Varuna

“ Strike us not, Varuna, with those dread weapons which, Asura, at thy bidding wound the sinner. Let us not pass away from light to exile. Scatter, that we may live, the men who hate us 8. O mighty Varuna, now and hereafter, even as of old, will we speak forth our worship. For in thyself, invincible God, thy statutes never to be moved are fixed as on a mountain. 9. Move far from me what sins I have committed: let me not suffer, King, for guilt of others. Full many a morn remains to dawn upon us: in these, O Varuna, while we live direct us. ”

“ As Varuna became gradually greatest, so did Indra in turn. But Varuna was a philosopher's god, not a warrior's; and Varuna was not double and mystical. So even the priest (Agni) leaves Varuna, and with the warrior takes more pleasure in his twin Indra; of him making an All-god, a greatest god. Varuna is passive; Indra is energetic; but Indra does not struggle for his lordship. Inspired by soma, he smites, triumphs, punishes. Victor already, he descends upon his enemies and with a blow destroys them. It is rarely that he feels the effect of battle; he never doubts its issue. ”

“ Both the idea and the name of Varuna as a god of sky were known to the ancestors of the Aryan nations before the Indo-Aryans and the Iranians separated. In that remote period Varuna was the highest and holiest of the gods, and represented the spiritual aspect of religion. After the separation had taken place, this deity of righteousness was translated in Iran into Ahura Mazda, the supreme deity, while to the Hindu Varuna the Vedic bard sang:—
"O Varuna! the birds that fly have not attained thy power or thy vigour; the water which flows ceaselessly and the moving wind do not surpass thy speed. ”

“ VARUNA, in early Hindu mythology, the greatest, with Indra, of the gods of the Rig Veda. He is invoked with his double Mitra in some dozen hymns. As contrasted with Indra the war god, Varuna is the lord of the natural laws, the up- holder of the physical and moral order of the universe. His power is limitless, his anger at wrong-doing unassuageable, and he is omniscient. He makes the sunshine; the wind is his breath; river valleys are hollowed out at his command. Unlike Indra, Varuna has no myths related of him. ”

“ Varuna, Lord of Waters; and beyond,
Yama, the King of Death, who parteth souls
From mortal frames. To Damayanti go;
Tell our approach. Say this: 'The world's dread lords,
Wishful to see thee, come; desiring thee—
Indra, Varuna, Agni, Yama, all.
Choose of these powers to which thou wilt be given.'"
But Nala, hearing that, joined palms again,
And cried: "Ah, send me not, with one accord
For this, most mighty Gods! How should a man
Sue for another, being suitor too?
How bear such errand? Have compassion, Gods!"
Then spake they: "Yet thou saidst, 'This shall I do,'
Nishadha's Prince! ”

“ It is by Varuna's power that they stand firm. He has established the sun 'like a tree,' i.e., like a support, and 'made a path for it.' [63] He has a thousand remedies for ills; to his realm not even the birds can ascend, nor wind or swift waters attain. It is in accordance with the changeless order [64] of Varuna that the stars and the moon go their regular course; he gives long life and releases from harm, from wrong, and from sin. [65]
Varuna is the most exalted of those gods whose origin is physical. His realm is all above us; the sun and stars are his eyes ”

“ The points of the heavens, the Earth, and all the Mountains, as also every species of aquatic animals, all worship Varuna there. And various tribes of Gandharvas and Apsaras, devoted to music, both vocal and instrumental, wait upon Varuna, singing eulogistic hymns unto him. And all those mountains that are noted for being both delightful and rich in jewels, wait (in their personified forms) in that Sabha, enjoying sweet converse with one another. ”

“ And Varuna, the Lord of the waters, having bound those Danavas, with Dharma’s noose, as also with his own, keepeth them within the depths of the ocean, always guarding them carefully. Binding in the same way Duryodhana and Karna and Sakuni, the son of Suvala, and Dussasana, make them over to the Pandavas. For the sake of a family, an individual may be sacrificed. For a village, a family may be sacrificed. For the sake of a province, a village may be sacrificed. And lastly, for the sake of one’s self, the whole earth may be sacrificed. ”

“ The Adityas are a brotherhood or college of gods, but some of the members of the fraternity have more individual character than, for example, the Maruts, who are simply a company with a tendency to become confused with the Adityas. Considered as a triad, the Adityas are Varuna, Mitra, Aryaman. The name of Varuna is commonly derived from vri (or Var) ,* to cover, according to the commentator Sayana, because "he envelops the wicked in his snares," the nets which he carries to capture the guilty. As god of the midnight sky, Varuna is also "the covering" deity, with his universal pall of darkness. ”

“ When thus suffering, Indra, in the form of an old Brahman, passed by, and offered to take hold of the stone. No sooner did Ravana entrust it to him, than he let it fall to the ground. It is said that it sank into the earth, the top of it being visible at Vaidyanath in Birbhum to this day. The river Khursu is said to have taken its rise from Varuna when he left Ravana at this place; and, as a result, the Hindus will not drink of its waters.
Although Varuna is described in the Vedas as a holy being, according to the teaching of the Puranas, his heaven is a place of sensual delights. ”

“ The estuary on the opposite coast of Britain to the Severn, now known as the Wash, is called by Ptolemy, Metaris. May not this name have had, originally, some connection with Varuna's friend Mithra? Kelly says:—
"When the sun was still a wheel, a store of gold, a swan or a flamingo, an eagle, falcon, horse, and many other things, it was also the eye of Varuna; just as amongst the Anglo-Saxons and other Germans it was held to be the eye of Woden. Varuna and Mithra (the friend) , the god of daylight, used to sit together at morning on a golden throne, and journey at even in a brazen car." ”

“ God Savitri has roused the world to labour. There are other hymns, of course, that refer to the light of day or to the sun in his later stages also, culminating as Vishnu, or setting with Trita, till at last Râtrî, night, appears, and Varuna, the coverer, reigns once more supreme in heaven. When we see Varuna together with Mitra, the sun-god, they represent a divine couple, dividing between them the sovereignty of the whole world, heaven and earth, very much like the Asvins. They are not so much in opposition to each other, as partners in a common work. ”

“ His supremacy in the thoughts of the Aryan emigrants is first taken by Varuna—the night-sky. In the hot clime of India, the bright sky of day was no longer so pleasant to them, and Varuna seemed a kinder deity, and therefore became more popular. But soon he also is superseded by Indra, the rain-god, who, with his glittering lance—the lightning—pierces and releases the imprisoned waters. For in India, then, as to-day, the coming of the rainy season after the long drought is by far the most important of all nature's changes. ”

“ There thou shalt see rejoicing in libations The two kings, Varuṇa the god and Yama. Here a tree spreads its branches, in the shade of which Yama drinks soma with the gods, and the sound of the flute and of songs is heard. The life in heaven is free from imperfections or bodily frailties, and is altogether delectable. It is a glorified life of material joys as conceived by the imagination, not of warriors, but of priests. Heaven is gained as a reward by heroes who risk their lives in battle, but above all by those who bestow liberal sacrificial gifts on priests. ”

“ With this agrees very well the idea which Roth worked out in an essay on ‘the highest gods of the Aryan peoples,’ that Varuṇa is as old as the Aryan period, and is the common property of all members of the race; even the conception of Indra being later than that of Varuṇa, and specially Indian. [190] But it is not only among the Indians that we find this memory of nomadic life impressed on the mythology; its traces may be found also in the Hellenic mythology, not however as a positive, actual existence, as in India, but still as an historical reminiscence. ”

“ However far backwards we look, we still find them essentially spirits of natural order and moral law, gods in the higher sense of the word. But their character, and especially the character of Varuṇa, it seems to me, is rather too high to survive the competition of rival cults, such as that of the popular hero Indra and the priests' darling Agni, which tend to engross the interest of worshippers lay and cleric, and to blunt their relish for more spiritual ideals. So Mitra and Varuṇa become stunted in their growth ”

“ And Varuna's abode had its surges whirling, its serpents and Rākshasas seized with affright, and its ferocious aquatic animals borne all around; and it sent forth sounds. Then Sumitrā's son, springing up, said unto Rāghava of fiery vehemence, as he sighed and kept stretching his matchless bow.—"This must not be". And he took away his (Rāma's) bow. "Without doing this unto the Ocean, thou, supreme of heroes, mayst have thy work accomplished. Personages like thee do not come under the influence of passion. Do thou deliberately look about for some worthy means (for compassing thy end) ". ”

“ They were sociable as could be at dinner time and I heard ’em singin’ their songs and laughin’ in the parlor afterwards. Whatever happened must have been after that, that’s sure.”
Varunas nodded. “Oh, well,” he observed philosophically, “probably ’tain’t nothin’ much. They’ll get over it. Young fellows and girls are always squabblin’ when they’re keepin’ [243] company. Huh,” with a chuckle, “I remember one time when I was sparkin’ around with—” He paused and changed the subject. “There’s Cornelius Gott, struttin’ in,” he said. “Goin’ to lead the music, they tell me. ”

“ The question of half-castes is an interesting one, particularly to men like me—but it is a waste of time to struggle against nature; in the end the solution is nearly always the same. Varana's children furnish the best example I have run across—you've never been to Rimarutu, I fancy; it is not often visited nowadays; probably you've never heard of Varana. And yet he was an extraordinary man, his life an almost unique study in extremes. Like everything real, the story has no beginning, unless one were able to trace back the strain that gifted the man with his exceptional temperament ”

“ In due time the young prince was christened and his godmother was a princess who was known far and wide for her wisdom and kindness, and everyone called her "the good queen." She named the little prince Varna, and loved him as though he were her own son.
When Varna was three years old the Rajah married a princess of great beauty, but who was hard-hearted and cruel. In the course of time a second prince was born, and the queen was filled with jealous rage at the thought that Varna, and not her own son, was heir to the throne. ”

“ Varnians, Varinians, means "defenders," and the protection here referred to can be none other than that given to the journeying divinities of light when they have reached the western horizon. According to Helge Hjorvardson's saga, Hate, who pursues the moon, is slain near Varin's Bay. Varinn, the "defender," "protector," is the singular form of the same word as reappears in the genitive plural Varna. These expressions—Billing veold Vernum, Varna vidr, and Varins vik—are to be considered as belonging together. ”

“ Miss Flora Bannerworth, save me!" he again said, raising himself on his hands. "I am beset, hunted like a wild beast—they seek my life—they have pursued me from one spot to another, and I have unwittingly intruded upon you. You will save me: I am sure your kindness and goodness of heart will never permit me to be turned out among such a crew of blood-thirsty butchers as those who pursue me are."
"Rise, Sir Francis Varney," said Flora, after a moment's hesitation; "in such an extremity as that which you are in, it would be inhuman indeed to thrust you out among your enemies." ”

“ There was a pause, and then a loud shout.
Sir Francis Varney paid no attention to this summons, but sat, motionless, on the house-top, where he could hear all that passed below in the crowd.
"He will not come out," said one.
"Ah! he's much too cunning to be caught in such a trap. Why, he knows what you would do with him; he knows you would stake him, and make a bonfire about him."
"So he has no taste for roasting," remarked another; "but still, it's no use hiding; we have too many hands, and know the house too well to be easily baffled." ”

“ His departure quite staggered all the inhabitants of Varenne.
No sooner had he set foot on the shores of the States than he felt an irresistible inclination to take his big hat and his big sword and go off all alone through the woods, as he had been accustomed to do in his own country. His conscience, however, prevented him from quitting his master after having pledged himself to serve him. He had calculated that fortune would help him, and fortune did. ”

“ It is said that those who sleep in that eccentric manner, are insensible to sounds, but that the lightest touch will arouse them in an instant; and so it was in this case, for Sir Francis Varney, as he spoke, laid upon the hand of Flora two of his cold, corpse-like looking fingers. A shriek burst from her lips, and although the confusion of her memory and conceptions was immense, yet she was awake, and the somnambulistic trance had left her. ”