We sing the praise of Indra and Varuṇa together! O mighty pair, who rule the earth and heaven! Indra, the warrior with the thunderbolt; Varuṇa, the king with the cosmic law. One is the power of action; the other is the power of order.

Indra, thou art the storm that rages and destroys! Thy bolt of lightning doth split the sky; thy thunder doth shake the mountains. When thou dost unleash thy fury, the demons do tremble; the enemies do flee in panic. The rivers themselves do flee before thee, seeking safety in the distant seas.

Yet Varuṇa, thou art the one who ordaineth all things according to law. Thou art the watcher who keepeth vigil over all the worlds. Nothing escapeth thy notice; nothing escapeth thy judgment. The sun followeth thy ordinance; the stars obey thy command. The very fabric of the cosmos is woven from thy wisdom and thy will.

Together, ye do complement one another. Where Indra is the flash and the fury, Varuṇa is the constancy and the calm. Where Indra is the breaking-forth of power, Varuṇa is the underlying structure that giveth that power meaning and purpose.

Come, ye mighty ones! Accept our offering! Drink ye of the soma that we have pressed! Let thy strength be renewed; let thy glory shine forth! We mortals do depend upon you both.

For if there were only Indra without Varuṇa, the world would be naught but chaos—a wild storm with no direction, no purpose, no meaning. All would be destroyed; all would be brought to nothingness.

And if there were only Varuṇa without Indra, the world would be naught but stone—fixed, immobile, dead. Nothing would change; nothing would grow; nothing would be born.

But with both, we have the perfect balance. We have the storm that refresheth the earth with rain; we have the order that causeth the rain to fall in the right season. We have the warrior who defendeth us from our enemies; we have the sovereign who ensureth that all disputes are settled justly.

O Indra and Varuṇa! Grant us thy protection! Make us strong in battle and just in our dealings! Cause our enemies to flee, and our friends to prosper! Let our crops grow tall; let our herds multiply; let our children be born healthy and strong!