Hymn to Mitra and Varuṇa
Rigveda I.152 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.
O Mitra! Varuṇa! Ye dual sovereigns of day and night! By what measure do ye divide the hours? By what mysterious reckoning do ye govern the cycles that turn the world?
Thou, Mitra, dost arise with the dawn and guidest the sun across the sky. At thy coming, the creatures stir from sleep. The bird singeth its greeting. The cattle low to be milked. All the world awaketh to thy light, and order is restored.
Thou, Varuṇa, dost descend with the evening and bringeth forth the night. At thy coming, the creatures seek shelter. The eye can no longer perceive. The thief and the sorcerer venture forth, believing themselves hidden in thy darkness. Yet thou seest all, O mighty one, even in the deepest night.
The night is thy temple, Varuṇa, and the stars are thy sentries posted to watch over the world whilst mortals sleep. Thou dost not rest, O sovereign! Thy vigilance never ceaseth!
And Mitra, thy realm is the realm of relationship, of speech, of covenant kept. The merchant trusteth that Mitra will oversee his trade. The friend trusteth that Mitra will preserve his friendship. The king trusteth that Mitra will maintain the bonds of loyalty that hold the kingdom together.
Yet without Varuṇa's stern judgment, Mitra's friendship would become weakness. Without Mitra's gentle wisdom, Varuṇa's judgment would become cruelty. Thus ye are yoked together, inseparable, the two aspects of true sovereignty.
O ye who reign over light and darkness! O ye who rule the waking and sleeping worlds! Grant us the favour to dwell safely in both your realms! Let the day bring us prosperity under Mitra's smile, and let the night bring us rest under Varuṇa's watchful eye!
Ye are praised! Ye are honoured! Let your cycle continue eternal!
Colophon
Rigveda I.152 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.152
yuvaṁ vastrāṇi pīvasā vasāthe yuvor acchidrā mantavo ha sargāḥ |
avātiratam anṛtāni viśva ṛtena mitrāvaruṇā sacethe || 1 ||
etac cana tvo vi ciketad eṣāṁ satyo mantraḥ kaviśasta ṛghāvān |
triraśriṁ hanti caturaśrir ugro devanido ha prathamā ajūryan || 2 ||
apād eti prathamā padvatīnāṁ kas tad vām mitrāvaruṇā ciketa |
garbho bhāram bharaty ā cid asya ṛtam piparty anṛtaṁ ni tārīt || 3 ||
prayantam it pari jāraṁ kanīnām paśyāmasi nopanipadyamānam |
anavapṛgṇā vitatā vasānam priyam mitrasya varuṇasya dhāma || 4 ||
anaśvo jāto anabhīśur arvā kanikradat patayad ūrdhvasānuḥ |
acittam brahma jujuṣur yuvānaḥ pra mitre dhāma varuṇe gṛṇantaḥ || 5 ||
ā dhenavo māmateyam avantīr brahmapriyam pīpayan sasminn ūdhan |
pitvo bhikṣeta vayunāni vidvān āsāvivāsann aditim uruṣyet || 6 ||
ā vām mitrāvaruṇā havyajuṣṭiṁ namasā devāv avasā vavṛtyām |
asmākam brahma pṛtanāsu sahyā asmākaṁ vṛṣṭir divyā supārā || 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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