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)

Himne ini memuji Varuṇa sebagai penguasa yang menegakkan ṛta (tatanan kosmis dan moral), yang mengukur langit dan bumi serta menetapkan lintasan-lintasan Matahari. Nyanyian bergerak dari rasa takzim kagum terhadap “māyā” Varuṇa yang luas (daya efektif untuk menata dan mengatur) menuju doa pertobatan: semoga segala kesalahan, yang tampak maupun yang tak tampak, dilonggarkan seperti ikatan yang dikendurkan, agar pemuja kembali memperoleh perkenan ilahi.

Recitation with translationRig Veda 5.85

Mantras

Mantra 1

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

Nyanyikanlah bagi Varuṇa, Sang Raja yang didengar, sabda suci yang luas dan dalam, brahman yang dicintai. Dialah yang membentangkan Bumi bagi Surya, laksana penyamak merentangkan kulit, menegakkan hamparan tertib bagi gerak cahaya.

Mantra 2

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

Di rimba-rimba ia membentangkan ruang-antara; ia menempatkan kelimpahan pada kuda-kuda, susu pada sapi-sapi yang bercahaya. Varuṇa menaruh kratu (kehendak-sadar) di dalam hati, Agni di dalam perairan, Surya di langit, dan Soma di batu—menata tiap daya pada singgasana yang semestinya.

Mantra 3

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

Varuṇa melepaskan penutup yang ditarik ke bawah, di antara Langit dan Bumi, ke ruang-antara. Dengan itu Sang Raja atas segenap yang-menjadi membentangkan dan memisahkan landasan keberadaan, laksana hujan yang melonggarkan ladang seperti jelai—membuka bumi batin agar siap bertumbuh menurut ṛta.

Mantra 4

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

Ia membasahi dan membuka bumi—hamparan yang luas ini—dan juga langit, ketika Varuṇa menghendaki sari yang telah diperah itu mengalir. Maka gunung-gunung berselimut awan; yang perkasa, mengumpulkan daya, melonggarkan yang terikat—hingga yang tersumbat pun mengalah dan medan-hidup menjadi dapat diolah menurut ṛta.

Mantra 5

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

Kini kuucapkan karya agung Varuṇa, sang Asura yang termasyhur-jauh: ia berdiri di ruang-antara seakan dengan tongkat ukur; dan ia mengukur bumi dengan Matahari—menegakkan ukuran yang benar dalam hidup oleh cahaya kebenaran, agar keberadaan tertata menurut ṛta.

Mantra 6

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

Inilah kini māyā—daya pembentuk yang agung—dari dewa yang paling melihat; tiada seorang pun mengatasainya. Walau sungai-sungai tanpa henti mencurahkan airnya, mereka tidak memenuhi Samudra Yang Esa; demikian pula arus kehidupan berhimpun ke dalam Yang Mahaluas tanpa menghabiskannya—ketakterhinggaan Varuṇa menampung segala aliran sambil menegakkan ṛta (tatanan kosmis).

Mantra 7

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

Wahai Varuṇa, entah itu terhadap keharmonisan Aryaman, atau terhadap kebenaran Mitra tentang hubungan yang benar; entah terhadap seorang sahabat, atau saudara yang senantiasa; entah terhadap orang serumah, atau pendamping yang selalu hadir—apa pun dosa (āgas) yang telah kami perbuat, longgarkanlah ikatan itu. Lepaskan simpul yang mengikat batin, agar kami kembali ke ṛta, hukum tatanan-Mu.

Mantra 8

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

Apa pun yang telah kami lakukan dalam permainan yang ceroboh, atau dalam permusuhan; apa pun yang telah kami lakukan di bawah terang yang nyata; apa pun yang telah kami lakukan dengan sadar—dan apa pun yang telah kami lakukan tanpa mengetahui—hancurkanlah semuanya itu dan longgarkanlah, wahai dewa, seakan-akan itu ikatan yang telah kendur. Maka semoga kami menjadi yang Kaukasihi, Varuṇa, dan kembali bernaung dalam tatanan-Mu yang luas.

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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