Sukta 42
Sukta 4.42
Vāmadeva Gautama (hymn RV 4.42 traditionally associated with Vāmadeva; dialogic/self-declaratory style)
Triṣṭubh (probable)
RV 4.42 is a striking self-declaratory hymn in which the poetic voice speaks with the authority of Varuṇa’s kingship—upholding ṛta (cosmic order), sovereignty, and all-encompassing guardianship. The hymn also draws Indra into the field of power, contrasting and complementing Varuṇa’s moral-royal rule with Indra’s victorious force that releases the rivers. Its purpose is to affirm divine legitimacy and secure enduring prosperity (rāyī), protection, and unfailing abundance for the worshippers.
In this hymn
Addressed to
Mantras
Mantra 2
अहं राजा वरुणो मह्यं तान्यसुर्याणि प्रथमा धारयन्त । क्रतुं सचन्ते वरुणस्य देवा राजामि कृष्टेरुपमस्य वव्रेः ॥
मैं वरुण राजा हूँ। मेरे लिए पुरानी ताकतों ने यह बड़े काम संभाले हैं। देव लोग वरुण की इच्छा के साथ चलते हैं। मैं लोगों का राजा हूँ, सबसे ऊपर रहता हूँ।
Mantra 4
अहमपो अपिन्वमुक्षमाणा धारयं दिवं सदन ऋतस्य । ऋतेन पुत्रो अदितेॠतावोत त्रिधातु प्रथयद्वि भूम ॥
मैंने पानी को भर दिया, उसमें ज़ोर भरा। मैंने आसमान को उसकी जगह पे पकड़ा रखा। अदिति के बेटे ने धरम के साथ यह सब किया। उसने दुनिया को तीन हिस्सों में बाँटा और ज़मीन को फैला दिया।
Mantra 6
अहं ता विश्वा चकरं नकिर्मा दैव्यं सहो वरते अप्रतीतम् । यन्मा सोमासो ममदन्यदुक्थोभे भयेते रजसी अपारे ॥
मैंने वो सब काम कर दिए जो होने थे। कोई भी देवता मुझसे बड़ा नहीं हो सकता। जब सोम रस मुझमें उतरता है, जब स्तुतियाँ मुझे उठाती हैं, तब दोनों बड़े क्षंप काँपने लगते हैं।
Mantra 7
विदुष्टे विश्वा भुवनानि तस्य ता प्र ब्रवीषि वरुणाय वेधः । त्वं वृत्राणि शृण्विषे जघन्वान्त्वं वृताँ अरिणा इन्द्र सिन्धून् ॥
सब लोग तुम्हारी बात जानते हैं। इसलिए तुम वरुण को समझा रहे हो। इंद्र, तुम दुश्मनों को तोड़ डालते हो। तुम बंद नदियों को आज़ाद कर देते हो।
Mantra 8
अस्माकमत्र पितरस्त आसन्त्सप्त ऋषयो दौर्गहे बध्यमाने । त आयजन्त त्रसदस्युमस्या इन्द्रं न वृत्रतुरमर्धदेवम् ॥
हमारे यहाँ पिताजी थे, सात रिशि थे। जब वो मुश्किल में फंसे थे। तब उन्होंने त्रसदस्यु को बनाया। वो इंद्र जैसा था, दुश्मन मारने वाला, देवता जैसी ताकत वाला।
Mantra 10
राया वयं ससवांसो मदेम हव्येन देवा यवसेन गावः । तां धेनुमिन्द्रावरुणा युवं नो विश्वाहा धत्तमनपस्फुरन्तीम् ॥
हम धन जीत के खुश रहें। भगवान लोग और गाय दोनों खुश रहें। इंद्र और वरुण, तुम हमें वो देने वाली गाय दो। वो कभी हाथ से न निकले, हमेशा हमारे पास रहे।
Inside Sukta 42
How it unfolds
- Where it opens
The hymn opens with a heightened assertion of divine kingship and the primordial support of ‘Asuric’ powers—signaling Varuṇa’s foundational authority.
- Development
The voice elaborates Varuṇa’s kratu and encompassing rule, then brings Indra’s well-known victory over Vṛtra into dialogue as a complementary mode of divine power.
- Climax
The peak is the explicit self-proclamation—“ahaṃ rājā varuṇaḥ”—where sovereignty, ṛta, and universal governance are claimed in a single revelatory stance.
- Where it settles
It resolves in a practical boon: sustained rāyī and the unfailing ‘milking cow’ of abundance, secured by Indra–Varuṇa for the worshippers’ lasting well-being.
The deity: Varuṇa
- Cosmic functionGuardian of cosmic and moral order: stabilizing the worlds, overseeing truth and contracts, restraining chaos, and maintaining the right functioning of waters, night-sky vastness, and law-like regularity.
- Inner significanceThe principle of conscience and inner law: the capacity to hold oneself to truth, self-restraint, clarity, and alignment with a larger order; the ‘kingly’ center that governs impulses and preserves integrity.
The seer
- Vāmadeva GautamaGautama gotra · A prominent seer of the Fourth Maṇḍala noted for bold, visionary diction and occasional self-proclamatory (ahaṃ) speech that dramatizes divine power and identity.
Famous verses
ahaṃ rājā varuṇaḥ
विदुष्टे विश्वा भुवनानि तस्य ता प्र ब्रवीषि वरुणाय वेधः । त्वं वृत्राणि शृण्विषे जघन्वान्त्वं वृताँ अरिणा इन्द्र सिन्धून् ॥anapasphurantīm
Attributes of the deity
- Sovereignty and kingship (rājā)
- Upholder of ṛta (cosmic/moral order)
- All-encompassing protection (the ‘enveloper’ imagery)
- Far-seeing wisdom and oversight
- Binding and releasing power (restraint of fault; safeguarding the righteous)
Also by this seer
- Major authorship within Rigveda Maṇḍala 4 (many hymns attributed to Vāmadeva)
- Hymns to Indra, Agni, and allied deities characterized by energetic praise and requests for protection and wealth
The rite, step by step
- Ācamana/inner settling: establish truth-intent (satya-saṅkalpa) and recollection of ṛta
- Agni kindling and opening oblations (āghāra) to prepare the offering-field
- Recitation of the sukta (or selected mantras) with emphasis on Varuṇa’s sovereignty and kratu
- Optional paired invocation to Indra–Varuṇa for obstacle-breaking and abundance-stabilizing
- Closing oblation and prayer for unfailing ‘dhenū’ (stream of nourishment/wealth) and protection
Offerings
- Ghṛta (ghee) into Agni
- Soma (where applicable in Soma context) or symbolic soma-offering
- Havis (simple cooked offering) or grains
- Water libation (āpaḥ) as a Varuṇa-linked gesture of purification and order
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a poetic, revelatory style where the seer speaks with the deity’s authority to proclaim Varuṇa’s sovereignty and the supremacy of ṛta (cosmic and moral order).
Varuṇa is primary in the hymn’s royal self-proclamation, but Indra appears as a complementary power—especially as the one who breaks Vṛtra and releases the rivers—culminating in requests to Indra–Varuṇa together.
It is an image for an unfailing stream of nourishment and prosperity—abundance that keeps giving without slipping away—asked to be established permanently in the worshippers’ life.
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