Rig Veda 1.48.10: Mandala 1, Sukta 48, Mantra 10
Sukta 1.48
- Rishi
- Gautama Rāhūgaṇa
- Devata
- Uṣas
- Chandas
- Jagatī
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
विश्वस्य हि प्राणनं जीवनं त्वे वि यदुच्छसि सूनरि । सा नो रथेन बृहता विभावरि श्रुधि चित्रामघे हवम् ॥
víśvasya hí prā́ṇanaṃ jī́vanaṃ tvé ví yád ucchási sūnari | sā́ no ráthena bṛhatā́ vibhāvari śrudhí citrāmaghe hávam ||
W Tobie bowiem jest oddech i życie wszystkiego, gdy wstajesz, o zręczna Jutrzenko. Przeto, o szeroko świecąca, swoim potężnym rydwanem wysłuchaj naszego wezwania, o Pani lśniących bogactw.
Word by Word
- विश्वस्य
- of all, of the wholeAdjective (used substantively)Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, SingularRole Sambandha (genitival relation)Root विश्व
- हि
- indeed, forIndeclinableParticleRoot हि
- प्राणनम्
- breathing, enliveningNounNeuter, Nominative/Accusative, SingularRole Karma (as predicate/object notion: ‘breathing/animation’)Root प्राणन (from √अन् ‘to breathe’ with pra-)
- जीवनम्
- life, livingNounNeuter, Nominative/Accusative, SingularRole Karma (predicate/object notion)Root जीवन (from √जीव् ‘to live’)
- त्वे
- in youPronounSecond person, Locative, SingularRole Adhikaraṇa (locus: ‘in you’)Root त्वद्
- वि
- apart, forth, widelyPreverb/IndeclinableUpasargaRoot वि
- यत्
- when; that whichPronoun (relative)Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, SingularRole Karma (relative object: ‘when/that which’)Root यद्
- उच्छसि
- you dawn, you shine forthVerbPresent, Indicative, 2nd person, Singular, ParasmaipadaRole Kartā (you as agent)Root √वस् (ucch- < ud+√वस् ‘to shine, dawn’)
- सूनरि
- O fair/bright one (Uṣas)Noun (vocative epithet)Feminine, Vocative, SingularRole SambodhanaRoot सूनरी
- सा
- shePronoun (demonstrative)Feminine, Nominative, SingularRole Kartā (she = Uṣas)Root तद्
- नः
- for us; of usPronounGenitive/Dative, Plural (enclitic)Role Sampradāna (beneficiary: ‘for us’) / SambandhaRoot अस्मद्
- रथेन
- with a chariotNounMasculine, Instrumental, SingularRole Karaṇa (instrument/means)Root रथ
- बृहता
- great, loftyAdjectiveMasculine, Instrumental, Singular (agreeing with रथेन)Role Karaṇa (qualifier of instrument)Root बृहन्त्
- वि
- widely, forthPreverb/IndeclinableUpasargaRoot वि
- भावरि
- O radiant one (dispeller of darkness)Noun (vocative epithet)Feminine, Vocative, SingularRole SambodhanaRoot विभावरी
- श्रुधि
- hear! listen!VerbImperative, 2nd person, Singular, ParasmaipadaRole Kartā (you as agent of hearing)Root √श्रु
- चित्रामघे
- O you of splendid bountyNoun (vocative epithet)Feminine, Vocative, SingularRole SambodhanaRoot चित्रामघा
- हवम्
- invocation, callNounMasculine, Accusative, SingularRole Karma (object of ‘hear’)Root हव
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution (padapāṭha-style): विश्वस्य हि प्राणनम् जीवनम् त्वे वि यत् उच्छसि सूनरि । सा नः रथेन बृहता वि-भावरि श्रुधि चित्रामघे हवम् ॥ Key points: (1) त्वे is loc.sg. of त्वद् ‘in you’. (2) वि यदुच्छसि → वि यत् उच्छसि (final -d of यद् becomes -t before voiceless u-; written as यदु- in saṃhitā). (3) विभावरि is a vocative compound
- can be shown as वि-भावरि (prefixal element vi- + भावरि as epithet)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Dawn rises; in her rising all beings find breath and life. The hymn asks her, shining widely with a vast chariot, to hear the invocation and bestow luminous riches.
Inner meaning
Uṣas is the awakening illumination in consciousness. When the inner Dawn arises, the whole being begins to "breathe"—prāṇa becomes harmonized and life-force turns toward the soul’s true movement. Her "vast chariot" is the wide, many-sided movement of awakening that carries the seeker beyond narrowness; her "luminous riches" are clarified perceptions, right impulses, and the capacity to progress.
Universal truth
True living begins when awareness rises: illumination restores energy, direction, and meaning. The awakened mind becomes a vehicle for a larger life, hearing the soul’s call and answering with inner abundance.
Themes
Universal life-force, Invocation to hear, Vastness, Luminous bounty
The seer
- Rishi
- Gautama Rāhūgaṇa
- Lineage
- Gautama
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 1.48.1-15 (Uṣas hymn cycle), Rig Veda 1.49 (Uṣas-related continuations in the same mandala context)
Family tradition
Angirasa-related seer-line emphasizing inner fire and illumination; hymns often move from outer dawn to inner awakening.
Significance
As a Gautama seer, he voices the psychology of awakening: Uṣas as the power that initiates right breathing, right seeing, and the forward march of the sacrifice within.
The deity
- Devata
- Uṣas
- Epithets
- सूनरि (sūnari), विभावरी (vibhāvarī), चित्रामघे (citrāmaghe)
- Related deities
- Agni, Sūrya, Aśvins, Indra, Viśve Devāḥ
Cosmic role
She opens the day, reveals forms, sets beings into motion, and calls the gods to the sacrifice.
Inner power
Awakening light that organizes prāṇa and mind, dispels inertia, and initiates a luminous, progressive rhythm in the nature.
In ritual
Where it is used
Morning Uṣas-stotra / dawn invocations within soma and agni contexts
विश्व॑स्य॒ हि प्राण॑नं॒ जीव॑नं॒ त्वे वि यदु॒च्छसि॑ सूनरि । सा नो॒ रथे॑न बृह॒ता वि॑भावरि श्रु॒धि चि॑त्रामघे॒ हव॑म् ॥
विश्व॑स्य । हि । प्राण॑नम् । जीव॑नम् । त्वे इति॑ । वि । यत् । उ॒च्छसि॑ । सू॒न॒रि॒ । सा । नः॒ । रथे॑न । बृ॒ह॒ता । वि॒भा॒ऽव॒रि॒ । श्रु॒धि । चि॒त्र॒ऽम॒घे॒ । हव॑म् ॥
viśvasya | hi | prāṇanam | jīvanam | tve iti | vi | yat | ucchasi | sūnari | sā | naḥ | rathena | bṛhatā | vibhāvari | śrudhi | citra-maghe | havam
48
4 pādas × ~12 syllables
Broad, forward-flowing, and expansive; suited to wideness (bṛhat) and invocation.
Creates a steady, enlarging cadence that supports the felt sense of awakening and inner breath becoming spacious.
- उषस् (uṣas)
- Literal: dawn. Symbolic: spiritual illumination; awakening of consciousness
- प्राणनम् (prāṇanam)
- Literal: breathing, enlivening. Symbolic: harmonized life-force; conscious respiration of the being
- जीवनम् (jīvanam)
- Literal: living. Symbolic: true life aligned with the soul and ṛta
- उच्छसि (ucchasi)
- Literal: you rise up, shine forth. Symbolic: the ascent of awareness; emergence from inner night
- सूनरि (sūnari)
- Literal: skilful, well-guiding. Symbolic: intelligent discernment that orders the awakening
- रथ (ratha)
- Literal: chariot. Symbolic: the moving power/vehicle of inner progress
- बृहता (bṛhatā)
- Literal: vast, great. Symbolic: wideness of consciousness (bṛhat)
- विभावरी (vibhāvarī)
- Literal: wide-shining. Symbolic: diffusive light that pervades mind and life
- चित्रामघे (citrāmaghe)
- Literal: she of bright/varied riches. Symbolic: manifold illuminations, gifts of insight and right power
- हवम् (havam)
- Literal: call, invocation. Symbolic: the soul’s aspiration (inner offering)
Core invocation verse: identifies Uṣas as universal life-breath at awakening; used to request attentive response (śrudhi) and beneficence for the sacrificer.
At daybreak; prior to or at the opening of the day’s offerings
Recitation to invite luminous powers, orient the rite, and request auspicious increase
Use as a dawn meditation chant to align breath and intention before work or study; a mantra for beginning anew after confusion or fatigue.
prāṇana from pra- + √an ‘breathe’ (prāṇa as vital breath; here the universal quickening). jīvana from √jīv ‘live’. vibhāvari: vi- + √bhā ‘shine’ with -vari (fem. voc.), ‘widely shining’. citrāmaghā: citra ‘bright, variegated’ + magha ‘gift, bounty’ (cf. Maghavan epithet of Indra); here Dawn as bearer of luminous bounties.
prāṇa as cosmic enlivening, manifestation (ucchasi) as disclosure of being, bṛhat (vastness) as expansion of consciousness
Uṣas embodies ṛta by restoring the right movement of life and mind each day/each awakening.
Illumination makes truth-perception possible; life becomes ‘breathing’ in truth.
Daily re-creation: emergence from darkness into manifest order.
Proto-Vedāntic and yogic psychology (Aurobindo/Kashyap): dawn as ascent of consciousness and widening (bṛhat).
dawn
The first light of discernment that makes prāṇa conscious and sets the whole being into a progressive motion.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Dawn as giver of life-breath: when she rises, all beings breathe and live. Mythically, dawn reanimates creation; psychologically, illumination is the condition for true vitality—life becomes conscious and ordered when the light manifests.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √an ‘breathe’ aligns with PIE *h₂enh₁-/*h₂en- ‘breathe’ (Indo-Iranian developments yield prāṇa vocabulary). √jīv ‘live’ continues the PIE life semantic field (cf. Latin vīvus from *gʷih₃wos, different root, but the inherited centrality of ‘breath/life’ as sacral category is shared).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi grounds the request in ontology: since Uṣas is the very prāṇa/jīvana of the world at awakening, she must ‘hear’ the human call. The relationship is intimate dependence: the human’s inner sacrifice is sustained by her life-giving illumination.
Invite inner dawn: feel illumination rising behind the forehead and spreading through the breath.
ājñā (brow) / anāhata (breath-heart axis)
Gentle nāsikā-breath awareness; lengthen exhale slightly while mentally repeating uṣas/ucchasi.
Waking-to-witness transition; from tamas to sattva and wideness.
Chant at sunrise; then sit 7–12 minutes, sensing ‘breathing of all’ as a universal field, offering the day’s actions into that light.
Vedic svaras as marked in Saṃhitā: maintain udatta on accented syllables and allow svarita fall where indicated; avoid flattening the cadence of Jagatī.
Lean on the marked accents in viśvasya, prāṇanam, jīvanam, ucchasi, vibhāvari, citrāmaghe; keep caesura after each pāda.
uṣas: keep short 'u', retroflex not used here, viśvasya: clear ś (palatal) not s, prāṇanam: long ā; ṇ is retroflex nasal, ucchasi: double cch, clean aspiration, bṛhatā: vocalic ṛ, light roll into 'hatā'
Clear, bright, upward-moving; slightly more expansive on bṛhatā/vibhāvarī.
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