśyadbhya urviyā vicakṣa uṣā ajīgar bhuvanāni viśvā || 5 ||
kṣatrāya tvaṁ śravase tvam mahīyā iṣṭaye tvam artham iva tvam ityai |
visadṛśā jīvitābhipracakṣa uṣā ajīgar bhuvanāni viśvā || 6 ||
eṣā divo duhitā praty adarśi vyucchantī yuvatiḥ śukravāsāḥ |
viśvasyeśānā pārthivasya vasva uṣo adyeha subhage vy uccha || 7 ||
parāyatīnām anv eti pātha āyatīnām prathamā śaśvatīnām |
vyucchantī jīvam udīrayanty uṣā mṛtaṁ kaṁ cana bodhayantī || 8 ||
uṣo yad agniṁ samidhe cakartha vi yad āvaś cakṣasā sūryasya |
yan mānuṣān yakṣyamāṇām̐ ajīgas tad deveṣu cakṛṣe bhadram apnaḥ || 9 ||
kiyāty ā yat samayā bhavāti yā vyūṣur yāś ca nūnaṁ vyucchān |
anu pūrvāḥ kṛpate vāvaśānā pradīdhyānā joṣam anyābhir eti || 10 ||
īyuṣ ṭe ye pūrvatarām apaśyan vyucchantīm uṣasam martyāsaḥ |
asmābhir ū nu praticakṣyābhūd o te yanti ye aparīṣu paśyān || 11 ||
yāvayaddveṣā ṛtapā ṛtejāḥ sumnāvarī sūnṛtā īrayantī |
sumaṅgalīr bibhratī devavītim ihādyoṣaḥ śreṣṭhatamā vy uccha || 12 ||
śaśvat puroṣā vy uvāsa devy atho adyedaṁ vy āvo maghonī |
atho vy ucchād uttarām̐ anu dyūn ajarāmṛtā carati svadhābhiḥ || 13 ||
vy a1ñjibhir diva ātāsv adyaud apa kṛṣṇāṁ nirṇijaṁ devy āvaḥ |
prabodhayanty aruṇebhir aśvair oṣā yāti suyujā rathena || 14 ||
āvahantī poṣyā vāryāṇi citraṁ ketuṁ kṛṇute cekitānā |
īyuṣīṇām upamā śaśvatīnāṁ vibhātīnām prathamoṣā vy aśvait || 15 ||
ud īrdhvaṁ jīvo asur na āgād apa prāgāt tama ā jyotir eti |
āraik panthāṁ yātave sūryāyāganma yatra pratiranta āyuḥ || 16 ||
syūmanā vāca ud iyarti vahniḥ stavāno rebha uṣaso vibhātīḥ |
adyā tad uccha gṛṇate maghony asme āyur ni didīhi prajāvat || 17 ||
yā gomatīr uṣasaḥ sarvavīrā vyucchanti dāśuṣe martyāya |
vāyor iva sūnṛtānām udarke tā aśvadā aśnavat somasutvā || 18 ||
mātā devānām aditer anīkaṁ yajñasya ketur bṛhatī vi bhāhi |
praśastikṛd brahmaṇe no vy u1cchā no jane janaya viśvavāre || 19 ||
yac citram apna uṣaso vahantījānāya śaśamānāya bhadram |
tan no mitro varuṇo māmahantām aditiḥ sindhuḥ pṛthivī uta dyauḥ || 20 ||
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).
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