Rig Veda Sukta 42
Mandala 4Sukta 426 Mantras

Sukta 42

Sukta 4.42

Rishi

Vāmadeva Gautama (hymn RV 4.42 traditionally associated with Vāmadeva; dialogic/self-declaratory style)

Devata

Varuṇa (self-proclamation; royal aspect)

Chandas

Triṣṭubh (probable)

RV 4.42は、詩の声がヴァルナの王権の権威を帯びて自らを宣言する、際立った自己宣言的讃歌である。そこではṛta(宇宙秩序)を保持し、主権を確立し、万有を覆う守護を行う者として語られる。さらにインドラも力の場へ招き入れ、河川を解き放つ勝利の力として、ヴァルナの道徳的・王権的支配と対照されつつ相補的に描かれる。本讃歌の目的は、神的統治の正統性を確証し、祭祀者に永続する繁栄(rāyī)と守護、尽きることのない豊穣を確保することにある。

Recitation with translationRig Veda 4.42

Mantras

Mantra 2

अहं राजा वरुणो मह्यं तान्यसुर्याणि प्रथमा धारयन्त । क्रतुं सचन्ते वरुणस्य देवा राजामि कृष्टेरुपमस्य वव्रेः ॥

われは王ヴァルナである。われのために、原初のアスラの力はこれらの偉業を最初に支え立てた。神々はヴァルナの意志(クラトゥ)に寄り添い従う。われは民を治める、至上の包み(覆い)にまとわれて。

Mantra 4

अहमपो अपिन्वमुक्षमाणा धारयं दिवं सदन ऋतस्य । ऋतेन पुत्रो अदितेॠतावोत त्रिधातु प्रथयद्वि भूम ॥

われは水々をふくらませ、増し満ちるものを注ぎ出した。われはṛta(リタ)の座において天を支え保った。ṛtaによって、アディティの子――ṛtaに立つ者――は三重の基盤をひろげ、地を広大にした。

Mantra 6

अहं ता विश्वा चकरं नकिर्मा दैव्यं सहो वरते अप्रतीतम् । यन्मा सोमासो ममदन्यदुक्थोभे भयेते रजसी अपारे ॥

われはそれら一切の業を成し遂げた。いかなる神的な力も、われに勝る威力を選び取ることはできぬ——比類なきもの。ソーマ(Soma)の流れがわれを歓喜させ、讃歌(uktha)がわれを高めるとき、はるか彼方の無辺の果てにおいてさえ、二つの広大な界は震えおののく。

Mantra 7

विदुष्टे विश्वा भुवनानि तस्य ता प्र ब्रवीषि वरुणाय वेधः । त्वं वृत्राणि शृण्विषे जघन्वान्त्वं वृताँ अरिणा इन्द्र सिन्धून् ॥

万有は汝のそれを知る。ゆえに、智者よ、汝はそれをヴァルナ(Varuṇa)に向けて宣べ示す。汝インドラ(Indra)、殺戮者は、諸ヴリトラ(Vṛtra)を打ち砕き、塞がれていた河々を解き放つ。

Mantra 8

अस्माकमत्र पितरस्त आसन्त्सप्त ऋषयो दौर्गहे बध्यमाने । त आयजन्त त्रसदस्युमस्या इन्द्रं न वृत्रतुरमर्धदेवम् ॥

ここ、われらのこの場において、汝の父祖たちは据え置かれていた——七人のリシ(ṛṣi)——捉えがたきものが縛られつつあったときに。彼らはそこで祭儀を行い、この系譜のトラサダスユ(Trasadasyu)を形づくった。ヴリトラ(Vṛtra)を討つインドラ(Indra)のごとき、半ば神なる力(なお全き光明へと向かうもの)として。

Mantra 10

राया वयं ससवांसो मदेम हव्येन देवा यवसेन गावः । तां धेनुमिन्द्रावरुणा युवं नो विश्वाहा धत्तमनपस्फुरन्तीम् ॥

供物によってRāyā(充溢の富・存在の充満)を勝ち得て、われらは歓喜せん。養いの増しによって、神々の光明の力も、光の牛の群れも栄えよ。乳を流す牝牛――豊饒の流れ出る源――を、インドラ=ヴァルナよ、われらのうちに常しえに据えたまえ。失せず、こぼれ落ちぬものとして。

Inside Sukta 42

How it unfolds

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. Climax

    The peak is the explicit self-proclamation—“ahaṃ rājā varuṇaḥ”—where sovereignty, ṛta, and universal governance are claimed in a single revelatory stance.

  4. 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

  • In the VedaVaruṇa is portrayed as a royal Asura—majestic, far-seeing, and all-encompassing—who upholds ṛta, binds wrongdoing, and protects the truthful through his sovereign will (kratu).
  • 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
Verse 4.42.2Central proclamation of Varuṇa’s kingship and the gods’ alignment with his will (kratu), encapsulating the hymn’s royal-ṛta theology.Read verse 4.42.2 →
विदुष्टे विश्वा भुवनानि तस्य ता प्र ब्रवीषि वरुणाय वेधः । त्वं वृत्राणि शृण्विषे जघन्वान्त्वं वृताँ अरिणा इन्द्र सिन्धून् ॥
Verse 4.42.7Shows the hymn’s dialogic breadth by invoking Indra’s Vṛtra-slaying and river-releasing power in relation to Varuṇa—linking moral sovereignty with victorious liberation.Read verse 4.42.7 →
anapasphurantīm
Verse 4.42.10Concludes with the concrete prayer for enduring prosperity (rāyī) and the unfailing source of nourishment (dhenū), addressed to Indra–Varuṇa as stabilizers of abundance.Read verse 4.42.10 →

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.

Ask anything about Sukta 42 of the Rig Veda

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