✶Gnosis
← Contents
Theme
0874 / 1027

Listen

Dhammapada · narration sample

A one-minute narration sample. Every book in the library is narrated end to end — hear the rest in the app.

Rig Veda · 874 of 1027

Mandala 10: HYMN XXXVII. Sūrya.

1.Do homage unto Varuṇa’s and Mitra’s Eye: offer this solemn worship to the Mighty God, Who seeth far away, the Ensign, born of Gods. Sing praises unto Sūrya, to the Son of Dyaus.

2.May this my truthful speech guard me on every side wherever heaven and earth and days are spread abroad. All else that is in motion finds a place of rest: the waters ever flow and ever mounts the Sun.

3.No godless man from time remotest draws thee down when thou art driving forth with winged dappled Steeds. One lustre waits upon thee moving to the cast, and, Sūrya, thou arisest with a different light.

4.O Sūrya, with the light whereby thou scatterest gloom, and with thy ray impellest every moving thing, Keep far from us all feeble, worthless sacrifice, and drive away disease and every evil dream.

5.Sent forth thou guardest well the Universe’s law, and in thy wonted way arisest free from wrath. When Sūrya, we address our prayers to thee to-day, may the Gods favour this our purpose and desire.

6.This invocation, these our words may Heaven and Earth, and Indra and the Waters and the Maruts hear. Ne’er may we suffer want in presence of the Sun, and, living happy lives, may we attain old age.

7.Cheerful in spirit, evermore, and keen of sight, with store of children, free from sickness and from sin, Long-living, may we look, O Sūrya, upon thee uprising day by day, thou great as Mitra is!

8.Sūrya, may we live long and look upon thee still, thee, O Far-seeing One, bringing the glorious light, The radiant God, the spring of joy to every eye, as thou art mounting up o’er the high shining flood.

9.Thou by whose lustre all the world of life comes forth, and by thy beams again returns unto its rest, O Sūrya with the golden hair, ascend for us day after day, still bringing purer innocence.

10.Bless us with shine, bless us with perfect daylight, bless us with cold, with fervent heat and lustre. Bestow on us, O Sūrya, varied riches, to bless us in our home and when we travel.

11.Gods, to our living creatures of both kinds vouchsafe protection, both to bipeds and to quadrupeds, That they may drink and eat invigorating food. So grant us health and strength and perfect innocence.

12.If by some grievous sin we have provoked the Gods, O Deities, with the tongue or thoughtlessness of heart, That guilt, O Vasus, lay upon the Evil One, on him who ever leads us into deep distress.

Asked of Guide

Why does the hymn call Sūrya “Far-seeing One” and ask to “look upon thee uprising day by day”?

The hymn calls Sūrya “Far-seeing One” because the sun is presented as the divine witness and guardian of cosmic order who “seeth far away” and “guardest well the Universe’s law.” Seeing is Sūrya’s power: his light scatters gloom, impels life, and preserves truth so worshippers invoke his sight as protection for speech, health, and moral order.

Asking to “look upon thee uprising day by day” links everyday sunrise to continual blessing and renewal; the sun’s daily ascent brings “purer innocence,” joy, and longevity. This close tie between solar sight and ethical protection resembles hymns in the Rig Veda where deities like Varuṇa function as moral overseers, and it echoes later Upanishadic language that treats light as purification and knowledge.

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.