No one has ever glimpsed the farthest shore of Night, nor her youthful form. When she moves, all things enter into her embrace. We pray to reach her most distant, blessed limit unharmed, O Night, and to arrive safely at her sacred boundary. Night’s guardians are many, seen by those with vision—her seers are counted as ninety-nine, eighty-eight, and seven sevens. There are sixty-six, O radiant one; fifty-five, O gracious one; forty-four, O victorious one; and thirty-three. Twenty-two belong to you, O Night, and eleven are the last. With these protectors, shield us today, O daughter of heaven, and guard us now. Keep us safe, O Night—let no evil-wisher or ill-wisher gain power over us. Let neither the cattle thief nor the wolf among sheep harm us today. Let not the horse thief nor the demon among men trouble us; let the thief flee by distant paths, let another’s rope bind him, let the wrongdoer depart by another way. Now, O Night, render powerless the one with three plumes, the headless; silence the wolf’s jaws, strike down the thief hiding in the thicket. Within you, O Night, we dwell; in you, we shall sleep—yet you remain awake. Grant protection to our cattle, our horses, and our people. Encompass everything, both outside and within, all around us; to you we entrust all. Night, mother, surround us for the sake of dawn; and may dawn surround us for the sake of day, O radiant one, with your hands. Protect us from whatever flies or creeps here, from all wild things in the mountains. Guard us from behind and before, from the north and below; shield us, O radiant one, for we are your singers. Those who watch through the night and those awake among beings, those who protect all cattle—they keep vigil over our lives and our herds. 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 Bhaga, with the brightness of a horse, gracious and splendid, fills the greatness of heaven and earth. She has surpassed all things, profound and lofty, whom even the most renowned cannot surpass. The shining Night, following her, stands with blessings, like Mitra with his ordinances. I praise the excellent, fortunate, well-born Night; may my mind be good here. Protect us from dangers—those born of men and 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, heed this hymn by which I praise you in all directions. O radiant Night, you delight in our hymn as a king does; may we be all-victorious and all-knowing as you, shining one, pass away at dawn. You have assumed the name ‘peaceful’ for me, against those who desire my wealth. O Night, drive them away, O sleepless one—to places 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. If today one is a thief, a wrongdoer, a mortal enemy—may Night, encountering him, strike his neck and his head. May his feet not move as they wish, nor his hands reach as they desire; whoever moves about in filth, let him be crushed and perish—let him perish, let him perish, let him perish standing on dry wood. Now, O Night, make 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 today, lead us across all dangers, O all-conquering one. Night after night, may we survive and cross over with our bodies; just as those who cannot be drowned cross deep waters, so may enemies not cross over us. As a withered stalk falling is not followed by the wind, so, O Night, cast down those who seek 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—give us to the dawn, O Night, all unharmed. May dawn share out the day for us, O radiant one, for you are without hands. I am ten thousand—my self is ten thousand, my eye is ten thousand, my ear is ten thousand. My breath is ten thousand, my outgoing breath is ten thousand, my diffused breath is ten thousand; I am all, ten thousand. I take hold of you, born from the impulse of the divine Savitar, from the arms of the Ashvins, from the hands of Pushan. Desire arose in the beginning, the first seed of mind that was. O Desire, united with the great Desire, of one womb, grant prosperity and wealth to the worshipper. You, Desire, are established with force, all-pervading, manifesting in many forms, a friend to friends; you are mighty in battles—grant strength to the worshipper. For the one longing from afar, for the one seeking, for the undiminishing, hopes have listened; with Desire, they have generated their own light. Let Desire come to me from heart to heart; whatever exhilaration or thought is among these people, let that come to me here. Whatever act we perform here, desiring Desire, this is your offering; may all of it prosper for us, and may you accept this offering—svaha. Time, the horse with seven rays, carries all; with a thousand eyes, ageless and mighty, he bears these beings. Upon him ascend the wise and discerning; his wheels are all the worlds. This Time carries seven wheels, has seven mouths, his navel is immortal, his axis is eternal; he moves all these worlds—Time, the first god, indeed advances.