the battle-steeds and milk in the cows; in hearts he put will, the fire in the waters,1 the sun in heaven and the Soma-plant on the mountain.Sri Aurobindo
The Secret of the Veda
with Selected Hymns
Hymn to Varuna
□ Hide link-numbers of differed places
[In this hymn there is throughout a sustained double sense. In the exoteric Varuna is hymned as the Asura, omniscient and omnipotent lord and creator, the Godhead in his creative wisdom and might forming the world and maintaining the law of things in the earth and mid-air and heavens. In the esoteric, in which the physical phenomena of the exoteric become symbols, the infinite Godhead is hymned in his all-pervading wisdom and purity opening the three worlds of our being to the Sun of knowledge, pouring down the streams of the Truth, purifying the soul from the falsehood of the lower being and its sin. The hymn is rendered here successively in its exoteric and its esoteric significance.]
(1) To the Omniscient Creator
5.85.1
प्र स॒म्राजे॑ बृ॒हद॑र्चा गभी॒रं ब्रह्म॑ प्रि॒यं वरु॑णाय श्रु॒ताय॑ ।
वि यो ज॒घान॑ शमि॒तेव॒ चर्मो॑प॒स्तिरे॑ पृथि॒वीं सूर्या॑य ॥१॥
pra sam-rāje bṛhat arca gabhīram brahma priyam varuṇāya śrutāya
vi yaḥ jaghāna śamitā-iva carma upa-stire pṛthivīm sūryāya
Sing thou the word vast and profound and dear to renowned Varuna, the All-ruler, to him who clove away, even as the cleaver of beasts a skin, that he might spread out the earth under the sun.
5.85.2
वने॑षु॒ व्य१́न्तरि॑क्षं ततान॒ वाज॒मर्व॑त्सु॒ पय॑ उ॒स्रिया॑सु ।
हृ॒त्सु क्रतुं॒ वरु॑णो अ॒प्स्व१́ग्निं दि॒वि सूर्य॑मदधा॒त्सोम॒मद्रौ॑ ॥२॥
vaneṣu vi antarikṣam tatāna vājam arvat-su payaḥ usriyāsu
hṛt-su kratum varuṇaḥ ap-su agnim divi sūryam adadhāt somam adrau
He spread out the mid-air on the tree-tops, he put strength in the battle-steeds and milk in the cows; in hearts he put will, the fire in the waters,1 the sun in heaven and the Soma-plant on the mountain.
5.85.3
नी॒चीन॑बारं॒ वरु॑ण॒: कव॑न्धं॒ प्र स॑सर्ज॒ रोद॑सी अ॒न्तरि॑क्षम् ।
तेन॒ विश्व॑स्य॒ भुव॑नस्य॒ राजा॒ यवं॒ न वृ॒ष्टिर्व्यु॑नत्ति॒ भूम॑ ॥३॥
nīcīna-bāram varuṇaḥ kavandham pra sasarja rodasī iti antarikṣam
tena viśvasya bhuvanasya rājā yavam na vṛṣṭiḥ vi unatti bhūma
Varuna poured forth over earth and heaven and the mid-air the holder of the waters whose windows open downward; by him the King of all the world floods the earth as the rain floods a field of barley.
5.85.4
उ॒नत्ति॒ भूमिं॑ पृथि॒वीमु॒त द्यां य॒दा दु॒ग्धं वरु॑णो॒ वष्ट्यादित् ।
सम॒भ्रेण॑ वसत॒ पर्व॑तासस्तविषी॒यन्त॑: श्रथयन्त वी॒राः ॥४॥
unatti bhūmim pṛthivīm uta dyām yadā dugdham varuṇaḥ vaṣṭi āt it
sam abhreṇa vasata parvatāsaḥ taviṣī-yantaḥ śrathayanta vīrāḥ
Varuna floods the wide earth and heaven, yea, when he desires the milk of heaven, he pours it forth; the mountains are clothed utterly with cloud, the heroes of storm2 put forth their strength and all is cast down before them.
5.85.5
इ॒मामू॒ ष्वा॑सु॒रस्य॑ श्रु॒तस्य॑ म॒हीं मा॒यां वरु॑णस्य॒ प्र वो॑चम् ।
माने॑नेव तस्थि॒वाँ अ॒न्तरि॑क्षे॒ वि यो म॒मे पृ॑थि॒वीं सूर्ये॑ण ॥५॥
imām ūm̐ iti su āsurasya śrutasya mahīm māyām varuṇasya pra vocam
mānena-iva tasthi-vān antarikṣe vi yaḥ mame pṛthivīm sūryeṇa
I have declared this vast creative wisdom3 of the famous and mighty One, even Varuna, he who stood in mid-air as with a measuring-rod and wide he measured out the earth with the sun.
5.85.6
इ॒मामू॒ नु क॒वित॑मस्य मा॒यां म॒हीं दे॒वस्य॒ नकि॒रा द॑धर्ष ।
एकं॒ यदु॒द्ना न पृ॒णन्त्येनी॑रासि॒ञ्चन्ती॑र॒वन॑यः समु॒द्रम् ॥६॥
imām ūm̐ iti nu kavi-tamasya māyām mahīm devasya nakiḥ ā dadharṣa
ekam yat udnā na pṛṇanti enīḥ ā-siñcantīḥ avanayaḥ samudram
Vast is this wisdom of the divine and the greatest of seers and there is none who can do violence against it; therefore the Ocean is one, yet all these rushing rivers pour themselves into it and cannot fill it.
5.85.7
अ॒र्य॒म्यं॑ वरुण मि॒त्र्यं॑ वा॒ सखा॑यं वा॒ सद॒मिद्भ्रात॑रं वा ।
वे॒शं वा॒ नित्यं॑ वरु॒णार॑णं वा॒ यत्सी॒माग॑श्चकृ॒मा शि॒श्रथ॒स्तत् ॥७॥
aryamyam varuṇa mitryam vā sakhāyam vā sadam it bhrātaram vā
veśam vā nityam varuṇa araṇam vā yat sīm āgaḥ cakṛma śiśrathaḥ tat
Whatsoever sin we have done against the law of Aryaman or the law of Mitra, against brother or friend, against constant neighbour or enemy,4 cast it away from us, O Varuna.
5.85.8
कि॒त॒वासो॒ यद्रि॑रि॒पुर्न दी॒वि यद्वा॑ घा स॒त्यमु॒त यन्न वि॒द्म ।
सर्वा॒ ता वि ष्य॑ शिथि॒रेव॑ दे॒वाधा॑ ते स्याम वरुण प्रि॒यासः॑ ॥८॥
kitavāsaḥ yat riripuḥ na dīvi yat vā gha satyam uta yat na vidma
sarvā tā vi sya śithirā-iva deva adha te syāma varuṇa priyāsaḥ
The sin we have done like cunning gamesters who break the law of the play, or have done against the truth or what we have sinned in ignorance, all these cleave far from us, O god, like loose-hanging fruits: then shall we be beloved of thee, O Varuna.
(2) The Mighty Master of Infinite Wisdom
[The Rishi hymns Varuna as the Lord of infinite purity and wisdom who opens our earthly being to the unclouded light of the sun of knowledge, pours out the waters of the Truth upon all our triple existence mental, vital and physical and by its power removes all sin and evil and falsehood from our lives. He creates the free wideness of our vital being above our broken search for the delightful objects of our desire, sets the plenitude in our battling life-forces, the yield of heaven in the shining herds of 
thought; he has put will in our hearts, Agni the divine force in the waters of existence, the Sun of divine knowledge in the highest heaven of mind and the plant that yields the wine of delight on the many-plateaued mountain of our being. All these are the means by which we attain to immortality. He plans out all our physical existence by his wisdom according to the truth-light of the sun of knowledge and creates in us the unity of his own infinite existence and consciousness with all the seven rivers of the Truth-plane pouring their streams of knowledge into it without filling its infinity.]
5.85.1
प्र स॒म्राजे॑ बृ॒हद॑र्चा गभी॒रं ब्रह्म॑ प्रि॒यं वरु॑णाय श्रु॒ताय॑ ।
वि यो ज॒घान॑ शमि॒तेव॒ चर्मो॑प॒स्तिरे॑ पृथि॒वीं सूर्या॑य ॥१॥
pra sam-rāje bṛhat arca gabhīram brahma priyam varuṇāya śrutāya
vi yaḥ jaghāna śamitā-iva carma upa-stire pṛthivīm sūryāya
To Varuna of the far-heard inspirations, the all-ruling,5 sing bright the inspired word of the soul in its vastness and depth and delight; for he has cloven wide away the darkness, as one
that cleaves away a skin, that he may spread out our earth under his illumining sun.7
5.85.2
वने॑षु॒ व्य१́न्तरि॑क्षं ततान॒ वाज॒मर्व॑त्सु॒ पय॑ उ॒स्रिया॑सु ।
हृ॒त्सु क्रतुं॒ वरु॑णो अ॒प्स्व१́ग्निं दि॒वि सूर्य॑मदधा॒त्सोम॒मद्रौ॑ ॥२॥
vaneṣu vi antarikṣam tatāna vājam arvat-su payaḥ usriyāsu
hṛt-su kratum varuṇaḥ ap-su agnim divi sūryam adadhāt somam adrau
He has spread wide the mid-world above the forests of earth-delight;8 he has put his plenitude in our battle-steeds of life9 and their heavenly milk in our shining herds of knowledge.10 Varuna has put the will11 in our hearts, the divine fire12 in the waters,13 the Sun of Light in our heavens, the plant of Delight on the mountain of our being.14
5.85.3
नी॒चीन॑बारं॒ वरु॑ण॒: कव॑न्धं॒ प्र स॑सर्ज॒ रोद॑सी अ॒न्तरि॑क्षम् ।
तेन॒ विश्व॑स्य॒ भुव॑नस्य॒ राजा॒ यवं॒ न वृ॒ष्टिर्व्यु॑नत्ति॒ भूम॑ ॥३॥
nīcīna-bāram varuṇaḥ kavandham pra sasarja rodasī iti antarikṣam
tena viśvasya bhuvanasya rājā yavam na vṛṣṭiḥ vi unatti bhūma
Varuna has poured forth over our earth and heaven and 
mid-world the holder of wisdom with his doors opening downward;15 with him the king of all our being floods our earth like rain flooding the barley.
5.85.4
उ॒नत्ति॒ भूमिं॑ पृथि॒वीमु॒त द्यां य॒दा दु॒ग्धं वरु॑णो॒ वष्ट्यादित् ।
सम॒भ्रेण॑ वसत॒ पर्व॑तासस्तविषी॒यन्त॑: श्रथयन्त वी॒राः ॥४॥
unatti bhūmim pṛthivīm uta dyām yadā dugdham varuṇaḥ vaṣṭi āt it
sam abhreṇa vasata parvatāsaḥ taviṣī-yantaḥ śrathayanta vīrāḥ
He floods our earth in its wideness and our heaven, yea, Varuna when he desires that milk,16 pours it forth; the mountains are covered with the cloud, his heroes17 put forth their strength and cast it away.
5.85.5
इ॒मामू॒ ष्वा॑सु॒रस्य॑ श्रु॒तस्य॑ म॒हीं मा॒यां वरु॑णस्य॒ प्र वो॑चम् ।
माने॑नेव तस्थि॒वाँ अ॒न्तरि॑क्षे॒ वि यो म॒मे पृ॑थि॒वीं सूर्ये॑ण ॥५॥
imām ūm̐ iti su āsurasya śrutasya mahīm māyām varuṇasya pra vocam
mānena-iva tasthi-vān antarikṣe vi yaḥ mame pṛthivīm sūryeṇa
Vast is this wisdom which I declare of Varuna the far-heard, the mighty Lord, for he stands in our mid-world as with a measuring-rod and wide he measures out our earth with his illumining Sun.18
5.85.6
इ॒मामू॒ नु क॒वित॑मस्य मा॒यां म॒हीं दे॒वस्य॒ नकि॒रा द॑धर्ष ।
एकं॒ यदु॒द्ना न पृ॒णन्त्येनी॑रासि॒ञ्चन्ती॑र॒वन॑यः समु॒द्रम् ॥६॥
imām ūm̐ iti nu kavi-tamasya māyām mahīm devasya nakiḥ ā dadharṣa
ekam yat udnā na pṛṇanti enīḥ ā-siñcantīḥ avanayaḥ samudram
Vast is this wisdom of the godhead greatest in seer-knowledge and none can do violence to it; for into him, the one, the ocean, the bright fostering rivers19 pour their waters, yet they cannot fill him.
5.85.7
अ॒र्य॒म्यं॑ वरुण मि॒त्र्यं॑ वा॒ सखा॑यं वा॒ सद॒मिद्भ्रात॑रं वा ।
वे॒शं वा॒ नित्यं॑ वरु॒णार॑णं वा॒ यत्सी॒माग॑श्चकृ॒मा शि॒श्रथ॒स्तत् ॥७॥
aryamyam varuṇa mitryam vā sakhāyam vā sadam it bhrātaram vā
veśam vā nityam varuṇa araṇam vā yat sīm āgaḥ cakṛma śiśrathaḥ tat
All the sin that we have done against thee in thy power of Aryaman or thy power of Mitra or as brother or friend or the eternal indweller or the warrior,20 that cast away from us.
5.85.8
कि॒त॒वासो॒ यद्रि॑रि॒पुर्न दी॒वि यद्वा॑ घा स॒त्यमु॒त यन्न वि॒द्म ।
सर्वा॒ ता वि ष्य॑ शिथि॒रेव॑ दे॒वाधा॑ ते स्याम वरुण प्रि॒यासः॑ ॥८॥
kitavāsaḥ yat riripuḥ na dīvi yat vā gha satyam uta yat na vidma
sarvā tā vi sya śithirā-iva deva adha te syāma varuṇa priyāsaḥ
The sin we have done as cunning gamesters offend in their play, our sin against the truth and our sin by ignorance, all these cleave away like loosened things; then may we be dear to thee, O Varuna.
1 Sayana explains, either the electric fire in the water of the clouds or the submarine fire in the ocean.
2 vīrāḥ, the Heroes, here the Maruts as storm-gods.
3 Maya, with a strong sense of its root-significance, to measure, form, build or plan out.
4 Or, stranger.
5 The two epithets are intended to give the two sides of the divine being, all-knowledge and all-power; māyām āsurasya śrutasya. Man divinising himself has to become in the image of the godhead seer and king.
6 SABCL, volume 10: the one
“one” in original text in Arya, vol. 4, No 2, p.113.
7 The limitations of the physical mentality are rolled away and it is spread out in a great wideness to receive the revelations and inspirations of the light of the gnosis.
8 The forests or delightful growths of earth (vana means also pleasure) are the basis of the mid-world, the vital world in us which is the realm of Vayu, the Life-God. That is the world of the satisfaction of desires. This also is spread out in its full wideness, free from limitation, to receive the Ananda or divine delight by means of the knowledge and law of the Truth.
9 Arvatsu, meaning both “battlers, strivers” and “horses”.
10 Usriyāsu, meaning both “bright ones” and “cows”.
11 Kratu, the will to the divine work, the sacrificial will.
12 Agni, the fire of the divine Will which receives the sacrifice and becomes its priest.
13 The ocean of being or else the waters of Truth which descend from above.
14 Our existence is compared always to a mountain with many plateaus, each a level or plane of being.
15 The gnosis opens upward to receive the Infinite in its will and knowledge; here its doors open downwards to flood the lower being.
16 The milk of the Cow Aditi, the infinite consciousness.
17 The Maruts as life-powers attaining to full thought-knowledge; they help Indra to break the cloud or coverer, Vritra, and pour out the waters of Truth and also to bring the light hidden by Vala, that of the hidden sun. Here the two ideas are combined in another image.
18 Man lives in the physical being; Varuna brings the light of the gnosis into it and measures it out, that is, shapes and plans out our earth-existence in the measures of the Truth by means of the mind enlightened by the sun of gnosis: he takes his stand as the Asura in our vital plane, the link between mental and physical, there to receive the light and pass it on to the earth as a creative and determining force.
19 The seven rivers that descend from the Truth-plane, here called avanayaḥ, which has the same root-sense as dhenavaḥ, the fostering cows.
20 Against the Dasyus.