Sukta 54
Sukta 4.54
Vāmadeva Gautama (traditional attribution for Mandala 4; hymn 4.54 commonly ascribed to Vāmadeva)
Savitṛ (solar impeller; Āditya-like power of arousing and directing)
Triṣṭubh (probable; RV 4.54 is predominantly Triṣṭubh in tradition—verify at pada-count level for critical editions)
This short hymn praises Savitṛ as the divine Impeller who awakens worship, apportions treasures, and establishes the best “draviṇa” (substance, power, prosperity) in the worshipper. It stresses the immeasurable reach of Savitṛ’s true impulsion—from earth’s breadth to heaven’s height—and ends by invoking a wider circle of deities for protection and peace through Savitṛ’s thrice-daily stirrings of good fortune.
Mantras
Mantra 1
अभूद्देवः सविता वन्द्यो नु न इदानीमह्न उपवाच्यो नृभिः । वि यो रत्ना भजति मानवेभ्यः श्रेष्ठं नो अत्र द्रविणं यथा दधत् ॥
Now the god Savitṛ has become truly to be adored by us, to be invoked by the human powers in this very day; he who apportions the inner treasures to the seekers—may he here establish in us the most excellent plenitude of substance and force.
Mantra 2
देवेभ्यो हि प्रथमं यज्ञियेभ्योऽमृतत्वं सुवसि भागमुत्तमम् । आदिद्दामानं सवितर्व्यूर्णुषेऽनूचीना जीविता मानुषेभ्यः ॥
For first to the divine ones worthy of sacrifice you set in motion the supreme portion of immortality; then, O Savitṛ, you unfold the measured ordinances, and in their following you extend the streams of life for human beings.
Mantra 3
अचित्ती यच्चकृमा दैव्ये जने दीनैर्दक्षैः प्रभूती पूरुषत्वता । देवेषु च सवितर्मानुषेषु च त्वं नो अत्र सुवतादनागसः ॥
Whatever we have done in the divine kind with a clouded understanding, with diminished capacities, through the pressure of the human mode—O Savitṛ, among gods and among men, here impel us into right movement, making us without fault.
Mantra 4
न प्रमिये सवितुर्दैव्यस्य तद्यथा विश्वं भुवनं धारयिष्यति । यत्पृथिव्या वरिमन्ना स्वङ्गुरिर्वर्ष्मन्दिवः सुवति सत्यमस्य तत् ॥
Not to be measured is that of the divine Savitṛ—how he shall uphold the whole becoming; for from the wideness of earth to the summit of heaven his true impulsion goes forth: that is his truth.
Mantra 5
इन्द्रज्येष्ठान्बृहद्भ्यः पर्वतेभ्यः क्षयाँ एभ्यः सुवसि पस्त्यावतः । यथायथा पतयन्तो वियेमिर एवैव तस्थुः सवितः सवाय ते ॥
From the great peaks, where Indra is foremost, you impel for these the dwelling-places rich in settled fullness; and as the winged ones spread out in their flights, so indeed they take their stations according to your impulsion, O Savitṛ.
Mantra 6
ये ते त्रिरहन्त्सवितः सवासो दिवेदिवे सौभगमासुवन्ति । इन्द्रो द्यावापृथिवी सिन्धुरद्भिरादित्यैर्नो अदितिः शर्म यंसत् ॥
Those impulsions of yours, O Savitṛ, that threefold each day bring forth felicity—may Indra, Heaven-and-Earth, the River with its waters, and Aditi with the Ādityas grant us a sheltering peace.
Frequently Asked Questions
Savitṛ is the divine solar Impeller who awakens beings and prayers, directs right activity, and distributes “treasures” (ratna) to people according to truth (satya) and order (ṛta).
That Savitṛ’s power is vast and immeasurable, sustaining the whole world, and that his impulse can establish the best prosperity, strength, and right movement in the worshipper.
The hymn closes by widening the blessing: Savitṛ’s impulse brings good fortune, and these allied cosmic powers are invoked to grant protection (śarma) and peace as the results of that right impulsion.