Ratri Suktam Meaning — Line by Line
रात्रि सूक्तम्
Every verse and every word explained in English & Hindi
Meaning — Line by Line
Every verse of Ratri Suktam with its English meaning. Tap any word to hear it, or ▶ to recite the verse.
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- Verse 1. Rātrī vyakhyadāyatī purutrā devyakṣabhiḥ |
- Verse 2. Orvaprā amartyā nivato devyudvataḥ |
- Verse 3. Niru svasāramaskṛtoṣasaṃ devyāyatī |
- Verse 4. Sā no adya yasyā vayaṃ ni te yāmannavikṣmahi |
- Verse 5. Ni grāmāso avikṣata ni padvanto ni pakṣiṇaḥ |
- Verse 6. Yāvayā vṛkyaṃ vṛkaṃ yavaya stenamūrmye |
- Verse 7. Upa mā pepiśattamaḥ kṛṣṇaṃ vyaktamasthita |
- Verse 8. Upa te gā ivākaraṃ vṛṇīṣva duhitardivaḥ |
Rātrī vyakhyadāyatī purutrā devyakṣabhiḥ |
रात्री व्यख्यदायती पुरुत्रा देव्यक्षभिः । विश्वा अधि श्रियोऽधित ॥१॥
Rātrī vyakhyadāyatī purutrā devyakṣabhiḥ | viśvā adhi śriyo'dhita ||1||
MeaningThe goddess Night, drawing near, has looked abroad on every side with her eyes (the stars); she has put on all her glories.
Orvaprā amartyā nivato devyudvataḥ |
ओर्वप्रा अमर्त्या निवतो देव्युद्वतः । ज्योतिषा बाधते तमः ॥२॥
Orvaprā amartyā nivato devyudvataḥ | jyotiṣā bādhate tamaḥ ||2||
MeaningThe immortal goddess has filled the wide expanse, the low places and the heights; with her light she beats back the darkness.
Niru svasāramaskṛtoṣasaṃ devyāyatī |
निरु स्वसारमस्कृतोषसं देव्यायती । अपेदु हासते तमः ॥३॥
Niru svasāramaskṛtoṣasaṃ devyāyatī | apedu hāsate tamaḥ ||3||
MeaningThe goddess, drawing on, has sent forth her sister, the Dawn; and so the darkness too departs.
Sā no adya yasyā vayaṃ ni te yāmannavikṣmahi |
सा नो अद्य यस्या वयं नि ते यामन्नविक्ष्महि । वृक्षे न वसतिं वयः ॥४॥
Sā no adya yasyā vayaṃ ni te yāmannavikṣmahi | vṛkṣe na vasatiṃ vayaḥ ||4||
MeaningBe gracious to us this day, O Night, you at whose approach we have settled to rest, as birds settle in a tree for their nest.
Ni grāmāso avikṣata ni padvanto ni pakṣiṇaḥ |
नि ग्रामासो अविक्षत नि पद्वन्तो नि पक्षिणः । नि श्येनासश्चिदर्थिनः ॥५॥
Ni grāmāso avikṣata ni padvanto ni pakṣiṇaḥ | ni śyenāsaścidarthinaḥ ||5||
MeaningThe villages have gone to rest, and the footed creatures, and the winged birds, and even the swift, questing hawks.
Yāvayā vṛkyaṃ vṛkaṃ yavaya stenamūrmye |
यावया वृक्यं वृकं यवय स्तेनमूर्म्ये । अथा नः सुतरा भव ॥६॥
Yāvayā vṛkyaṃ vṛkaṃ yavaya stenamūrmye | athā naḥ sutarā bhava ||6||
MeaningKeep away the she-wolf and the wolf; keep off the thief, O Night; and so be easy for us to pass through (bear us safely across the night).
Upa mā pepiśattamaḥ kṛṣṇaṃ vyaktamasthita |
उप मा पेपिशत्तमः कृष्णं व्यक्तमस्थित । उष ऋणेव यातय ॥७॥
Upa mā pepiśattamaḥ kṛṣṇaṃ vyaktamasthita | uṣa ṛṇeva yātaya ||7||
MeaningThe black darkness, painted-on and palpable, has come close upon me; O Dawn, clear it away as one clears off a debt.
Upa te gā ivākaraṃ vṛṇīṣva duhitardivaḥ |
उप ते गा इवाकरं वृणीष्व दुहितर्दिवः । रात्रि स्तोमं न जिग्युषे ॥८॥
Upa te gā ivākaraṃ vṛṇīṣva duhitardivaḥ | rātri stomaṃ na jigyuṣe ||8||
MeaningI have offered to you, O Daughter of Heaven, my praise like cattle (driven to their lord); accept it, O Night, as a hymn of praise offered to a victor.
Word-by-Word Breakdown
Origin & History
Source: Rigveda (Mandala 10, Sukta 127)
Author: Rishika Ratri Bharadvaji (Kushika Saubhara)
Period: Vedic period (c. 1500-1000 BCE)
The Ratri Suktam is one of the rare hymns of the Rigveda dedicated wholly to a goddess — Ratri, the Night — and by tradition the seer of the hymn is herself Ratri. In eight luminous verses the rishi beholds Night not as fearful darkness but as a radiant, immortal goddess who looks out over the world with a thousand starry eyes, fills the heights and depths, lulls villages, beasts and birds to rest, and at last yields gently to her sister Ushas, the Dawn. Because it praises the Goddess in her cosmic, protective aspect, the later Shakta tradition adopted it as the opening invocation of the Durga Saptashati (Devi Mahatmya), linking the Puranic worship of Durga to this ancient Vedic hymn of the Night.
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