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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 347 of 1027

Mandala 4: HYMN LI. Dawn.

1.FORTH from the darkness in the region eastward this most abundant splendid light hatb mounted. Now verily the far-refulgent Mornings, Daughters of Heaven, bring welfare to the people.

2.The richly-coloured Dawns have mounted eastward, like pillars planted at our sacrifices, And, flushing far, splendid and purifying, unbarred the portals of the fold of darkness.

3.Dispelling gloom this day the wealthy Mornings urge liberal givers to present their treasures. In the unlightened depth of darkness round them let niggard traffickers sleep unawakened.

4.O Goddesses, is this your car, I ask you, ancient this day, or is it new, ye Mornings, Wherewith, rich Dawns, ye seek with wealth Navagva, Daśagva Aṅgira, the seven-toned singer?

5.With horses harnessed by eternal Order, Goddesses, swiftly round the worlds ye travel, Arousing from their rest, O Dawns, the sleeping, and all that lives, man, bird, and beast, to motion.

6.Which among these is eldest, and where is she through whom they fixed the Ṛbhus’ regulations? What time the splendid Dawns go forth for splendour, they are not known apart, alike, unwasting.

7.Blest were these Dawns of old, shining with succour, true with the truth that springs from holy Order; With whom the toiling worshipper, by praises, hymning and lauding, soon attained to riches.

8.Hither from eastward all at once they travel, from one place spreading in the selfsame manner. Awaking, from the seat of holy Order the Godlike Dawns come nigh like troops of cattle.

9.Thus they go forth with undiminished colours, these Mornings similar, in self-same fashion, Concealing the gigantic might of darkness with radiant bodies bright and pure and shining.

10.O Goddesses, O Heaven’s refulgent Daughters, bestow upon us wealth with store of children. As from our pleasant place of rest ye rouse us may we be masters of heroic vigour.

11.Well-skilled in lore of sacrifice, ye Daughters of Heaven, refulgent Dawns, I thus address you. May we be glorious among the people. May Heaven vouchsafe us this, and Earth the Goddess,

Asked of Guide

Why does the hymn call Dawn “Daughters of Heaven” and ask which is eldest?

The hymn personifies Dawn as Heaven’s daughters to make the recurring sunrise a family of benefactors who “bring welfare to the people” and “bestow upon us wealth with store of children.” Calling them daughters links cosmic order and ritual reward: their rising is tied to Ṛta (holy Order) and the sacrificial system that yields riches for the worshipper.

Asking which Dawn is eldest probes origins and authority—who established the Ṛbhus’ regulations and the order of sacrifice—since the Dawns act with “eternal Order” and travel “with horses harnessed by eternal Order.” The question locates religious legitimacy in a primordial Dawn, like the origin questions found in other Vedic hymns such as the Nasadiya Sukta about beginnings.

Guide is the guide inside the Gnosis app, where every book on these shelves is free to read. Guide is the part you pay for — your guide has read all of them, and answers about the passage you’re actually on. Ask your guide your own question.