Sukta 68
Sukta 5.68
Atri (Ātreya)
Mitra-Varuṇa
Gāyatrī (probable for this short verse; verify metrical count in editions)
يمدح هذا النشيد القصير ميترا وفارونا بوصفهما السيدين العظيمين (mahi-kṣatrau) اللذين يقيمان ṛta، أي حقيقةَ النظام الكوني الواسع. ويلتمس منهما أن يمدّا العابدين بوفرةٍ أرضيةٍ وسماوية، ويصوّر أفعالهما عبر المطر والمياه الجارية والغذاء الذي يهيّئ «أساسًا واسعًا» للامتلاء والخصب.
Mantras
Mantra 1
प्र वो मित्राय गायत वरुणाय विपा गिरा । महिक्षत्रावृतं बृहत् ॥
أنشدوا لمِترا، لِفَرونا، بقولٍ بصيرٍ مُميِّز. عظيمان في السِّيادة؛ إنهما يُقيمان الـṛta، نظامَ الحقّ الواسع.
Mantra 2
सम्राजा या घृतयोनी मित्रश्चोभा वरुणश्च । देवा देवेषु प्रशस्ता ॥
هذانِ الاثنانِ مَلِكانِ مُتشاركان، رحمُهما ghṛta، النورُ الصافي المُصفّى؛ مِترا وفَرونا معًا—إلهانِ ممدوحان بين الآلهة، قُوًى لسيادةٍ مُضيئة.
Mantra 3
ता नः शक्तं पार्थिवस्य महो रायो दिव्यस्य । महि वां क्षत्रं देवेषु ॥
لِيَجْعَلْنَا هذانِ الاثنانِ قادرين على الغِنى العظيم، الأرضيّ (pārthiva) والسماويّ (divya). عظيمٌ هو kṣatra، سلطانُكما بين الآلهة—فَلْيَعْمَلْ فينا قوّةً وتَمَكُّنًا.
Mantra 4
ऋतमृतेन सपन्तेषिरं दक्षमाशाते । अद्रुहा देवौ वर्धेते ॥
يَنالانِ ṛta (الحقّ/النظام الكوني) بـṛta؛ ومعًا يبلغان الفِطنةَ السريعةَ الحادّةَ، وdakṣa—قوّةَ التمييز والتنظيم الفاعلة. غيرُ مُخادِعَيْن (adruha)، يَنمو الإلهانِ الاثنان—مُقَوِّيَيْنِ الشريعةَ في داخلنا.
Mantra 5
वृष्टिद्यावा रीत्यापेषस्पती दानुमत्याः । बृहन्तं गर्तमाशाते ॥
سماءُ المطرِ ومياهُ الجريان—سَيِّدا التغذيةِ والإنماءِ، الغنيّانِ بالوفرة (dānumatī): يبلغانِ العُمقَ الواسعَ، gartha العظيم—ويفتحانِ فينا أساسًا جليلًا تُحفَظُ فيه الفيوضات.
Inside Sukta 68
How it unfolds
- Where it opens
A call to sing to Mitra and Varuṇa with discerning speech, honoring them as great sovereigns who establish the Vast ṛta.
- Development
Petitions expand from praise to practical empowerment: may the pair make us capable of receiving and sustaining both earthly and heavenly riches.
- Climax
The hymn peaks in asserting their exceptional sovereignty among the gods and asking that power to become effective strength in the worshipper’s life.
- Where it settles
It closes with a natural-symbolic seal: rain and flowing waters as their orderly action, culminating in the image of attaining a ‘vast depth/foundation’ where abundance can be held securely.
The deity: Mitra-Varuṇa
- In the VedaA paired divinity of Ādityas: Mitra embodies alliance, concord, and right relationship, while Varuṇa embodies moral-cosmic sovereignty, oversight, and binding by ṛta. Together they are invoked as great rulers who establish and protect the Vast ṛta (ṛtam bṛhat) and grant orderly prosperity.
- Cosmic functionThey maintain cosmic and social order—regulating truth, contracts, and the stability of heaven-and-earth; their governance is mirrored in the regularity of waters, rain, and the distribution of nourishment.
- Inner significanceMitra-Varuṇa symbolize the integration of harmony (mutuality, right speech, trust) with conscience and law (inner restraint, truthfulness, ethical clarity). Their ‘sovereignty’ becomes inner mastery: the capacity to live in alignment with ṛta and to hold abundance without disorder.
The seer
- Atri (Ātreya)Ātreya (Atri-gotra) · One of the foremost Vedic seers, credited with luminous hymns and with a strong emphasis on ṛta, divine sovereignty, and the harmonizing powers of the gods; later tradition associates him with the Atri lineage and foundational r̥ṣi status among the Saptarṣi.
Famous verses
ṛtam bṛhat
ता नः शक्तं पार्थिवस्य महो रायो दिव्यस्य । महि वां क्षत्रं देवेषु ॥bṛhantam gartam
Attributes of the deity
- Upholders of ṛta (Truth-Order)
- Great sovereignty (mahat kṣatra)
- Guardians of truth, vows, and right relationship
- Bestowers of earthly and heavenly wealth
- Associated with waters/rain and nourishment as orderly powers
Also by this seer
- Rig Veda Mandala 5 (many hymns attributed to the Ātreyas, including multiple praises of Agni, Indra, the Aśvins, and Mitra-Varuṇa)
- Atri/Ātreya family hymn corpus within the Rig Veda (Ātreya anukramaṇī tradition)
The rite, step by step
- Establish the ritual fire (Agni) and perform ācamana/inner settling with a brief saṅkalpa for ṛta (truth and right order).
- Invoke Mitra-Varuṇa with sung/intoned praise (stuti), emphasizing discerning speech (vipā girā).
- Offer oblations while reciting the central petitions for empowerment (śaktam) and abundance (rāyaḥ).
- Conclude with a final recitation focusing on rain/waters and nourishment imagery, sealing the request for a stable “foundation” (bṛhantam gartam) of plenitude.
- Optional: silent reflection on truthfulness, promises, and social harmony as the ethical counterpart of the offering.
Offerings
- Ghee (ājya) into the fire
- Soma (where applicable in soma rites)
- Grain/food offerings as symbols of iṣ (nourishment)
- Water libation (āpaḥ) as a complement to the hymn’s imagery
Frequently Asked Questions
They are paired Āditya deities: Mitra represents harmony and right relationship, and Varuṇa represents moral-cosmic sovereignty. Together they uphold ṛta, the universal order of truth.
It means “the Vast ṛta”—the great Truth-Order that sustains the cosmos and society. The hymn says Mitra-Varuṇa establish and protect this order.
The hymn asks Mitra-Varuṇa to grant inner capability and strength, and to bestow both earthly and heavenly abundance, symbolized through rain, waters, and nourishment.
Ask anything about Sukta 68 of the Rig Veda
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Rig Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
