Sukta 71
Sukta 6.71
Bharadvāja (Bārhaspatya)
Triṣṭubh
This six-verse hymn praises Savitṛ as the divine Impeller who rises and stretches out his golden arms, setting the cosmic order in motion across the realms. It asks him to anoint and empower the sacrifice, to bestow prosperity on the generous worshipper, and to grant “the desirable” day after day through inspired thought and right intention.
In this hymn
Addressed to
Mantras
Mantra 1
उदु ष्य देवः सविता हिरण्यया बाहू अयंस्त सवनाय सुक्रतुः । घृतेन पाणी अभि प्रुष्णुते मखो युवा सुदक्षो रजसो विधर्मणि ॥
सवितर देवता उठते हैं। उनके हाथ सोने जैसी चमक रहे हैं, वो आगे बढ़ा रहे हैं। वो घी से हाथ गीला कर रहे हैं। वो जवान हैं और बहुत समझदार हैं। वो दुनिया में सही नियम बना रहे हैं।
Mantra 2
देवस्य वयं सवितुः सवीमनि श्रेष्ठे स्याम वसुनश्च दावने । यो विश्वस्य द्विपदो यश्चतुष्पदो निवेशने प्रसवे चासि भूमनः ॥
हम सवितर देवता की शक्ति में रहें। वो हमें धन दे। यह देवता बहुत बड़े हैं। इंसान और जानवर सब इनके हाथ में हैं। यह सब को जगह देते हैं और सब को आगे बढ़ाते हैं।
Mantra 3
अदब्धेभिः सवितः पायुभिष्ट्वं शिवेभिरद्य परि पाहि नो गयम् । हिरण्यजिह्वः सुविताय नव्यसे रक्षा माकिर्नो अघशंस ईशत ॥
सवितर देवता, तुम अपनी रक्षा में रखना। तुम्हारी ज़बान सोने जैसी है। हमें नया सुख दो। कोई बुरा इंसान हम पर हाथ ना मार सके।
Mantra 4
उदु ष्य देवः सविता दमूना हिरण्यपाणिः प्रतिदोषमस्थात् । अयोहनुर्यजतो मन्द्रजिह्व आ दाशुषे सुवति भूरि वामम् ॥
सवितर देवता उठते हैं जो घर में रहते हैं। उनके हाथ सोने जैसी चमक रहे हैं। शाम के वक़्त वो खड़े रहते हैं। वो बहुत ताकतवाले हैं। जो लोग भगवान को पूजा करते हैं, उनको यह सुख देता है।
Mantra 5
उदू अयाँ उपवक्तेव बाहू हिरण्यया सविता सुप्रतीका । दिवो रोहांस्यरुहत्पृथिव्या अरीरमत्पतयत्कच्चिदभ्वम् ॥
सविता अपने हाथ ऊपर करके खड़ा है, जैसे कोई काम करवाने वाला बोलता है। वो सोने जैसा चमक रहा है और बिल्कुल साफ दिख रहा है। वो धरती से आसमान की तरफ चढ़ता है। वो सब कुछ सही दिशा में चलाता है, बड़े-बड़े खाली इलाकों से भी गुज़र जाता है।
Mantra 6
वाममद्य सवितर्वाममु श्वो दिवेदिवे वाममस्मभ्यं सावीः । वामस्य हि क्षयस्य देव भूरेरया धिया वामभाजः स्याम ॥
सविता, आज हमे अच्छा दे, कल भी अच्छा दे। रोज़-रोज़ हमे आगे बढ़ा। भगवान, तुम्हारे पास बहुत अच्छी जगह है। हमे भी उसका हिस्सा मिल जाए, हम भी वहाँ पहुँच जाएँ।
Inside Sukta 71
How it unfolds
- Where it opens
Savitṛ rises and extends his golden arms for the pressing; he is the luminous initiator of the rite and of cosmic order.
- Development
The hymn elaborates Savitṛ’s consecrating power—his ghṛta-anointed hands, youthful might, and skill—linking ritual efficacy with the establishment of law across the worlds.
- Climax
Savitṛ stands at every dusk with golden hands and compelling power, driving abundant boons toward the generous worshipper.
- Where it settles
A steady daily prayer: may Savitṛ impel the desirable good today and tomorrow, and may we share in his abundant ‘dwelling’ through rightly directed thought and will.
The deity: Savitṛ
- In the VedaHe stands at dusk as well as dawn, adorable and powerful, urging gifts and well-being toward the worshipper.
- Cosmic functionHe initiates and regulates movement—of the sun’s course, the rhythms of day and night, and the proper unfolding of ṛta—thereby energizing life, speech, and sacrifice.
- Inner significanceThe awakening force of consciousness that prompts right action: the inner ‘impeller’ who sanctifies intention, steadies the mind’s course, and turns aspiration into effective will aligned with order.
The seer
- Bharadvāja (Bārhaspatya)Bharadvāja gotra; Bārhaspatya line (connected with Bṛhaspati/Angirasa tradition) · A foremost seer of Mandala 6, celebrated for hymns that unite precise ritual speech with insight into ṛta (cosmic order) and the divine powers that uphold it.
Famous verses
ud u ṣya devaḥ savitā hiraṇyayā bāhū
hiraṇyapāṇiḥ pratidoṣam asthāt
vāmam adya savitar vāmam u śvo
Attributes of the deity
- Impeller (prasavitṛ) of gods, humans, and rites
- Golden-armed / golden-handed (hiraṇyabāhu, hiraṇyapāṇi)
- Upholder of ṛta and cosmic law
- Linked to liminal moments (dawn/dusk) and transitions
- Bestower of vāmá (desirable good, prosperity, delight)
- Purifier and consecrator of the sacrifice
Also by this seer
- Major authorship within Rig Veda Mandala 6 (Bharadvāja family collection)
- Hymns to Agni, Indra, the Aśvins, Pūṣan, and related deities within the Bharadvāja corpus (Mandala 6)
- Later tradition associates Bharadvāja with preserving Vedic learning and priestly lineages (śrauta transmission)
The rite, step by step
- Preparation and purification: arranging the altar/fire and settling the mind with a focus on ṛta
- Recitation to Savitṛ at the moment of ‘rising’ (symbolically dawn) to invite his impulsion into the rite
- Consecratory anointing imagery: invoking Savitṛ’s ‘ghṛta-wet hands’ to sanctify the act and the offerer
- Offering into Agni while repeating Savitṛ’s epithets (golden hands/arms, sukratu) to ‘set the rite in motion’
- Petition for vāmá—desirable goods—today, tomorrow, and day by day, for the sacrificer and community
- Closing dedication: aligning thought (dhī) with Savitṛ so the worshippers become sharers in his abundant ‘dwelling of delight’
Offerings
- Ghṛta (clarified butter) in the fire
- Soma libation or soma-intention (where soma-pressing is performed)
- Oblations of grains/cakes (puroḍāśa) as customary accompaniments
- Dakṣiṇā (gifts) to priests, echoed by the hymn’s emphasis on the ‘giver’ (dāśuṣe)
Frequently Asked Questions
Savitṛ is the divine “Impeller” who sets things in motion—sun’s course, life’s activity, and the sacrifice. The hymn describes him with golden arms and hands that consecrate and energize the rite.
It repeatedly asks for vāmá—“the desirable good”: prosperity, well-being, and a secure share in Savitṛ’s abundant dwelling of delight, today and every day.
They are transition points when Savitṛ is invoked as the power that ‘turns on’ right movement and right order. The hymn explicitly places him at dusk and also portrays his rising, making it suitable for liminal ritual moments.
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