I

The mighty Varuna, who rules above, looks down
Upon these worlds, his kingdom, as if close at hand.
When men imagine they do ought by stealth, he knows it.
No one can stand or walk or softly glide along

Or hide in dark recess, or lurk in secret cell,
But Varuna detects him and his movements spies.
Two persons may devise some plot, together sitting
In private and alone; but he, the king, is there-

A third-and sees it all. This boundless earth is his,
His the vast sky, whose depth no mortal e'er can fathom.
Both oceans' find a place within his body, yet

In that small pool he lies contained. Whoe'er should flee
Far, far beyond the sky, would not escape the grasp
Of Varuna, the king. His messengers descend
Countless from his abode-for ever traversing

This world and scanning with a thousand eyes its inmates.
Whate'er exists within this earth, and all within the sky,
Yea all that is beyond, king Varuna perceives.

The winkings of men's eyes, are numbered all by him.

He wields the universe, as gamesters handle dice.

May thy destroying snares cast sevenfold round the wicked,
Entangle liars, but the truthful spare, O king!3

pass from the ancient Aryan deity Varuna to the more thoroughly Indian god Indra (see p. 13).

The following metrical lines bring together various scattered texts relating to this god*:

translations, sentences and words being here and there omitted or transposed, or fragments joined together, so as to read like one continuous passage. In fact, it will be seen that my main design has been to offer English versions of the text for general readers and for those students and educated men who, not being necessarily Sanskritists, are desirous of some insight into Hindu literature.

1 That is, air and sea.

2 The winking of the eye is an especial characteristic of humanity, distinguishing men from gods; cf. Nala V. 25, Magha III. 42.

3 Compare Manu VIII. 82: 'A witness who speaks falsely is fast bound by the snares of Varuna.' These snares are explained by Kullūka to be 'cords consisting of serpents' (pāśaiḥ sarpa-rajjubhiḥ).

4 The texts which furnish the basis of these and the succeeding verses

Indra, twin brother of the god of fire,

When thou wast born, thy mother Aditi

Gave thee, her lusty child, the thrilling draught
Of mountain-growing Soma-source of life
And never-dying vigour to thy frame.

Then at the Thunderer's birth, appalled with fear,
Dreading the hundred-jointed thunderbolt-

Forged by the cunning Tvashṭri-mountains rocked,
Earth shook and heaven trembled. Thou wast born
Without a rival, king of gods and men—
The eye of living and terrestrial things.
Immortal Indra, unrelenting foe

Of drought and darkness, infinitely wise,
Terrific crusher of thy enemies,

Heroic, irresistible in might,

Wall of defence to us thy worshippers,
We sing thy praises, and our ardent hymns
Embrace thee, as a loving wife her lord.
Thou art our guardian, advocate, and friend,
A brother, father, mother, all combined.
Most fatherly of fathers, we are thine

And thou art ours; oh! let thy pitying soul
Turn to us in compassion, when we praise thee,
And slay us not for one sin or for many.
Deliver us to-day, to-morrow, every day.

Armed for the conflict, see! the demons come—
Ahi and Vṛitra, and a long array

Of darksome spirits. Quick, then, quaff the draught
That stimulates thy martial energy,

And dashing onward in thy golden car,

Drawn by thy ruddy, Ribhu-fashioned1 steeds,
Speed to the charge, escorted by the Maruts.
Vainly the demons dare thy might; in vain
Strive to deprive us of thy watery treasures.
Earth quakes beneath the crashing of thy bolts.
Pierced, shattered, lies the foe-his cities crushed,
His armies overthrown, his fortresses

Shivered to fragments; then the pent-up waters,

will be found in the 5th volume of Dr. Muir's work, and there will also

be found a complete poetical sketch of Indra (pp. 126–139).

1 The Ribhus (Greek 'Oppeús) were the celestial artists of the Veda.

C

Released from long imprisonment, descend
In torrents to the earth, and swollen rivers,
Foaming and rolling to their ocean home,

Proclaim the triumph of the Thunderer.

Let us proceed next to the all-important Vedic deity
Agni, 'god of fire,' especially of sacrificial fire. I propose
now to paraphrase a few of the texts which relate to him:
Agni, thou art a sage, a priest, a king,
Protector, father of the sacrifice.
Commissioned by us men thou dost ascend
A messenger, conveying to the sky

Our hymns and offerings. Though thy origin
Be threefold, now from air and now from water,
Now from the mystic double Araņi1,

Thou art thyself a mighty god, a lord,
Giver of life and immortality,

One in thy essence, but to mortals three;
Displaying thine eternal triple form,
As fire on earth, as lightning in the air,
As sun in heaven. Thou art a cherished guest
In every household-father, brother, son,
Friend, benefactor, guardian, all in one.

Bright, seven-rayed god! how manifold thy shapes
Revealed to us thy votaries! now we see thee,

With body all of gold, and radiant hair
Flaming from three terrific heads, and mouths.
Whose burning jaws and teeth devour all things.
Now with a thousand glowing horns, and now
Flashing thy lustre from a thousand eyes,
Thou'rt borne towards us in a golden chariot,
Impelled by winds, and drawn by ruddy steeds,

Marking thy car's destructive course, with blackness.

Deliver, mighty lord, thy worshippers.

Purge us from taint of sin, and when we die,

Deal mercifully with us on the pyre,

Burning our bodies with their load of guilt,

But bearing our eternal part on high

To luminous abodes and realms of bliss,

For ever there to dwell with righteous men.

1 Two pieces of the wood of the Ficus religiosa used for kindling fire.

The next deity is Surya, 'the Sun',' who, with reference to the variety of his functions, has various names—such as Savitri, Aryaman,. Mitra, Varuna, Pushan, sometimes ranking as distinct deities of the celestial sphere. As already explained, he is associated in the minds of Vedic worshippers with Fire, and is frequently described as sitting in a chariot drawn by seven ruddy horses (representing the seven days of the week), preceded by the Dawn. Here is an example of a hymn (Rig-veda I. 50) addressed to this deity, translated almost literally:

Behold the rays of Dawn, like heralds, lead on high
The Sun, that men may see the great all-knowing god.
The stars slink off like thieves, in company with Night,
Before the all-seeing eye, whose beams reveal his presence,
Gleaming like brilliant flames, to nation after nation.
With speed, beyond the ken of mortals, thou, O Sun,
Dost ever travel on, conspicuous to all.

Thou dost create the light, and with it dost illume
The universe entire; thou risest in the sight

Of all the race of men, and all the host of heaven.
Light-giving Varuna! thy piercing glance doth scan
In quick succession all this stirring, active world,
And penetrateth too the broad ethereal space,

Measuring our days and nights and spying out all creatures.

Surya with flaming locks, clear-sighted god of day,

Thy seven ruddy mares bear on thy rushing car.

With these thy self-yoked steeds, seven daughters of thy chariot,
Onward thou dost advance. To thy refulgent orb

Beyond this lower gloom and upward to the light
Would we ascend, O Sun, thou god among the gods.

As an accompaniment to this hymn may here be mentioned the celebrated Gayatrī. It is a short prayer to the Sun in his character of Savitri or 'the Vivifier,' and is the most sacred of all Vedic texts. Though not always understood, it is to this very day used by every Brāhman throughout India in his daily devotions. It occurs in

1 Yāska makes Indra, Agni, and Surya the Vedic Triad of gods.

Rig-veda III. 62. 101, and can be literally translated as follows:

Let us meditate (or, we meditate) on that excellent glory of the divine Vivifier. May he enlighten (or stimulate) our understandings. [Tat Savitur varenyam bhargo devasya dhimahi, Dhiyo yo naḥ praćodayāt.]

May we not conjecture, with Sir William Jones, that the great veneration in which this text has ever been held by the Hindus from time immemorial, indicates that the more enlightened worshippers adored, under the type of the visible sun, that divine light which alone could illumine their intellects?

I may here also fitly offer a short paraphrase descriptive of the Vedic Ushas, the Greek 'Hús, or 'Dawn:'

Hail ruddy Ushas, golden goddess, borne
Upon thy shining car, thou comest like
A lovely maiden by her mother decked,
Disclosing coyly all thy hidden graces
To our admiring eyes; or like a wife
Unveiling to her lord, with conscious pride,
Beauties which, as he gazes lovingly,

Seem fresher, fairer each succeeding morn.
Through years on years thou hast lived on, and yet
Thou'rt ever young. Thou art the breath and life
Of all that breathes and lives, awaking day by day
Myriads of prostrate sleepers, as from death,
Causing the birds to flutter from their nests,
And rousing men to ply with busy feet
Their daily duties and appointed tasks,

Toiling for wealth or pleasure or renown.

Before leaving the subject of the Vedic deities I add a few words about Yama, 'the god of departed spirits.' It appears tolerably certain that the doctrine of metempsychosis has no place in the Mantra portion of the Veda 2,

1 Note that the Rishi or author was Viśvāmitra, a Kshatriya. 2 In Mandala I. 164. 32, bahu-prajaḥ is explained by bahu-janma-bhāk, 'subject to many births,' but it may mean 'having abundant offspring.'