Vedokta Ratri Suktam (Rigveda 10.127): The Vedic Hymn to Night Read Before the Durga Saptashati, with Meaning

The Vedokta Ratri Suktam is the oldest text in the Durga Saptashati tradition: hymn 127 of the tenth mandala of the Rigveda, eight short verses in the Gayatri metre to Ratri, the Goddess Night. The Saptashati reads two "Ratri Suktas" before its first chapter: this Vedic one, and the Tantrokta one, which is Brahma's hymn to Yoganidra from Chapter 1. Gita Press and most North Indian editions print both.

The hymn is tender rather than terrible. Night arrives and looks out with her stars; she fills the valleys and the heights; she makes ready her sister Dawn; villages, footed creatures and winged creatures settle under her as birds in a nest; and the singer asks her to keep away the wolf and the thief and to be easy to cross. The whole hymn is given below in Sanskrit with its meaning, as part of the complete Durga Saptashati path.

संक्षेप में: वेदोक्त रात्रि सूक्त ऋग्वेद के दसवें मण्डल का सूक्त 127 है, रात्रि देवी की आठ ऋचाएँ, जो दुर्गा सप्तशती में पहले अध्याय से पहले पढ़ी जाती हैं। यहाँ विनियोग और आठों ऋचाएँ संस्कृत में हिंदी अर्थ सहित हैं। रात्रि अपने तारों से देखती है, घाटियों और ऊँचाइयों को भरती है, अपनी बहन उषा को आगे करती है, और गायक उससे भेड़िये और चोर को दूर रखने की प्रार्थना करता है। लेख में तन्त्रोक्त रात्रि सूक्त से इसका अन्तर और पाठ की विधि भी है। पूरा लेख हिंदी में पढ़ें →

At a glance

• Text: Rigveda, tenth mandala, hymn 127: eight verses
• Seer and metre: Kushika Saubhara, or Ratri Bharadvaji; Ratri the deity; Gayatri the metre
• Place in the paath: Before Chapter 1, after the Kavach, Argala and Keelak; the Tantrokta Ratri Suktam (Brahma Stuti of Chapter 1) follows or replaces it by tradition
• Theme: Night as the Goddess who shelters all beings and keeps off wolf and thief
• Traditional fruit: Protection through the night and the removal of fear

Vedokta Ratri Suktam: Sanskrit text with meaning

Viniyoga

ॐ रात्रीत्याद्यष्टर्चस्य सूक्तस्य कुशिकः सौभरो रात्रिर्वा भारद्वाजो ऋषिः,
रात्रिर्देवता, गायत्री छन्दः, देवीमाहात्म्यपाठे विनियोगः ।

Meaning: Of this eight-verse hymn beginning "ratri", Kushika Saubhara, or Ratri Bharadvaji, is the seer, Ratri the deity and Gayatri the metre; its use is in the reading of the Devi Mahatmya.

The verses

ॐ रात्री व्यख्यदायती पुरुत्रा देव्यक्षभिः ।
विश्वा अधि श्रियोऽधित ॥ १॥

Meaning: The Goddess Night, arriving, has looked out in many places with her eyes, the stars; she has put on all her glories.

ओर्वप्रा अमर्त्या निवतो देव्युद्वतः ।
ज्योतिषा बाधते तमः ॥ २॥

Meaning: The immortal Goddess has filled the wide space, the low places and the high; with her light she drives away the darkness.

निरु स्वसारमस्कृतोषसं देव्यायती ।
अपेदु हासते तमः ॥ ३॥

Meaning: The Goddess, arriving, has made ready her sister Dawn; and then the darkness too departs.

सा नो अद्य यस्या वयं नि ते यामन्नविक्ष्महि ।
वृक्षे न वसतिं वयः ॥ ४॥

Meaning: So be ours today, you at whose coming we have settled down to rest, as birds settle in their nest upon the tree.

नि ग्रामासो अविक्षत नि पद्वन्तो नि पक्षिणः ।
नि श्येनासश्चिदर्थिनः ॥ ५॥

Meaning: The villages have settled down to rest, the footed creatures and the winged, even the hawks that go about their hunting.

यावया वृक्यं१ वृकं यवय स्तेनमूर्म्ये ।
अथा नः सुतरा भव ॥ ६॥

Meaning: Keep away the she-wolf and the wolf, keep away the thief, O Night of the waves; and so be easy for us to pass through.

उप मा पेपिशत्तमः कृष्णं व्यक्तमस्थित ।
उष ऋणेव यातय ॥ ७॥

Meaning: The darkness, thick, black and plain to see, has come close upon me; O Dawn, clear it away as one clears a debt.

उप ते गा इवाकरं वृणीष्व दुहितर्दिवः ।
रात्रि स्तोमं न जिग्युषे ॥ ८॥

Meaning: I have brought near to you a hymn, as a herdsman brings his cows; accept it, O Daughter of Heaven, O Night, as a song of praise for one who conquers.

Significance and benefits

The Saptashati places this hymn before its first chapter because the first chapter is the story of Yoganidra, the Goddess as the sleep of Vishnu at the end of a kalpa, and the Vedic Ratri is her oldest form: the night that shelters every being and in which every being rests. Reading it first sets the mood of the Prathama Charitra, in which the Goddess acts not by force but by withdrawal, leaving Vishnu's body so that he wakes.

On its own the hymn is read for protection through the night and against fear, and verse 6, with its wolf and thief, is the Vedic ancestor of the Saptashati's own promises of safety from robbers and wild beasts in Chapter 12. Scholars note it as the only complete Rigvedic hymn to Night, which is why the Devi tradition claimed it as the Goddess's own.

How to recite (vidhi)

In the paath it follows the Keelak Stotram and precedes the dhyana of Chapter 1; if your edition prints the Tantrokta Ratri Suktam as well, read the Vedic one first. Read alone, it is said at night before sleep. Sit facing east or north on a clean asana, light a lamp, and read from the printed text with clear pronunciation. The order of the full paath is on the complete Durga Saptashati path page.

Astrological relevance

Ratri is the night and Yoganidra, and the hymn is read with the Prathama Charitra for the shadow grahas Rahu and Ketu and for Shani, the lord of darkness and sleep. Nothing here replaces reading your own chart; it is the devotional side of the same picture. To see which dasha is running, start with a free kundli or talk to an astrologer.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between the Vedokta and the Tantrokta Ratri Suktam?
The Vedokta Ratri Suktam is Rigveda 10.127, eight Vedic verses to the Goddess Night. The Tantrokta Ratri Suktam is Brahma's hymn to Yoganidra from Chapter 1 of the Saptashati itself (verses 73 to 87). Most editions print both before the first chapter, the Vedic one first.

Where is the Ratri Suktam in the Rigveda?
In the tenth mandala, hymn 127, eight verses in the Gayatri metre. The seer is Kushika Saubhara or Ratri Bharadvaji, and the deity is Ratri, Night.

What does the hymn ask for?
Shelter and safe passage through the night: that Night keep away the she-wolf, the wolf and the thief (verse 6), that she be easy to cross, and that Dawn clear the darkness away like a debt (verse 7).

When is the Ratri Suktam read?
In the Durga Saptashati paath, after the Kavach, Argala and Keelak and before Chapter 1. On its own it is a night prayer, said before sleep for protection and freedom from fear.