Hymn to Varuṇa
Rigveda VII.66 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 7 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 Mitra and Varuṇa, ye who are mighty and terrible! Ye who stand as pillars holding up the heavens!
In the beginning, when time itself was young, ye took your place in the sky. Ye have remained there throughout all the ages. Ye shall remain there until the end of time itself!
The gods bow before you; the demons flee from you. The immortals themselves acknowledge your supremacy!
Thou, O Mitra, art gentle and kind! Thou dost watch over us like a father watches over his children. Thou art quick to forgive; thou art merciful to the repentant. The whole world loveth thee, O kindly one!
Thou, O Varuṇa, art terrible and just! Thou dost bind with thy cosmic rope all those who break the law. Thy anger is terrible; thy punishment is swift. Yet thou art not cruel; thou art merely just!
Together, ye maintain the cosmic order! Together, ye hold chaos at bay! Together, ye make possible all life and all creation!
We bow before you, O mighty ones! We acknowledge your supremacy! Accept this hymn of praise from your grateful children!
Protect us from all evil! Keep the demons and the curse-bringers at a distance! Grant us prosperity and long life! Make our children wise and brave! Make our fields fertile and our harvests rich!
O Mitra and Varuṇa, mighty sovereigns, receive our prayer and grant us all that we ask!
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 VII.66
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.
pra mitrayor varuṇayoḥ stomo na etu śūṣyaḥ |
namasvān tuvijātayoḥ || 1 ||
yā dhārayanta devāḥ sudakṣā dakṣapitarā |
asuryāya pramahasā || 2 ||
tā naḥ stipā tanūpā varuṇa jaritṝṇām |
mitra sādhayataṁ dhiyaḥ || 3 ||
yad adya sūra udite 'nāgā mitro aryamā |
suvāti savitā bhagaḥ || 4 ||
suprāvīr astu sa kṣayaḥ pra nu yāman sudānavaḥ |
ye no aṁho 'tipiprati || 5 ||
uta svarājo aditir adabdhasya vratasya ye |
maho rājāna īśate || 6 ||
prati vāṁ sūra udite mitraṁ gṛṇīṣe varuṇam |
aryamaṇaṁ riśādasam || 7 ||
rāyā hiraṇyayā matir iyam avṛkāya śavase |
iyaṁ viprā medhasātaye || 8 ||
te syāma deva varuṇa te mitra sūribhiḥ saha |
iṣaṁ svaś ca dhīmahi || 9 ||
bahavaḥ sūracakṣaso 'gnijihvā ṛtāvṛdhaḥ |
trīṇi ye yemur vidathāni dhītibhir viśvāni paribhūtibhiḥ || 10 ||
vi ye dadhuḥ śaradam māsam ād ahar yajñam aktuṁ cād ṛcam |
anāpyaṁ varuṇo mitro aryamā kṣatraṁ rājāna āśata || 11 ||
tad vo adya manāmahe sūktaiḥ sūra udite |
yad ohate varuṇo mitro aryamā yūyam ṛtasya rathyaḥ || 12 ||
ṛtāvāna ṛtajātā ṛtāvṛdho ghorāso anṛtadviṣaḥ |
teṣāṁ vaḥ sumne succhardiṣṭame naraḥ syāma ye ca sūrayaḥ || 13 ||
ud u tyad darśataṁ vapur diva eti pratihvare |
yad īm āśur vahati deva etaśo viśvasmai cakṣase aram || 14 ||
śīrṣṇaḥ-śīrṣṇo jagatas tasthuṣas patiṁ samayā viśvam ā rajaḥ |
sapta svasāraḥ suvitāya sūryaṁ vahanti harito rathe || 15 ||
tac cakṣur devahitaṁ śukram uccarat |
paśyema śaradaḥ śataṁ jīvema śaradaḥ śatam || 16 ||
kāvyebhir adābhyā yātaṁ varuṇa dyumat |
mitraś ca somapītaye || 17 ||
divo dhāmabhir varuṇa mitraś cā yātam adruhā |
pibataṁ somam ātujī || 18 ||
ā yātam mitrāvaruṇā juṣāṇāv āhutiṁ narā |
pātaṁ somam ṛtāvṛdhā || 19 ||
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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