Back Varuna ALS فارونا Arabic বৰুণ Assamese Varūna BAT-SMG Varuna BCL Варуна Byelorussian वरुण Bihari বরুণ (দেবতা) Bengali/Bangla Varuna Breton Varuna Catalan
| Varuna | |
|---|---|
| Member of Adityas and Dikpala | |
.jpg) Sculpture of Varuna at the 11th-century Rajarani Hindu temple.[1] | |
| Affiliation | Vedic: Asuras, Devas, Adityas
Itihasa-Puranic: Devas, Adityas, Dikpalas |
| Abode | Ocean |
| Planet | Neptune[2] |
| Mantra | Oṃ jala bimbāya vidmahe nīla puruṣāya dhīmahi tanno varuṇaḥ pracodayāt Oṃ Varunāya Namaḥ |
| Weapon | Noose, Varunastra, Gandiva |
| Mount | Makara |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | |
| Spouse | |
| Children |
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| Equivalents | |
| Greek | Poseidon |
| Norse | Njörðr |
| Roman | Neptune |
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Varuna (/ˈvɜːrʊnə, ˈvɑːrə-/;[6] Sanskrit: वरुण, IAST: Varuṇa) is one of the earliest deities in Hinduism, whose role underwent a significant transformation from the Vedic to the Puranic periods. In the early Vedic era, Varuna is seen as the god-sovereign, ruling the sky and embodying divine authority. He is also mentioned as the king of asuras, who gained the status of a deva, serving as the chief of the Adityas, a group of celestial deities. He maintains truth and ṛta, the cosmic and moral order, and was invoked as an omniscient ethical judge, with the stars symbolizing his watchful eyes or spies. Frequently paired with Mitra, Varuna represents the magical and speculative aspects of sovereignty, overseeing the relationship between gods and humans.[7][8][9][10]
The transition from the Vedic to later periods saw Varuna's domain begin to shift from the firmament to waters. He became associated with celestial waters, marking the initial phase of his transformation. By the time of the Itihasa-Purana, Varuna had transformed into the lord of all waters, ruling over oceans, rivers, streams, and lakes. Depicted as residing in a magnificent underwater palace, akin to Poseidon in Greek mythology, he is attended by river goddesses like Ganga and Yamuna. Varuna’s earlier supremacy diminished, and he was relegated to a lesser role as a dikpala, or guardian of the western direction. He is depicted as a youthful man, mounted on Makara (crocodile-like creature) and holding a Pasha (noose, rope loop) and a pitcher in his hands.[7][11][8] He is depicted as having multiple wives and children, the most notable of the latter being the sages Vasishtha and Agastya.[7]
Varuna is also mentioned in the Tamil grammar work Tolkāppiyam, as Kadalon the god of sea and rain.[12] He is found in Japanese Buddhist mythology as Suiten.[11] He is also found in Jainism.[13][14]
- ^ George Michell (1977). The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to Its Meaning and Forms. University of Chicago Press. pp. 4, 44–45 with Figure 15. ISBN 978-0-226-53230-1.
- ^ "Planetary Linguistics". 2007-12-17. Archived from the original on 17 December 2007. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
:2was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ G.V.Tagare (1958). Brahmanda Purana – English Translation – Part 3 of 5. pp. 794.
- ^ www.wisdomlib.org (2017-10-09). "Stuta, Stutā: 5 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
- ^ "Varuna". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
- ^ a b c George Mason Williams (2003). Handbook of Hindu Mythology. ABC-CLIO. p. 294. ISBN 978-1-57607-106-9.
- ^ a b James G. Lochtefeld (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: N-Z. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 741. ISBN 978-0-8239-3180-4.
- ^ Dalal, Roshen (2010). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin Books India. ISBN 9780143414216.
- ^ Bauer, Susan Wise (2007). The History of the Ancient World: From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome (1st ed.). New York: W. W. Norton. p. 265. ISBN 978-0-393-05974-8.
- ^ a b Adrian Snodgrass (1992). The Symbolism of the Stupa. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 120–122 with footnotes. ISBN 978-81-208-0781-5.
- ^ Journal of Tamil Studies. International Institute of Tamil Studies. 1969. p. 131.
- ^ Sehdev Kumar (2001). A Thousand Petalled Lotus: Jain Temples of Rajasthan : Architecture & Iconography. Abhinav Publications. p. 18. ISBN 978-81-7017-348-9.
- ^ Kristi L. Wiley (2009). The A to Z of Jainism. Scarecrow. p. 248. ISBN 978-0-8108-6821-2.