Hymn to Uṣas
Rigveda I.124 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.
Behold! The Dawn advanceth, bringing gifts! She cometh with the treasure of her light, scattering gold upon the earth. The darkness that did cover all things recedes before her. She is the great dispenser, the giver of all good things.
What doth she bring, this rosy-fingered goddess? She bringeth the gift of sight, that we may see the world in all its glory. She bringeth the gift of warmth, that we may toil in the fields. She bringeth the gift of time itself—the hours of the day in which all deeds are accomplished.
O Uṣas, thou art the messenger of the sun! Thou goest before him to prepare the way. The stars do fade at thy coming. The winds are stilled. All of nature awakeneth and stretcheth forth to greet thee. The cow doth rise and seek the pasture. The bird doth sing from the highest bough.
And what of us mortals, O shining one? What gifts dost thou bring to those who dwell in the lands below? Thou bringeth us opportunity—the chance to earn our bread, to tend our herds, to gather with our kin. Thou bringeth us renewal, the healing of sleep passed, the strength to face another day.
Come forth, O Dawn! Shine upon us with thy beneficent rays. Let thy light fall upon all the lands, from the mountains to the sea. Bring forth the day in glory. Bring forth prosperity to those who rise to greet thee. May thy blessings fall upon the righteous and the just.
Colophon
Rigveda I.124 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.124
uṣā ucchantī samidhāne agnā udyan sūrya urviyā jyotir aśret |
devo no atra savitā nv artham prāsāvīd dvipat pra catuṣpad ityai || 1 ||
aminatī daivyāni vratāni praminatī manuṣyā yugāni |
īyuṣīṇām upamā śaśvatīnām āyatīnām prathamoṣā vy adyaut || 2 ||
eṣā divo duhitā praty adarśi jyotir vasānā samanā purastāt |
ṛtasya panthām anv eti sādhu prajānatīva na diśo mināti || 3 ||
upo adarśi śundhyuvo na vakṣo nodhā ivāvir akṛta priyāṇi |
admasan na sasato bodhayantī śaśvattamāgāt punar eyuṣīṇām || 4 ||
pūrve ardhe rajaso aptyasya gavāṁ janitry akṛta pra ketum |
vy u prathate vitaraṁ varīya obhā pṛṇantī pitror upasthā || 5 ||
eved eṣā purutamā dṛśe kaṁ nājāmiṁ na pari vṛṇakti jāmim |
arepasā tanvā3 śāśadānā nārbhād īṣate na maho vibhātī || 6 ||
abhrāteva puṁsa eti pratīcī gartārug iva sanaye dhanānām |
jāyeva patya uśatī suvāsā uṣā hasreva ni riṇīte apsaḥ || 7 ||
svasā svasre jyāyasyai yonim āraig apaity asyāḥ praticakṣyeva |
vyucchantī raśmibhiḥ sūryasyāñjy aṅkte samanagā iva vrāḥ || 8 ||
āsām pūrvāsām ahasu svasṝṇām aparā pūrvām abhy eti paścāt |
tāḥ pratnavan navyasīr nūnam asme revad ucchantu sudinā uṣāsaḥ || 9 ||
pra bodhayoṣaḥ pṛṇato maghony abudhyamānāḥ paṇayaḥ sasantu |
revad uccha maghavadbhyo maghoni revat stotre sūnṛte jārayantī || 10 ||
aveyam aśvaid yuvatiḥ purastād yuṅkte gavām aruṇānām anīkam |
vi nūnam ucchād asati pra ketur gṛhaṁ-gṛham upa tiṣṭhāte agniḥ || 11 ||
ut te vayaś cid vasater apaptan naraś ca ye pitubhājo vyuṣṭau |
amā sate vahasi bhūri vāmam uṣo devi dāśuṣe martyāya || 12 ||
astoḍhvaṁ stomyā brahmaṇā me 'vīvṛdhadhvam uśatīr uṣāsaḥ |
yuṣmākaṁ devīr avasā sanema sahasriṇaṁ ca śatinaṁ ca vājam || 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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