For it is they who attain to the undistorted force and the entire mightiness. Then shall thy humanity become as if the workings of these gods; it is as if the visible heaven of light2 were founded in thee.Sri Aurobindo
The Secret of the Veda
with Selected Hymns
The Fifth Hymn to Mitra-Varuna
The Givers of Self-Rule
[The Rishi invokes Varuna, the vast form of the Truth, and Mitra the beloved, godhead of its harmonies and large bliss, who conquer for us the perfect force of our true and infinite being, to change our imperfect human nature into the image of their divine workings. Then the solar Heaven of the Truth is manifested within us, its wide pasture of herding illuminations becomes the field of journeying of our chariots, the high thoughts of the seers, their purified discernment, their rapid inspirations become ours, our very earth becomes the world of that vast Truth. For then there is the perfect movement, the transcendence of this darkness of sin and suffering. We arrive at self-empire, a rich, full and vast possession of our infinite being.]
5.66.1
आ चि॑कितान सु॒क्रतू॑ दे॒वौ म॑र्त रि॒शाद॑सा ।
वरु॑णाय ऋ॒तपे॑शसे दधी॒त प्रय॑से म॒हे ॥१॥
ā cikitāna sukratū iti su-kratū devau marta riśādasā
varuṇāya ṛta-peśase dadhīta prayase mahe
O mortal who awakenest to knowledge, call to thee the two godheads who are perfect in will and destroyers of thy enemy. Direct your thoughts to Varuna of whom Truth is the form and to the great Delight.1
5.66.2
ता हि क्ष॒त्रमवि॑ह्रुतं स॒म्यग॑सु॒र्य१́माशा॑ते ।
अध॑ व्र॒तेव॒ मानु॑षं॒ स्व१́र्ण धा॑यि दर्श॒तम् ॥२॥
tā hi kṣatram avi-hrutam samyak asuryam āśāte iti
adha vratā-iva mānuṣam svaḥ na dhāyi darśatam
For it is they who attain to the undistorted force and the entire mightiness. Then shall thy humanity become as if the workings of these gods; it is as if the visible heaven of light2 were founded in thee.
5.66.3
ता वा॒मेषे॒ रथा॑नामु॒र्वीं गव्यू॑तिमेषाम् ।
रा॒तह॑व्यस्य सुष्टु॒तिं द॒धृक्स्तोमै॑र्मनामहे ॥३॥
tā vām eṣe rathānām urvīm gavyūtim eṣām
rāta-havyasya su-stutim dadhṛk stomaiḥ manāmahe
Therefore you, O gods, I desire,– for the rushing of these chariots your wide pasture of the herds. Forcefully by our hymns our minds seize on his perfect affirmation when the god receives our bounteous offerings.
5.66.4
अधा॒ हि काव्या॑ यु॒वं दक्ष॑स्य पू॒र्भिर॑द्भुता ।
नि के॒तुना॒ जना॑नां चि॒केथे॑ पूतदक्षसा ॥४॥
adha hi kāvyā yuvam dakṣasya pūḥbhiḥ adbhutā
ni ketunā janānām cikethe iti pūta-dakṣasā
Then indeed, O transcendent godheads, you conquer the seer-wisdoms by the full floodings of the illumined discernment; you perceive knowledge for these human creatures by a perception in which the judgment is purified.
5.66.5
तदृ॒तं पृ॑थिवि बृ॒हच्छ्र॑वए॒ष ऋषी॑णाम् ।
ज्र॒य॒सा॒नावरं॑ पृ॒थ्वति॑ क्षरन्ति॒ याम॑भिः ॥५॥
tat ṛtam pṛthivi bṛhat śravaḥ-eṣe ṛṣīṇām
jrayasānau aram pṛthu ati kṣaranti yāmabhiḥ
O wide Earth, that Vast, that Truth for the movement of inspired knowledge of the sages! Widely the Twain speed with full capacity, our chariots pass streaming beyond3 in their travellings.
5.66.6
आ यद्वा॑मीयचक्षसा॒ मित्र॑ व॒यं च॑ सू॒रयः॑ ।
व्यचि॑ष्ठे बहु॒पाय्ये॒ यते॑महि स्व॒राज्ये॑ ॥६॥
ā yat vām īya-cakṣasā mitrā vayam ca sūrayaḥ
vyaciṣṭhe bahu-pāyye yatemahi sva-rājye
When, O Mitra, you have your far-voyaging vision and we are the illumined seers, may we arrive in the effort of our journey to a self-empire4 spread out widely open and governing its multitudes.
1 The satisfaction given by Mitra, founding the large bliss of the Truth-plane. Varuna of the infinities gives the wide form, Mitra of the harmonies the perfect joy of the energies of the Truth, its complete mightiness.
2 Or Swar of the vision, the world of light where is the full vision of the Truth.
3 Beyond the darkness and the enemies, the suffering and evil of the lower existence.
4 Swarajya. Swarajya and Samrajya, perfect empire within and without, rule of our inner being and mastery of our environment and circumstances, was the ideal of the Vedic sages, attainable only by ascending beyond our mortal mentality to the luminous Truth of our being, the supramental infinities on the spiritual plane of our existence.