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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 219 of 1027

Mandala 2: HYMN XXVIII. Varuṇa

1.THIS laud of the self-radiant wise Āditya shall be supreme o’er all that is in greatness. 1 beg renown of Varuṇa the Mighty, the God exceeding kind to him who worships.

2.Having extolled thee. Varuṇa, with thoughtful care may we have high fortune in thy service, Singing thy praises like the fires at coming, day after day, of mornings rich in cattle.

3.May we be in thy keeping, O thou Leader wide-ruling Varuṇa, Lord of many heroes. O sons of Aditi, for ever faithful, pardon us, Gods, admit us to your friendship.

4.He made them flow, the Āditya, the Sustainer: the rivers run by Varuṇa’s commandment. These feel no weariness, nor cease from flowing: swift have they flown like birds in air around us.

5.Loose me from sin as from a bond that binds me: may we swell, Varuṇa, thy spring of Order. Let not my thread, while I weave song, be severed, nor my work’s sum, before the time, be shattered.

6.Far from me, Varuṇa, remove all danger accept me graciously, thou Holy Sovran. Cast off, like cords that hold a calf, my troubles: I am not even mine eyelid’s lord without thee.

7.Strike us not, Varuṇa, with those dread weapons which, Asura, at thy bidding wound the sinner. Let us not pass away from light to exile. Scatter, that we may live, the men who hate us

8.O mighty Varuṇa, now and hereafter, even as of old, will we speak forth our worship. For in thyself, invincible God, thy statutes ne’er to be moved are fixed as on a mountain.

9.Move far from me what sins I have committed: let me not suffer, King, for guilt of others. Full many a morn remains to dawn upon us: in these, O Varuṇa, while we live direct us.

10.O King, whoever, be he friend or kinsman, hath threatened me affrighted in my slumber- If any wolf or robber fain would harm us, therefrom, O Varuṇa, give thou us protection.

11.May I not live O Varuṇa, to witness my wealthy, liberal dear friend’s destitution. King, may I never lack well-ordered riches. Loud may we speak, with heroes, in assembly.

Asked of Guide

Why does the speaker keep asking Varuṇa to remove sins and dangers repeatedly?

The hymn shows the speaker treating Varuṇa as a sustaining moral and physical sovereign whose statutes keep order: he asks Varuṇa to “loose me from sin,” to “move far from me what sins I have committed,” and to cast off dangers “like cords that hold a calf.” Those repeated petitions underline dependence on Varuṇa for both ritual purity and everyday security — rivers, fortunes, assemblies, and even the weaver’s thread are held by his care.

This pattern matches other Rig Veda hymns that present gods as cosmic maintainers, for example in Mandala 1 where Indra’s protection secures prosperity and song. The repetition functions as emphasis and as a liturgical catalogue of needs — moral pardon, protection from enemies, continued wealth and rightful place among heroes.

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