The Rig Veda: An Anthology

This chapter contains 12 hymns centering on gods associated with the sun. Many Vedic deities have solar characteristics. Some are personifications of the sun, such as Surya and Savitr, while others relate to natural phenomena, such as Usas, the dawn. Still others connect to the sun through metaphorical associations. Visnu, Agni, and Soma have strong solar associations; other mysterious divinities, such as Vena, by turns equate with Soma and the sun. The sun himself has different names as he appears in different guises: Surya, in his fiery aspect, is akin to Agni, while Savitr, “the Impeller” or “[chariot] driver,” is the god of the morning and the setting sun who demarcates hours and seasons. The Asvins, twin horsemen, are associated with the morning pressing of Soma, and, by extension, with the dawn. They often appear in Vedic myth following or accompanying the Dawn.

The first hymn (1.92) describes the unfolding of Dawn in a series of lyrical images. In the poem’s central metaphor, Dawn harnesses cows or horses to her chariot, which brings wealth and prosperity to men. The early glimmerings of Dawn are like “impetuous heroes unsheathing their weapons,” women singing at their tasks, a dancing girl adorning herself with ornaments and uncovering her breasts, and a lover smiling to win his beloved (179). Dawn will bring rewards—slaves, cattle, horses, heroes, and the power to father an enduring line of offspring. The goddess awakens everything into motion, and inspires and welcomes the speech of the dedicated poet. The hymn concludes with a prayer to the Asvins for strength and an invitation to the twin gods to attend the morning Soma sacrifice.

The beneficial deeds of the Asvins are the subject of hymn 1.116. The twin gods are associated with fertility, health and healing, rescuing those in distress, and providing restitution for losses. The poem lists their deeds, which include rescuing Vimada’s bride when he was attacked, saving Bhujyu from drowning, giving Pedu a snake-killing horse, rescuing Atri from the fiery pit into which the Asuras had thrown him, rejuvenating Cyavana and restoring his sexual potency, freeing Vandana from imprisonment, helping Purandhi give birth when her husband became impotent, and restoring the sight of Rjrasva, blinded by his father. The Asvins aided Vasa in battle and rescued Jahusa when he was besieged; they made “the barren cow swell with milk for Sayu when he was exhausted” and resurrected Rebha who had been drowned and dismembered (184). The poet also alludes to an obscure episode in which the horse-headed Dadhyanc told the Asvins about Soma; Indra then cut off Dadhyanc’s horse-head and the Asvins restored his real head. The poet ends by asking the Asvins to grant him good cattle, good sons, and a long life in exchange for his praise-poem.

The rescue of the sage Atri by the Asvins, a metaphor for childbirth, is the subject of hymn 5.78. Enemies locked Atri a pit or wooden box every night to keep him away from his wife (thus figuratively castrating him). He called to the Asvins for aid like a woman crying out during labor. The gods bent and stretched open his coffin, freeing the “seven times unmanned” Atri (186). The hymn’s concluding verses explicitly link Atri’s liberation and childbirth with a prayer that the full-term child stirring in the womb be born alive and unharmed.

In “Atri and the Lost Sun” (5.40), the priest Atri performs the Soma sacrifice and incantations in order to find the sun (Surya) that had been hidden in darkness by a demonic Asura, the eater of sunlight. The opening verses invoke Indra as the great Soma drinker, inviting him to the mid-day pressing. The poet recalls how Indra destroyed the Asura’s magic spells, while Atri’s fourth incantation found the sun, which he restored to heaven.

Hymn 1.50 describes Surya, the sun god, as the fiery eye of the heavens. Seven mares—the rays (or “banners”) of sunlight—draw Surya’s chariot across the sky. As the sun illumines the entire realm of space, he knows all creatures and is the eye through which Varuna, the guardian of sacred law and cosmic order, looks upon men. The poet calls upon the sun to protect him from heartache and jaundice, and to deliver his enemy into his hands.

Two hymns are dedicated to Pusan, the heavenly charioteer patron of travelers. Goats rather than horses draw Pusan’s chariot; as an Aditya, or son of Aditi, he is a solar god though the Rig Veda does not emphasize his connection with the sun. In 1.42, the poet implores Pusan to chase away the wolf and the highwayman—typical dangers of road travel—to keep away sickness, and lead the worshipper to rich pastures. In hymn 6.55, the poet invokes Pusan as the “child of the unharnessing,” referring to the unyoking of horses at the end of the day or journey. An allusion to an incestuous configuration, in which Pusan was his sister’s lover and his mother’s suitor, also obliquely suggests Pusan’s solar aspect. Both women apparently are references to Dawn (Usas), which is both born from the sun and gives birth to the sun; in a typical Vedic paradox, Pusan is simultaneously the son of the Dawn and begets himself upon her. The poet prays that Pusan will be the charioteer of Order, bringing Order (or the Law) to the worshipper, or the worshipper to it.

An obscure hymn identifies the mysterious god Vena with Soma, the sun, and the sun-bird. In highly condensed, symbolic imagery, Vena simultaneously gives birth to the sun and the waters that mix with Soma: “In the union of the waters and the sun, the inspired priests lick him [Vena] as if he were a calf” (191). Soma is born in a burst of light, like the sun, as Vena whips the waves of sacred speech up from the ocean of the heart. Women call to Soma, representing either the sacred speech or voices of the priests, and the priests, as bulls or divine youths, find the immortal names. Vena bears Soma on golden wings as an eagle, the messenger of Varuna. Soma, now the sun, gives birth to his own names in the realm of heaven.

Two hymns dedicated to Savitr, god of the morning and setting sun, focus on sunset. In Hymn 2.38, Savitr (literally, “the Driver”) apportions immortality and the sacrificial offering to the gods; at sunset he halts men’s activity, impelling them home to eat and sleep, and sends each animal to its proper resting-place. No living creature disobeys Savitr’s command; even the great god “Varuna goes to the watery womb that he loves best,” while Indra, Rudra, and Mitra, as well as the forces of evil, submit to his order at close of day (196). The poet ends with a prayer that he will enjoy Savitr’s blessing and that the sky, waters, and earth will provide abundant bounty. Hymn 1.35 describes Savitr’s chariot, “covered with pearls, painted with all colors, fastened with golden pins,” as it climbs high into the darkening sky (198). With golden hands, Savitr moves between sky and earth, driving away disease and bringing treasure to his worshippers. All tribes, all worlds, and all men and immortals rest in the lap of the protector god.

The chapter concludes with a hymn to the goddess Night, the sister of Dawn and Twilight, who repels darkness with the glittering light of her eyes, the stars (10.127). The poet prays that Night will ward off the wolf and the thief, and that she will grant a safe crossing to the worshipper over the perilous sea of darkness.