Hymn to Varuṇa
Rigveda VII.88 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.
The seer Vasiṣṭha addresses Varuṇa directly, recalling a shared voyage: the two of them climbing into a boat together, driving it out into the middle of the sea, moving over the ridges of the waters. He asks where that old friendship has gone, admits that even a dear kinsman may offend the god without meaning to, and asks Varuṇa to loosen the bond of guilt from him and grant his protection.
1. Bring forth, O Vasiṣṭha, a purifying hymn, most dear, to Varuṇa the bounteous one — who draws the worshipful, thousand-bountied, mighty, vast one near.
2. Now, having come into his sight, I take it for the face of Agni that belongs to Varuṇa. When we reached the bright realm, may the two rulers lead me on to see that wondrous form, even through the dark.
3. When Varuṇa and I climbed up into the boat, when we drove it out into the middle of the sea, when we moved together over the ridges of the waters, we two swung there upon the swing, for splendor.
4. Varuṇa set Vasiṣṭha in the boat; the skillful one made him, by his great powers, a seer — a singer of praise, the inspired one, through the fair shining of days, for as long as the heavens stretch on, for as long as the dawns.
5. Where now are those friendships of ours that once were, when long ago we dwelt together free from harm? O Varuṇa, master of your own power, I have come to your vast dwelling, your house of a thousand doors.
6. O Varuṇa, even one who is your constant, dear kinsman — your own friend — may commit offenses against you. Let us who have sinned not suffer for it, O worshipful one; grant your protection, wise one, to the one who sings your praise.
7. Dwelling in your steadfast abodes, may Varuṇa loosen the bond from us. Winning grace from the lap of Aditi — protect us always, you gods, with your blessings.
Translator's note: Verse 2 is textually difficult — "sva1r yad aśmann adhipā u andho" admits more than one reading of who the "two rulers" are and what role darkness (andhaḥ) plays; rendered here conservatively, staying close to the individual words rather than resolving the ambiguity. The closing line of verse 7 ("yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ") is a formulaic refrain shared across many Rigvedic hymns, addressed to the gods in the plural even though the hymn otherwise speaks to Varuṇa alone.
Colophon
Rigveda VII.88 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.88
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.
pra śundhyuvaṁ varuṇāya preṣṭhām matiṁ vasiṣṭha mīḻhuṣe bharasva |
ya īm arvāñcaṁ karate yajatraṁ sahasrāmaghaṁ vṛṣaṇam bṛhantam || 1 ||
adhā nv asya saṁdṛśaṁ jaganvān agner anīkaṁ varuṇasya maṁsi |
sva1r yad aśmann adhipā u andho 'bhi mā vapur dṛśaye ninīyāt || 2 ||
ā yad ruhāva varuṇaś ca nāvam pra yat samudram īrayāva madhyam |
adhi yad apāṁ snubhiś carāva pra preṅkha īṅkhayāvahai śubhe kam || 3 ||
vasiṣṭhaṁ ha varuṇo nāvy ādhād ṛṣiṁ cakāra svapā mahobhiḥ |
stotāraṁ vipraḥ sudinatve ahnāṁ yān nu dyāvas tatanan yād uṣāsaḥ || 4 ||
kva1 tyāni nau sakhyā babhūvuḥ sacāvahe yad avṛkam purā cit |
bṛhantam mānaṁ varuṇa svadhāvaḥ sahasradvāraṁ jagamā gṛhaṁ te || 5 ||
ya āpir nityo varuṇa priyaḥ san tvām āgāṁsi kṛṇavat sakhā te |
mā ta enasvanto yakṣin bhujema yandhi ṣmā vipraḥ stuvate varūtham || 6 ||
dhruvāsu tvāsu kṣitiṣu kṣiyanto vy a1smat pāśaṁ varuṇo mumocat |
avo vanvānā aditer upasthād 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).