Hymn to Mitra and Varuṇa
Rigveda VII.61 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 7 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.
1. Your fair eye rises, O Varuṇa — the sun belonging to you two gods, spreading itself wide. He who looks upon all the worlds perceives the intent within mortals.
2. That truthful, far-renowned inspired poet sends his hymns forth to you two, Mitra and Varuṇa. You, mighty in will, favor his sacred words, so that with your power you fill out the years for him as if by your own resolve.
3. From the broad earth, Mitra and Varuṇa, from the high, vast heaven, you bountiful ones, you set your watchers among the plants and among the peoples, moving apart from one another, guarding without blinking.
4. Proclaim the domain of Mitra and Varuṇa; their power presses upon the two world-halves through its greatness. The months of those who do not sacrifice pass by without heroes; but the one whose thought is on sacrifice extends his strength.
5. All these ways of yours are not foolish, O mighty ones; in them nothing strange or spectral is to be seen. The deceits and lies of men follow their own course; nothing hidden has stayed unknown to you, unperceived.
6. I magnify your sacrifice with acts of homage; I call upon you, Mitra and Varuṇa, being in urgent need. I send new hymns forth to you for praise; may these composed sacred words please you.
7. This priestly office, O gods, has been performed for you two at the sacrifices, Mitra and Varuṇa. Carry us across all dangers; protect us always with your blessings.
Translator's note: Verse 2's closing clause (ā yat kratvā na śaradaḥ pṛṇaithe, "as you fill out the years with your power, as if by resolve") and verse 5's druhaḥ sacante anṛtā janānām ("the deceits and lies of men follow their own course") are compressed, elliptical Vedic Sanskrit; both are rendered conservatively rather than resolved into a single confident sense.
Colophon
Rigveda VII.61 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 VII.61
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.
ud vāṁ cakṣur varuṇa supratīkaṁ devayor eti sūryas tatanvān |
abhi yo viśvā bhuvanāni caṣṭe sa manyum martyeṣv ā ciketa || 1 ||
pra vāṁ sa mitrāvaruṇāv ṛtāvā vipro manmāni dīrghaśrud iyarti |
yasya brahmāṇi sukratū avātha ā yat kratvā na śaradaḥ pṛṇaithe || 2 ||
proror mitrāvaruṇā pṛthivyāḥ pra diva ṛṣvād bṛhataḥ sudānū |
spaśo dadhāthe oṣadhīṣu vikṣv ṛdhag yato animiṣaṁ rakṣamāṇā || 3 ||
śaṁsā mitrasya varuṇasya dhāma śuṣmo rodasī badbadhe mahitvā |
ayan māsā ayajvanām avīrāḥ pra yajñamanmā vṛjanaṁ tirāte || 4 ||
amūrā viśvā vṛṣaṇāv imā vāṁ na yāsu citraṁ dadṛśe na yakṣam |
druhaḥ sacante anṛtā janānāṁ na vāṁ niṇyāny acite abhūvan || 5 ||
sam u vāṁ yajñam mahayaṁ namobhir huve vām mitrāvaruṇā sabādhaḥ |
pra vām manmāny ṛcase navāni kṛtāni brahma jujuṣann imāni || 6 ||
iyaṁ deva purohitir yuvabhyāṁ yajñeṣu mitrāvaruṇāv akāri |
viśvāni durgā pipṛtaṁ tiro no yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ || 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).