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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 723 of 1027

Mandala 9: HYMN XI. Indra-Varuṇa.

1.IN offerings poured to you, O Indra-Varuṇa, these shares of yours stream forth to glorify your state. Ye haste to the libations at each sacrifice when ye assist the worshipper who sheds the juice.

2.The waters and the plants, O Indra-Varuṇa, had efficacious vigour, and attained to might: Ye who have gone beyond the path of middle air,—no godless man is worthy to be called your foe.

3.True is your Krsa’s word, Indra and Varuṇa: The seven holy voices pour a wave of meath. For their sake, Lords of splendour! aid the pious man who, unbewildered, keeps you ever in his thoughts.

4.Dropping oil, sweet with Soma, pouring forth their stream, are the Seven Sisters in the seat of sacrifice. These, dropping oil, are yours, O Indra-Varuṇa: with these enrich with gifts and help the worshipper.

5.To our great happiness have we ascribed to these Two Bright Ones truthfulness, great strength, and majesty. O Lords of splendour, aid us through the Three-times-Seven, as we pour holy oil, O Indra-Varuṇa.

6.What ye in time of old Indra and Varuṇa, gave Ṛṣis revelation, thought, and power of song, And places which the wise made, weaving sacrifice,—these through my spirit’s fervid glow have I beheld.,

7.O Indra-Varuṇa, grant to the worshippers cheerfulness void of pride, and wealth to nourish them.

Asked of Guide

Why are Indra and Varuṇa addressed together as 'Two Bright Ones' here?

The hymn pairs Indra and Varuṇa as complementary divine powers who jointly receive the libations and empower the worshipper: “These, dropping oil, are yours, O Indra-Varuṇa” and the poets ask both to “aid the pious man.” The pairing highlights a shared role in ritual efficacy — bestowing revelation, song, strength, and the fruitful flow of offerings that sustain the sacrificial world.

This joint invocation recalls other Rigveda hymns where paired gods act as a cooperating cosmic team, and it echoes the way the Brāhmaṇa layer treats ritual function as distributed across deities. Read alongside the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, the ritual logic becomes clearer: ritual gifts are effective when complementary powers are invoked together.

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