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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 964 of 1027

Mandala 10: HYMN CXXVII. Night.

1.WITH all her eyes the Goddess Night looks forth approaching many a spot: She hath put all her glories on.

2.Immortal. she hath filled the waste, the Goddess hath filled height and depth: She conquers darkness with her light.

3.The Goddess as she comes hath set the Dawn her Sister in her place: And then the darkness vanishes.

4.So favour us this night, O thou whose pathways we have visited As birds their nest upon the tree.

5.The villagers have sought their homes, and all that walks and all that flies, Even the falcons fain for prey.

6.Keep off the she-wolf and the wolf, O Urmya, keep the thief away; Easy be thou for us to pass.

7.Clearly hath she come nigh to me who decks the dark with richest hues: O Morning, cancel it like debts.

8.These have I brought to thee like kine. O Night, thou Child of Heaven, accept This laud as for a conqueror.

Asked of Guide

Why does the hymn call Night a Goddess who 'conquers darkness with her light'?

The hymn describes Night as a Goddess who arrives

with all her eyes

and

fills height and depth,

so her coming is an active, visible presence. Calling her one who “conquers darkness with her light” treats night as luminous and creative: Night brings its own kind of sight and order, displacing a different, more chaotic darkness.

This chapter places Night in a family of deities — Dawn is her Sister and Morning cancels the night like debts — which frames cosmic cycles as relationships. That familial image echoes the Rig Veda’s larger pattern (see other hymns in Mandala 10) where natural forces act as persons who protect, accept offerings, and ensure safe passage for humans.

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.