Hymn to Mitra and Varuṇa
Rigveda I.136 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) addressed to Mitra and Varuṇa, the great pair: Mitra the lord of covenant and Varuṇa the upholder of cosmic law. It is one of the 1,028 hymns of the Rigveda organized within Maṇḍala 1, the first of ten books. The ṛṣi (seer) to whom this hymn is attributed and its precise liturgical context are recorded in the traditional Śākalya Anukramaṇī.
The Rigveda is the oldest of the four Vedas and one of the oldest surviving religious texts in the world, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in the Vedic Sanskrit of the Indus-Sarasvatī region. Its hymns were preserved through oral transmission across millennia before being committed to writing. This is a Good Works Translation produced for the Good Works Library from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
1. Those two sovereign kings, anointed with ghee, praised at every sacrifice — their dominion cannot be overthrown from any quarter, and their godhead too is never to be assailed.
2. Heavenly is the seat of Mitra, of Aryaman, and of Varuṇa. They bestow great vigor worthy of hymns, great vigor worthy of praise.
3. The two Ādityas, lords of bounty, have attained a luminous dominion. Of these, Mitra and Varuṇa set people on the right course — Aryaman too sets people on the right course.
4. May all the gods, today, of one accord, take pleasure in this offering. So may you two kings grant what we ask — what we ask, O upholders of truth.
5. Aryaman guards the man who walks straight, following their ordinance — who honors their ordinance with hymns, adorns their ordinance with songs of praise.
6. Praise Indra and Agni, the heavenly Aryaman and Bhaga. Living long, with offspring, may we cleave to them — may we cleave to the help of Soma.
7. By the help of the gods, we, together with Indra and with the Maruts, may we be esteemed for our own glory. May Agni, Mitra, and Varuṇa grant us shelter — may we, the bounteous ones, attain that.
Translator's note: "yātayajjana" (verse 3) literally suggests one who sets people into right motion or right conduct — rendered here as "sets people on the right course." "svayaśasaḥ" (verse 7) is rendered "for our own glory," following its plain sense of self-possessed renown.
Colophon
Rigveda I.136 is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE. This is a Good Works Translation rendered verse by verse from the Sanskrit text printed below. Prepared for the Good Work Library by the Tianmu Anglican Church with AI-assisted translation.
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Source Text: ṛgveda I.136
tā samrājā ghṛtāsutī yajñe-yajña upastutā |
athainoḥ kṣatraṁ na kutaś canādhṛṣe devatvaṁ nū cid ādhṛṣe || 1 ||
dyukṣam mitrasya sādanam aryamṇo varuṇasya ca |
athā dadhāte bṛhad ukthya1ṁ vaya upastutyam bṛhad vayaḥ || 2 ||
jyotiṣmat kṣatram āśāte ādityā dānunas patī |
mitras tayor varuṇo yātayajjano 'ryamā yātayajjanaḥ || 3 ||
taṁ devāso juṣerata viśve adya sajoṣasaḥ |
tathā rājānā karatho yad īmaha ṛtāvānā yad īmahe || 4 ||
tam aryamābhi rakṣaty ṛjūyantam anu vratam |
ukthair ya enoḥ paribhūṣati vrataṁ stomair ābhūṣati vratam || 5 ||
indram agnim upa stuhi dyukṣam aryamaṇam bhagam |
jyog jīvantaḥ prajayā sacemahi somasyotī sacemahi || 6 ||
ūtī devānāṁ vayam indravanto maṁsīmahi svayaśaso marudbhiḥ |
agnir mitro varuṇaḥ śarma yaṁsan tad aśyāma maghavāno vayaṁ ca || 7 ||
Source Colophon
Sanskrit text of the Rigveda, Śākala recension. The standard scholarly edition is the Bombay Oriental (Vishva Bandhu, 5 vols., 1963–66). IAST transliteration available from GRETIL (Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages) and Vedaweb (University of Cologne). Both sources are open access. IAST transliteration from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).