Rig Veda 5.85.1: Mandala 5, Sukta 85, Mantra 1
Sukta 5.85
- Rishi
- Atri
- Devata
- Varuṇa
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace) and Adbhuta (wonder)
प्र सम्राजे बृहदर्चा गभीरं ब्रह्म प्रियं वरुणाय श्रुताय । वि यो जघान शमितेव चर्मोपस्तिरे पृथिवीं सूर्याय ॥
prá samrā́je bṛhád arcā gabhīráṃ bráhma priyáṃ váruṇāya śrutā́ya | ví yó jaghā́na śamitā́-iva cármo ’pa-stíre pṛthivī́ṃ sū́ryāya ||
จงขับขานถ้อยศักดิ์สิทธิ์อันกว้างใหญ่และลึกซึ้ง คือพรหมัน (brahman) อันเป็นที่รัก แด่พระวรุณะ (Varuṇa) ผู้เป็นมหาราชาผู้ทรงสดับ. พระองค์ทรงแผ่แผ่นดินเพื่อดวงอาทิตย์ ดุจช่างฟอกหนังยืดหนังให้ตึง ทรงสถาปนาพื้นที่แห่งระเบียบให้แสงเคลื่อนไปได้
Word by Word
- प्र
- forth; forwardIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot प्र (उपसर्ग) / प्र (अव्यय)
- सम्राजे
- to the sovereign (king)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी-एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot सम्राज् (प्रातिपदिक)
- बृहत्
- greatAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-एकवचन (ब्रह्मणः विशेषणम्)Role KarmaRoot बृहत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- अर्चा
- sing/praise!Verbलोट्; मध्यम-पुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदRoot अर्च् (धातु)
- गभीरम्
- deepAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-एकवचन (ब्रह्मणः विशेषणम्)Role KarmaRoot गभीर (प्रातिपदिक)
- ब्रह्म
- sacred formulation; hymn/prayerNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-एकवचनRole KarmaRoot ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रियम्
- dear; pleasingAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-एकवचन (ब्रह्मणः विशेषणम्)Role KarmaRoot प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
- वरुणाय
- for/to VaruṇaNounपुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी-एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot वरुण (प्रातिपदिक)
- श्रुताय
- the renowned; the famed (one)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी-एकवचन (वरुणस्य विशेषणम्)Role SampradānaRoot श्रुत (√श्रु क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त, ‘heard/renowned’)
- वि
- apart; asunderIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot वि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- यः
- whoPronounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचनRole KartāRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- जघान
- has struck; smoteVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परोक्श भूत); प्रथम-पुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदRoot √हन् (धातु)
- शमितेव
- like a tanner/curer (of hides)Noun + Indeclinableशमिता: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचन; इव: अव्ययRole Kartā (उपमान-कर्तृ) / —Root शमितृ (प्रातिपदिक) + इव (अव्यय)
- चर्म
- hide; skinNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-एकवचनRole KarmaRoot चर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- उपस्तिरे
- has spread out; has laid downVerbलिट्; प्रथम-पुरुष; एकवचन; आत्मनेपदRoot उप-√स्तृ (धातु)
- पृथिवीम्
- the earthNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-एकवचनRole KarmaRoot पृथिवी (प्रातिपदिक)
- सूर्याय
- for/to the SunNounपुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी-एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot सूर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: प्र | सम्राजे | बृहत् | अर्चा | गभीरम् | ब्रह्म | प्रियम् | वरुणाय | श्रुताय || वि | यः | जघान | शमितेव (= शमिता इव) | चर्म | उपस्तिरे | पृथिवीम् | सूर्याय || प्रमुख-सन्धयः: (1) शमिता + इव → शमितेव (स्वर-सन्धि/ए-आदेश)
- (2) चर्म + उपस्तिरे → चर्मोपस्तिरे (अ + उ → ओ)
The meaning
Outer meaning
Sing a vast and deep sacred utterance to Varuṇa, the king who is heard. He spread out the Earth for the Sun as a tanner stretches a hide, establishing the field for the Sun’s movement.
Inner meaning
Varuṇa is the sovereign of ṛta: the vast, deep law of truth and harmony. The ‘bṛhat gabhīram brahma’ is not merely praise but a mantric formulation that aligns the seeker with cosmic order. Varuṇa ‘is heard’ (śrutāya): the inner Law responds when called in sincerity. Spreading Earth for the Sun signifies establishing a stable, wide foundation in the nature (pṛthivī: body-life) so the light of consciousness (sūrya: illumined Truth-mind) can move freely and govern. The ‘tanner stretching a hide’ conveys disciplined extension: nature is made wide, firm, and serviceable—purified and ordered—so illumination can operate without distortion.
Universal truth
A life founded on truth-order becomes a broad, stable field where higher light can move and act. Spiritual speech is effective when it is vast, deep, and aligned with inner law.
Themes
Cosmogony, Kingship of order, Mantric speech (brahman)
The seer
- Rishi
- Atri Ātreya (hymn attribution likely)
- Lineage
- Ātreya
- Other hymns
- RV 5.85, RV 5.86
Family tradition
Ātreya hymns to Varuṇa often stress vastness, depth, and the moral-spiritual order (ṛta) as inner law.
Significance
Atri’s Varuṇa-vision is a yoga of truth and wideness: the mantra is an instrument to align speech, mind, and life with the sovereign order so that the Sun of illumination may move unobstructed.
The deity
- Devata
- Varuṇa
- Epithets
- samrāj (sovereign), śruta (the Heard), ṛtasya gopā (guardian of ṛta, implied)
- Related deities
- Mitra (harmony/contract), Sūrya (truth-light), Ādityas (law-powers)
Cosmic role
Upholder of ṛta and satya; establishes the world-order, measures, boundaries, and the moral-spiritual law.
Inner power
Conscience and vast purity: the power that widens, disciplines, and makes the nature transparent to truth-light.
In ritual
Where it is used
Varuṇa invocations in śrauta rites (Āditya offerings), expiation (prāyaścitta) and truth-oaths; protection of order in community.
प्र स॒म्राजे॑ बृ॒हद॑र्चा गभी॒रं ब्रह्म॑ प्रि॒यं वरु॑णाय श्रु॒ताय॑ । वि यो ज॒घान॑ शमि॒तेव॒ चर्मो॑प॒स्तिरे॑ पृथि॒वीं सूर्या॑य ॥
प्र । स॒म्ऽराजे॑ । बृ॒हत् । अ॒र्च॒ । ग॒भी॒रम् । ब्रह्म॑ । प्रि॒यम् । वरु॑णाय । श्रु॒ताय॑ । वि । यः । ज॒घान॑ । श॒मि॒ताऽइ॑व । चर्म॑ । उ॒प॒ऽस्तिरे॑ । पृ॒थि॒वीम् । सूर्या॑य ॥
pra | sam-rāje | bṛhat | arca | gabhīram | brahma | priyam | varuṇāya | śrutāya | vi | yaḥ | jaghāna | śamitāiva | carma | upa-stire | pṛthivīm | sūryāya
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4 × ~11 syllables
Majestic, stately, sovereign; long breath-lines suit ‘vast and deep’ brahma.
Induces wideness and gravity; supports ethical clarity and steady alignment with inner law.
- सम्राज् (samrāj)
- Literal: sovereign king. Symbolic: supreme governor of inner law; the ruling principle of truth and order in consciousness
- बृहद् (bṛhad)
- Literal: vast. Symbolic: wideness of consciousness required for truth-order
- गभीर (gabhīra)
- Literal: deep. Symbolic: depth of being beyond surface mind; profound mantric resonance
- ब्रह्म (brahma)
- Literal: sacred utterance, prayer; brahman. Symbolic: mantric power that forms consciousness in harmony with ṛta
- श्रुत (śruta)
- Literal: heard. Symbolic: the responsive divine law within; the inner ear of truth that answers sincere invocation
- सूर्य (sūrya)
- Literal: sun. Symbolic: illumined truth-consciousness; clarity that governs and reveals
- पृथिवी (pṛthivī)
- Literal: earth. Symbolic: embodied nature; foundation to be widened and ordered for light
- चर्म (carma)
- Literal: hide/skin. Symbolic: raw nature-substance that must be stretched/formed by discipline into a fit field for illumination
Varuṇa hymns used for alignment with ṛta, confession/rectification, and establishing right order in ritual and life; suitable in Soma rites and expiatory contexts.
At rites emphasizing ṛta, vows, purification, and restoration after transgression; also dawn/day invocations linked with Sūrya.
Recitation with water/clarity symbolism; offerings seeking forgiveness, order, and right movement of light in life.
For inner alignment: chant before making commitments, when seeking integrity, or to restore calm order after confusion.
Varuṇa (from √vṛ ‘cover/encompass/bind’) is the enveloper who sets limits and order; samrāj ‘universal king’ intensifies sovereignty. upa-√stṛ ‘spread’ gives the cosmogonic artisan image; the tanner simile shows deliberate shaping of matter to serve light (sūrya).
Ṛta (Varuṇa’s law), Bṛhat (vastness), Cosmic formation as conscious craftsmanship
Varuṇa is the sovereign of ṛta; ‘spreading Earth for the Sun’ is establishing the ordered field for truth-light.
Śruta: truth responds; the mantra is ‘heard’ when aligned with satya.
Cosmic ordering: establishing the field (earth) for the movement of light (sun).
Vedāntic/Integral: world-order as manifestation of truth; discipline widens nature for higher consciousness.
daybreak/day (Sun’s movement implied)
Earth = embodied foundation; Sun = illumined consciousness; stretching hide = disciplined formation/widening of nature to receive and express truth.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- Varuṇa as cosmic sovereign who fashions the world-field so that the Sun may move—Earth spread like a hide. Inner sense: the power of ṛta shapes the embodied nature into a usable expanse for the light of consciousness.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The sky/sun-earth cosmogonic pairing is archaic IE. Varuṇa’s ‘binding’ resonates with IE juridical-sacral notions of oath and order. The artisan simile (tanner stretching hide) reflects a concrete-material metaphor typical of early IE poetic realism used to express abstract cosmogony.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The rishi offers brahman (effective sacred speech) as what is ‘dear’ to Varuṇa—suggesting that truthful formulation is itself participation in ṛta. Varuṇa responds by sustaining the ordered world-field in which the seeker can host the Sun (illumination).
Widening under law: feel vast sky-like purity above; let an inner ‘sovereign’ set thoughts and impulses into right order; visualize the Sun moving freely over a broad inner earth.
ajna (truth-seeing) and vishuddha (truth-speech/mantra as brahma)
Slow coherent breathing (e.g., 5–5 or 6–6); on inhale feel wideness (bṛhat), on exhale feel depth (gabhīra).
Quiet sovereignty: spacious, disciplined, truthful.
Chant once slowly, then sit with a vow of satya for the day (one concrete truthful act). If guilt or confusion arises, offer it to Varuṇa inwardly and return to wideness without self-attack.
Maintain Vedic accents; keep ‘pra samrāje’ with a dignified rise; sustain long vowels to convey bṛhat/gabhīra.
Pause after gabhīram; give weight to varuṇāya śrutāya; articulate the simile (śamiteva carma) with clear caesura.
samrāje: nasal ‘ṃ’ before r; long ā, gabhīram: bh aspirated; long ī, varuṇāya: retroflex ṇ; long āya, śamiteva: ś (palatal) not ṣ; ‘teva’ linked but clear, carma: ‘c’ palatal; avoid ‘ch’, sūryāya: long ū; ‘ry’ cluster clean
Deep, steady, sovereign; minimal ornamentation.
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