vedicrigvedaratrinight-goddess

රාත්රි සූක්තම්

रात्रि सूक्तम् in Sinhala · සිංහල

🕉️ vedic·📿 3× repetitions·🕐 At nightfall / before sleep; during Devi worship and Navaratri; before reciting the Durga Saptashati·📜 Rigveda (Mandala 10, Sukta 127)

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हिन्दी / देवनागरी తెలుగు தமிழ்ಕನ್ನಡ മലയാളം ગુજરાતી বাংলা ଓଡ଼ିଆ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Englishසිංහල𑌗𑍍𑌰𑌨𑍍𑌥

Origin & Story

Rigveda (Mandala 10, Sukta 127) · Rishika Ratri Bharadvaji (Kushika Saubhara) · 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.

✦ As told in scripture

It is traditionally said that one who recites the Ratri Suktam before sleep places the whole night under the goddess's protection, so that wolves, thieves and unseen terrors are kept far off and the sleeper is borne safely through to the dawn — just as the hymn prays, 'be easy for us to cross over.' In Devi worship its recitation before the Durga Saptashati is held to invoke the Mother's grace upon the entire reading.

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Complete Text with Meaning

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Verse 1

රාත්රී ව්යඛ්යදායතී පුරුත්රා දේව්යක්ෂභිඃ . විශ්වා අධි ශ්රියෝ(අ)ධිත ..1..

Rātrī vyakhyadāyatī purutrā devyakṣabhiḥ | viśvā adhi śriyo'dhita ||1||

Meaning:देवी रात्रि निकट आती हुई अपने नेत्रों (तारों) से सब ओर देख चुकी है; उसने अपनी समस्त शोभाएँ धारण कर ली हैं।

Verse 2

ඕර්වප්රා අමර්ත්යා නිවතෝ දේව්යුද්වතඃ . ජ්යෝතිෂා බාධතේ තමඃ ..2..

Orvaprā amartyā nivato devyudvataḥ | jyotiṣā bādhate tamaḥ ||2||

Meaning:उस अमर देवी ने विस्तृत अन्तरिक्ष को, नीचे की घाटियों और ऊपर की ऊँचाइयों को भर दिया है; अपने प्रकाश (चन्द्र-तारों) से वह अन्धकार को दूर हटाती है।

Verse 3

නිරු ස්වසාරමස්කෘතෝෂසං දේව්යායතී . අපේදු හාසතේ තමඃ ..3..

Niru svasāramaskṛtoṣasaṃ devyāyatī | apedu hāsate tamaḥ ||3||

Meaning:आती हुई देवी ने अपनी बहन उषा को प्रकट किया; और इस प्रकार अन्धकार भी चला जाता है।

Verse 4

සා නෝ අද්ය යස්යා වයං නි තේ යාමන්නවික්ෂ්මහි . වෘක්ෂේ න වසතිං වයඃ ..4..

Sā no adya yasyā vayaṃ ni te yāmannavikṣmahi | vṛkṣe na vasatiṃ vayaḥ ||4||

Meaning:हे रात्रि, आज तुम हम पर प्रसन्न हो — तुम्हारे आगमन पर हम विश्राम को प्राप्त हुए, जैसे पक्षी वृक्ष पर अपने नीड़ में बैठ जाते हैं।

Verse 5

නි ග්රාමාසෝ අවික්ෂත නි පද්වන්තෝ නි පක්ෂිණඃ . නි ශ්යේනාසශ්චිදර්ථිනඃ ..5..

Ni grāmāso avikṣata ni padvanto ni pakṣiṇaḥ | ni śyenāsaścidarthinaḥ ||5||

Meaning:गाँव विश्राम को चले गए, पैरों वाले प्राणी और पंख वाले पक्षी भी, और वेगवान बाज पक्षी भी विश्राम कर रहे हैं।

Verse 6

යාවයා වෘක්යං වෘකං යවය ස්තේනමූර්ම්යේ . අථා නඃ සුතරා භව ..6..

Yāvayā vṛkyaṃ vṛkaṃ yavaya stenamūrmye | athā naḥ sutarā bhava ||6||

Meaning:हे रात्रि, भेड़िये और भेड़िनी को दूर रखो, चोर को दूर हटाओ; और इस प्रकार हमारे लिए (इस रात्रि को) सुगमता से पार करने योग्य बनो।

Verse 7

උප මා පේපිශත්තමඃ කෘෂ්ණං ව්යක්තමස්ථිත . උෂ ඍණේව යාතය ..7..

Upa mā pepiśattamaḥ kṛṣṇaṃ vyaktamasthita | uṣa ṛṇeva yātaya ||7||

Meaning:काला, गाढ़ा एवं स्पष्ट अन्धकार मेरे समीप आ गया है; हे उषा, इसे ऋण के समान दूर कर दो (जैसे ऋण वसूल कर लिया जाता है)।

Verse 8

උප තේ ගා ඉවාකරං වෘණීෂ්ව දුහිතර්දිවඃ . රාත්රි ස්තෝමං න ජිග්යුෂේ ..8..

Upa te gā ivākaraṃ vṛṇīṣva duhitardivaḥ | rātri stomaṃ na jigyuṣe ||8||

Meaning:हे द्युलोक की पुत्री, मैंने तुम्हें गायों के समान अपनी स्तुति अर्पित की है; हे रात्रि, इसे विजयी को दी जाने वाली स्तुति की भाँति स्वीकार करो।

Word-by-Word Meaning

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රාත්රී🔊rātrīThe Night (goddess Ratri)

ව්යඛ්යත් ආයතී🔊vyakhyat āyatīApproaching, has looked out and made herself manifest in all directions

පුරුත්රා🔊purutrāIn many places, on every side

දේවී අක්ෂභිඃ🔊devī akṣabhiḥThe goddess, with her eyes (the countless stars)

විශ්වා අධි ශ්රියඃ අධිත🔊viśvā adhi śriyaḥ adhitaShe has put on (donned) all her glories and splendours

ඕර්වප්රා🔊orvaprāShe who pervades and fills the wide expanse

අමර්ත්යා🔊amartyāThe immortal one

නිවතඃ උද්වතඃ🔊nivataḥ udvataḥThe low places (valleys) and the high places (heights)

ජ්යෝතිෂා බාධතේ තමඃ🔊jyotiṣā bādhate tamaḥWith her light (of moon and stars) she drives back the darkness

නිඃ ස්වසාරම් අස්කෘත උෂසං🔊niḥ svasāram askṛta uṣasaṃShe has sent forth her sister, the Dawn (Ushas)

අප ඉත් ඌ හාසතේ තමඃ🔊apa it ū hāsate tamaḥAnd so the darkness departs and vanishes

සා නඃ අද්ය🔊sā naḥ adyaMay she (be gracious) to us today

වෘක්ෂේ න වසතිං වයඃ🔊vṛkṣe na vasatiṃ vayaḥAs birds settle to rest in a tree (so we rest in her)

නි ග්රාමාසඃ අවික්ෂත🔊ni grāmāsaḥ avikṣataThe villages have settled down to rest

නි පද්වන්තඃ නි පක්ෂිණඃ🔊ni padvantaḥ ni pakṣiṇaḥThe footed creatures and the winged birds have gone to rest

යාවය වෘක්යං වෘකං🔊yāvaya vṛkyaṃ vṛkaṃKeep away the she-wolf and the wolf (all harm)

යවය ස්තේනම් ඌර්ම්යේ🔊yavaya stenam ūrmyeDrive off the thief, O Night (Urmya — the enveloping one)

අථා නඃ සුතරා භව🔊athā naḥ sutarā bhavaAnd so be easy for us to cross over (carry us safely through the night)

උෂ ඍණේව යාතය🔊uṣa ṛṇeva yātayaO Dawn, drive away (the darkness) as one collects a debt

වෘණීෂ්ව දුහිතඃ දිවඃ🔊vṛṇīṣva duhitaḥ divaḥAccept (this praise), O Daughter of Heaven

රාත්රි ස්තෝමං න ජිග්යුෂේ🔊rātri stomaṃ na jigyuṣeO Night, (accept) this hymn of praise as offered to a victor

Benefits of Chanting रात्रि सूक्तम्

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Invokes Ratri Devi, the goddess of the Night, for protection through the hours of darkness

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Prayed for safety from wolves, thieves and unseen dangers ('yavaya stenam urmye')

✦

Bestows peaceful, restful sleep — Night gives rest to all beings, as birds rest in a tree

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One of the foundational hymns of the Devi tradition, recited before the Durga Saptashati

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Calms fear of the dark and brings a sense of being safely held until dawn

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Adores the cosmic order by which Night yields to her sister Dawn (Ushas)

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Recited at night for protection, serenity and freedom from nightmares

How to Chant रात्रि सूक्तम्

Repetitions3times

Best TimeAt nightfall / before sleep; during Devi worship and Navaratri; before reciting the Durga Saptashati

Recite at dusk or before sleeping, sitting calmly and facing east or north, meditating on Ratri as the gentle, protective goddess of night. The eight verses are chanted slowly with clear Vedic pronunciation. In Devi worship it is recited together with the Durga Saptashati, where the Ratri Suktam traditionally opens the recitation. For protection and peaceful sleep, recite it nightly, or three times before rest, surrendering the night into the goddess's care.

Frequently Asked Questions

This page shows the complete रात्रि सूक्तम् written in the Sinhala script — the same Sanskrit/Hindi verses, transliterated character-by-character so you can read and chant comfortably. Tap any line (or the ▶ button) to hear it recited aloud.

Yes — only the script changes; the words and their meaning are the original. The verse-by-verse meaning, benefits and how-to-chant guidance on this page apply exactly the same.

It is a hymn of eight verses from the Rigveda (Mandala 10, Sukta 127) addressed to Ratri, the goddess of Night. It praises Night as a benevolent goddess who fills the world, drives off darkness with her starlight, gives rest to all creatures, and protects beings from danger until the coming of Dawn.

Ratri is the divine personification of Night in the Veda — a luminous, protective goddess, sister of Ushas (Dawn) and daughter of Heaven (Dyaus). She watches over the world with countless starry 'eyes', grants rest and shelter, and keeps away wolves, thieves and harm through the night. She is revered as a form of the Devi.

The Ratri Suktam is one of the foundational Vedic hymns to the Goddess, so the Devi tradition placed it at the very beginning of the Durga Saptashati (Devi Mahatmya) recitation, as an invocation. Reciting it first connects the later Puranic praise of Durga to its ancient Vedic root in the worship of Ratri.

It is most fitting at nightfall or before sleep, recited for protection through the night, peaceful rest and freedom from fear and nightmares. It is also chanted during Navaratri and Devi worship. The hymn itself asks Night to ward off wolves and thieves and to carry the worshipper safely across to dawn.