Rig Veda Sukta 85
Mandala 5Sukta 858 Mantras

Sukta 85

Sukta 5.85

Rishi

Atri (Ātreya) (Mandala 5 attribution; hymn-level confirmation recommended)

Devata

Varuṇa

Chandas

Triṣṭubh (probable)

Is mantra mein Varun ji ki tareef hai jo duniya ka niyam sambhalte hain. Varun aasman aur dharti ko napte hain aur Suraj ki rasta banate hain. Unki shakti dekh kar insaan hairan reh jata hai. Phir insan maafi maangta hai apne gunaah ke liye. Prarthana hai ki sab paap dhile bandhan ki tarah khul jayein. Aise hi Varun ji ki kripa se wapas unki pasand aa sakein.

Recitation with translationRig Veda 5.85

Mantras

Mantra 1

प्र सम्राजे बृहदर्चा गभीरं ब्रह्म प्रियं वरुणाय श्रुताय । वि यो जघान शमितेव चर्मोपस्तिरे पृथिवीं सूर्याय ॥

Varun ke liye bada gaana gaao. Woh raja hai jo sabki sunta hai. Usne dharti ko failaya, jaise chamra khinchta hai. Suraj ke liye jagah banayi, taaki roshni chale.

Mantra 2

वनेषु व्यन्तरिक्षं ततान वाजमर्वत्सु पय उस्रियासु । हृत्सु क्रतुं वरुणो अप्स्वग्निं दिवि सूर्यमदधात्सोममद्रौ ॥

Varuna ne jungle mein aasman faila diya. Ghodon mein taakat daali, gayon mein doodh. Logon ke dil mein ichcha daali, paani mein agni, aasman mein suraj, aur patharon mein som ras. Har cheez ko sahi jagah pe rakha.

Mantra 3

नीचीनबारं वरुणः कवन्धं प्र ससर्ज रोदसी अन्तरिक्षम् । तेन विश्वस्य भुवनस्य राजा यवं न वृष्टिर्व्युनत्ति भूम ॥

Varuna ne dhakkan hata diya jo dharti aur aasman ke beech tha. Ab woh sab ka raja hai. Jaise baarish khet ko kholti hai, waise usne dharti ko saaf kiya hai. Ab yeh jagah tayar hai.

Mantra 4

उनत्ति भूमिं पृथिवीमुत द्यां यदा दुग्धं वरुणो वष्ट्यादित् । समभ्रेण वसत पर्वतासस्तविषीयन्तः श्रथयन्त वीराः ॥

Varuna jab chahta hai toh dharti ko geela karta hai. Pahad badal se dhak jaate hain. Jo band tha woh khul jaata hai. Ab naye ugaan aati hai.

Mantra 5

इमामू ष्वासुरस्य श्रुतस्य महीं मायां वरुणस्य प्र वोचम् । मानेनेव तस्थिवाँ अन्तरिक्षे वि यो ममे पृथिवीं सूर्येण ॥

Main Varuna ki yeh badi taakat batata hoon. Woh aasman mein khada rehta hai jaise koi naapta ho. Usne suraj ki roshni se dharti ko naapa hai. Sab kuch sahi measure mein hai.

Mantra 6

इमामू नु कवितमस्य मायां महीं देवस्य नकिरा दधर्ष । एकं यदुद्ना न पृणन्त्येनीरासिञ्चन्तीरवनयः समुद्रम् ॥

Varuna ki taakat koi nahi hara sakta. Nadiyan roz paani daalti hain, lekin samundar bharta nahi. Waise hi zindagi ki saari gatiyan usmein sama jaati hain. Woh sab sambhalta hai.

Mantra 7

अर्यम्यं वरुण मित्र्यं वा सखायं वा सदमिद्भ्रातरं वा । वेशं वा नित्यं वरुणारणं वा यत्सीमागश्चकृमा शिश्रथस्तत् ॥

Bhagwan Varuna, ho sakta hai humne kisi dost ke saath galat kiya ho. Ya kisi bhai jaisa rishta tod diya ho. Ya ghar ke kisi apne ko dukha diya ho. Ya kisi saathi ko thukraya ho. Jo bhi humne bura kiya hai, usko chhod do. Uske bandhan ko dheela kar do. Hum wapas seedhe raaste par aa jaayein.

Mantra 8

कितवासो यद्रिरिपुर्न दीवि यद्वा घा सत्यमुत यन्न विद्म । सर्वा ता वि ष्य शिथिरेव देवाधा ते स्याम वरुण प्रियासः ॥

Bhagwan, kabhi humne masti mein kuch galat kar diya. Kabhi dushmani mein bura bola. Kabhi jaanke sach kaam kiya, kabhi jaanke bhi nahi samjhe. Yeh sab galtiyan aise tod do jaise koi dhaga dheela ho. Phir hum tumhare pyaare ban jaayein. Tumhare saath sahi mein reh sakein.

Inside Sukta 85

How it unfolds

  1. Where it opens

    A grand invocation to Varuṇa the sovereign, praising his deep, vast ordering power and his cosmic ‘spreading out’ of earth for the Sun’s course.

  2. Development

    The hymn elaborates Varuṇa’s māyā as precise measurement and governance—standing in the midspace like a measurer, setting proportions by the Sun and sustaining ṛta across realms.

  3. Climax

    A turning inward: recognition that Varuṇa’s order also judges human conduct, prompting a frank plea that all faults—open, hostile, reckless, known or unknown—be dissolved.

  4. Where it settles

    The prayer resolves in the hope of restored intimacy: once bonds are loosened, the worshipper may again be ‘dear’ to Varuṇa, living within his wide order.

The deity: Varuṇa

  • In the VedaVaruṇa is portrayed as a far-hearing, all-seeing sovereign (samrāj) who binds and releases, who knows the truth and the lie, and who establishes the world’s measures—earth spread out for the Sun and the midspace held in ordered proportion.
  • Cosmic functionGuardian of ṛta: maintaining cosmic regularity (sun’s course, measures, seasons) and moral law (truthfulness, oath, social right), dispensing restraint, punishment, and forgiveness.
  • Inner significanceThe awakened conscience and inner law: the pressure of truth that exposes hidden fault, followed by purification through confession, surrender, and the loosening of inner ‘bonds’ (guilt, compulsion, error).

The seer

  • Atri (Ātreya)Ātreya (Atri-gotra) · One of the ancient Saptaṛṣi, celebrated for visionary hymns in Maṇḍala 5 and for a strong penitential-theological voice, especially in prayers to Varuṇa emphasizing ṛta, guilt, and release.

Famous verses

śamiteva carma
Verse 5.85.1Sets the hymn’s cosmic frame: Varuṇa as samrāj whose ordering act ‘spreads’ the earth for the Sun, establishing the field of ṛta.Read verse 5.85.1 →
mahīm māyāṃ varuṇasya
Verse 5.85.5A central theological statement: Varuṇa’s mighty māyā as measurement—standing in midspace and measuring earth by the Sun, linking cosmology with moral proportion.Read verse 5.85.5 →
śithireva
Verse 5.85.8The penitential culmination: an inclusive confession (reckless, hostile, public, truthful/unknown) and the iconic request to loosen all bonds, ending with the desire to be Varuṇa’s beloved.Read verse 5.85.8 →

Attributes of the deity

  • Samrāj (sovereign king)
  • Ṛta-pā (protector of cosmic/moral order)
  • Asura (in the archaic sense: lordly, possessing sovereign power)
  • All-seeing and far-hearing
  • Binder and releaser of bonds (pāśa)
  • Measurer and establisher of cosmic proportions

Also by this seer

  • Rig Veda Maṇḍala 5 (many hymns attributed to the Ātreyas, including prominent Agni and Indra hymns)
  • Later Vedic memory associates Atri with the Atri/Ātreya lineage of seers and ritual specialists (pravara tradition)
  • Traditional attribution of portions of the Atharvavedic and Purāṇic lore to the Atri lineage (later reception, not strictly Rigvedic)

The rite, step by step

  • Ācamana and saṅkalpa: intention to realign with ṛta and seek Varuṇa’s favor
  • Kindling/approaching Agni (if in a fire setting) and establishing a calm, truthful posture (satya-vāk)
  • Recitation of the sukta with attention to the ‘measuring/ordering’ imagery (Sun, earth, midspace)
  • Confessional portion: explicitly offering known and unknown faults to Varuṇa for loosening (as in the closing verse’s logic)
  • Silent pause (dhyāna): visualization of bonds slackening and mind returning to order
  • Śānti and closing oblation/prayer for being ‘priya’ (dear) to Varuṇa

Offerings

  • Ghee (ājya) into Agni (where applicable)
  • Water libation (ārghya) as a Varuṇa-associated offering
  • Soma (in soma-rites) or symbolic soma substitute in later practice

Frequently Asked Questions

It praises Varuṇa as the power that keeps the universe and society in right order (ṛta), and it asks him to forgive mistakes and loosen the “bonds” of wrongdoing so life can return to truth.

The Sun’s regular path is used as a symbol of precise order. By saying Varuṇa “measures” with the Sun, the hymn presents him as the one who sets correct proportions in the cosmos and in human conduct.

It means releasing the consequences of error—guilt, inner constraint, and the binding force of wrongdoing—so the worshipper can be restored to harmony with ṛta and become dear to Varuṇa again.

Ask anything about Sukta 85 of the Rig Veda

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