Hymns to Savitur from the Rig-Veda - Book I
Summary: This page presents Hymn XXXV dedicated to Savitur, the Vedic deity of light, brilliance, and divine illumination, from the ancient Hindu scripture known as the Rigveda. The hymn, translated by the renowned Sanskrit scholar Ralph T.H. Griffith, describes Savitur's cosmic journey across the heavens in his golden chariot and his role in dispelling darkness and bestowing blessings upon all creatures. Readers will find the complete hymn with its ten verses, offering insight into early Hindu cosmology and devotional practices.
HYMN 35. Savitar.
1 AGNI I first invoke for our prosperity; I call on Mitra, Varuna, to aid us here.
I call
on Night who gives rest to all moving life; I call on Savitar the God to lend us help.
2 Throughout
the dusky firmament advancing, laying to rest the immortal and the mortal,
Borne in his golden
chariot he cometh, Savitar, God who looks on every creature.
3 The God moves by the upward
path, the downward; with two bright Bays, adorable, he journeys.
Savitar comes, the God from
the far distance, and chases from us all distress and sorrow.
4 His chariot decked with pearl,
of various colours, lofty, with golden pole, the God hath mounted,
The many-rayed One, Savitar
the holy, bound, bearing power and might, for darksome regions.
5 Drawing the gold-yoked car
his Bays, white-footed, have manifested light to all the peoples.
Held in the lap of Savitar,
divine One, all men, all beings have their place for ever.
6 Three heavens there are; two Savitar's,
adjacent: in Yama's world is one, the home of heroes,
As on a linch-pin, firm, rest things
immortal: he who hath known it let him here declare it.
7 He, strong of wing, hath lightened
up the regions, deep-quivering Asura, the gentle Leader.
Where now is Surya, where is one to
tell us to what celestial sphere his ray hath wandered?
8 The earth's eight points his brightness
hath illumined, three desert regions and the Seven Rivers.
God Savitar the gold-eyed hath come
hither, giving choice treasures unto him who worships.
9 The golden-handed Savitar, far-seeing,
goes on his way between the earth and heaven,
Drives away sickness, bids the Sun approach us,
and spreads the bright sky through the darksome region.
10 May he, gold-handed Asura, kind
Leader, come hither to us with his help and favour.
Driving off Raksasas and Yatudhanas, the
God is present, praised in hymns at evening.
11 O Savitar, thine ancient dustless pathways
are well established in the air's midregion:
O God, come by those paths so fair to travel,
preserve thou us from harm this day, and bless us.
Source: These hymns are reproduced from An English translation of the Vedas by Ralph T.H. Griffith, 1896. Griffith wrote in a poetic, archaic style. In order to make the hymns sound like English poetry, he often compromised the original meaning of the Sanskrit words. Further, his Sanskrit knowledge was limited by the scholarship of the 19th century. For many Indian readers, this feels distant, making his work less accessible than modern prose translations. This page has been formatted, and the hymns are selected and organized by Jayaram V for Hinduwebsite.com. Hymn numbers have been changed from Roman numerals to standard numbers.