Hear now the joint hymn to Indra and Varuṇa, those greatest of the devas, the warrior-king and the cosmic sovereign! One is the thunderer, the hurler of bolts, the slayer of demons; the other is the all-seeing lord, the upholder of ṛta, the keeper of cosmic order. Together they reign over the three worlds; apart, each is supreme in his domain.

Indra is the god of the storm and of battle, fierce and terrible, beloved of the warriors and the strong. His power is felt in the clash of swords, in the roar of the monsoon, in the overthrow of the wicked. He defendeth the righteous; he crusheth the unrighteous beneath his heel. His music is the thunder; his dance is the lightning's leap.

Varuṇa is the god of the sky and of law, majestic and terrible in a different way — the upholder of the cosmic order, the punisher of those who break the oath, the keeper of secrets and of hidden knowledge. He seeth all things, knoweth all things; his spies are the winds themselves. No lie escapeth him; no transgression remaineth hidden.

Yet these two, so different in nature, do work in harmony. Indra carves the path through chaos; Varuṇa buildeth and maintaineth the structure of reality. Indra is force; Varuṇa is form. Indra is the moment of transformation; Varuṇa is the eternal pattern. Together they are complete; apart, each would be incomplete.

We invoke both now: Indra, grant us thy might and thy victorious fury! Varuṇa, grant us thy wisdom and thy cosmic sight! Let Indra be our protector in battle, and let Varuṇa be our guide in the keeping of sacred law. For the strength without justice is mere brutality, and justice without strength cannot prevail. But when the warrior is also righteous, when might is wed to ṛta, then is the world well-ordered and all things prosper.