Rig Veda 1.113.1: Mandala 1, Sukta 113, Mantra 1
Sukta 1.113
- Rishi
- Kutsa Āṅgirasa
- Devata
- Uṣas
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
इदं श्रेष्ठं ज्योतिषां ज्योतिरागाच्चित्रः प्रकेतो अजनिष्ट विभ्वा । यथा प्रसूता सवितुः सवायँ एवा रात्र्युषसे योनिमारैक् ॥
idáṃ śréṣṭhaṃ jyótiṣāṃ jyótir ā́gāc citráḥ prá-keto ajaniṣṭa ví-bhvā | yáthā prá-sūtā savitúḥ savā́yaṃ evā́ rā́try uṣáse yónim ā́raik ||
Cette suprême Lumière des lumières est venue; le Merveilleux, au discernement clair, est né dans son immensité. Comme enfantée pour l’impulsion de Savitṛ, ainsi la Nuit a cédé son sein à l’Aurore.
Word by Word
- इदम्
- thisPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचनRole KarmaRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- श्रेष्ठम्
- best, most excellentAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन (इदम् के विशेषण)Role KarmaRoot श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक; श्रे/श्री-धातु से ‘श्रेष्ठ’)
- ज्योतिषाम्
- of lightsNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी; बहुवचनRole Sambandha (genitive)Root ज्योतिस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- ज्योतिः
- a lightNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole KartāRoot ज्योतिस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- आगात्
- came, has comeVerbलुङ् (अorist); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचनRole KriyāRoot √गम् (गच्छति) उपसर्ग: आ-
- चित्रः
- bright, wondrousAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन (प्रकेतः के विशेषण)Role Kartā (as qualifier)Root चित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रकेतः
- the one of clear sign/manifestation (dawn)Noun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole KartāRoot प्रकेत (प्रातिपदिक)
- अजनिष्ट
- was born, aroseVerbलुङ् (अorist); आत्मनेपद; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचनRole KriyāRoot √जन् (जनते/जनति)
- विभ्वा
- all-pervading, mightyAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन (प्रकेतः के विशेषण)Role Kartā (as qualifier)Root विभ्वन्/विभ्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- यथा
- as, just asIndeclinableउपमान/प्रकारवाचक अव्ययRole Sambandha (comparative marker)Root यथा (अव्यय)
- प्रसूता
- having brought forth, having given birthParticiple (Adjective)स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन (स्त्री-कर्तृ)Role KartāRoot प्र-√सू (सूते) → प्रसूत (कृदन्त)
- सवितुः
- of Savitṛ (the impeller)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी; एकवचनRole Sambandha (genitive)Root सवितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- सवायम्
- the impelling/quickening (impulse)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole KarmaRoot सव (प्रातिपदिक)
- एव
- just so, indeedIndeclinableनिश्चय/समुच्चयार्थक अव्ययRole Sambandha (emphasis)Root एव (अव्यय)
- रात्रि
- nightNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole KartāRoot रात्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
- उषसे
- to Dawn (Uṣas)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी; एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot उषस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- योनिम्
- womb, resting-place, sourceNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole KarmaRoot योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
- आरैक्
- left, yielded (it)Verbवैदिक रूप; परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन (समाप्त क्रिया)Role KriyāRoot आ-√रिच्/√रेच् (Vedic: ‘to leave, relinquish, yield’; perfect-like injunctive/aorist form)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (सन्धि-निरसन): इदम् श्रेष्ठम् ज्योतिषाम् ज्योतिः आगात् चित्रः प्रकेतः अजनिष्ट विभ्वा । यथा प्रसूता सवितुः सवायम् एव रात्रि उषसे योनिम् आरैक् ॥ मुख्य सन्धि: (1) ज्योतिरागात् → ज्योतिः + आगात् (विसर्ग-सन्धि: ः + आ → र् + आ)
- (2) रात्र्यु॒षसे → रात्रि + उषसे (इ/उ संधि; य्-आगम)
- (3) योनि॑मारैक् → योनिम् + आरैक् (म् + आ → म् आ; लेखन में संयोग)
- (4) स॒वायँ॑ → सवायम् (अनुस्वार/चन्द्रबिन्दु वैदिक-लिप्यन्तर)
The meaning
Outer meaning
The supreme light among lights has arrived; the wondrous, clear-discerning one is born in her vastness. As if brought forth by Savitṛ’s impulsion, Night has yielded the womb to Dawn.
Inner meaning
Uṣas is the rising illumination in consciousness. The ‘Light of lights’ is the advent of a higher discernment (praketu) that is not merely mental brightness but a revelatory seeing. Night is the obscurity of the subconscient and ignorance; it ‘yields the womb’ when the soul is pressed by Savitṛ’s impulsion—divine initiative that drives evolution. Dawn is thus the birth of inner awakening from within the very substance of darkness, not an external ornament.
Universal truth
Awakening is a birth: the highest light emerges when obscurity is made receptive to a higher impulsion. In every cycle of confusion, a deeper illumination can arise if consciousness consents to the divine push toward truth.
Themes
dawn hymn, illumination, cosmic birth, transition from darkness to light
The seer
- Rishi
- Kutsa Āṅgirasa
- Lineage
- Āṅgirasa
- Other hymns
- RV 1.113 (Uṣas hymn), RV 1.94 (Kutsa-associated traditions in some indices)
Family tradition
Āṅgirasa seers are strongly associated with the recovery of light and the release of the ‘cows’ (rays) from darkness—an illumination lineage.
Significance
Kutsa’s Dawn vision exemplifies the Vedic psychology of transformation: light is born as a conscious event, establishing a new rhythm of inner life.
The deity
- Devata
- Uṣas
- Epithets
- Śreṣṭhaṃ jyotiḥ (supreme light), Citraḥ (wondrous), Praketaḥ (clear-discerning), Vibhvā (vast, all-pervading)
- Related deities
- Savitṛ, Sūrya, Agni, Aśvinau
Cosmic role
Bringer of dawn who opens the worlds, reveals paths, awakens beings, and sets the rhythm of right activity.
Inner power
Illumination that differentiates truth from confusion and initiates the day of sādhanā; the first descent of higher light into the mind-life.
In ritual
Where it is used
Uṣas-stotra / dawn recitations
इ॒दं श्रेष्ठं॒ ज्योति॑षां॒ ज्योति॒रागा॑च्चि॒त्रः प्र॑के॒तो अ॑जनिष्ट॒ विभ्वा॑ । यथा॒ प्रसू॑ता सवि॒तुः स॒वायँ॑ ए॒वा रात्र्यु॒षसे॒ योनि॑मारैक् ॥
इ॒दम् । श्रेष्ठ॑म् । ज्योति॑षाम् । ज्योतिः॑ । आ । अ॒गा॒त् । चि॒त्रः । प्र॒ऽके॒तः । अ॒ज॒नि॒ष्ट॒ । विऽभ्वा॑ । यथा॑ । प्रऽसू॑ता । स॒वि॒तुः । स॒वाय॑ । ए॒व । रात्री॑ । उ॒षसे॑ । योनि॑म् । अ॒रै॒क् ॥
idam | śreṣṭham | jyotiṣām | jyotiḥ | ā | agāt | citraḥ | pra-ketaḥ | ajaniṣṭa | vi-bhvā | yathā | pra-sūtā | savituḥ | savāya | eva | rātrī | uṣase | yonim | araik
24
3 pādas × 8 syllables
Bright, swift, and crystalline; ideal for the ‘arrival’ of light.
Quickens attention and clarity; produces a clean, uplifting inner tone conducive to morning meditation.
- उषस् (uṣas)
- Literal: Dawn. Symbolic: illumination; spiritual awakening; first opening of higher consciousness
- ज्योतिषां ज्योतिः (jyotiṣāṃ jyotiḥ)
- Literal: light of lights. Symbolic: supreme illumination behind lesser mental lights
- प्रकेतः (praketaḥ)
- Literal: clear-seeing, discernment. Symbolic: revelatory intelligence; truth-discrimination
- रात्रि (rātri)
- Literal: night. Symbolic: ignorance/subconscient obscurity that can become the matrix of awakening
- योनि (yoni)
- Literal: womb, source. Symbolic: the matrix of transformation; the place where new consciousness forms
- सवितृ (savitṛ) / सवाय (savāya)
- Literal: Savitṛ; impulsion. Symbolic: divine impetus that drives the awakening and right movement
Morning recitation/invocation at dawn; connected with prātaḥ-savana atmosphere in Soma day as an awakener of consciousness.
At dawn or early morning; also at the start of study/meditation to invoke illumination.
Recitation facing east; offering of attention and aspiration as the inner oblation to the rising light.
Morning ‘awakening mantra’: chant upon waking to shift from tamas (night) to clarity (dawn), setting intention for truthful action.
uṣas (dawn) from √vas/√uṣ ‘shine, burn’: illumination as awakening. praketa (pra- + √cit/ket ‘notice, appear, perceive’): a consciousness that discerns. Savitṛ (√sū ‘impel, vivify’): the divine impulsion behind awakening. yoni ‘womb/seat’: the matrix of manifestation; Night relinquishes the matrix to Dawn—inner symbol of ignorance yielding to knowledge.
awakening of higher illumination, Savitṛ as evolutionary impulsion, yoni as matrix of manifestation, victory of knowledge over ignorance
Dawn establishes right timing and right movement—ṛta becomes experiential as a new inner day begins.
The ‘light of lights’ is satya’s self-revelation in the mind.
Birth of light from darkness; the cosmos renewed each day as a symbol of inner creation.
Vedāntic-illumination current: consciousness as light; also Integral Yoga reading—higher light descending into mind.
Dawn explicitly
Transition from subconscient obscurity to awakened discernment; emergence of a higher guiding intelligence.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The birth/arrival of Dawn as the ‘best light of lights’ and Night yielding her womb. Inwardly: the emergence of a superior illumination in consciousness; the subconscient darkness gives up the field of manifestation to the truth-revealing power.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- dyew/light complex appears in the wider hymn-cycle; here jyotis is central. The dawn myth has strong IE parallels (Greek Eos, Latin Aurora). The birth imagery (jan ‘be born’) is a common IE poetic device for daily cosmogenesis.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi does not merely describe a sunrise; he hails a conscious Power (Uṣas) whose coming is the advent of higher discernment (praketa) in the human vessel. The reciprocity is: the seer recognizes and voices the coming Light; Dawn, in response, establishes the conditions for awakened action under Savitṛ’s impulsion.
Receive the ‘light of lights’—sit as Night yielding the womb to Dawn; allow discernment to be born without mental strain.
Ājñā (inner sight)
Gentle sunrise breathing: inhale imagining dawn rising through spine, exhale letting night-obscurity dissolve; then chant softly.
Awakened clarity; luminous quiet joy.
Chant 9 times at dawn; then sit 10 minutes watching the first thoughts—offer them to the new light; choose one action aligned with truth (ṛta) for the day.
Gāyatrī requires crisp accenting; keep udatta bright and brief, svarita as a light downward turn; avoid dragging syllables.
Three clean 8-syllable units; slight pause between pādas to mirror the ‘arrival’ and ‘birth’ images.
‘jyotiṣāṃ jyotiḥ’ keep ṣ and ḥ distinct; final visarga audible but soft., ‘citraḥ praketo’ pronounce pra-ke-to (not prak-eto)., ‘yonim āraik’ keep long ā in āraik; avoid adding a vowel after final k.
Bright, clear, morning tone; not heavy.
9
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
