Hymn to Varuṇa
Rigveda VII.88 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.
Once Vasiṣṭha, the great seer, did descend to the banks of a river. The sun was setting; the sky was aflame with colors that no mortal tongue can name. And there, upon the water, he saw a boat—not a boat of wood and rope, but a vessel woven from light itself, hovering just above the surface of the stream.
Varuṇa himself stood at the helm, his form radiant with divine power. Behind him, the waters parted as though a pathway were being opened through the very substance of the world. The boat moved neither with oars nor with sail, but glided forth as if the cosmos itself were carrying it.
"Come, O Vasiṣṭha," spake the sovereign lord. "Let us journey together through the waters of becoming, through the currents of existence, through the depths where all things originate."
And Vasiṣṭha, filled with courage and reverence, did board the vessel. As he stepped aboard, his mortal form was transformed. He was still himself, and yet he was more than himself. He could perceive what mortals cannot perceive; he could see the very foundations upon which the world doth rest.
The boat sailed onward, deeper and deeper into the cosmic waters. The light dimmed; the air grew thick with mystery. All around him, Vasiṣṭha could feel the presence of powers vast and incomprehensible. These were the forces that govern the universe—the laws that ordain the rising and setting of the sun, the flowing of the rivers, the birth and death of all living creatures.
But he was not afraid. For Varuṇa was with him, and the great god's presence was a shield and a comfort. The boat sailed on, and as it sailed, Vasiṣṭha understood. He understood the nature of time and eternity; he understood the bond between the mortal and the divine; he understood the mystery that underlieth all existence.
At last, the boat came to rest in a harbor that existeth in no earthly geography. And there, Varuṇa spake unto Vasiṣṭha, saying: "Now thou hast seen the truth. Carry this knowledge back with thee to thy people. Tell them that all things are ordered; all things are lawful; all things are purposeful. And tell them that he who walketh in righteousness shall never be lost, for he saileth in my boat."
And Vasiṣṭha bowed low and returned to the earthly shore. But he was changed. His eyes had beheld the face of the sovereign; his heart had touched the infinite. And from that day forward, he became the greatest of all seers, the keeper of the deepest wisdom.
O Varuṇa! Grant unto us, thy worshippers, even a glimpse of the truth that thou didst reveal unto Vasiṣṭha! Let us not be lost in the darkness of ignorance! Carry us in thy boat through the waters of this world, that we may arrive safely at the distant shore!
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.88
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 śundhyuvaṁ varuṇāya preṣṭhām matiṁ vasiṣṭha mīḻhuṣe bharasva |
ya īm arvāñcaṁ karate yajatraṁ sahasrāmaghaṁ vṛṣaṇam bṛhantam || 1 ||
adhā nv asya saṁdṛśaṁ jaganvān agner anīkaṁ varuṇasya maṁsi |
sva1r yad aśmann adhipā u andho 'bhi mā vapur dṛśaye ninīyāt || 2 ||
ā yad ruhāva varuṇaś ca nāvam pra yat samudram īrayāva madhyam |
adhi yad apāṁ snubhiś carāva pra preṅkha īṅkhayāvahai śubhe kam || 3 ||
vasiṣṭhaṁ ha varuṇo nāvy ādhād ṛṣiṁ cakāra svapā mahobhiḥ |
stotāraṁ vipraḥ sudinatve ahnāṁ yān nu dyāvas tatanan yād uṣāsaḥ || 4 ||
kva1 tyāni nau sakhyā babhūvuḥ sacāvahe yad avṛkam purā cit |
bṛhantam mānaṁ varuṇa svadhāvaḥ sahasradvāraṁ jagamā gṛhaṁ te || 5 ||
ya āpir nityo varuṇa priyaḥ san tvām āgāṁsi kṛṇavat sakhā te |
mā ta enasvanto yakṣin bhujema yandhi ṣmā vipraḥ stuvate varūtham || 6 ||
dhruvāsu tvāsu kṣitiṣu kṣiyanto vy a1smat pāśaṁ varuṇo mumocat |
avo vanvānā aditer upasthād yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ || 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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