Hymn to Uṣas
Rigveda VII.77 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 7 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.
Harness the steeds, O Uṣas! Let thy golden chariot be prepared! The shafts are smooth; the axles are bright; the wheels do gleam like burnished silver. Thou who art the charioteer most swift, come forth and begin thy journey across the heavens!
The horses are eager; they paw the ground with their hooves. They sense thy coming; their nostrils flare; their eyes roll with excitement. They know that when thou dost mount thy car, they shall dash forth across the vault of heaven like lightning across a storm-darkened sky.
Up, then! Let the reins be taut! Let the chariot wheels begin their rolling! The path before thee is wide and clear—the path that stretcheth from the eastern mountains to the western sea. No obstacle doth bar thy way; no enemy doth stand against thee.
As thou ridest, the world is transformed. Where thy shadow fell, darkness reigned. But where thy wheels roll, light spreadeth forth. The grass becomes green; the flowers open their petals; the whole earth shineth as with precious gems.
The horses never tire. Though they have journeyed from the east since the beginning of all time, still their vigor is undiminished. They know that when the sun shall set, they shall rest for a time, but that when the dark hours have passed, they shall again be called forth.
So too with thee, O Uṣas. Thou art the ever-traveling maiden, the wanderer who knoweth no rest. Thy journey is long; thy path is endless; yet thou art never weary. How is this possible? How can one so ancient still possess such youthful energy?
We stand below, looking upward, and we marvel at the sight of thy chariot racing across the heavens. The rays stream down upon us like arrows of fire. The warmth entreth into our bones; the light doth fill our eyes. We are warmed and we are comforted by thy passage.
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 VII.77
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.
upo ruruce yuvatir na yoṣā viśvaṁ jīvam prasuvantī carāyai |
abhūd agniḥ samidhe mānuṣāṇām akar jyotir bādhamānā tamāṁsi || 1 ||
viśvam pratīcī saprathā ud asthād ruśad vāso bibhratī śukram aśvait |
hiraṇyavarṇā sudṛśīkasaṁdṛg gavām mātā netry ahnām aroci || 2 ||
devānāṁ cakṣuḥ subhagā vahantī śvetaṁ nayantī sudṛśīkam aśvam |
uṣā adarśi raśmibhir vyaktā citrāmaghā viśvam anu prabhūtā || 3 ||
antivāmā dūre amitram ucchorvīṁ gavyūtim abhayaṁ kṛdhī naḥ |
yāvaya dveṣa ā bharā vasūni codaya rādho gṛṇate maghoni || 4 ||
asme śreṣṭhebhir bhānubhir vi bhāhy uṣo devi pratirantī na āyuḥ |
iṣaṁ ca no dadhatī viśvavāre gomad aśvāvad rathavac ca rādhaḥ || 5 ||
yāṁ tvā divo duhitar vardhayanty uṣaḥ sujāte matibhir vasiṣṭhāḥ |
sāsmāsu dhā rayim ṛṣvam bṛhantaṁ yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ || 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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