Hymn to Varuṇa
Rigveda V.67 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.
Lo, behold their golden palace! Mitra-Varuṇa sit in splendor upon thrones of imperishable light. The walls of their dwelling are wrought from the substance of heaven; the pillars are the mountains themselves. From that seat of glory, they look down upon all the worlds.
Their vestments are woven from the clouds; their crowns are the sun and moon. They hold the scepters of judgment in their hands. Before them standeth the council of the gods, and all give ear to their words. What they decree is done; what they forbid remaineth forbidden.
The palace shineth with a radiance that mortal eyes cannot bear. Yet the faithful are granted a glimpse of its splendor, and their hearts are filled with awe and reverence. The wicked man who entereth that place is consumed by its fire; only the pure can dwell within its halls.
From that high seat, the twin lords observe the deeds of men. Nothing is hidden from them; nothing is forgotten. They see the king upon his throne and the beggar upon the road. They see the priest at the altar and the merchant in the market-place. All are equal before their all-seeing gaze.
O Mitra! O Varuṇa! Grant us the grace to approach thy palace with humility and reverence. Let us be found worthy to stand in thy presence. Let the light of thy glory shine upon us and purify our hearts. Though we are but mortals, unworthy and brief-lived, still we reach out toward thee, drawn by the power of thy majesty and the sweetness of thy mercy.
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.67
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.
baḻ itthā deva niṣkṛtam ādityā yajatam bṛhat |
varuṇa mitrāryaman varṣiṣṭhaṁ kṣatram āśāthe || 1 ||
ā yad yoniṁ hiraṇyayaṁ varuṇa mitra sadathaḥ |
dhartārā carṣaṇīnāṁ yantaṁ sumnaṁ riśādasā || 2 ||
viśve hi viśvavedaso varuṇo mitro aryamā |
vratā padeva saścire pānti martyaṁ riṣaḥ || 3 ||
te hi satyā ṛtaspṛśa ṛtāvāno jane-jane |
sunīthāsaḥ sudānavo 'ṁhoś cid urucakrayaḥ || 4 ||
ko nu vām mitrāstuto varuṇo vā tanūnām |
tat su vām eṣate matir atribhya eṣate matiḥ || 5 ||
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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