Hymn to Varuṇa
Rigveda V.64 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 5 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.
From the treasure-house of heaven ye release the waters! Mitra-Varuṇa, ye masters of the rain, the flood, the river's surge. The clouds hang heavy with thy gifts; the earth drinketh deep and groweth fertile. Behold the grains that rise from the moistened soil—is this not thy work?
Winter drieth the land; the fields become as dust. The herds cry out in thirst; the women weep for water. Then thou, O Varuṇa, dost open the floodgates of the sky. The rain falleth, the streams run full, life returneth. The cattle fatten; the seeds sprout; the world is reborn.
Yet thou givest water in measure, O wise one! Too much, and the rivers swell to destroy; too little, and the earth cracketh. But thy hand holdeth the balance true. Thy cosmic governance maintaineth the middle path. By thy wisdom, the seasons turn; by thy will, the waters flow where they are needed.
We praise thee, masters of the rain! Ye who givest drink to the thirsty earth, who fillest the well-springs and the cisterns of men. Our herds depend upon thy mercy; our fields await thy blessing. Without thee, the world would be as ash.
Accept our offerings, O Mitra! Accept our hymn, O Varuṇa! Let thy rains come in their season. Bless the fields of the faithful; let drought fall upon the lands of the wicked. Teach us to use thy waters wisely, to neither waste nor hoard thy gifts. Let justice flow as the rivers flow, eternal and life-giving.
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 V.64
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.
varuṇaṁ vo riśādasam ṛcā mitraṁ havāmahe |
pari vrajeva bāhvor jaganvāṁsā svarṇaram || 1 ||
tā bāhavā sucetunā pra yantam asmā arcate |
śevaṁ hi jāryaṁ vāṁ viśvāsu kṣāsu joguve || 2 ||
yan nūnam aśyāṁ gatim mitrasya yāyām pathā |
asya priyasya śarmaṇy ahiṁsānasya saścire || 3 ||
yuvābhyām mitrāvaruṇopamaṁ dheyām ṛcā |
yad dha kṣaye maghonāṁ stotṝṇāṁ ca spūrdhase || 4 ||
ā no mitra sudītibhir varuṇaś ca sadhastha ā |
sve kṣaye maghonāṁ sakhīnāṁ ca vṛdhase || 5 ||
yuvaṁ no yeṣu varuṇa kṣatram bṛhac ca bibhṛthaḥ |
uru ṇo vājasātaye kṛtaṁ rāye svastaye || 6 ||
ucchantyām me yajatā devakṣatre ruśadgavi |
sutaṁ somaṁ na hastibhir ā paḍbhir dhāvataṁ narā bibhratāv arcanānasam || 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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