Hymn to Uṣas
Rigveda X.55 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 10 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 by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
Far off in the unseen bounds is that hidden Name, which the twain, in fear, did call upon thee by— to grant them strength.
Thou didst uphold Earth and Heaven in that fateful hour, when thou didst rouse the sons of thy brother, O bounteous one.
Great is that Name, veiled and much desired, by which thou begat that which hath been, and by which thou shalt beget that which shall be.
The light born of old, which is his own— that cherished light the five beloved do gather into one.
He hath filled the twain realms and the breadth betwixt.
The fivefold gods, in their due course,
seven by seven he beholdeth, with the four and thirty lights in their full number— one light in form, though many in its goings and laws.
In this, O Dawn, thou didst arise foremost of the shining kin, for thou begat the thriving of the thriving.
And thou art nearer in blood to her who is far off.
Great is the sole dominion of Great Dawn.
The lone runner among many—
though but newly born, the hoar one swallowed him.
Behold the god’s craft in its wonder:
this day he dieth, yet yestermorn he breathed full strong.
By might is he mighty, the red eagle, who of old, without nest, stood lordly among the great.
What he seeth, that alone is true; it is not false.
He is both the taker and the giver of the sought-for boon.
Through these was he endued with manly might, through whom the mace-bearer waxed in strength to shatter the foe.
Yea, the gods, for the deed’s vast weight, sprang forth unbidden into being.
He raised up his works with them as yokemates, he, who hath all might and all wit, the smiter of scorn, the breaker of the strong.
Having quaffed the soma and waxed in might, the champion drove the Dasyus from the heavens in battle.
Colophon
This hymn is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, translated independently from the Sanskrit. Reference translations consulted during original translation are to be documented during audit.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
🌲
Source Text: ṛgveda X.55
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.
dūre tan nāma guhyam parācair yat tvā bhīte ahvayetāṁ vayodhai |
ud astabhnāḥ pṛthivīṁ dyām abhīke bhrātuḥ putrān maghavan titviṣāṇaḥ || 1 ||
mahat tan nāma guhyam puruspṛg yena bhūtaṁ janayo yena bhavyam |
pratnaṁ jātaṁ jyotir yad asya priyam priyāḥ sam aviśanta pañca || 2 ||
ā rodasī apṛṇād ota madhyam pañca devām̐ ṛtuśaḥ sapta-sapta |
catustriṁśatā purudhā vi caṣṭe sarūpeṇa jyotiṣā vivratena || 3 ||
yad uṣa aucchaḥ prathamā vibhānām ajanayo yena puṣṭasya puṣṭam |
yat te jāmitvam avaram parasyā mahan mahatyā asuratvam ekam || 4 ||
vidhuṁ dadrāṇaṁ samane bahūnāṁ yuvānaṁ santam palito jagāra |
devasya paśya kāvyam mahitvādyā mamāra sa hyaḥ sam āna || 5 ||
śākmanā śāko aruṇaḥ suparṇa ā yo mahaḥ śūraḥ sanād anīḻaḥ |
yac ciketa satyam it tan na moghaṁ vasu spārham uta jetota dātā || 6 ||
aibhir dade vṛṣṇyā pauṁsyāni yebhir aukṣad vṛtrahatyāya vajrī |
ye karmaṇaḥ kriyamāṇasya mahna ṛtekarmam udajāyanta devāḥ || 7 ||
yujā karmāṇi janayan viśvaujā aśastihā viśvamanās turāṣāṭ |
pītvī somasya diva ā vṛdhānaḥ śūro nir yudhādhamad dasyūn || 8 ||
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).
🌲