May Bhaga, the divine bestower of fortune, shield me with his favor—granting breath and the rhythm of inspiration and expiration, sustaining my life, brilliance, vigor, energy, well-being, and prosperity. May the Maruts, the mighty hosts of the storm gods, likewise protect me in all these ways, ensuring my vitality and abundance. Prajāpati, the lord of creatures, first binds the untied one for strength; and now, I bind you for life, brilliance, vigor, and power. May the untied one watch over you. Let this untied one stand upright, unwavering in protection; let no trader or sorcerer bring you harm. As Indra shakes off his enemies, may all adversaries be driven away from you, guarded by the untied one. Even when faced with a hundred strikes and slayings, we have not been overcome, for Indra has placed sight, breath, and strength within us. May the untied one continue to protect you. We clothe you in Indra’s armor, the armor of the overlord of gods; may all the deities guide you, and may the untied one remain your guardian. Within this amulet reside a hundred powers, and a thousand breaths are contained within it. Stand firm against all enemies, like a tiger—may the one who wishes to harm you be struck down instead, and may the amulet guard you. Anointed with ghee, sweet with honey, rich with milk, endowed with a thousand breaths and a hundred origins, a giver of vigor—the auspicious, joyful, strong, milk-rich amulet will protect you. Just as you are superior, without rival, destroyer of rivals, ruler over your kind, so may Savitar make you so; let the amulet be your shield. As night descends, she stretches across the earthly realm, approaching with her myriad lights, standing in the great abodes of heaven, her darkness now spreading forth. None have seen her farthest shore or her youthful form; all things enter into her when she moves. May we reach her farthest, blessed limit unharmed, O night. Night’s seers, men of vision, are ninety and nine; eighty and eight, and also seven sevens. Sixty and six, O radiant one; fifty and five, O gracious one; forty and four, O victorious one; thirty and three. Two and twenty are yours, O night, and eleven are the last. With these guardians, protect us today, O daughter of heaven. Let us be guarded from evil-wishers and ill-wishers; let not the thief of cattle nor the wolf of sheep have power over us today. Let not the thief of horses nor the demon among men threaten us; let the thief flee by distant paths, bound by another’s rope, and let the evildoer depart by another way. Now, O night, render powerless the one with three plumes, the headless; silence the wolf’s jaws and strike down the thief hiding in the thicket. Within you, O night, we dwell; within you, we shall sleep—be awake and grant us protection for our cattle, our horses, and our people. All things outside and within, encompass them all around, O night; to you we entrust them. Night, our mother, surround us for the sake of dawn; and may dawn surround us for the sake of day, O radiant one, with your hands. Whatever here flies, creeps, or dwells wild in the mountains—from all, O night, protect us. Guard us from behind and before, from the north and from below; protect us, O radiant one, for we are your singers. Those who watch through the night, those awake among beings, those who protect all cattle—they are awake over our lives, they are awake over our cattle. Truly, O night, your name is known—Ghee-anointed is your name; Bharadvāja knows you—may she, the knower, watch over our wealth. The active maiden, youthful and self-restrained night, belonging to Savitar and to Bhaga, with the brightness of a horse, gracious and abounding in splendor, fills the greatness of heaven and earth. She surpasses all things, profound and lofty, whom the most renowned have not surpassed. The shining night, following her, stands with blessings, like Mitra with his ordinances. I praise the excellent, fortunate, well-born night; may I be of good mind here. Protect us from dangers—those born of men, those arising from cattle and prosperity. Night, shining, has taken the strength of the lion, the power of the panther, the brilliance of the tiger and leopard; she has the white of the horse, the vigor of man, and at dawn she creates many forms. May the auspicious night, following the sun, mother of the cold, be gracious to us. O fortunate one, accept this hymn by which I praise you in all directions. O radiant night, delight in our hymn as a king does; may we be all-victorious, all-knowing, as you, shining one, pass away at dawn. You have assumed the name 'peaceful' for me, against those who covet my wealth. O night, drive them away, O sleepless one—to where the thief is not found, where he is never found again. You are auspicious, O night, like a cup not overturned; you, maiden, bear every form of cattle. Shining one, with sight, you possess beautiful forms; you do not abandon the earth, like the sky. Whoever today is a thief, a wrongdoer, a mortal enemy—night, encountering him, may she strike his neck, may she strike his head. May his feet not move as they should, may his hands not reach as they wish; whoever moves in filth, let him be crushed and perish—let him perish, let him perish, let him perish standing on dry wood. Now, O night, render powerless the three-smoked, headless serpent; break the wolf’s dice, and strike down the thief in the thicket. Those of yours, O night, who are oxen with sharp horns and strong teeth—by them, lead us across all dangers today, O all-conquering one. Night after night, may we cross over safely with our bodies; as those who cannot be drowned cross deep waters, so may enemies not cross over us. Just as a withered stalk, fallen, is not followed by the wind, so, O night, cast down him who seeks to harm us. Drive away the thief, the cattle-stealer, and the robber; and also him who, aiming at the horse’s head, seeks to take it away. Whatever wealth, O gracious night, is being divided today, whatever you feed us with, as you do with others—may you continue to nourish and protect us. Thus, the story unfolds—a prayer for protection and prosperity, for strength and peace, for guidance and safety under the watchful guardianship of the divine powers and the radiant, all-encompassing night.