Hymn to Varuṇa, Mitra, and Aryaman
Rigveda X.126 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 10 of the Rigveda, one of the 1,028 hymns organized within the ten books of the oldest Veda. The Rigveda was composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in Vedic Sanskrit and preserved through oral transmission across millennia.
This is a Good Works Translation produced for the Good Works Library from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension. The hymn is addressed chiefly to the three Ādityas Varuṇa, Mitra, and Aryaman, with Rudra, the Maruts, Indra, and Agni called on in verse 5 and Agni addressed directly in the closing verse. Each verse ends with the refrain "ati dviṣaḥ," beyond hatreds.
1. No distress and no difficulty, O gods, has touched the mortal whom, of one mind, Aryaman, Mitra, and Varuṇa lead — beyond hatreds.
2. This indeed we choose, O Varuṇa, Mitra, Aryaman: the way by which you protect us from distress and lead the mortal onward — beyond hatreds.
3. They are now here to help us — Varuṇa, Mitra, Aryaman — the best of leaders in our leading, the surest in our deliverance — beyond hatreds.
4. You protect everything, all around — Varuṇa, Mitra, Aryaman. May we stand well-guided under your dear shelter — beyond hatreds.
5. The Ādityas carry us past all stumbling — Varuṇa, Mitra, Aryaman. Let us call on mighty Rudra together with the Maruts, on Indra and Agni, for our well-being — beyond hatreds.
6. Good leaders indeed are they for us, across every danger — Varuṇa, Mitra, Aryaman — across all difficulties, kings of the peoples — beyond hatreds.
7. For our well-being and our help, may Varuṇa, Mitra, Aryaman, the Ādityas, grant broad shelter when we ask for it — beyond hatreds.
8. As you once freed, O Vasus worthy of worship, even the wild cow bound fast by the foot, so free us now from distress. Let our span of days be extended further, O Agni.
Translator's note: the refrain "ati dviṣaḥ" (literally "past/beyond enmities") is rendered here as "beyond hatreds" throughout, in keeping with its most literal sense of crossing past hostility or hostile forces. Verse 8's "gauryam" (a wild or grey cow/gazelle) and its unbinding is an image of release from constraint, kept literal rather than allegorized. The traditional Anukramaṇī attributes this hymn's deity as Viśvedevāḥ (the All-Gods) with seer Kaśyapa Mārīca; the subtitle here follows the Sanskrit's actual weight of address, which falls on Varuṇa, Mitra, and Aryaman in six of the eight verses.
Colophon
Rigveda X.126 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 X.126
Sanskrit source text from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input). Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
na tam aṁho na duritaṁ devāso aṣṭa martyam |
sajoṣaso yam aryamā mitro nayanti varuṇo ati dviṣaḥ || 1 ||
tad dhi vayaṁ vṛṇīmahe varuṇa mitrāryaman |
yenā nir aṁhaso yūyam pātha nethā ca martyam ati dviṣaḥ || 2 ||
te nūnaṁ no 'yam ūtaye varuṇo mitro aryamā |
nayiṣṭhā u no neṣaṇi parṣiṣṭhā u naḥ parṣaṇy ati dviṣaḥ || 3 ||
yūyaṁ viśvam pari pātha varuṇo mitro aryamā |
yuṣmākaṁ śarmaṇi priye syāma supraṇītayo 'ti dviṣaḥ || 4 ||
ādityāso ati sridho varuṇo mitro aryamā |
ugram marudbhī rudraṁ huvemendram agniṁ svastaye 'ti dviṣaḥ || 5 ||
netāra ū ṣu ṇas tiro varuṇo mitro aryamā |
ati viśvāni duritā rājānaś carṣaṇīnām ati dviṣaḥ || 6 ||
śunam asmabhyam ūtaye varuṇo mitro aryamā |
śarma yacchantu sapratha ādityāso yad īmahe ati dviṣaḥ || 7 ||
yathā ha tyad vasavo gauryaṁ cit padi ṣitām amuñcatā yajatrāḥ |
evo ṣv a1sman muñcatā vy aṁhaḥ pra tāry agne prataraṁ na āyuḥ || 8 ||
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).