Rig Veda 4.55.9: Mandala 4, Sukta 55, Mantra 9
Sukta 4.55
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Devata
- Uṣas
- Chandas
- Trishtubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
उषो मघोन्या वह सूनृते वार्या पुरु । अस्मभ्यं वाजिनीवति ॥
úṣo maghonyā́ vaha sū́nṛte vā́ryā purú | asmábhyaṃ vājinī-vati ||
يا أُشَس (الفجر)، يا غنيةً بالعطايا، احملي إلينا—يا سُونْرِتا، قوةَ القولِ الحقّ المضيء—كنوزًا كثيرةً مرغوبة؛ احمليها إلينا، يا ممتلئةً بفيضِ القوّة (فاجينيڤَتي).
Word by Word
- उषः
- O DawnNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole सम्बोधन (addressed deity)Root उषस्- (प्रातिपदिक) < PIE *h₂ews- ‘to dawn’
- मघोन्याः
- of the bountiful oneAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी; एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive qualifier of the addressed deity)Root मघोनी- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘bountiful, rich in gifts’) < मघ- ‘gift, bounty’
- वह
- bring / conveyVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); मध्यमपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रिया (imperative addressed to Uṣas)Root √वह् (वहति) ‘to carry/bring’
- सूनृते
- fair/true praise (good speech)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्म (what is to be brought)Root सूनृता- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘good/true speech, fair praise’) < सु- + नृ/नृता (praise/speech) (Vedic)
- वार्याणि
- desirable (gifts/things)Noun/Adjective (substantivized)नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचनRole कर्म (things to be brought)Root वार्य- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘choice, desirable, excellent (goods/gifts)’) < √वृ ‘to choose’
- पुरु
- many, abundantIndeclinable/Adjectiveअव्यय (quantifier used with plural object)Role विशेषण (qualifier of वार्याणि)Root पुरु (अव्यय/विशेषण; ‘much, many’) < PIE *pl̥h₁u- ‘many’
- अस्मभ्यम्
- to usPronounत्रिलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी; बहुवचनRole सम्प्रदान (recipient)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) ‘we’
- वाजिनीवति
- O prize/strength-bearing one (bounteous one)Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन; एकवचनRole सम्बोधन (epithet of Uṣas)Root वाजिनीवत्- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘possessing vāja—strength/prize, rich in booty’) < वाजिन्/वाज ‘prize, strength’ + -वत्
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: उषः | मघोन्याः | वह | सूनृते | वार्याणि | पुरु | अस्मभ्यम् | वाजिनीवति । 1) उषो॑ → उषः (विसर्गः पदान्ते; संहितायां ‘उषो’ रूपम्)
- 2) मघो॒न्या → मघोन्याः (आमन्त्रित ‘उषः’ के विशेषण-सम्बन्धे षष्ठी एकवचन; संहितायां दीर्घ/स्वर-चिह्न सहित)
- 3) सूनृ॑ते॒ वार्या॑ → सूनृते + वार्याणि (वार्य- का नपुंसक द्वितीया बहुवचन ‘वार्याणि’; संहितायां ‘वार्या’ रूप उच्चारण/पदविभाग-परम्परा से)
The meaning
Outer meaning
O Dawn, rich in gifts, bring to us—O Sūnṛtā—many desirable treasures; bring them to us, O vājinīvatī (full of force).
Inner meaning
Uṣas is the awakening illumination that returns again and again, opening the doors of perception. She is addressed as maghonī (bountiful) because true illumination brings gifts: clarity, hope, right impulse. Sūnṛtā—‘good/true speech’—is invoked as the power of luminous expression: the word that aligns thought and life with truth. The ‘treasures’ (vāryā puru) are inner riches—rays of knowledge, right movements, helpful forces—that Dawn carries into the being. Vājinīvatī indicates plenitude of vāja: force, victorious energy; illumination is not passive light but a dynamic power that equips action.
Universal truth
Every genuine awakening should translate into right expression and effective force. Illumination (Dawn) brings both knowledge and the energy to embody it; true speech is a bridge from insight to life.
Themes
Dawn as bringer of boons, Right speech and illumination, Abundance of force
The seer
- Rishi
- Vāmadeva Gautama
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 4.51–4.52 (Uṣas hymns in Maṇḍala 4, thematic vicinity), Rig Veda 4.55
Family tradition
Vāmadeva’s Dawn verses often connect light with efficacy—illumination that brings ‘vāja’ (force) and right speech (Sūnṛtā).
Significance
The seer’s emphasis is on the practical spirituality of light: awakening must deliver both truth-expression and energetic fulfilment.
The deity
- Devata
- Uṣas (with Sūnṛtā as invoked power)
- Epithets
- maghonī (bountiful), vājinīvatī (full of force), Sūnṛtā (true speech—invoked)
- Related deities
- Sūrya (Sun), Agni (fire awakened at dawn), Sarasvatī (speech/flow—affinity with Sūnṛtā)
Cosmic role
She reveals the world, drives away darkness, sets beings to their works; inaugurates the rhythms of time and renewal.
Inner power
Awakening illumination that brings right articulation and energizes action.
In ritual
Where it is used
Morning recitation in dawn-related sequences; Uṣas hymns in daily opening rites and Soma day contexts.
उषो॑ मघो॒न्या व॑ह॒ सूनृ॑ते॒ वार्या॑ पु॒रु । अ॒स्मभ्यं॑ वाजिनीवति ॥
उषः॑ । म॒घो॒नि॒ । आ । व॒ह॒ । सूनृ॑ते । वार्या॑ । पु॒रु । अ॒स्मभ्य॑म् । वा॒जि॒नी॒ऽव॒ति॒ ॥
uṣaḥ | maghoni | ā | vaha | sūnṛte | vāryā | puru | asmabhyam | vājinī-vati
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4 pādas of ~11 syllables; vocatives and enclitics may cause Vedic metrical flexibility.
Forward-moving, inviting cadence; suited to ‘bringing’ and ‘arrival’ verbs.
Creates a felt sense of opening and approach; mind brightens and becomes receptive.
- उषः (Uṣas)
- Literal: Dawn. Symbolic: spiritual awakening; returning illumination that opens the inner day
- मघोनी (maghonī)
- Literal: bountiful, rich in gifts. Symbolic: illumination that bestows inner riches and capacities
- आ वह (ā vaha)
- Literal: bring here, carry toward us. Symbolic: draw down the higher light into mind-life-body
- सूनृते (Sūnṛte)
- Literal: good/true speech. Symbolic: luminous right word; mantric truth-expression and sincerity of utterance
- वार्या (vāryā)
- Literal: desirable treasures/boons. Symbolic: choices of the soul: true values, helpful powers, light-gifts
- पुरु (puru)
- Literal: many, abundant. Symbolic: multiplicity of rays/insights and supportive forces
- वाजिनीवति (vājinīvatī)
- Literal: possessing vāja; full of force. Symbolic: illumination charged with effective energy; victorious dynamism
Morning invocation; aligns with dawn-pressing and beginnings in Soma ritual; also used as inner ‘awakening’ formula
At dawn or at the beginning of practice/day; also before study or speech-related duties.
Recitation facing east; optionally lighting a lamp as symbolic Uṣas/Agni awakening.
Use before journaling, teaching, difficult conversations: invoke right speech (Sūnṛtā) and luminous force (vāja) so words carry truth and power.
uṣás from √vas/√uṣ ‘to shine, dawn’. maghá ‘gift, bounty’ (also might/power) gives maghonī ‘bountiful’. sūnṛtā from su-nṛtá ‘well-ordered/true utterance’ (nṛtá related to ‘right, true’ in Vedic usage), hence truth-speech as a power. vāja ‘prize/strength’ from √vaj ‘to be strong, impel’ → ‘plenitude of force’, not merely food.
Truth-speech (Sūnṛtā), Vāja as force-plenitude, Awakening of consciousness
Uṣas is a daily enactment of ṛta—orderly return of light; right speech aligns with ṛta.
Sūnṛtā as speech that does not distort truth; sincerity and luminous articulation.
Creation renewed each dawn: light releases hidden possibilities and sets forces into motion.
Vedic psychology of illumination: Vāc as force; light as conscious power.
dawn
Dawn = awakening; rays = thoughts/insights; horizon = threshold between subconscient and conscious; treasures = capacities released by illumination.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The dawn-bringing mythologem: Ushas arrives carrying treasures. Innerly, illumination brings right speech (sūnṛtā) and the desirable powers that follow awakening.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The dawn goddess is a pan-IE figure (cf. Greek Ēōs, Latin Aurōra, Lithuanian Aušra), reflecting inherited poetics of dawn as renewer and giver. The verb ‘bring/carry’ frames the divine as a carrier of powers into the human field.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi asks for an inward arrival: illumination is requested to ‘bring’ both treasures and the capacity for truth-utterance, indicating that gifts are mediated through awakened speech and force.
Invite the dawn-light into the forehead and heart; let it become truthful speech and effective force for the day.
Ājñā (illumination) and Viśuddha (true speech).
Gentle sunrise breathing: inhale imagining light entering between brows; exhale letting it flow to throat as clear speech; 9–12 rounds.
Bright receptivity with calm dynamism.
After chanting, speak one short sankalpa aloud in simple truthful words (Sūnṛtā), then do one immediate concrete action (vāja) to embody the light.
Keep a rising brightness on ‘uṣó’ (udātta prominence) and clear cadence on vocatives; allow the line to ‘carry’ forward with ‘ā́ vaha’.
Emphasize the imperative ‘ā vaha’ twice (bringing action); keep ‘asmabhyam’ light and quick as an enclitic phrase anchor.
: ‘u-ṣo’ with retroflex ‘ṣ’, : ‘ma-gho-ni’ clear aspirate ‘gh’, : long ‘ū’; ‘nṛ’ as syllabic ‘ṛ’, : ‘vā-ji-nī-va-ti’ long vowels vā, nī
Clear, bright, slightly uplifted; avoid harshness.
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