Hymn to Mitra and Varuṇa
Rigveda I.41 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.
Sing, O Muse, of Varuṇa, Mitra, Aryaman—the Ādityas who hold the world's reins, who bind it round with laws that cannot break. These are the guardians of ṛta, the cosmic order. They shine from heavens high, and their decrees no mortal transgresses.
Varuṇa sits enthroned in waters deep, his thousand-eyed gaze fixed upon all creatures. What man hath fled his watch? What secret deed escapes his sight? He knoweth the paths of birds in air, the courses of the ships, the paths of winds. His net doth spread across the sky.
Mitra, gentler, holdeth the covenant. He bindeth the tribes together; his friendship burneth bright as fire. When men do swear their oaths, when kindred clasp the hand, Mitra witnesseth and guardeth the bond. By his grace do we dwell together in peace.
Aryaman guideth us along the path. He openeth the way for the wayfarer; he holdeth the gates. Through him do suitors find their brides; through him do kinship bonds hold fast. He marcheth before us as a radiant friend.
Glory be to these three, the great Ādityas! Varuṇa of the waters, Mitra of the covenant, Aryaman of the ways. May they grant us long life, may they defend us from transgression, may they keep us within the bounds of law eternal.
Grant us their favour, O Immortals! Let not the law of Varuṇa turn its face from us. Let Mitra's friendship bind our kin. Let Aryaman clear our path. Thus do we praise thee, O Ādityas, guardians of the cosmic order—forever stable, forever wise, forever just.
Colophon
Rigveda I.41 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.41
yaṁ rakṣanti pracetaso varuṇo mitro aryamā |
nū cit sa dabhyate janaḥ || 1 ||
yam bāhuteva piprati pānti martyaṁ riṣaḥ |
ariṣṭaḥ sarva edhate || 2 ||
vi durgā vi dviṣaḥ puro ghnanti rājāna eṣām |
nayanti duritā tiraḥ || 3 ||
sugaḥ panthā anṛkṣara ādityāsa ṛtaṁ yate |
nātrāvakhādo asti vaḥ || 4 ||
yaṁ yajñaṁ nayathā nara ādityā ṛjunā pathā |
pra vaḥ sa dhītaye naśat || 5 ||
sa ratnam martyo vasu viśvaṁ tokam uta tmanā |
acchā gacchaty astṛtaḥ || 6 ||
kathā rādhāma sakhāyaḥ stomam mitrasyāryamṇaḥ |
mahi psaro varuṇasya || 7 ||
mā vo ghnantam mā śapantam prati voce devayantam |
sumnair id va ā vivāse || 8 ||
caturaś cid dadamānād bibhīyād ā nidhātoḥ |
na duruktāya spṛhayet || 9 ||
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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