Varuni

A 13th-century sculpture of Varuni.

A sculpture of Varunani (left) with her consort Varuna

Varuni (Sanskrit: वारुणी, romanized: Vāruṇī) refers both to a intoxicating beverage and the goddess of liquor and intoxication in Hindu mythology.^[1] The drink Varuni is generally described as a fragrant wine made from date palm. The goddess Varuni, is associated not only with the drink Varuni but with all intoxicating beverages. She is commonly described in mythology as the daughter of Varuna, the god of water, though she is sometimes attested as his wife elsewhere. When both a wife and a daughter of Varuna are attested in a text, they are distinguished by naming conventions: when the daughter—who is the goddess of wine—is referred to as Varuni, the wife is called Varunani; and when the wife is named Varuni, the daughter is called by the common term for liquor—Surā. In mythology, the goddess emerges during the Samudra Manthana (churning of the ocean), bringing the drink with herself and chooses the companionship of either the Devas or the Asuras, depending on the version. Elsewhere, Varuni as a goddess is depicted offering wine to the deity Balarama, further linking her to divine intoxication in devotional literature.^[2]^[3]^[4]

In the goddess orient Shakta sect of Hinduism, Varuni is also the name of a Matrika—personification of Varuna's energy.^[5]

^ Stutley, Margaret (9 April 2019). The Illustrated Dictionary of Hindu Iconography. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-62425-4.
^ Dalal, Roshen (18 April 2014). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin UK. ISBN 978-81-8475-277-9.
^ McHugh, James (17 September 2021). An Unholy Brew: Alcohol in Indian History and Religions. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-760303-1.
^ Daniélou, Alain (December 1991). The Myths and Gods of India: The Classic Work on Hindu Polytheism from the Princeton Bollingen Series. Inner Traditions / Bear & Co. ISBN 978-0-89281-354-4.
^ Dalal, Roshen (18 April 2014). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin UK. ISBN 978-81-8475-277-9.

[1] Stutley, Margaret (9 April 2019). The Illustrated Dictionary of Hindu Iconography. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-62425-4.

[2] Dalal, Roshen (18 April 2014). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin UK. ISBN 978-81-8475-277-9.

[:1-3] McHugh, James (17 September 2021). An Unholy Brew: Alcohol in Indian History and Religions. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-760303-1.

[4] Daniélou, Alain (December 1991). The Myths and Gods of India: The Classic Work on Hindu Polytheism from the Princeton Bollingen Series. Inner Traditions / Bear & Co. ISBN 978-0-89281-354-4.

[5] Dalal, Roshen (18 April 2014). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin UK. ISBN 978-81-8475-277-9.

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Varuni

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