Hymn to Savitṛ
Rigveda II.38 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 2 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.
O Savitṛ, the Impeller! O golden-handed sun-god, thou who drivest forth all things into being! In the beginning, it was thou who stirred the cosmos into motion. It was thy will that set the wheels of time to turning. It was thy power that bid the waters to flow and the earth to bring forth fruit.
Each dawn, thou ridest forth in thy bright chariot, thy hands gleaming like polished gold. Thy rays are arrows of light that pierce the darkness and slay the demons of the night. Thou art the awakener, the activator, he who bringeth all creatures to their daily tasks.
We honor thee at the moment when thou dost arise above the eastern mountains, when thy first light touches the sleeping earth and stirreth it to wakefulness. We sing thy praises as thou climbest the vault of heaven. We bid thee farewell as thou descendest in the west, exhausted but glorious from thy labors throughout the day.
O Savitṛ, incite us to action! Stir us from our sluggishness. Grant us the energy and the will to accomplish our tasks. Give us purpose. Give us drive. Let us be like thee — active, purposeful, relentless in our duties.
Yet teach us also that all action must be right action, governed by order and by law. Let our hands be golden-bright with righteousness. Let our deeds bring forth good fruit. Let us not exhaust ourselves in foolish pursuits, but let us spend our strength upon what is true and what is necessary.
O golden-handed impeller, thou who makest the worlds go round, accept our praise and our gratitude. Grant us the vigor to greet each new day with joy. Grant us the strength to labor with purpose. Grant us the wisdom to know when to strive and when to rest. Make us active servants of thy cosmic order.
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.
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Source Text: ṛgveda II.38
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.
ud u ṣya devaḥ savitā savāya śaśvattamaṁ tadapā vahnir asthāt |
nūnaṁ devebhyo vi hi dhāti ratnam athābhajad vītihotraṁ svastau || 1 ||
viśvasya hi śruṣṭaye deva ūrdhvaḥ pra bāhavā pṛthupāṇiḥ sisarti |
āpaś cid asya vrata ā nimṛgrā ayaṁ cid vāto ramate parijman || 2 ||
āśubhiś cid yān vi mucāti nūnam arīramad atamānaṁ cid etoḥ |
ahyarṣūṇāṁ cin ny ayām̐ aviṣyām anu vrataṁ savitur moky āgāt || 3 ||
punaḥ sam avyad vitataṁ vayantī madhyā kartor ny adhāc chakma dhīraḥ |
ut saṁhāyāsthād vy ṛ1tūm̐r adardhar aramatiḥ savitā deva āgāt || 4 ||
nānaukāṁsi duryo viśvam āyur vi tiṣṭhate prabhavaḥ śoko agneḥ |
jyeṣṭham mātā sūnave bhāgam ādhād anv asya ketam iṣitaṁ savitrā || 5 ||
samāvavarti viṣṭhito jigīṣur viśveṣāṁ kāmaś caratām amābhūt |
śaśvām̐ apo vikṛtaṁ hitvy āgād anu vrataṁ savitur daivyasya || 6 ||
tvayā hitam apyam apsu bhāgaṁ dhanvānv ā mṛgayaso vi tasthuḥ |
vanāni vibhyo nakir asya tāni vratā devasya savitur minanti || 7 ||
yādrādhya1ṁ varuṇo yonim apyam aniśitaṁ nimiṣi jarbhurāṇaḥ |
viśvo mārtāṇḍo vrajam ā paśur gāt sthaśo janmāni savitā vy ākaḥ || 8 ||
na yasyendro varuṇo na mitro vratam aryamā na minanti rudraḥ |
nārātayas tam idaṁ svasti huve devaṁ savitāraṁ namobhiḥ || 9 ||
bhagaṁ dhiyaṁ vājayantaḥ puraṁdhiṁ narāśaṁso gnāspatir no avyāḥ |
āye vāmasya saṁgathe rayīṇām priyā devasya savituḥ syāma || 10 ||
asmabhyaṁ tad divo adbhyaḥ pṛthivyās tvayā dattaṁ kāmyaṁ rādha ā gāt |
śaṁ yat stotṛbhya āpaye bhavāty uruśaṁsāya savitar jaritre || 11 ||
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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