Sukta 189
Sukta 10.189
Symbolic/cosmic principle (often interpreted as Sūrya’s light/cow, or Dawn/illumination moving between Earth and Heaven)
この短く高度に象徴的な讃歌は、斑（まだら）に輝く光の「牝牛」の移動をたどる――しばしば暁、あるいは太陽の照明として読まれるそれは、母（大地）の前を踏み進み、やがて父（天）へと向かう。ついで「吐き、吸う」宇宙的な力が描かれ、律動する運動によって天界を顕わにする。最後に、太陽の「鳥」（pataṅga）の幻視へと至り、その中にヴァーク（Vāk、言葉）が据えられて、毎朝毎日のたびに多くの領域にわたって輝き渡る。
Mantras
Mantra 1
आयं गौः पृश्निरक्रमीदसदन्मातरं पुरः । पितरं च प्रयन्त्स्वः ॥
この輝く牝牛、まだらにきらめく光の牝牛は歩み出て、母の前に座を占めた。さらに父へと進みゆき、光の世界（スヴァル）へ向かう。
Mantra 2
अन्तश्चरति रोचनास्य प्राणादपानती । व्यख्यन्महिषो दिवम् ॥
彼は自らの光明の領域の内を巡り、息を吐き息を吸う。偉大なる雄々しき者は、天を視界に顕わした。
Mantra 3
त्रिंशद्धाम वि राजति वाक्पतंगाय धीयते । प्रति वस्तोरह द्युभिः ॥
三十の座（領域）において輝き現れ、言（ヴァーク）は翼あるものの飛翔に据えられる。暁と昼ごとに、その光もて応じる。
Frequently Asked Questions
In Vedic poetry, the cow often symbolizes nourishing abundance and rays of light. Here the “variegated cow” is a vivid image for dawn or solar illumination that ‘gives’ vision and life.
It describes a cosmic rhythm (prāṇa and apāna) by which the Mighty Power moves and reveals the heavens. Many readers also take it as a hint that inner breath-discipline supports clearer perception.
Pataṅga is the winged solar being—often the Sun conceived as a bird moving across the sky. Saying Vāk is set in its flight suggests that true speech and knowledge ride on illumination and cosmic order, returning each day with dawn.
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