Hymn to Savitṛ
Rigveda IV.54 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 4 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.
The day is ending. Savitṛ giveth his final command. All things obey. The sun descendeth below the western mountains. The light fadeth into purple and then into darkness. The world prepareth itself for rest.
Thou utterest thy evening word, O Savitṛ, and the heavens hear it. The gods retire to their celestial homes. The demons crawl back into their hidden places. The creatures of the day take shelter. The creatures of the night emerge cautiously from the shadows.
All creatures rest at thy word. The birds settle into their nests. The beasts lie down in their lairs. The fishes cease their swimming. Even the trees seem to pause in their growth. Everything waiteth upon thy command. Nothing moveth without thy permission.
The darkness cometh, yet we are not afraid, for we know that thou wilt impel the sun to rise again. Thou dost teach us the rhythm of rest and labor. Thou dost show us that all things must yield to the great turning of the cosmos. The night is not an ending but a pause, a drawing of breath before the next day's work.
O Savitṛ! Grant us peaceful sleep. Grant us dreams of wisdom. Grant us the rest we need to toil again tomorrow. As thou commandest all creatures to rest, so command us. Let thy evening word bring us peace. O golden-handed god! Accept our praise as the day endeth. Watch over us in the darkness. Impel the sun to rise again!
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 IV.54
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.
abhūd devaḥ savitā vandyo nu na idānīm ahna upavācyo nṛbhiḥ |
vi yo ratnā bhajati mānavebhyaḥ śreṣṭhaṁ no atra draviṇaṁ yathā dadhat || 1 ||
devebhyo hi prathamaṁ yajñiyebhyo 'mṛtatvaṁ suvasi bhāgam uttamam |
ād id dāmānaṁ savitar vy ūrṇuṣe 'nūcīnā jīvitā mānuṣebhyaḥ || 2 ||
acittī yac cakṛmā daivye jane dīnair dakṣaiḥ prabhūtī pūruṣatvatā |
deveṣu ca savitar mānuṣeṣu ca tvaṁ no atra suvatād anāgasaḥ || 3 ||
na pramiye savitur daivyasya tad yathā viśvam bhuvanaṁ dhārayiṣyati |
yat pṛthivyā varimann ā svaṅgurir varṣman divaḥ suvati satyam asya tat || 4 ||
indrajyeṣṭhān bṛhadbhyaḥ parvatebhyaḥ kṣayām̐ ebhyaḥ suvasi pastyāvataḥ |
yathā-yathā patayanto viyemira evaiva tasthuḥ savitaḥ savāya te || 5 ||
ye te trir ahan savitaḥ savāso dive-dive saubhagam āsuvanti |
indro dyāvāpṛthivī sindhur adbhir ādityair no aditiḥ śarma yaṁsat || 6 ||
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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