Sukta 70
Sukta 6.70
Bharadvāja (Bārhaspatya)
Jagatī
This hymn praises Dyāvā-Pṛthivī—Heaven and Earth—as the radiant, nourishing Parents who uphold all worlds and sustain life. Their stability and fruitfulness are said to stand “by Varuṇa’s dhárman,” the cosmic law that keeps the two realms rightly separated and harmonized. The seer asks them to increase in the worshipper energy (ūrj), strength (vāja), and fullness of prosperity (rayi) so the sacrifice may succeed.
In this hymn
Addressed to
Mantras
Mantra 1
घृतवती भुवनानामभिश्रियोर्वी पृथ्वी मधुदुघे सुपेशसा । द्यावापृथिवी वरुणस्य धर्मणा विष्कभिते अजरे भूरिरेतसा ॥
धरती और आसमान दोनों चमक रहे हैं। यह दोनों पूरी दुनिया की शोभा ले के खड़े हैं। वरुण के नियम के हिसाब से यह दोनों संभाल रहे हैं। यह कभी बूढ़ा नहीं होते। इनमें बहुत ताकत है।
Mantra 2
असश्चन्ती भूरिधारे पयस्वती घृतं दुहाते सुकृते शुचिव्रते । राजन्ती अस्य भुवनस्य रोदसी अस्मे रेतः सिञ्चतं यन्मनुर्हितम् ॥
धरती और आसमान कभी खाली नहीं होते। इनमें से दूध जैसा अमृत निकलता है। जो लोग अच्छे काम करते हैं, उनके लिए यह चमक देते हैं। यह दोनों दुनिया पर राज करते हैं। हमें भी वो शक्ति दो जो इंसान के लिए मंजूर है।
Mantra 4
घृतेन द्यावापृथिवी अभीवृते घृतश्रिया घृतपृचा घृतावृधा । उर्वी पृथ्वी होतृवूर्ये पुरोहिते ते इद्विप्रा ईळते सुम्नमिष्टये ॥
घी जैसी चमक से आसमान और धरती ढके हैं। यह घी से चमकते हैं, घी से भरे हैं, घी से बड़े हैं। धरती को पंडित लोग पूजा के लिए सामने रख के बुलाते हैं। वो आशीर्वाद माँगते हैं जो यज्ञ को पूरा करे।
Mantra 5
मधु नो द्यावापृथिवी मिमिक्षतां मधुश्चुता मधुदुघे मधुव्रते । दधाने यज्ञं द्रविणं च देवता महि श्रवो वाजमस्मे सुवीर्यम् ॥
आसमान और धरती हमें मीठा आशीर्वाद दें। जैसे शहद टपकता है, वैसे ही यह भी मीठा देते हैं। यह यज्ञ और दौलत संभालते हैं। हमें बड़ा नाम दें, बहुत ताकत दें, और बहादुरी दें।
Mantra 6
ऊर्जं नो द्यौश्च पृथिवी च पिन्वतां पिता माता विश्वविदा सुदंससा । संरराणे रोदसी विश्वशम्भुवा सनिं वाजं रयिमस्मे समिन्वताम् ॥
आसमान और धरती हम में ताकत भर दें। यह दोनों हमारे माँ-बाप जैसी हैं, सब जानती हैं और अच्छा काम करती हैं। दोनों मिल के रहती हैं और सबका भला करती हैं। हमें ताकत मिले, पैसा मिले, और पूरा सुख मिले।
Inside Sukta 70
How it unfolds
- Where it opens
Heaven and Earth are praised as radiant, splendid bearers of the worlds, upheld by Varuṇa’s dhárman.
- Development
The hymn intensifies the imagery of ghṛta—light, richness, and sacrificial essence—enfolding and increasing the two worlds, linking cosmic nourishment with ritual success.
- Climax
The two are invoked as Father and Mother to directly ‘increase in us’ ūrj, strength, and prosperity, presenting cosmic harmony as personal and communal well-being.
- Where it settles
The prayer settles into a request for lasting attainment and fullness (vāja, rayi) through the united beneficence of the two worlds.
The deity: Dyāvāpṛthivī, governed by Varuṇa’s dhárman
- In the VedaThey are portrayed as upheld and kept apart by the law (dhárman) of Varuṇa, the principle of cosmic rightness and order.
- Cosmic functionThey provide the stable cosmic frame: Heaven as the overarching expanse and Earth as the broad foundation, enabling light, rain, growth, and the conditions for sacrifice and life.
- Inner significanceThey symbolize the balanced field of consciousness and embodiment—clarity and aspiration (Heaven) joined with grounded support and fertility (Earth)—made steady by ethical-spiritual order (Varuṇa’s dhárman).
The seer
- Bharadvāja (Bārhaspatya)Bharadvāja-gotra; Bārhaspatya lineage (connected with Bṛhaspati/Angirasa stream) · A major Rigvedic seer whose family hymns (especially in Mandala 6) are noted for strong ritual clarity and luminous cosmological imagery, often linking divine order with effective sacrifice.
Famous verses
varuṇasya dharmaṇā
घृतेन द्यावापृथिवी अभीवृते घृतश्रिया घृतपृचा घृतावृधा । उर्वी पृथ्वी होतृवूर्ये पुरोहिते ते इद्विप्रा ईळते सुम्नमिष्टये ॥pitā mātā
Attributes of the deity
- Parents of beings (Father Heaven, Mother Earth)
- Upholders of worlds and ritual space
- Nourishing, honey-yielding, life-supporting
- Unaging and enduring (ajare)
- Established in harmony through cosmic law (dhárman)
Also by this seer
- Large portions of Rig Veda Mandala 6 attributed to the Bharadvāja family
- Hymns to Agni as priest and divine messenger (Mandala 6)
- Hymns to Indra and the Maruts emphasizing victory, protection, and right ordering
The rite, step by step
- Prepare the altar and kindle Agni, establishing the ritual ground on Earth under the open Heaven.
- Recite the Dyāvāpṛthivī verses to invoke the two worlds as supportive Parents of the rite.
- Contemplate/affirm Varuṇa’s dhárman as the ordering principle that makes the rite truthful and effective.
- Offer ghṛta to Agni while repeating praise of the ‘ghṛta-splendour’ that wraps and increases Heaven and Earth.
- Conclude with petitions for ūrj (sustaining energy), vāja (strength/attainment), and rayi (prosperity) for the sacrificer and community.
Offerings
- Ghṛta (clarified butter) into the fire
- Soma (where applicable in the broader rite)
- Oblations of milk/curds or simple food offerings (context-dependent)
Frequently Asked Questions
Dyāvāpṛthivī are Heaven and Earth addressed together as a divine pair—Father and Mother—who support all life and provide the stable space in which the sacrifice and the world can function.
It highlights that cosmic stability and harmony depend on an ordering law—dhárman—associated with Varuṇa. This law keeps Heaven and Earth rightly arranged and makes the ritual truthful and effective.
It asks for ūrj (sustaining energy), vāja (strength and successful attainment), and rayi (prosperity/abundance), so the worshipper and the sacrifice may flourish.
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