Prayer of the Day

Prayer from Rig Veda

ॐ

यः शु॒क्र इ॑व॒ सूर्यो॒ हिर॑ण्यमिव॒ रोच॑ते ।
श्रेष्टो॑ दे॒वानां॒ वसुः॑ ॥

ॐ

Mantra as Romanized text

 
Om
yaH shukra iva sUryo hiraNyamiva rochate |
shreShTo devAnAM vasuH ||
Om

Meaning of the Prayer Mantra:

 

He (Lord shiva), Who is bright as the sun and shining as the gold;
One Who is Supreme; 
One Who is the shelter for the divines!

 Notes: 

1. shukra iva sUryo hiraNyamiva rochate
God is hailed as the One shining like sun and gold. 
The very same concept is reflected in other places in vedas
(asu yastAmro aruNa uta babhruH sumangalaH 
   - rudra prashna)
and in thirumuRais (parithi vAz oLiyAy - thiruvasakam,
ponnAr mEniyanE, pon seytha mEniyinIr - sundharar)
2. devAnAm vasuH 
Devas are the forces who are essential for our living
(e.g. agni, vAyu, sUrya ...) God is the Supreme
Who is essential even for the devas to exist.
For this reason Lord shiva is hailed as devadeva
or mahAdeva.
3. devAnAm vasuH 
God is both Adhara as well as Adheya.
It is the One that shelters everyone and everything as well as
It is the One that is immanent in those beings and things;
It is the support we depend on as well as
It is the One to be held for upliftment.