Hymn to Varuṇa
Rigveda X.31 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 10 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 by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
Let the praise of the gods, the pathway of sacrifice, seek us out and lend its strength— alongside all the mighty ones who overcome.
May we find fair fellowship among them;
may we be they who pass unscathed through every trial.
A man ought to wait upon wealth in the way of truth, and seek to win it by reverence and right.
He should commune with the counsel of his heart, and by keen thought take hold of higher skill.
The wise thought is fixed in its place; the offerings surge and swell.
The helping gods draw near the wondrous one, as folk to a ford.
We have found the strengthening song that guideth us well; we have come to know the deathless ones.
Our own unshifting lord and hearth-warden should find delight in him whom Savitar hath brought forth— or Bhaga and Aryaman may mark him with kine.
He appeareth beloved in their sight, and let it so be.
Let this good earth here seem as the land of dawns, when the lords of herds gather with strength among us, yearning to partake of the singer’s praise.
May mighty gifts draw near to our doors.
The fair favor of this one, widening out, became as the first-born cow through the whole land.
Within the womb of this lord lie those of his kind, together borne under one yoke.
What was the wood, what was the tree, from whence were heaven and earth hewn forth— the twain that stand ever side by side, unaging and firm?
Yet lo, the days pass, and the dawns wax old.
There is none beyond of such a kind.
The ox upholdeth the sky and the earth.
By his own will, he maketh his hide a holy sieve, when they draw him forth as the red horses bear the sun.
Like a serpent in slither he passeth over the broad earth; as the wind scattereth mist, he sweepeth the land.
Where, being anointed as Mitra and Varuṇa, he kindleth like fire let loose in the woods.
When the barren cow brought forth in a breath, even faltering, yet faltered not— for she had her herdsmen to hand.
When the son was born ‘fore his two begetters, the cow swallowed the peg—if any would ask.
They say Kaṇva is born of him who dwelleth among men, and Śyāva, dark of hue, bore off the stakes.
The shining udder swelled for the dusky one, Kr̥ṣṇa— yet within, no man raised up the truth on his behalf.
Colophon
This hymn is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, translated independently from the Sanskrit. Reference translations consulted during original translation are to be documented during audit.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: ṛgveda X.31
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.
ā no devānām upa vetu śaṁso viśvebhis turair avase yajatraḥ |
tebhir vayaṁ suṣakhāyo bhavema taranto viśvā duritā syāma || 1 ||
pari cin marto draviṇam mamanyād ṛtasya pathā namasā vivāset |
uta svena kratunā saṁ vadeta śreyāṁsaṁ dakṣam manasā jagṛbhyāt || 2 ||
adhāyi dhītir asasṛgram aṁśās tīrthe na dasmam upa yanty ūmāḥ |
abhy ānaśma suvitasya śūṣaṁ navedaso amṛtānām abhūma || 3 ||
nityaś cākanyāt svapatir damūnā yasmā u devaḥ savitā jajāna |
bhago vā gobhir aryamem anajyāt so asmai cāruś chadayad uta syāt || 4 ||
iyaṁ sā bhūyā uṣasām iva kṣā yad dha kṣumantaḥ śavasā samāyan |
asya stutiṁ jaritur bhikṣamāṇā ā naḥ śagmāsa upa yantu vājāḥ || 5 ||
asyed eṣā sumatiḥ paprathānābhavat pūrvyā bhūmanā gauḥ |
asya sanīḻā asurasya yonau samāna ā bharaṇe bibhramāṇāḥ || 6 ||
kiṁ svid vanaṁ ka u sa vṛkṣa āsa yato dyāvāpṛthivī niṣṭatakṣuḥ |
saṁtasthāne ajare itaūtī ahāni pūrvīr uṣaso jaranta || 7 ||
naitāvad enā paro anyad asty ukṣā sa dyāvāpṛthivī bibharti |
tvacam pavitraṁ kṛṇuta svadhāvān yad īṁ sūryaṁ na harito vahanti || 8 ||
stego na kṣām aty eti pṛthvīm mihaṁ na vāto vi ha vāti bhūma |
mitro yatra varuṇo ajyamāno 'gnir vane na vy asṛṣṭa śokam || 9 ||
starīr yat sūta sadyo ajyamānā vyathir avyathīḥ kṛṇuta svagopā |
putro yat pūrvaḥ pitror janiṣṭa śamyāṁ gaur jagāra yad dha pṛcchān || 10 ||
uta kaṇvaṁ nṛṣadaḥ putram āhur uta śyāvo dhanam ādatta vājī |
pra kṛṣṇāya ruśad apinvatodhar ṛtam atra nakir asmā apīpet || 11 ||
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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