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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 600 of 1027

Mandala 7: HYMN LXXXIV. Indra-Varuṇa.

1.KINGS, Indra-Varuṇa, I would turn you hither to this our sacrifice with gifts and homage. Held in both arms the ladle, dropping fatness, goes of itself to you whose forms are varied.

2.Dyaus quickens and promotes your high dominion who bind with bonds not wrought of rope or cordage. Far from us still be Varuṇa’s displeasure may Indra give us spacious room to dwell in.

3.Make ye our sacrifice fair amid the assemblies: make ye our prayers approved among our princes. May God-sent riches come for our possession: further ye us with your delightful succours.

4.O Indra-Varuṇa, vouchsafe us riches with store of treasure, food, and every blessing; For the Āditya, banisher of falsehood, the Hero, dealeth wealth in boundless plenty.

5.May this my song reach Varuṇa and Indra, and, strongly urging, win me sons and offspring. To the Gods’ banquet may we go with riches. Preserve us evermore, ye Gods, with blessings.

Asked of Guide

Why are Indra and Varuṇa paired together in this hymn?

The hymn addresses Indra-Varuṇa as a joint divinity who receives the sacrificer’s ladle and gifts, asking them to “vouchsafe us riches” and to make the sacrifice “fair amid the assemblies.” Their pairing presents complementary powers: Indra as the heroic granter of wealth and Varuṇa as the moral sky‑upholder whose displeasure must be kept far away.

This combination appears elsewhere in the Veda where kingship and cosmic order overlap; compare Rig Veda Mandala 1 where cooperation of warrior and sovereign forces secures prosperity. The hymn therefore invokes a single, cooperative force to ensure offspring, treasure, and safe dwelling.

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