Hymn to Varuṇa
Rigveda II.28 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 2 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.
O Varuṇa, all-seeing sovereign! Thine eye looketh upon all the world. There is nowhere to hide from thy gaze. Thou seest into the hearts of mortals; thou knowest our every thought, our every deed, our every secret intention. Nothing escapeth thy notice.
We come before thee now in confession, for we have sinned. We have spoken false words when truth would have been meet. We have harboured thoughts of anger and malice. We have done harm to those who did not deserve it. We have turned away from the righteous path. Our transgressions are many, and thy knowledge of them is complete.
Yet we come not in despair, for we know that thou art just and merciful. Thy anger is terrible, and thy punishment is severe for those who persist in wickedness. But thou art also compassionate toward those who repent and seek thy forgiveness. We throw ourselves upon thy mercy.
Forgive us, O mighty Varuṇa! Let thy wrath turn away from us. We have learned the folly of our ways. We have seen the error of our conduct. We pledge ourselves anew to walk in righteousness. We vow to speak truth. We commit ourselves to live in accordance with thy laws.
Thou art the upholder of ṛta, the cosmic order. We too wish to uphold this order. We wish to live as thou hast ordained. We wish to be just, honest, and honourable in all our dealings. Help us to achieve this. Give us the strength to overcome our weaknesses.
Take pity upon us, O sovereign lord! Grant us forgiveness. Grant us guidance. Grant us the wisdom to live rightly and the courage to maintain our pledges. Let not thy judgment be against us, but let thy mercy shelter us. Accept our confession and our repentance.
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 II.28
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.
idaṁ kaver ādityasya svarājo viśvāni sānty abhy astu mahnā |
ati yo mandro yajathāya devaḥ sukīrtim bhikṣe varuṇasya bhūreḥ || 1 ||
tava vrate subhagāsaḥ syāma svādhyo varuṇa tuṣṭuvāṁsaḥ |
upāyana uṣasāṁ gomatīnām agnayo na jaramāṇā anu dyūn || 2 ||
tava syāma puruvīrasya śarmann uruśaṁsasya varuṇa praṇetaḥ |
yūyaṁ naḥ putrā aditer adabdhā abhi kṣamadhvaṁ yujyāya devāḥ || 3 ||
pra sīm ādityo asṛjad vidhartām̐ ṛtaṁ sindhavo varuṇasya yanti |
na śrāmyanti na vi mucanty ete vayo na paptū raghuyā parijman || 4 ||
vi mac chrathāya raśanām ivāga ṛdhyāma te varuṇa khām ṛtasya |
mā tantuś chedi vayato dhiyam me mā mātrā śāry apasaḥ pura ṛtoḥ || 5 ||
apo su myakṣa varuṇa bhiyasam mat samrāḻ ṛtāvo 'nu mā gṛbhāya |
dāmeva vatsād vi mumugdhy aṁho nahi tvad āre nimiṣaś caneśe || 6 ||
mā no vadhair varuṇa ye ta iṣṭāv enaḥ kṛṇvantam asura bhrīṇanti |
mā jyotiṣaḥ pravasathāni ganma vi ṣū mṛdhaḥ śiśratho jīvase naḥ || 7 ||
namaḥ purā te varuṇota nūnam utāparaṁ tuvijāta bravāma |
tve hi kam parvate na śritāny apracyutāni dūḻabha vratāni || 8 ||
para ṛṇā sāvīr adha matkṛtāni māhaṁ rājann anyakṛtena bhojam |
avyuṣṭā in nu bhūyasīr uṣāsa ā no jīvān varuṇa tāsu śādhi || 9 ||
yo me rājan yujyo vā sakhā vā svapne bhayam bhīrave mahyam āha |
steno vā yo dipsati no vṛko vā tvaṁ tasmād varuṇa pāhy asmān || 10 ||
māham maghono varuṇa priyasya bhūridāvna ā vidaṁ śūnam āpeḥ |
mā rāyo rājan suyamād ava sthām bṛhad vadema vidathe suvīrāḥ || 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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