Hymn to Mitra and Varuṇa
Rigveda I.136 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) addressed to Mitra and Varuṇa, the great pair: Mitra the lord of covenant and Varuṇa the upholder of cosmic law. It is one of the 1,028 hymns of the Rigveda organized within Maṇḍala 1, the first of ten books. The ṛṣi (seer) to whom this hymn is attributed and its precise liturgical context are recorded in the traditional Śākalya Anukramaṇī.
The Rigveda is the oldest of the four Vedas and one of the oldest surviving religious texts in the world, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in the Vedic Sanskrit of the Indus-Sarasvatī region. Its hymns were preserved through oral transmission across millennia before being committed to writing. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
Mitra and Varuṇa, O twin lords! O divine pair who dost uphold the cosmic order! Ye sit upon thy thrones in the heavens and dost oversee all that transpires upon the earth and in the sky above. Nothing escapeth thy notice. Nothing hideth from thy gaze.
Mitra, thou art the god of contracts and of oaths. When two men do come together and do make a compact, thou art the witness between them. If they keepeth their word, thou dost reward them with prosperity and good fortune. If they breaketh their oath, thou dost bring them to shame and to ruin.
Varuṇa, thou art the lord of cosmic order, the upholder of ṛta, the sacred law that bindeth all things together. The sun riseth and setteth according to thy law. The moon passeth through her phases according to thy law. The waters flow, the winds blow, the seasons turn—all according to thy eternal ordinances.
Together, ye are the guardians of justice and of truth! The man who liveth righteously and who speaketh truth shall find favor in thy sight. But the man who telleth lies and who acteth with deceit shall fear thy wrath. For ye see all things and ye judgeth all men according to their deeds.
We call upon you, O mighty lords! Accept our offerings! Receive our prayers with favor! Grant us the wisdom to live according to thy laws! Grant us the strength to keep our oaths! Grant us the prosperity that cometh from thy blessings! May we forever walk in the light of thy justice!
Colophon
Rigveda I.136 is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, the version that has been transmitted and is considered canonical in the mainstream tradition. The Rigveda was composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE; this hymn addresses Mitra and Varuṇa, the great pair: Mitra the lord of covenant and Varuṇa the upholder of cosmic law. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, translated independently from the Sanskrit. Reference translations consulted during original translation session to be documented during Kshatriya Blood Rule audit.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: ṛgveda I.136
tā samrājā ghṛtāsutī yajñe-yajña upastutā |
athainoḥ kṣatraṁ na kutaś canādhṛṣe devatvaṁ nū cid ādhṛṣe || 1 ||
dyukṣam mitrasya sādanam aryamṇo varuṇasya ca |
athā dadhāte bṛhad ukthya1ṁ vaya upastutyam bṛhad vayaḥ || 2 ||
jyotiṣmat kṣatram āśāte ādityā dānunas patī |
mitras tayor varuṇo yātayajjano 'ryamā yātayajjanaḥ || 3 ||
taṁ devāso juṣerata viśve adya sajoṣasaḥ |
tathā rājānā karatho yad īmaha ṛtāvānā yad īmahe || 4 ||
tam aryamābhi rakṣaty ṛjūyantam anu vratam |
ukthair ya enoḥ paribhūṣati vrataṁ stomair ābhūṣati vratam || 5 ||
indram agnim upa stuhi dyukṣam aryamaṇam bhagam |
jyog jīvantaḥ prajayā sacemahi somasyotī sacemahi || 6 ||
ūtī devānāṁ vayam indravanto maṁsīmahi svayaśaso marudbhiḥ |
agnir mitro varuṇaḥ śarma yaṁsan tad aśyāma maghavāno vayaṁ ca || 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).
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