Hymn to Uṣas
Rigveda I.123 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.
The Dawn cometh forth! See how she rideth across the sky in her gleaming chariot, drawn by steeds of light! She is the ageless goddess, ever young, ever renewed. Each day she is born anew, and yet she hath endured since the beginning of time.
Uṣas, thou radiant one, thou dost come before the sun as his herald. Thy fingers reach forth and touch the dark, and the dark doth flee before thee. Thou art the mother of light, the dispeller of shadows. At thy approach, the birds awaken and sing. The flowers open their faces to receive thy blessing.
O luminous goddess, thou art beauty itself. Thy robes are woven of golden light. Thy chariot traces a path of fire across the heavens. Yet for all thy glory, thou art gentle and kind to those who dwell below. Thou comest not with thunder or violence, but with the soft touch of awakening.
How long hast thou journeyed thus? How many dawns hast thou brought forth? Yet never dost thou grow weary. Never dost thou falter in thy course. Thou art immortal, O Uṣas, yet thou givest us mortal men the gift of each new day, the chance to begin again.
We praise thee, O Dawn! Thou art the promise of renewal. In thy coming, we see hope reborn. Grant us, O golden-armed one, the strength to meet the day with courage. Let us walk in thy light with hearts made pure and spirits made whole.
Colophon
Rigveda I.123 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.123
pṛthū ratho dakṣiṇāyā ayojy ainaṁ devāso amṛtāso asthuḥ |
kṛṣṇād ud asthād aryā3 vihāyāś cikitsantī mānuṣāya kṣayāya || 1 ||
pūrvā viśvasmād bhuvanād abodhi jayantī vājam bṛhatī sanutrī |
uccā vy akhyad yuvatiḥ punarbhūr oṣā agan prathamā pūrvahūtau || 2 ||
yad adya bhāgaṁ vibhajāsi nṛbhya uṣo devi martyatrā sujāte |
devo no atra savitā damūnā anāgaso vocati sūryāya || 3 ||
gṛhaṁ-gṛham ahanā yāty acchā dive-dive adhi nāmā dadhānā |
siṣāsantī dyotanā śaśvad āgād agram-agram id bhajate vasūnām || 4 ||
bhagasya svasā varuṇasya jāmir uṣaḥ sūnṛte prathamā jarasva |
paścā sa daghyā yo aghasya dhātā jayema taṁ dakṣiṇayā rathena || 5 ||
ud īratāṁ sūnṛtā ut puraṁdhīr ud agnayaḥ śuśucānāso asthuḥ |
spārhā vasūni tamasāpagūḻhāviṣ kṛṇvanty uṣaso vibhātīḥ || 6 ||
apānyad ety abhy a1nyad eti viṣurūpe ahanī saṁ carete |
parikṣitos tamo anyā guhākar adyaud uṣāḥ śośucatā rathena || 7 ||
sadṛśīr adya sadṛśīr id u śvo dīrghaṁ sacante varuṇasya dhāma |
anavadyās triṁśataṁ yojanāny ekaikā kratum pari yanti sadyaḥ || 8 ||
jānaty ahnaḥ prathamasya nāma śukrā kṛṣṇād ajaniṣṭa śvitīcī |
ṛtasya yoṣā na mināti dhāmāhar-ahar niṣkṛtam ācarantī || 9 ||
kanyeva tanvā3 śāśadānām̐ eṣi devi devam iyakṣamāṇam |
saṁsmayamānā yuvatiḥ purastād āvir vakṣāṁsi kṛṇuṣe vibhātī || 10 ||
susaṁkāśā mātṛmṛṣṭeva yoṣāvis tanvaṁ kṛṇuṣe dṛśe kam |
bhadrā tvam uṣo vitaraṁ vy uccha na tat te anyā uṣaso naśanta || 11 ||
aśvāvatīr gomatīr viśvavārā yatamānā raśmibhiḥ sūryasya |
parā ca yanti punar ā ca yanti bhadrā nāma vahamānā uṣāsaḥ || 12 ||
ṛtasya raśmim anuyacchamānā bhadram-bhadraṁ kratum asmāsu dhehi |
uṣo no adya suhavā vy ucchāsmāsu rāyo maghavatsu ca syuḥ || 13 ||
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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