A History of Indian Literature v1.c8.s2.76

v1.c8.s2.76

Yet the character of the hymns—and I am now speaking of those which contain invocations or songs of praise to the gods, without being composed for definite sacrificial purposes—is very different, according to the deities to which they are dedicated. Amongst the loftiest and most inspired poems are indisputably the songs to Varuṇa. There are indeed not many of them. Varuṇa, however, is the only one amongst the Vedic gods, who stands nobly elevated above mortals, whom the poet ventures to approach only with trembling and fear, and in humble reverence. Varuṇa it is, too, who concerns himself more than any other god of the Vedic pantheon with the moral ways of men and punishes the sinners. Contritely, therefore, the poet approaches him and pleads for forgiveness of his sins. Thus the hymns addressed to Varuṇa are the only ones which lend themselves, to a certain extent, to comparison with the poetry of the Psalms. As a specimen I give the hymn Ṛv. V, 85 in the translation of R. T. H. Griffith:—