Rig Veda Sukta 71
Mandala 6Sukta 716 Mantras

Sukta 71

Sukta 6.71

Rishi

Bharadvāja (Bārhaspatya)

Devata

Savitṛ (Savitar)

Chandas

Triṣṭubh

这首六颂赞歌颂扬萨维特里(Savitṛ)为神圣的推动者:他升起,伸展金色的臂膀,使宇宙的秩序在诸界间运转。诗人祈请他为祭祀行灌顶并赐予力量,赐福慷慨的敬拜者以兴盛,并使人凭借受灵感启发的思虑与正当的意向,日复一日获得“所欲之物”。

Recitation with translationRig Veda 6.71

Mantras

Mantra 1

उदु ष्य देवः सविता हिरण्यया बाहू अयंस्त सवनाय सुक्रतुः । घृतेन पाणी अभि प्रुष्णुते मखो युवा सुदक्षो रजसो विधर्मणि ॥

看哪,那位神萨维塔尔升起;以金色臂膀为榨取之礼伸展——意志光明者。以酥油(ghṛta)润泽其手;权能青春、技艺圆满者,在诸界广阔的空域中建立法则。

Mantra 2

देवस्य वयं सवितुः सवीमनि श्रेष्ठे स्याम वसुनश्च दावने । यो विश्वस्य द्विपदो यश्चतुष्पदो निवेशने प्रसवे चासि भूमनः ॥

愿我们在神萨维塔尔(Savitar)至善的推动中得其安立,在他赐予财富之施与中蒙福。因为你是广大者,统摄一切二足与四足众生的安居与出生、发遣。

Mantra 3

अदब्धेभिः सवितः पायुभिष्ट्वं शिवेभिरद्य परि पाहि नो गयम् । हिरण्यजिह्वः सुविताय नव्यसे रक्षा माकिर्नो अघशंस ईशत ॥

萨维塔尔啊,以你不失的守护者、以你吉祥的护佑,今日环护并守卫我们的生命气息。金舌者啊,为了更新而光明的善福,请护持我们——愿任何恶意者都不得辖制我们。

Mantra 4

उदु ष्य देवः सविता दमूना हिरण्यपाणिः प्रतिदोषमस्थात् । अयोहनुर्यजतो मन्द्रजिह्व आ दाशुषे सुवति भूरि वामम् ॥

看哪,那位神萨维塔尔——居于家宅者——升起;金手者于每个黄昏前立定。铁颚者,可敬者,喜悦之舌者,向施献者推动、赐予丰厚的福乐。

Mantra 5

उदू अयाँ उपवक्तेव बाहू हिरण्यया सविता सुप्रतीका । दिवो रोहांस्यरुहत्पृथिव्या अरीरमत्पतयत्कच्चिदभ्वम् ॥

他向上伸展双臂,如督工者催促并引导其业;萨维特里(Savitṛ)以黄金之力成形,显相端严。自广阔大地而登天界之高阶;他使万有各得其正行,飞越那无垠而幽玄之境。

Mantra 6

वाममद्य सवितर्वाममु श्वो दिवेदिवे वाममस्मभ्यं सावीः । वामस्य हि क्षयस्य देव भूरेरया धिया वामभाजः स्याम ॥

今日之可爱福善,萨维特里啊;明日之可爱福善;日日请为我们推动那可爱之善。因为在那丰饶、安居而喜悦的居处中,神啊,愿我们凭此心志与思虑之行,成为其分受者。

Inside Sukta 71

How it unfolds

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. Climax

    Savitṛ stands at every dusk with golden hands and compelling power, driving abundant boons toward the generous worshipper.

  4. 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 VedaSavitṛ is portrayed as the radiant god who rises, extends golden arms and hands, and impels beings and rites; he is “well-willed” (sukratu) and establishes law in the wide spaces. He 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
Verse 6.71.1Sets the hymn’s core image: Savitṛ rising with golden arms, consecrating the rite and establishing law (ṛta) in the vast realms—linking sacrifice to cosmic order.Read verse 6.71.1 →
hiraṇyapāṇiḥ pratidoṣam asthāt
Verse 6.71.4Highlights Savitṛ’s presence at the daily threshold (dusk) and his role as the direct impeller of ‘abundant felicities’ toward the giver—ritual reciprocity and grace.Read verse 6.71.4 →
vāmam adya savitar vāmam u śvo
Verse 6.71.6The hymn’s culminating petition: repeated request for vāmá (the desirable) day by day, and the aspiration to become ‘sharers’ through dhī (inspired thought).Read verse 6.71.6 →

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.

Ask anything about Sukta 71 of the Rig Veda

Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.

Not sure where to start?

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.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

Continue reading in the Vedapath app

Open in App
Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play