Hymn to Varuṇa
Rigveda I.25 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) addressed to Varuṇa, the all-seeing lord of cosmic law, guardian of ṛta, judge of human deeds. 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.
The mighty Varuṇa doth watch with his thousand eyes upon the world.
No creature hideth from his gaze; no deed escapes his scrutiny.
Though thou dost dwell in highest heaven, yet thy vision pierceth all.
The birds that fly and fish that swim, all living things do know thy sight.
What mortal hath the wit to flee from Varuṇa's watchful eye?
The sun and moon do serve thee both; the stars obey thy sacred law.
The wind that bloweth, the waters that flow—all follow thy decree.
Thy power extendeth over all the cosmos, unto its utmost rim.
Varuṇa, keeper of the net of ṛta—the cosmic order absolute—
Thy cords do bind together heaven and earth in perfect harmony.
Not one transgression can escape thy net, though hidden in the deepest dark.
The oath-breaker, the liar, the man of treachery shall find no peace.
Yet thou art also gracious, lord, unto the man who speaketh truth.
The truthful man shall prosper ever; his children shall be blessed.
His herds shall multiply; his crops shall flourish; his name shall live in song.
But he who breaks his oath shall wither, and his line shall fade away.
O Varuṇa, we tremble at thy justice—so absolute, so swift, so terrible.
Yet we do praise thee as our lord, for thou art guardian of the world.
Without thy law, all would be chaos; without thy watchful eye, all would be lost.
The ṛta that thou dost maintain is breath itself to all that lives.
We offer thee this sacrifice—accept our praise and our devotion.
Forgive us for the sins we've wrought in ignorance or weakness.
Grant us the strength to keep our oaths, to walk forever in thy path.
O thousand-eyed, immortal lord, grant us thy mercy and thy grace.
Colophon
Rigveda I.25 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 Varuṇa, the all-seeing lord of cosmic law, guardian of ṛta, judge of human deeds. 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.25
yac cid dhi te viśo yathā pra deva varuṇa vratam |
minīmasi dyavi-dyavi || 1 ||
mā no vadhāya hatnave jihīḻānasya rīradhaḥ |
mā hṛṇānasya manyave || 2 ||
vi mṛḻīkāya te mano rathīr aśvaṁ na saṁditam |
gīrbhir varuṇa sīmahi || 3 ||
parā hi me vimanyavaḥ patanti vasyaïṣṭaye |
vayo na vasatīr upa || 4 ||
kadā kṣatraśriyaṁ naram ā varuṇaṁ karāmahe |
mṛḻīkāyorucakṣasam || 5 ||
tad it samānam āśāte venantā na pra yucchataḥ |
dhṛtavratāya dāśuṣe || 6 ||
vedā yo vīnām padam antarikṣeṇa patatām |
veda nāvaḥ samudriyaḥ || 7 ||
veda māso dhṛtavrato dvādaśa prajāvataḥ |
vedā ya upajāyate || 8 ||
veda vātasya vartanim uror ṛṣvasya bṛhataḥ |
vedā ye adhyāsate || 9 ||
ni ṣasāda dhṛtavrato varuṇaḥ pastyā3sv ā |
sāmrājyāya sukratuḥ || 10 ||
ato viśvāny adbhutā cikitvām̐ abhi paśyati |
kṛtāni yā ca kartvā || 11 ||
sa no viśvāhā sukratur ādityaḥ supathā karat |
pra ṇa āyūṁṣi tāriṣat || 12 ||
bibhrad drāpiṁ hiraṇyayaṁ varuṇo vasta nirṇijam |
pari spaśo ni ṣedire || 13 ||
na yaṁ dipsanti dipsavo na druhvāṇo janānām |
na devam abhimātayaḥ || 14 ||
uta yo mānuṣeṣv ā yaśaś cakre asāmy ā |
asmākam udareṣv ā || 15 ||
parā me yanti dhītayo gāvo na gavyūtīr anu |
icchantīr urucakṣasam || 16 ||
saṁ nu vocāvahai punar yato me madhv ābhṛtam |
hoteva kṣadase priyam || 17 ||
darśaṁ nu viśvadarśataṁ darśaṁ ratham adhi kṣami |
etā juṣata me giraḥ || 18 ||
imam me varuṇa śrudhī havam adyā ca mṛḻaya |
tvām avasyur ā cake || 19 ||
tvaṁ viśvasya medhira divaś ca gmaś ca rājasi |
sa yāmani prati śrudhi || 20 ||
ud uttamam mumugdhi no vi pāśam madhyamaṁ cṛta |
avādhamāni jīvase || 21 ||
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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