3. I ask, O Varu_n_a, wishing to know this my sin. I go to ask the wise. The sages all tell me the same: Varu_n_a it is who is angry with thee. 4. Was it an old sin, O Varu_n_a, that thou wishest to destroy thy friend, who always praises thee? Tell me, thou unconquerable lord, and I will quickly turn to thee with praise, freed from sin. 5. Absolve us from the sins of our fathers, and from those which we committed with our own bodies. Release Vasish_t_ha, O king, like a thief who has feasted on stolen oxen; release him like a calf from the rope. 6. It was not our own doing, O Varu_n_a, it was necessity (or temptation), an intoxicating draught, passion, dice, thoughtlessness. The old is there to mislead the young; even sleep brings unrighteousness. 7. Let me without sin give satisfaction to the angry god, like a slave to the bounteous lord. The lord god enlightened the foolish; he, the wisest, leads his worshipper to wealth. 8. O lord Varu_n_a, may this song go well to thy heart! May we prosper in keeping and acquiring! Protect us, O gods, always with your blessings! The consciousness of sin is a prominent feature in the religion of the Veda, so is likewise the belief that the gods are able to take away from man the heavy burden of his sins. And when we read such passages as 'Varu_n_a is merciful even to him who has committed sin' (Rv. VII. 87, 7), we should surely not allow the strange name of Varu_n_a to jar on our ears, but should remember that it is but one of the many names which men invented in their helplessness to express their ideas of the Deity, however partial and imperfect. The next hymn, which is taken from the Atharva-veda (IV. 16), will show how near the language of the ancient poets of India may approach to the language of the Bible:[25] 1. The great lord of these worlds sees as if he were near. If a man thinks he is walking by stealth, the gods know it all. 2. If a man stands or walks or hides, if he goes to lie down or to get up, what two people sitting together whisper, king Varu_n_a knows it, he is there as the third. 3. This earth, too, belongs to Varu_n_a, the king, and this wide sky with its ends far apart. The two seas (the sky and the ocean) are Varu_n_a's loins; he is also contained in this small drop of water. 4. He who should flee far beyond the sky, even he would not be rid of Varu_n_a, the king. His spies proceed from heaven towards this world; with thousand eyes they overlook this earth. 5. King Varu_n_a sees all this, what is between heaven and earth, and what is beyond. He has counted the twinklings of the eyes of men. As a player throws the dice, he settles all things.