Rig Veda 5.68.2: Mandala 5, Sukta 68, Mantra 2
Sukta 5.68
- Rishi
- Atri
- Devata
- Mitra-Varuṇa
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
सम्राजा या घृतयोनी मित्रश्चोभा वरुणश्च । देवा देवेषु प्रशस्ता ॥
samrājā yā́ ghṛtá-yonī mitráś cobhā́ váruṇaś ca | devā́ devéṣu praśastā́ ||
Keduanya adalah raja-sejawat, yang rahimnya adalah ghṛta—cahaya jernih yang dimurnikan; Mitra dan Varuṇa bersama—para dewa yang dipuji di antara para dewa, kuasa-kusa kedaulatan bercahaya.
Word by Word
- सम्राजा
- the two sovereign kingsNoun (title/epithet)पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-द्विवचन (Vedic: -ā ending for nom. du.)Role Kartā (with the following relative clause) / विशेष्य (of Mitra-Varuṇa)Root सम्-राजन् (प्रातिपदिक: सम्राज्/सम्राजन्)
- या
- who (the two)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-द्विवचनRole Kartā (relative clause subject referring to Mitra-Varuṇa)Root यद् (relative pronoun)
- घृतयोनी
- whose source is ghee / ghee-bornAdjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-द्विवचन (agreeing with ‘या/सम्राजा’)Role Viśeṣaṇa (qualifier of the two)Root घृत-योनि (प्रातिपदिक; तत्पुरुष/बहुव्रीहि: ‘having ghee as womb/source’)
- मित्रः
- MitraNoun (deity)पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचनRole Kartā (one member of the dual subject) / समुच्चित-कर्ताRoot मित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- च
- andIndeclinable (conjunction)Role Samuccaya (coordination)Root च
- उभा
- bothPronoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-द्विवचनRole Viśeṣaṇa (emphatic ‘both’ for Mitra & Varuṇa) / samuccaya-emphasisRoot उभ (pronominal stem ‘both’)
- वरुणः
- VaruṇaNoun (deity)पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचनRole Kartā (second member of the coordinated subject) / समुच्चित-कर्ताRoot वरुण (प्रातिपदिक)
- च
- andIndeclinable (conjunction)Role SamuccayaRoot च
- देवा
- the two godsNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-द्विवचन (Vedic: -ā ending for nom. du.)Role Apposition (to ‘सम्राजा/या’: ‘the two gods’) / KartāRoot देव (प्रातिपदिक)
- देवेषु
- among the godsNounपुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-बहुवचनRole Adhikaraṇa (locus: ‘among the gods’)Root देव (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रशस्ता
- praised, renownedAdjective (past passive participle used adjectivally)पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-द्विवचन (agreeing with the dual subject) अर्थ: ‘praised/renowned’Role Viśeṣaṇa / predicate adjective of the dual subjectRoot प्र-शंस् (धातु) → प्रशस्त (PPP) / प्रशस्ता (Vedic nom. du.)
Sandhi Notes
- Sandhi resolution: ‘मित्रश्चोभा’ = ‘मित्रः च उभा’ (visarga + ca; and coalescence to ‘श्च’; ‘च’ + ‘उ’ → ‘चो’)
- ‘वरुणश्च’ = ‘वरुणः च’ (visarga + ca → ‘श्च’)
- Vedic dual nominatives in -ā: ‘सम्राजा’, ‘देवा’, and ‘प्रशस्ता’ (nom. du.) are archaic/vedic forms
The meaning
Outer meaning
Mitra and Varuṇa are praised as two co-kings (samrājā), born from/established in ghṛta (clarified butter; luminous unction), eminent among the gods.
Inner meaning
Mitra-Varuṇa are the twin powers of luminous harmony and vast right-ordering: Mitra as the force of concord, right relation, and mental clarity; Varuṇa as the force of wideness, truth-law, and ethical-spiritual sovereignty. Their “womb is ghṛta” indicates that their action is generated from a purified, shining substance of consciousness—an inner clarity/unctuous light that nourishes right perception and right will. In Aurobindonian terms, they are principles of the Truth-consciousness (ṛta-cit) governing the inner kingdom.
Universal truth
True sovereignty in life is not domination but luminous governance: harmony (Mitra) and vast law (Varuṇa) arise from inner clarity, and when these rule together, the whole being becomes ordered, protected, and capable of the higher life.
Themes
Mitra-Varuṇa dual kingship, Luminous origin (ghṛta-yoni), Praise among the gods
The seer
- Rishi
- Atri (Ātreya)
- Lineage
- Ātreya
- Other hymns
- RV 5.68, RV 5.69, RV 5.70
Family tradition
Atri’s lineage is associated with luminous vision and the harmonizing of cosmic order (ṛta) with human aspiration; hymns often emphasize right law, inner clarity, and the guardianship of the gods over the seeker.
Significance
Atri represents the seer-mind that seeks a stable inner kingdom: the psychological sovereignty of truth, harmony, and wideness over the mixed movements of the lower nature.
The deity
- Devata
- Mitra-Varuṇa
- Epithets
- samrājā (co-kings), ghṛtayonī (born of luminous unction), adruhā (non-deceiving, non-injuring—implied in the sequence), ṛtasya gopā (guardians of ṛta—common Vedic epithet)
- Related deities
- Agni, Indra, Soma, Aryaman
Cosmic role
Guardians of ṛta (cosmic order) and satya (truth), upholding right relations, moral law, and the vastness of heaven; stabilizers of the worlds.
Inner power
Inwardly they establish clear seeing, sincere intention, ethical strength, and a wide calm that can contain and govern life-force and thought.
In ritual
Where it is used
Śrauta offerings and praises to Mitra-Varuṇa within soma and agni contexts; also used as general stuti (praise) for law-guardians.
स॒म्राजा॒ या घृ॒तयो॑नी मि॒त्रश्चो॒भा वरु॑णश्च । दे॒वा दे॒वेषु॑ प्रश॒स्ता ॥
स॒म्ऽराजा॑ । या । घृ॒तयो॑नी॒ इति॑ घृ॒तऽयो॑नी । मि॒त्रः । च॒ । उ॒भा । वरु॑णः । च॒ । दे॒वा । दे॒वेषु॑ । प्र॒ऽश॒स्ता ॥
sam-rājā | yā | ghṛtayonī itighṛta-yonī | mitraḥ | ca | ubhā | varuṇaḥ | ca | devā | deveṣu | pra-śastā
24
3 pādas of ~8 syllables (typical gāyatrī cadence; exact Vedic scansion may vary by resolution and sandhi)
Compact, bright, mantra-like; quick turns that suit invocation and praise.
Produces mental clarity and a crisp sense of order; good for centering the mind in harmonious sovereignty.
- सम्राजा (samrājā)
- Literal: co-kings, joint sovereigns. Symbolic: twin governing powers that rule the inner nature in concord
- घृतयोनी (ghṛtayonī)
- Literal: having ghṛta as womb/source. Symbolic: born of clarified luminous consciousness; purity that generates right perception
- मित्र (mitra)
- Literal: friend, ally, covenant. Symbolic: harmonizing light of the mind; right relation, concord, benevolence
- वरुण (varuṇa)
- Literal: the enveloper, lord of vastness. Symbolic: wideness, truth-law (ṛta), ethical-spiritual restraint and protection
- प्रशस्ता (praśastā)
- Literal: praised, celebrated. Symbolic: recognized by higher powers in us as true rulers of the inner order
Praise formula highlighting dual sovereignty; suitable where Mitra-Varuṇa are invoked as joint rulers and as ghee-linked (ghṛta) powers in the sacrificial symbolism.
During invocations to Mitra-Varuṇa in morning/forenoon sequences (context-dependent), and wherever ṛta-protection is sought.
Recitation during offering (āhuti) or praise (stotra) to invoke protection of vows and right order.
Use as a daily centering verse before work/decisions: invoke harmony (Mitra) + wideness/ethical truth (Varuṇa) as inner co-governors.
sam-rāj: sam 'together' + rāj (√rāj 'to shine, rule')—sovereignty as luminous rule. ghṛta-yonī: ghṛta (from √ghṛ 'to shine/sprinkle'; in Vedic symbolism 'clarified light/essence') + yoni 'womb/source' (√yu 'to join, contain' in broader sense). pra-śasta: from √śaṃs/śas 'to praise, proclaim' with pra- intensifying.
Dual sovereignty (harmony + law), Ghṛta as clarity/illumined essence, Divine hierarchy (devā deveṣu)
Mitra-Varuṇa are primary upholders of ṛta; their ‘sovereignty’ is the lawful rhythm of existence.
Truth as sincerity and exactness of perception; truthfulness as alignment with the Real.
Order arising from luminous substance (ghṛta) rather than chaos—cosmos sustained by clarity.
Proto-Vedāntic and yogic reading: governance by truth-consciousness; consonant with Aurobindo’s psychological interpretation of deities as powers of the One.
morning (symbolically: awakening of right perception)
Ghṛta becomes the inner clarified light-substance in which higher law and harmony are conceived and born.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is the Indo-European theme of twin/joint sovereignty: Mitra and Varuṇa as co-kings whose source is luminous essence (ghṛta). Psychologically, harmony and law arise from clarified inner light, and are praised as supreme among the operative divine powers.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- rāj (rule/shine) reflects the widespread association between shining and ruling in Indo-European sacral kingship lexicon. The dual structure (ubhā…ca…ca) encodes the paired sovereignty motif also seen comparatively (e.g., juridical vs. magical sovereignty patterns).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi frames the gods as inherently luminous in origin and jointly sovereign; by praising them 'among the gods', he seeks to enthrone these two functions as dominant regulators within the sacrificer’s inner polity—so that harmony and law govern the rest of the forces.
Establish inner ‘co-kingship’: harmony in relationships/thought (Mitra) and vast truthful order (Varuṇa).
Ājñā (clarity) and Anāhata (harmony)
Nādi-śodhana (alternate nostril) 6–12 rounds, then chant once per exhale.
Quiet, widened, truth-aligned awareness (śānta-vistāra).
Before chanting, recall one area of inner disorder; offer it into ‘ghṛta’—a felt clarity in the head/heart—then invoke the twin governance to reorder thought, speech, and impulse.
Use standard Vedic accenting as per śākhā tradition; key words often carry udatta prominence (e.g., samrājā, mitraḥ, varuṇaḥ).
Keep a clear lift on udatta syllables; avoid flattening compound ghṛtayonī; maintain caesura at | (pāda break).
(ghṛta): pronounce ‘ghri-ta’ with vocalic ṛ (short), not ‘gri’, (yonī): long ī at end, (mitraś cobhā): preserve sandhi; ‘mitraś’ with ś, then ‘cobhā’, (varuṇaḥ): retroflex ṇ; final ḥ lightly aspirated
steady, clear, slightly resonant; emphasize dignity over force
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