Rig Veda · 420 of 1027
Mandala 5: HYMN LXVI. Mitra-Varuṇa.
1.O SAPIENT man, call the Two Gods, the very wise, who slay the foe. For Varuṇa, whose form is Law, place offerings for his great delight.
2.For they have won unbroken sway in full perfection, power divine. And, like high laws, the world of man hath been made beautiful as light.
3.Therefore we praise you that your cars may travel far in front of ours- You who accept the eulogy of Ratahavya with his hymns.
4.And ye show wMom, Wondrous Gods with fulness of intellIgence. By men’s discernment are Ve marked, O ye whose might is purified.
5.This is the Law sublime, O Earth: to aid the Ṛṣis’ toil for fame The Two, wide-spreading, are prepared. They come with ample overflow.
6.Mitra, ye Gods with wandering eyes, would that the worshippers and we Might strive to reach the realm ye rule, most spacious and protected well,
Asked of Guide
Why does the hymn call Mitra and Varuṇa 'the Two Gods' and link them to Law?
The chapter presents Mitra and Varuṇa as a paired divine principle governing order: Varuṇa is explicitly “whose form is Law,” and together they “have won unbroken sway in full perfection.” The poets praise them because their rule makes “the world of man…beautiful as light,” so invoking the Two invites protection, right ordering, and the prosperity that follows lawful harmony.
The hymn also ties ritual praise to cosmic governance: offerings and eulogies by Ratahavya aim to secure the gods’ “ample overflow” and safe realms for worshippers. This pairing echoes themes in later Vedic hymns and in the Upanishads, where cosmic order (ṛta/ṛta→dharma) is sustained through proper speech and ritual, rewarding those who align with it.
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