Dyaus and Varuna: the Visible Heaven and the Heaven of the Law

In the Rig Veda, the Sky is not a single reality.
It has different levels and functions.
Two deities express this clearly: Dyaus and Varuna.

1. Dyaus: the visible sky

Dyaus is the bright sky, the daylight sky above the Earth.
He is vast, stable, and silent.

He does not command.
He does not judge.
He does not act.

Dyaus is the framework of existence.

2. Varuna: the invisible sky

Varuna belongs to another dimension.
He is not the physical sky, but that which surrounds everything.

Varuna is linked to Ṛta, the natural law, often translated as Truth.
He maintains cosmic order and coherence.

This is not a moral law imposed on humans.
It is a law that already exists.

3. Two skies, two roles

• Dyaus: space
• Varuna: order

Dyaus makes life possible.
Varuna makes it meaningful.

4. A different conception of heaven

Later religions often turn the sky into a place of judgment or power.
The Rig Veda does not.

The sky is not a court.
It is a cosmic principle.

5. Inner meaning

• Dyaus: inner space, silence, openness
• Varuna: inner truth, alignment

Illumination requires both.

Conclusion

Dyaus and Varuna describe two dimensions of reality.
Space without order dissolves.
Order without space suffocates.