asura varuNa

ASURA VARUNA

Paradoxical as it may seem, one will all the same be justified in saying that the Vedic researches have been the earliest and the richest among the indological researches and still the unsolved Vedic problems are the greatest in number among the indologi cal problems Particularly the field of Vedic mythology cannot be said even now to have been fully and satisfactorily exploited Varuṇa, for example is the most august and greatly elevated divinity in the pantheon of Vedic gods and still his essential character remains enigmatic This paradox may appear to be still more striking! What is it that gave Varuṇa the exalted position which he holds in the Rgveda (RV)? Why, in spite of the comparatively small number of hymns dedicated to his praise, is he regarded, by the side of Indra, as the greatest of the gods of the RV? Why, again in certain cases, is he represented as being far superior to Indra - sometimes even as the God among gods?

Broadly speaking any hypothesis regardiog the essential nature of a Vedic god, in order to be proper and correct, should fulfil the following conditions

• (1) We should be in a position to present, on the basis of that hypothesis, a complete picture of that god as far as possible consistent with his essential characteristics as described in the Veda, his peculiar relation with other Vedic gods and the main conceptions with which he is associated in a special way in the Veda
• (2) From the point of view of the bustacy of religion, the hypothesis should normally make it possible to connect that god satisfactorily with the Indo European (IE) religious thought, If, however, the conception underlying that god were to be regarded as being the result of foreign influence or as being purely an indigenous growth, that fact too should be historically explainable
• (3) The hypothesis should further make it possible to account reasonably for the later modifications in the nature of that god in the classical Indian mythology (4) Finally, the hypothesis should be based on sound philological grounds Since mythology is but an old form of language, all conclusions regarding the god’s personality should be corroborated by definite linguistic facts It is intended here to make a fresh approach to the Varuṇa problem on these lines Let us first try to present, in a general way, a connected picture of Varuṇa and his greatness, through a constructive analysis of the Vedic hymns directly addressed to him as well as of other Vedic references 1 Varuṇa is preeminently called the asura (I 35 7, II 27 10, VII 65 2, VIII 42 1 ) and is often glorified as the upholder of the cosmic law, rta (1 23 5) He is riasya gopā or stavan par excellence His Ordinances are constantly said to be fixed, which fact gives him the significant title, dhrtavrata He is the regulator of waters (II 28 4, V 85 6, VII 64 2), indeed, all natural phenomena are controlled and directed by this god The gods themselves follow Varuṇa’s law (VIII 41 7) and are incapable of obstructing in any way the proper functioning of that law The divine dominion of Varuṇa is often referred to with the word maya, magic power On account of this mājā, Varuga wields supreme sovereignty over the whole universe, which is said to have been originally created by hum He is the imperial ruler, samraj, of all, both gods and men (X 132 4, JI 27 10). of the whole world (V 85 3), and of all that exists csen the 1 The following Vedic passages among others, z nar’y sapr. sentative of Varuṇas personality and true na RV I 24.1 25 V 67 1-2 VII 26 VIL". WILE?, TIL 41, VIIL 42, X 124 3-4, AV IV 16 About A1 11 1,2 of teet Arhartavcda, Tübingen 18'6 p 30 ) sesot ser 6-T LE the entire Vedic literature which pregun e t emphatic! It has also been in the wedu te zet in any literature many part 1 0 30 VEDIC MYTHOLOGICAL TRACTS slightest activity in nature and in human and animal life passes unnoticed by him The rising and the setting of the sun, the falling of rains, the growth of vegetation, the flowing of rivers, the flying of birds, even the winking of the eye are governed by the subtly working law of Varuṇa In his capacity of the world sovereign, Varuṇa is said to be commanding a large band of spies (1 25 13, VI 67 5, VII 61 3, 87 3), who, being undeceived, undismayed, and wise, observe keenly all the happen ings in the universe and report to their master, without delay, any cases of lapse from and transgression of that taw The overlord, Varuṇa, himself has the sun for his eye (I 115 1, VI 51 1, VII 61 1), so that he can supervise unobstructedly the happenings in the universe and the activities of human beings Varuṇa’s golden abode is in the highest heaven (V 67 2), there he occupies his seat, which is great, very lofty, and firm on account of a thousand columns It is the duty of the all seeing sun, together with other spies, to go to the dwelling of Varuṇa and report the deeds of men (VII 60 1) Varuṇa 18 the un failing witness of men’s truth and falsehood (VII 49 3) He perceives all that exists between the heaven and the earth and all that is beyond, none can escape from Varuṇa by fleeing even far beyond the sky (AV IV 16 4-5) This vast expanse of the world is not an irregular chaos It 1s bound down by the päća (or paśas) of Varuṇa into a well regulated whole It is cosmos The law of Varuṇa, rta, works in a subtle but most effective manner throughout the universe This is, indeed, the māja of the great asura! And if any perpe. trator of crime against this cosmic law and, by logical extension, also against the moral law, is found, he is forthwith punished with the pasa of Varuṇa The pāća of Varuṇa, which thus seems to be serving a double purpose, is positively an exclusive feature of that god The great asura is, therefore, approached in great awe, and prayers for mercy are addressed to him but this world sovereign, characterised by all the glory of an oriental ruler, is often very relentless in matters partaining to the proper conduct of his law It is Varuṇa who creates the universe and ASURA VARUNA 31 guards the cosmic law As a moral governor also Yaruna stands far above any other deity He is the strongest barrier against every type of falsehood This ethical idealisation is perhaps the most outstanding feature of Varuṇa’s personality His epithets, asura, māyın dlirtavrata, rtaran, etc, point to his same essential nature Another significant peculiarity of Varuṇa is his special asso ciation with Mitra and the Adityas Mitra and Varuṇa are often inseparably bound to each other, and Varuṇa is represented, in the Veda, as the highest among the Adityas Together with them he forms an independent circle of Vedic divities, to whom is principally entrusted the guardianship of law, cosmic and moral Their main characteristic is not the achievement of enormous exploits, as in the case of Indra, they govern the law which regulates the whole universe A very strikiøg parallel of this circle of Vedic gods is found in the Avestan religion where Ahura Mazdah Mithra, and Amesa Spentas also form a similar group They too represent the supreme heavenly sovereignty The eminence of Varuṇa as the creator of the universe, as the world sovereign, as the protector of law, and as the moral governor of mankind, had developed, in the Veda, to such an enormous extent that there naturally arose a unique risalry for supremacy between him and Indra, the other paramount god of the Vedic pantheon Several Vedic references are indicative of this rivalry which forms unquestionably one of the most impor tant features of the Vedic mythology It may be mentioned in this context, that in marked coatrast with Indra and many other Vedic gods, Varuṇa has do myths related to him, consequently, the anthropomorphism of his personality is more fully developed on the moral spiritual ratber than the physical side The personality of Varuṇa is shrouded, in the Veda, with a mysterious and majestic grandeur His upapproachable magni ficence and awe inspiring power, his inexorable austerity and incomprehensibly divine wisdom inspire tlie Vedic seer to an anxious but commanding worship and self abnegation rather than 32 VEDIC MYTHOLOGICAL TRACTS to expressions of frank and friendly confidence All traces of human weakness that are clearly perceptible in the character of Indra are copspicuously absent in Varuṇa’s character The seer of a Vedic passage seems to have summarised substantially the true Vedic character of Varuṇa when he says of him, sato asja rāja (VII 87 6 ) What conclusions regarding the personality and the essential nature of Varuṇa can be drawn from the Vedic evidence adduced above? Does Varuṇa represent any power of nature, and, if so, which? Can we trace the conception underlying this god to other IE religions? How did the personality of this god develop in the later Hindu mythology ? Before directly approaching these problems regarding the Vedic god Varuṇa, in a constructive manner, we may begin by critically examining the several earlier theories about Varuṇa by applying to them the tests mentioned above The most common view, put forth by scholars like ROTH, DARMESTETER HOPKINS, BOHNENBERGER, L VON SCHROE DER, and BLOOMFIELD, 15 to regard Varuṇa as the sky god Even HILLEBRANDT had originally subscribed to this view, though he lates on revised his opinion This theory is mainly based on the name Varuṇa, wluch is derived by these scholars from the root vr, to cover’ or ’to encompass’ To the simple minds of the ancient people, it was argued by them, the sky actually seemed to be covering or encompassing the earth and all that it contained Those apcient people accepted unhesita tingly the impressions conveyed to them by their senses, and the blue vault of the sky was for them actually a vault, solid and 2 R ROTH, PIV under Varuṇa, ZDAIC 6 69 ff J DARSIESTETER, “Le dicu suprême dans la mythologie indo europ enne , RHR 1 30), Ormazda Ahriman, Paris 1877, L J HOPKINS Relig ons of Ind a 70 ff, PAOS 16 cxlvut, BOIN ENDERER Der altındsche Gott l’aruna nach den Liedern des RV, Tubingen 1893, L vov SCI ROEDER Arische Pelgton I, 22 ff, H ZK41 9, 109-132 225–253, M BLOOMPTELL The Rel son of the ledas, p 137, Gris MOLD, The god grund in the Agueda 3, JA II 2 ASURA VARUNA immutable, covering everything It was further belicved that this theory was substantially corroborated by the apparent identity from the linguistic point of view, or the two names, Varuṇa and Ouranos, the Greek sky god Varuṇa was according to these scholars, none other than the Vedic counterpart of Greek Ouranos There was, howcier, already one sky god in the Vedic pantheon, namely Dyaus This god can be shown, on the strength of plulological and mythological evidence, to have been common to almost all IE religions What then was the necessity of a second sky god ? SCHROEDER explains this contidgency by saying that Dyaus and Varuṇa represent two different aspesis of the sky Dyaus represents the bright and shining day sky, while in Varuṇa, the pervading and the all encompassing nature of the sky is particularly emphasised Varuṇa may be said to be the * firmament’ in contrast to Dy aus, who is the shining sky Since this encompassing or pervading nature is conspicuously realisable through the starry vault of the night sky, Varuṇa is closely associated with the night in RV hymns It is suggested by SCHROEDER that when the Indians and the Iranians lived together as one common cultural group they glorified a sky god as the creator of the unnerse Varuṇa and Ahura Mazdal, whose common mythological heritage can hardly be questioned, represent two tadependent developments of this original Aryan god RV passages like sa ksapah pari sastaje myusro majaya dadhe sa isant pari darSarah) tasya veniranu iralamusastisco avardhajan nabhanta manjake same 1 (VII 41 3) pari dhamanı marnir ad vartinasya puro gaje visie desa anu tratan nabhantaianjake same // (VIII 41 7) tisso djavo minta antarasmi tisto bhūmiruparah sadvidhanah grtso raja varunaścakra etam dni prenkham luranjayam Subhe ham || (VII 87 5) would however clearly indicate that the Vedic Varuṇa is defini tely closer in conception to that original sky god of the Aryans VEDIC MYTHOLOGICAL TRACTS Ahura Mazdah, on the other hand, was, in later times, greatly spiritualised and idealised by Zarathusthra in his reform move ment BORTHOLOMAE, DARMESTETER, EGGERS, and SPIE. GEL maintain, all the same that Ahura Mazdah also is the abstraction of the idea of sky In Avesta, varena is the name of a mythological land which is said to be cathrugaosha The linguistic affidity between the words, varuna and varena, is supposed to be quite evident This mythological locality, it is suggested, is to be identified with the expanse of the sky with its four corners’ It may be remembered, in this connection, that, in the Veda Varuṇa too is said to be caturanika 5 This was considered to be another piece of evidence in favour of the sky. theory Attempts have also been made to connect the word varuna linguistically with Armenian (Arm ) garun which means the bright sky to the course of time, however, there began, in the evolution of the Vedic religious thought, the process of spiri tualisation, which all nature gods had to undergo at some stage of their career Varuṇa thereby rose from the sky’ to be the god of the sky, presiding over all the natural phenomena of which the sky is the foundation and the scene, and, in the later development, he finally came to be regarded as the supreme embodiment and guardian, as well as the maker, of the law which controlled those phenomena of nature The transition from the guardianship of the cosmic order to that of the moral order was then merely a matter of logical extension? The sun 15 described, in the Veda, to be the eye of Varuṇa (1 115 1, VI 51 1. VII 61 1), this could be best understood only if Varuṇa were 4 cr BARTTIOLOSIAL, BB 10, 267, DARVESTETEA, Omazd at Ahriman, 65, Lccers, Der arische (mdorganische ) Got! Mitra 31, SPIEGEL, Arische Penod, 185 ff 5 RV V 48 5 The word caturan’ka in this passage is, however, under stood by CELOSER, in tu translation, as referring to Agni 6 PATRUDA VY, Ethnologische Mitteilungen aus Ungarn, Vol 5 7 Onc may be reminded in this context of the following suggestire words of hant “Zwei D age c:ll Jen das Gemi zrit immer neuer und zunehmender Lewunderung je oftcr und anhaltender sich das Machdenken damit beschsftig! Des bestirnte llummel uber mir und das moralische Cext ja mu 1. ASURA VARUNA regarded as the sky god MAX MULLER recognises in the physical Varuṇa only the starry’ night side while KNAUER, who connects the name Varuga with varna, black colour,’ emphasises darkness’ as the main characteristic of that god and therefore identifics Varuṇa with the might sky’ of the ur IE period It must be said with regard to this theory, which primarily identifies Varuṇa with Greek Ouranos and thus regards him as a sky god, that it is based on a fundamentally incorrect etymo logy It will be found that all derivatives in the u themes, from the root vr, *to cover’, with which the Gk word, Ouranos, is usually philologically connected, always show a long vowel for wystance, Sk 10711189, vani77), suha, as also Gk For, rāter, erulo If, therefore, the word varuna were to be derived from the to cover’, one would naturally expect to find saruna with loug rū Thus there do erst serious philological objections to the acceptance of the equation, Varuṇa Ouranos OLDEN BERO speaks of phonetic difficulties in this connection 10 MAC DONELL refers in his Vedic Mythology to the view of Joh SCHMIDT, namely, that it was not so easy, as it would secm, to connect Varuṇa with Ouranos Lately the French scholar, DUMEZIL, has again assumed the identity of Varuṇa and Oura pos, but he derives those two words from quite a different root and consequently draws quite a different conclusion regarding the persogality of Varuṇa 12 As regards the suggestion that Vedic Varuṇa may be connected with Arm garun, HUBSCHMANN has clearly shown that those words have hardly anything to do with 8 Mar MIULLER India 11 hat can if teach us?, IB99, p 193 9 F KNADER, Uber Varu2g Ursprung, PICO 14,1 1, 222 10 RIV, 190, f n 2 Indeed OLDENBERG ZDAIG 50 60 ) asks whether one should at all seck for an idy ctyinology for the word baruna Sce SCHXOLDER WZRM 9, 118 Also see MEILLET, JA 1907, II, 156 IT 11 A Addenda and Corngenda (rel p 29 note 21 ) 12 G DUMÉZIL, Ouranos taruna Paris 1934 Iccording to DuxÉZIL, in the tripartite JE mythology Varuṇa belongs to the class of Moral Divi nius - ta the top level of joint sovereignty (ror a criticism of Dumé zil s View, see “A Vedic God and a Vedic Seer in the present volume ) 36 VEDIC MYTHOLOGICAL TRACTS each other from the philological point of view. Moreover, the original meaniog of the word, garun, is ‘spring’ and not “sky. 13 Apart from this basic etymological flaw, the sky-theory further suffers from anotber grave defect, pamely, that it caonot fully and rationally explain the special characteristics of Varuṇa as described in the Veda. The foremost difficulty in this connec tion arises from Varuṇa’s close association with Mitra and the Adityas. Even in the Boghazköi inscription the reference to Varuṇa is made as ù-ru-Wa-na-as-śi-el, meaning * Varuoa together with his group’. So also, Ahura Mazdah is praised in the Avesta as being constantly associated with Mithra agd the Amesa Spentas. This conception of a special circle of divinities over which Varuṇa seems to have presided would not fit in properly into the sky-theory. Further, even on the assumption that Mitra primarily represents the sun-god - this assumption will be later on shown to be positively wrong-, the pairing of Mitra and Varura would appear to be without any special significance. The plea put forth by SCHROEDER14 in this connection, namely, that the sun and the sky always appear together and may therefore form a pair of constant companions, is not at all convincing. Further, how can one explain, in that case, the contrast between Mitra and Varuṇa, so clearly implied in a large number of Vedic passages, such as nitro ahar ajanayad varuņo rātrim (TS VI. 4. 8. 3)? Moreover nowhere else in the Vedic literature does one find any indication of a dual divinity like Dyāvāsüryau, which would correspond with Mitrāvarunau. It is interesting to aote bere that SCHROEDER himself later on felt inclined to give up the hypothesis that Mitra represents the sun-god.15 The rivalry between ladra and Varuņa, which certainly was & favourite theme of the Vedic poeis, will become meaning less if Varuṇa is made to represent the sky-god. Whether, in

19. HIILLEBRANDT, T’AI II, 3, L. n. 1, 14. WZRM 9, 116 ff Alo see MACDONELL, 1.11, 27. 15. As against 112K09, 118, see Ansche Religion I, 382. 16. CF. OLDEABERO, RDI’, 90 ff, 181; DERGAIGNE, LRP III, 108; 207,ASURA VARUNA 37 the naturalistic interpretation of the Vedic mythology, which is, by the way, not necessarily always correct, Indra is to be regarded as the sun god or as the storm-god, one fails to under stand why there should be any rivalry between him and the sky god! Further the Vedic passages adduced in support of the sky theory, such as, isra dyavo mikita antarasmin (VII 87 5) and iri sa pavitra hrdy antarī dadhe (IX 73 8 ), are of such a general tenor that one comes across similar passages with reference to dividities, who are hardly ever represented as sky-gods, like Savits (I 35 6) or Paranya (VII 101.4) or Aditya ( AV XII 2 3)17 On the other hand, one may consider with advantage the following Vedic passages referring to Varuṇa : ala sindhum iaruno dyanrıla sthad drapso na sveto mrgastus usmān (VII 876) sa samudro apiczasturo dj amra roları sa mâjā arcınā padastrnānnakam áruhat (VIII 41 8) Are the phrases djalit na sthad, drapso na Svetah, djam na rohati, and näham arular, in any way indicative of the sky? Can the sky be called apicyah samudrah? How is it further possible to explain, with the sky-hypothesis, the Vedic passages where Varuṇa is connected with Yana (X 14 7), with manyu (X 84 7), with sraia (1 24 10), and with dhurti (I 128 77 No olher IE religion has elevated the sky-god to the exalted position of the guardianship of the cosmic and moral order, which is one of the essential characteristics of Varona in the Veda and of Ahura Mazdah in the Aresla The ‘father-sky’ -djaus pitar, Jupiter,- US DO doubt represented in every IE mythology but he has his own ristricted domain and his own place, albeit sufficiently high in the pantheon It is further not clear why Varuṇa, the sky-god, should be idealised in the peculiarly ethical direction and not Dyaus, the sky-god? The conceptions of maja and ria, with which the Vedic Varuṇa is associated in a special manner, lose all their essential signi ficance on the assuinption of Varuṇa’s being identical with
20. KILLEBRANDT, VM II, 5, OLDEXBERC, ZDNG, 50, 61 38 VEDIC MYTHOLOGICAL TRACTS the sky What again are we to understand by the pasa of Varuṇa, according to this theory? It must be remembered at the same time that in later Indian literature we hardly find any trace of Varuṇa representing the sky It will be thus seen that none of the above mentioned four conditions is even slightly fulfilled by the sky theory, which fact therefore, renders that theory unacceptable Other modifications of this theory, such as that Varuṇa represents the ur IE Dight sky (KNAUER )or that he represents the starry vault of the sky’ (MAX MULLER )18 may now be dismissed without any further discussion Io his work on legal literature of ancient India, J J MEYER has suggested that Varuṇa is principally the god of night 18 The sins and crimes are usually perpetrated during the night time, and, as the god of night it is Varuṇa’s function to prevent them It is in this way, argues MEYER, that Varuṇa becomes the moral governor of mankind Another quite a novel theory about Varuṇa is put forth by JOHANSSON 10 his very thought provoking monograph on the Vedic goddess, Dhisanā He believes that the names Varuṇa and Vr̥tra are derived from the same idg form *uel lu, to bind’ ’to keep under chains’ This fact would indicate the commonness of their nature According to JOHANS SON, Varuṇa and Vr̥tra are the two aspects of winter, which keeps the waters of rivers in bondage - one of them being the divine aspect and the other the demonaic !” BERGAIGNE too claims an especially tenebrous character for Varuṇa He sees in him a clear identity with Vr̥tra, who is the ‘restrainer’ of waters 21 Varuṇa’s pāśa is, according to BERGAIGNE, indicative of the tying down of waters The rivalry between Varuṇa and Indra is, therefore, only another aspect of the conflict between Vr̥tra and 18 See loot notes 8 and 9 above 19 Among other things he says “The conception of Varuda as the gw of rught seems to be the DOTC pruary conception Varuṇa repre. sents the moon lit mag C Dght Nght the night sky, and the moon are very closcly connected with each other ’ Uber das Il esen der altındts chen Rechtschruim pp 379-385 20 Uber de altındsche Vollin Dissapi und Irwandies, 128 ff, 137, 162 21 CF BERGAIGYE, LRV III, 128 ASURA VARUNA 39 Indra Varuṇa’s pāśa is the symbolical representation of the power of winter by means of which the waters are fettered Certain stray references like lıemanto lu sarunah (USI 10 12), or such possible conjectures as that the varunapraghasa sacrifice was performed on the eve of winter, are adduced by JOHANSSON in support of his theory As SORENSEN has rightly pointed out22 while contradicting the identification of Varuṇa with Vr̥tra, Varuṇa is represented, in the Veda, as the lord and friend of waters, and not even the slightest bint is given to the effect that he prevents them from flowing, as Vr̥tra does Further, a critical examination of the Vedic hymns would yodicate that Vstra and Indra on the one hand and Mitra and Varuṇa on the other belong to two distinct strains of my thology Though, therefore, the names Vr̥tra and Varuṇa may possibly have been derived from the same root, the conceptions underlying them have to be thoroughly distinguished from each other from the point of view of content as well as of the history of religion Moreover, a mere reference to some of the outstanding features of Varuṇa, as described in the Veda, would suffice to disprove completely such views as have been put forth by MEYER and JOHANSSON The very suggestion that either the god of night or the winter god could be raised to such an exalted position in any religion is preposterous These and such other theories23 seem to disregard completely the evidence of the Veda, they do not take into account the logical development of 22 SORENSEN, Fil spargsmalet om Ādity erne, 337 1 23 A reference may be made, in this context, to other theories regard ing the nature of the Vedc god, Varuṇa, advanced by JOHANSOY and MEYER themselves The most prominent god of fertility in ancient India was Varupa in this it spect he was regarded as the god of the whole community and particularly of the Ksatriyas Varuia consequently represented the essen tial clement of royal power Varuda was the god who goveraed the change of seasons and was therefore the god of the year, possessing two Aspects of Varuṇa and Dyaus (Miura ?) Where he not represented anthropomorphically, be is represented as a horse The semic Counter part of Varuṇa u mother tarth - Aditi or Prthvi Probably Aditt was (Contined on the next powe) VEDIC MYTHOLOGICAL TRACTS the religious thought among the IE. people in general and among the Vedic Aryans in particular; and finally they are not confirmed by the linguistic facts, which these scholars claim to be support. ing their theories OLDENBERG comes forth, as usual, with a refreshingly Original theory in regard to Varuṇa,2 The physical representa tieas of Varuṇa, Mitra, and the Adityas bear, according to him, several distinct attributes of light The same is the case with (Continued from the last page) primarily the wife of Varuṇa. ‘- JOHANSSON, Uber die altınduschs Golfen Dhisand und Verwandtes, pp 128 ff. ‘Varuṇa was primarily chthonic vegetation god and phallic divinity his connection with water wbich cause growth and life 13 particularly cm phasised he is the lord of water and rains. Already as the god of the carth he is the king and therefore also the god of law and punishment …. In RV he ascends to thc sky (not necessarily first then). becomes the lord of atmospheric ocean and makes the rain waters stream down be 1 now turned into the heavenly sovereign-lord of the Universe and the upholder of the pla . next he is regarded as the moon god, because, on the onc hand, he u the lord of night, and because, on the other, be and Soma, both divi stics of water and vegetation, are identical Varupa’s dreary and fright ful nature and his lordship over the dead seem to have developed out of his original chthonuc nature this is how the Varuṇa mythology seems to have cvolved in India ..’-J J MEYER, Trilogie der altındischen Alächte und Festt der Vegetation, pp 269-70, Evidently both JOHANSSOV and Meyer are not quite sure about the essen. tal nature and personality of Varuṇa They do not seem to reconstruct the picture of the Vedic Varuṇa in a synthetical manner from the special and exclusive attributes of that god Particularly MEYER appears, of recent years, to hre been considerably influenced by the vegetation fertility Conception. In bis recent book, Tnlogie der altindischen Alächte, he interprets Lama, Bals, and Indra as ancient Indian gods of vegetation and fertility Sfention may also be made of the theory put forth by N N GEOSE (The Argan Trail in India and Iran, 91-32) that Mitra and Varuṇa were origi nally an inseparable par like Afying and that they represented the same twin principles of Light and Moisture According to CEOst, these twin principles were worshipped under different designations amongst different tribes of Proto Aryan grassiand nomads Fic further maintains that, through fusion of tribes, Matra and Varuṇa Lecaine maintainers of Law Obyiously the Vedic evidence cannot be und to le, 18 any way, sulsaslatag thus theory, 34 OLDENBERO, RDI, 178-206, " Varuṇa und die Aditya: “, 2DAG 50, 44-68. ASURA VARUNA 41 regard to the corresponding circle of dividities in the Aiesta, namely, Ahura Mazdalı, Mithra, and the Amesa Spentas OLDEN BERG starts with the assumption that the fact that Mıtlıra of the Avesta definitely represents the sun god is unchallengeable The Vedic counterpart of Mithra, pamely Mitra, must, therefore, necessarily be the sun god Though independent references to Mitra are not many in the RV, stil OLDENBERG claims to find faint traces of his identity with the sun god even in the existing material In III 59 for instance, general expressions have been used which indicate, according to OLDENBERG, without any specific mention, the connection of Mitra with the sun More direct references in this connection are found in the AY sa varunah saj amagmirbhayati sa miro bhanati pratarudyan (AV XIII 3 13 ) Tarunena samubitam mitrah pratarry ubjatu ( AV IX 3 18) In the Bralınana literature there are numerous passages of a similar tenor, where Varuṇa is said to belong to the night and Mitra to the day Ritualistically Varuṇa is connected with black animals and Mitra with bright coloured animals (eg TS II 191, 2,3 14) The common concept of day and night - correspon ding with Mitra and Varuṇa respectively - repeats itself very often in the sacrificial formulas The essential nature of Mitra as the sun god is thus confirmed according to OLDENBERG, by Vedic as well as Avestan literary and ritualistic evidence Varuṇa is the constant companion of Mitra, the association of Mitra with Varona is so common that only one single hymn of the RV is addressed to Mitra alone OLDENBERG S line of argu mentation is as follows There is in the Vedic mythology a compact group of seven mutually connected gods namely, the Adıyas, who are conspicuously dependent upon sky and light Two from among them, Mitra and Varuṇa, have assumed more preeminent positions One of these two namely Mitra, is definitely the sun god, while the other one, Varuṇa has the features of a god of light with special reference to pight over which he is said to rule What else can he possibly represent of pot tbe moon? Thc logical extension of the hypothesis that Mitra is the sun god VEDIC MYTHOLOGICAL TRACTS and Varuṇa is the moon god, naturally, is that the Adityas repre sent the planets Besides this hypothesis there is also another side to OLDEN BERG’s theory The glorification of the sun, the moon, and the planets as a compact group of mutually connected gods, which is to be seen in the Veda and the Avesta cannot be traced back to any other IE religion There are, therefore, two possibilities regarding the genesis of this religious conception Either the lado Iranians themselves created this group of gods in their own common religious fervour, or they borrowed those divinities from a foreign religion OLDENBERG believes that the rather unique circle of the Adityas, with Varuṇa and Mitra as the foremost among them, is more or less foreign to the pantheon of Vedic gods, which is presided over by the Asyan national war god, Indra According to him the Indra Vr̥tra mythology is genuinely Aryan while the Varuṇa Mitra mythology has been implanted in the Vedic religion from outside Is it not probable, he asks, that this unique group of gods was borrowed by the Indo Iranians from the Semitic people (or the Akkadians) and that, from the very beginning it was only half understood by the borrowers ? The fact that the Semitic people were well versed in the science of astronomy and of numbers, from very ancient times, seems to support considerably this conjecture Moreover, there is much other evidence to show that the Semitic people had developed a sufficiently high type of civilisation before the Indo Tranjans came into contact with them The god Varuṇa, whom the Aryans are supposed to have borrowed from the Semitic mythology, does appear, by the side of the Aryan national god, Indra, as a representative of an older and distinctly higher culture The apparent reasonableness and soundness of this moon theory of OLDENBERG may have been one of the factors which prompted HILLEBRANDT to revise his original views in the matter of the Varuṇa problem 25 His method of approach to this question was, however, diferent from that of OLDENBERG 25 HILLLEDRANDT, VAII, 1-47 ASURA VARUNA He attempts to brng forth evidencc sopport of hus theory from within rather than from without One fact must, all the the same, be clearly recognised in both these cases - and that is certainly a defect in the process of theorisation - namely that OLDENBERG and IJILLEBRANDT first scem to form some idea about Varuṇa’s original nature and then try to adduce evidence 10 support of that idca In other words, they seem to start with conclusions rather than end with them HILLEBRANDT considers the Vedic passages, such as ara sindhum varuno dy aurna sthad drapso na stelo nirgastu Visman (VII 87 6) sa samudro apiczasturo dyāmna roları sa māyā arcınā padastrnannākamoruhot (VII 41 8), as clearly indicative of Varuṇa’s identity with the moon Api cyah samudrah is, according to him, the usual epithet of the mood But more convincing evidence in this connection is to be found in the ninth mandala of the RV In the passage, rājño nu le jaruinasja vratan brhadgabhiram sava sonia dhama/ Sucistaması priyo na mitro daksayyo arjanielāsı soma || (I 91.3), Soma is compared with Mitra and Aryaman, the juxtaposition of te and varuṇasya in the first pada, on the other hand, clearly implies that Soma is here considered to be identical with Varuṇa, Sometimes even the name Varuṇa seems to have been used as a synonym of Soma, for instance, tam marmrjānam malısam na sanās amsum duhanty uhsanam geristham / tam alasanam nalajah sacante trito bibhartı sarunam samudre // (IX 95 4) Further, Soma and Varuṇa are often described as kan in the Vedic hymns The following stanzas addressed to Varuṇa and to Soma exlubit an astounding similarity of conteats and expression : (to Varuṇa) trí sa panatrā hrdjanturā dadhe (IX. 73 8) 44 VEDIC MYTHOLOGICAL TRACTS (to Soma) sam tri pavitra vitaranjesi (IX 97 55) (to Varuṇa) djålaprthivi sarunasya dharmanā viskabhite (VI 70 1) (to Soma) ni jastastanibha rodası (IX 101 15) In ritual also at the beginning of the Agnistoma sacrifice, Soma is treated as Varuṇa The sovereignty of Varuṇa is perfectly identical with that of Soma A considerable amount of Vedic literary and ritualistic evidence can thus be adduced to indicate that in the minds of the Vedic thinkers, Varuṇa and Soma were quite identical HILLEBRANDT claims to have proved, finally and convincingly, that Soma represents the moon 26 “The logical conclusion, therefore, is that Varuṇa also represents the moon This fact is amply corroborated, according to HILLEBRANDT, by the wealth of material in the Vedic hymns as well as in the Vedic ritual,27 which is indicative of the contrast between Mitra and Varuṇa It must be remembered that HILLEBRANDT unhesita tingly accepts the identification of Mitra with the sun god 28 He, however, believes that Ahura Mazdah of the Avesta has nothing to do with Varuṇa (VM II, 8-10) Otherwise, he argues, the name Varuṇa would have been retained in the Iranian language in some form or another The probable question with regard to the moon theory, namely, why Abura Mazdah does not show, in the Avesta, even the faintest traces of the moon god, has thus been anticipa. ted and answered away by HILLEBRANDT Much emphasis has been placed by him on the passages where Varuṇa is supposed to be described as “bald, yellow eyed, whitish man, who stands among the waters and receives the offerings on his head. 29 Can there be, he asks, a more picturesque representation of the moon than this one? Varuṇa’s association with the night is too evident to need special discussion A further peculiarity of Varuṇa is that he is connected with waters as well as with winter is the 26 Cr VII 282 T 27 Cf TSV 3 4 2, VI 673, VII 2 72, AB III 4 5 28 CEVMI, 51 29 VA111, 27-28 CF TD III 9 3 15, SPB XIII 3 6 5. TĀ I 2 3. ApSs 20 22 G, Sanks’s 16 18 18 ASURA VARUNA 45 moon pot described in a Vedic passage as the sender of rains ?30 There are thus three most prominent characteristics in the palure of Varuṇa - his connection with the night, his connection with waters, and his connection with winter The essential features of all these three are to be found together in only one entity, pamely, the moon Further, the dismal’, ‘dreary’, and ‘dark features 10 Varuṇa’s personality can be adequately accounted for, according to OLDENBERG and HILLEBRANDT, only on the basis of the moon-hypothesis The unique idealisation of Varuṇa into a sovereign lord of the universe holding sway over all aspects of natural as well as human lifc necd not surprise anyone As pointed out by some scholars, the moon is glorified in many pamitive religions to the same extent as Varuṇa in the Veda 31 OLDENBERG mentions, 10 this connection, the indigenous Ameri can religions as well as the Finnish mythology, wherein the moon is regarded as the almighty god Even the hymn to Nannur, the moon god of Ur, quoted by SAYCC, would remind one of a prayer addressed to Varuṇa by the Vāsiṣṭhas! This theory, namely, that Varuṇa pamarily represents the mood, first propounded by OLDENEERG in his distinctive manner and later on accepted in their own peculiar ways by HILLE BRANDT, HARDY, and others, is apparently quite sound and, therefore, may not be lightly set aside as being of no account But it cannot certainly stand a keen and critical examination Attention has already been drawn to the fundamentally defective method of approach on the part of OLDENBERG and HILLE BRANDT It is not the evidence of the Veda itself that has led these scholars to the hypothesis which they have put forth, their theory principally depends upon extraneous considerations, and they have only later on tried to adduce such evidence from the 30 AB VIII 28 5 31 c H LOVE, D. alien Ariet, 1935 32 AH SAYCE, The Ibber! Lectures, 1087, 161-65

3. E HARDY, Dr Fedisch brahmanische Periode der Religion du allen Induns, 39 ff HARDY thinks that the word caluran’la in V. 48 5 refers to the Tour phases of the moon 46 VEDIC MYTHOLOGICAL TRACTS Veda as would seemingly substantiate their hypothesis Apart from this, it niust be said that the very assumption, namely, that Mitra represents the sun god, which is the starting point of this theory, can be shown, on the strength of the evidence of compara tive philologv and comparative mythology, to be positively wrong Let us pause here a little to consider the name Mitra and the conception underlying it Only one full hymn in the RV namely, III 59 - dedicated to the praise of this god exclusively The Vedic evidence on the whole seems to show that Mitra did not possess any individuality as such on the physical side His special characteristic feature is expressed, in the Veda, through the woris mitro jananyatayatı brın anah ( III 59 1) Mitra places men in their proper places, through his commands’ A clear hint is hereby given that Mitra has something to do with right’ and law’ He is primarily jataj ajjana This idea is further confirmed by otber Vedic passages, which connect Mitra very significantly with dharman and rta mitro bhavası deva dharmablıh ( V 81 4) yasmar bisnistrını pada ricakrama upo mitrasya dharmabhih (VIII 52 3) rtaja sapta dadhise padân janayan mitram fame svajai (X84) As against this, there is not the slightest evidence in the Veda to indicate that Mitra was originally the sun god Etymologie cally the original form of the word mitra scems to have been milram (neuter ) formed with the suffix tra, which, in its turn, is the modification of the IE instrumental suffix tro Other forma tions of a similar character are vrtram from the root vr, yotram from the root yu, and y antram from the root jam The base of the original IE form *mi tro m was the IE root *m(e)i-’to bind’ The same root is clearly perceptible in the words, Sk mekhala, Lett meimuri, Gk mitos, mir girdle of the body. The word mitram thus originally indicates a bond’ orbinding together, and secondanly a ‘friendly bond’ A further modification from this was mural (masc ) merising the agent of bondage or theASURA VARUNA 47

• binder ? 34 UHLENBECK derives mitra from may ale,ss while some scholars 38 are inclined to connect mura with Lat mitis, mild, Lit mylimas, ‘beloved! These suggestions are definitely unacceptable since the suffix tro clearly goes against them The Avestan expressions like mutlırem jan, mihrem dru), also indicate that the original conception underlying the word mithra was that of binding together or of the binder Mitra, and also Mithra in his original nature, may, therefore, be looled upon as a god essen tially connected with contract’, ’treatyagreements 37 Had Mitra really anything to do with the sun god, the RV-hymns, which often sing very enthusiastically about light and splendour, would have certainly bestoned upon him, before anything else, the epithets indicative of light and splendour’ That is, however, not the case, since, as seen above the RV connects Mitra maidly with law and order The sun is himself said to be the eye of Mitra 38 The later development of the Avestan Mithra into a sun god is due to several causes He has inherited the features of several mythologies As has been pointed out, there are in Mithra some distinct scatures of the Vedic lodra, so too some influence of the Semitic sun god Samas, is clearly perceptible in the later deve lopment of Mithra Zarathushtra seems to have changed the old original god and forced upon him new religious conceptions The Vedic Mitra, on the other hand, has remained true to the Aryan prototype namely that of the god presiding over contracts and agreements, and thus preserving law and order mainly among human beings A detailed study of the Vedic references to Mitra has led SCHROEDER to conclude that Vedic Mitra never repre scntcd the sun god in the Vedic religion. It is in his capacity of the divine guardian of truth and law among men that, in the 31 GUTTERT, Dr ansche Welling ud i land 50 35 BUJILEYTECK Act 115 223 36 Cf BALCMANY, Cr Cr, 74 fm 1, SCHRADER Sprachesl u Urgucha 375 37 CC Ventet J19, 1897, 156 38 RI I 1151 Also cf VII CO 1 39 C B GuicL SD111 lien 176 7, 71, 2064 2141, 110 THAT Op at, 57 ff 10 fnsk Pirls on I, 382 Cox 48 VEDIC MYTHOLOGICAL TRACTS Boghazkoi inscription, mi id ra-as-śiel, Mitra together with his group’, is invoked to bear witness to the treaty which was conclu ded between Subbilduma, the king of the Hittites and Mattruaza, the king of Mittapni Mitra must have also been the god by whom people used to swear, as is indicated by Gk ma ton Mithrin The essential nature of Mitra thus being that of a god of holy law, guarding the truth in word and deed, every hypothe sis based upon the equation, Mitra = sun god, necessarily falls to the ground The very foundation of the Moon theory is thus utterly untenable the evidence adduced by OLDENBERG and HILLEBRANDT from the ritualistic literature, which seems to connect Mitra exclusively with the day and Varuṇa exclusively with the night, obviously reflects a later stage of developinent and cannot, therefore, be regarded as in any way conclusive in regard to the problem of the original and essential personality of the Vedic Varuṇa In the history of the religious thought of the Aryans, light symbolism would appear to have come in, in ad emphatic manner, at a later stage only Apart from this basic flaw, the moon theory is not at all supported by the evidence of the Vedic hymns To begin with, attention may be drawn to the impropriety of the sun being men tioned as the eye of the moon 41 Particularly when the physical Image of the moon was present to the eye of the Vedic poet, such references cannot be regarded even as poetical fantasy Further, it would be very difficult to explain, on the basis of the moon hypothesis, why Varuṇa, the moon, is regarded, in the Vedic hymns, as enormously more important than Mitra, the sun Indeed, so much richness of material, as we find with regard to the Vedic Varuṇa, should be impossible in the case of the moon To justify this contingency on the strength of the evidence of some p itwe rely ons, wheid iwe mou 13 apparently regarded as the almighty god,” is to completely misunderstand the whol spirit of the Varuṇa religion The ideology underlying the Varuṇa religion is essentially different from the one underlyin 41 42 E & RV I 50 6, 115 1 Seef n 31 above ASURA VARUNA 49 the primitive religions which are believed to have glorified the moon as the highest god One, indeed, feels that by the side of Indra, the national war god of the Vedic Aryans Varuṇa gives the impression of being a representative of an older and ethically more elevated culture Can Varuṇa’s counterpart in the Avesta, Ahura Mazdah, be ever regarded as representing the moon 73 The unique kind of ethical idealisation from the cosmic point of view, which is the most outstanding feature of the essen tial nature of the Vedic Varuṇa as well as of Ahura Mazdah, becomes utterly meaningless in the moon theory Varuṇa’s close association with ria and the rivalry between Varuṇa and Indra also caonot then be satisfactorily accounted for Do we further not find that in the Vedic mythology there do exist the proper sun god Surya, and the proper moon god Candramas? What then is the significance of this peculiar glorification of Mitra and Varuṇa as representing the sun and the moon respectively? Had Mitra and Varuṇa primarily represented the two natural pheno mena of the sun and the moon, the physical side of those gods would have been more distinctly emphasised in the Veda But as a matter of fact that is not at all the case! Further, it may be pointed out, in this connection that Varuṇa does pot play in the Vedic mythology, the same role as the moon in the classical Hindu mythology What again is the propriety of the meotion of Mitra and Varuṇa in the Boghazkoi inscriptions, if they merely Tepresent the sun god and the moon god respectively. They have been invoked with a special purpose and must have been regarded as having something to do with treaties and agreements The pasa, wbich forms an exclusive feature of Varuṇa, would create quite a major difficulty in the moon theory Soma is prima rily the sacred ritual drink, which fact would be quite clcar from the Vedic references The identification of Soma with the moon 43 It has been suggested (HILLEDRANDT VALII BT ) t at Shura Maz dah and Ahura are two dutact gods in the old Iran an mythology and that it is Abura (and not Ahura Mazdali) who 1 closely associated with Alittua in that mythology In that case it is Alura (and not hura Mazdah) who may Le regarded as the moon god.de by dc wth Withra the sun-god. Thu , horreter,qu te unconsciog (CI TJELE Gesch chi der Rcligion II, 69) 50 VEDIC MYTHOLOGICAL TRACTS can only be of a secondary character and may be regarded as the product of poetical fancy So HILLEBRANDT’S assertion that Soma is essentially identical with the moon is quite unconvin cing Moreover, Varuṇa’s apparent identity with Soma, which constitutes one of the main planks in HILLEBRANDT’s hypothe sis,45 can be more adequately explained by assuming that it was perhaps a conscious attempt on the part of the later Soma priests to glorify Soma by bringing him into contact with Varuṇa, the world sovereign Finally the moon theory would appear to be utterly unacceptable if one took into consideration the Vedic passage where Varuṇa and Candramas are brought together as the governor and the governed, namely, adabdhani varunasya vratānı vicakaśaccandrama nakrametit I 24 10) It is interesting to pote that the etymology of the name Varuṇa has been completely overlooked by the protagonists of the moon theory No other IE religion has glorified the moon god to such a great extent as, according to OLDENBERG and HILLEBRANDT, the Aryan relagion has Historically too this fact would become unaccountable OLDENBERG assumes that the whole circle of the Vedic gods - Mitra, Varuṇa, and the Adityas – representing respectively the sun, the moon, and the planets, as well as the corresponding circle of the Avestan divipities, Mithra Ahura Mazdah, and the Amesa Spentas, were borrowed by the Aryans from the Semitic people Tf the Aditya circle as a compact group were supposed to have been borrowed from the Semitic religion, there should have origically been such a group of divinities in that religion As a matter of fact, how ever, there is no such group! The planet-divioities in Babylon do not at all appear as a group of seven Moreover, the siogle planet divinities of the Semitic people, such as, Ninib, Nergal, Nebo, elc, have absolutely nothing in common with the Vedic Adityas, such as, Aryaman, Daksa, and Bhaga, or with the Ave stan Amesa Spentas, such as Vohu manah, Aśa vahista, etc More over, the planets as such are regarded, in the Iranian religion, 44 VM1, 282 fT 15 C 141 ĮT, 34 11 ASURA VARUNA more or less as evil spirits on the side of Ahriman 4 According to the hypothesis of OLDENBERG, Varuṇa would have to be regarded as being identical with Sun, the moon god of the Semitic people, and Mitra with śamaś, their sun god However, in the Babylonian mythology, Sın, in contrast to the Vedic Varuṇa, plays a very micor role, Varuṇa’s personality, on the other hand. exhibits many features which are common to Samaś These facts clearly go against OLDENBERG’s theory One conclusion, therefore, seems to be quite unchallengeable, namely, that the circle of the Adityas cannot hayc bcen borrowed from the Semitic mythology, since there is no such compact group of divinities in the Semitic mythology 47 The soundest method of understanding and evaluating the unknown Vedic mythological ficts is, according to PISCHEL, to start from the known classical Hindu mythology This method proposed by PiSCHEL is correct but it is certainly not the only method On the strength of the evidence of the classical Hindu mythology PISCHEL has put forth the theory that Varuṇa represents in the Veda, the god of ocean, as he does in later mythology 49 Varuṇa’s connections with waters are many and varied in the Vedic literature (I 161 14, VIT 49 3, IX 90 2, AV VII 83 1) This fact would also confirm, according to him, the hypothesis that Varuṇa is primarily the lord of waters The following Vedic passage, apsu te rājan larima grlo hranjajo muihah faro dirtarraro raja sarsa dhomāni muñicaru ( AV VII 83 1), 46 It may also be pointed out that the fatalistic tendencies which are usually associated with the planets are almost woknown among the tarly Aryans. 47 GÜVTERT, OP 44, 171-17 Semic influence on the Varuṇa rel gion of the leda u further said to be out of the question in Sicw of the fact that Alstract thought in the direction of the invisible’, ‘Indefinile’, mystical is forcign to the Semitic outlook on lise It seems to be mainly an Aryan heritage Thc Seminc people, on the other hand, are sa tusfied with concrete thing, with ’numbers, and are rarely seen to go beyond them (GÜNTERT, Op 11, 174 ) 18 R Pachen, GGA 1895, 6, 416 f, 1d Stud II, 121,214, Kultur der Grgentari I (7), 173 VEDIC MYTHOLOGICAL TRACTS clearly points to the abode of Varuṇa being among waters. In this context a reference may also be made to the etymological connection, proposed by some scholars, between the words, varuna, on the one hand, and vari a river’ and vāri ‘water’, on the other.49 LUDERS seems to have modified the oceap-theory by regarding Varuṇa as representing originally the occan surroud. ing the world.50 Apart from the incorrectness of the etymological connection mentioned above, it must be said regarding this theory, that, according to the Vedic evidence, waters’ or ‘ocean’ represent only one region of Varuṇa’s supreme sovereignty. It may also be pointed out that in no IE. religion is the god of ocean glorified as the world-sovereign, Moreover, it is positively doubtful whether the sea was at all regarded by the Vedic Aryans as of such great importance as to make its god the most august and the most paramount god of the Vedic pantheon. It is consequently difficult to accept the theory put forth by PISCHEL.51 , Religiorno SBA developed bed bookortingen vid a verys ject are to be found … [The fully develand 1910, 931) that y ZELUSETS as the needs this 2). Kich was the namname of the

49. Sec : HOPKINS, Religions of India, 66
50. LUDERS further suggests (SBAW, Berlin, 1910, 931 that Varuda is primarily the god of oath [The fully developed views of LUDERS on this subject are to be found in his posthumously published book, Varuṇa : 1. Varuṇa und du Wasser, Gottingen, 1951; II, Varuma und das Rta. Gottingen 1959. For a critical examination of the view of Luders, sec A Vedic God and a Vedic Scer’, in the present volutne ] V.M APTE (NIA 8, 136-156 ) also says that the natural basis of Varuṇa is the all pervading cosmic waters rather than mere terrestrial waters. PRZYLUSKI explains the same of the Vedic god Varusa as a development of Baru which was the name of a pon-Aryar god of the sta (JRAS 1931, 613-22). KEITH controverts this vicW (IHQ. 9, 515-20). KRETSCHMER (WZKA 33, 1926, 8 ff.) connects Varuṇa with Hattate Arunas (Vedic nasa = the sea WILKINS ( Hindu Mythology, 40 ) says that in the Vedic literature, Varuṇa was not represented chiefly as the god of the ocean; rather Vedic hymns show him as one of the gods of Lght, yet there are passages which describe him as being connected with the waters of the atmosphere and on the earth, which afford some foundations for the later conceptions of his kingdom’.
51. OLDENBERG (ZDMG 50, 56-57 ) and HOLLEERANDT (VATIT, 10-11) unequivocally say that in the Vedic Varuṇa one hardly finds any traces of *ocean’. HILLEBRANDT adds that in the Veda we do not have any dual divinity like Suryasamudrau to correspond with Afitrāvarunau, ( Continued on the next page) ASURA VARUNA A critical examination of the Vedic hymns would clearly in dicate that the mythology dominated by Varuṇa, Mitra, the Adityas, and Adit does not exhibit even the saintest traces of * naturalism’, that is to say, of the worship of the Powers of Nature as Divine Beings 55 It has already been shown that the Vedic Varuṇa “cannot be said to be primarily representing the sky-god or the winter god or the moon god or the god of ocean What then is his essential nature? Let us approach this problem in a constructive way by clearly analysing the principal concep tions with which Varuṇa is associated in a special and exclusive manner Among all the Vedic gods the epithet asura seems to belong specially to Varuṇa A large number of passages from the Veda would make this fact abundantly clear Asayannasabhyazasura praceta rājannenāmsı sisrathah krtám / (1 24 14) 11 am visvesam varunāsı rajā ye ca devā asura ye ca martāh / (1 27 10) ma no vadhairvarund yc ta istap. enah krn antamasura bhrinanti/ (II 28 7) astabhnūd dyamasuro vistayedá amimita varinianam prihwäh! (VIII 42 1) A thorough philological and anthropological investigation will clearly show that the primitive conception of magic’ potence (Contined from the list page) Attempts have been made to explain the nature of Varuṇa also from the astronomical point of view (eg E LEUMANN, “Die Gottin Adito und dic vedische Astronomie , ZI1 6, 1, R SHAXABASTRY, “The Adityas’, IA 41, 290 H A SHAH, “Vedic Gods I-IV”, ABORI 17, 97-176) Accord ing to V M APTE (BDCRY 5, 178 ff ), the zodiac is the physical base of Rta which us the special charge of Varusa Such explanations of the ex planation of Varuṇa as the spinal cord (VG RELE, Vedic Gods as Figures of Biology, Bombay, 1931 ) have of course, not been taken into account here 52 MACNICOL (Indian Theum, 11 ) seems to make an overcautious ttatement is this consection ‘As we discera hus figure, Varusa sees to be sa the act of passing beyond physical limitations to take bus place as a moral lord DICT Die consciences of man’ $4 VEDIC MYTHOLOGICAL TRACTS underlies the word asura 53 The Vedic word asura is much older than the classical Sk word sura, asura does not represent the opposite of sura (= god That word was originally used in the Vedic literature in the sense of a beiog who possessed the largest amount of magical potence Its meaning, pamely demon’, belongs semasiologically to a later date, and it was then that the word sura god’ was artificially coined through a misunderstanding of the a in asura as a prefix of negation Philo logically the word asura is derived from asu by the addition of the possessive termioation ra I have shown elsewhere, 54 on the basis of philological and anthropological evidence, that asu must have been originally regarded as a supernatural fluid like the primitive Mana This fluid invested upon a being some super natural, magical potence, which belongs to the realm of the * invisible’ and which is quite distinct from physical strength The magical power which comes from Mana may be utilised both for good as well as evil purposes To possess and to control the largest quantity of that all penetrating magic fluid was the greatest achievement ever thought of It should be remembered in this connection that the magic fluid postulated by the primitive is not what we may call ‘spirit’, ‘mind’, or soul’ It is a power substance which fills the living beings, but even the lifeless can have it magically filled in into them “The Batak call such power substance Tondi, while the Huron-Indians call it Orenda The conception of Orenda, Tondi, Mana is the ultimate solution offered by the primitive to the riddle of life and being What is true of the Melanesians, Polynesians, Australian tribes, American Indians, African Negroes, etc, could also be true of the ancient Aryans 55 The primitive religions assumed the subtle working of Orenda in 53 In the present context the term ‘magic is not to be understood in its vulgar, popular sense It is rather to be understood in the sense in which it is used when for instance one says that ‘magc, relg on, and science are the three main stages in the evolution of human thought particularly in respect of man s relationship with the world [See DANDELAR, 14 PATOG, Part II, 1952 16 18 ] 54 DANDEKAR Der vedische Mensch, Heidelberg, 1939, 24 ff 55 GUNTERT, OP cil, 100 ft ASURA VARUNA all the invisibly working and changing forces of nature, in the organic becomiog’ and growing’ of man, indeed 10 all perfectly-regulated cosmic activities The main function of the primitive religious magic is, on the one hand, to collect and increase, as much as possible, this occult fluid in oneself, and, on the other, to reduce it in others substantially The asu conception in the Veda may as well be styled ’ Vedic orendism:56 The asura, accordingly, is the being who possesses the largest amount of asu, the magical power-substance, and, therefore, commands the greatest magical power 57 Varuṇa is asura par excellence 58 On account of his enormous magic power he creates the universe, regulates it into an orderly whole, and wields the most supreme sovereignty over it This unique power of the asura is called 56 DANDEKAR, Der vedwche Almsch, I Der vedusche Orcadismus (pp 14 29 ) Oat has to give up the usual derivation of asu from the root as On the point, se GUNTERT, OD 01, 102 Asu us to be distinguished from yida (DANDE KAR, Op al, 25 ) 57 The magical power substance asu penetrates into all aspects of crca tion, such as gods, med, animals, trees, stones, etc, and constitutes the essential basis of their * being’ and ’ becoming Ja this sense all entities are essentially (or qualitatively) alike, the difference among them is quialitative, that is, it is occasioned by the differing quantities of the any substance possessed by them The magico-religious practices aimed at augmenling, or transferring, or reduc ing the au 58 Guose (The Aryan Trail in India and Iran, 93 ff ) emphasises Varura’s resemblance to Assara Mazas and his Igigi of the Hommel inscripuon (left by Assurbanipal, the Assyrian Imperial ling) and to Abura or the Maguans Assur was the local deity of the metropolis of the first kingdom of Assyria Grose believes that Assara Mazas was the original of Ahura Mazdah The real link to connect Varuṇa with Ahura, according to him, 18 not to be found in a common etymological source from which the two names may be supposed to have derned The name Ahura, if it had any etymological base of aay bm’ at ay and w out smarply Asked from a que anom’s fixed place namo, had without doubt a Scoiuc or Llanatic and not an Aryan ongin The process of borrowing was thus, according to GHOSE ( quite stran gely, indeed!) Assur (Semiuc)- Ahura (Iranian ) - Asura (Vcdic) MACHICOL says Indian Theim 17, 1 nl) II there was indeed any debt on the part of Varuṇa or Ahura Mazdah to the Semites, that debt was repaid later M CUMOST points out that without doubt at the period of the Achac mcoides a rapproachement took place betwcen the Semiuc Baalsamin and the Persian Ahura Mazdah, the ancient deity of the vault of heaven but now be came the supreme physical and moral powes $6 VEDIC MYTHOLOGICAL TRACTS māya, Varuṇa is, therefore, associated in a special way with the conception of māya GELDNER derives the word māya from mirate, mināsı, or minoti, to lessen’, ’to hinder’, ’to injure: 59 This etymology would give that word a more or less negative sense, which, how ever, cannot be confirmed by the Vedic evidence Vedic referen ces indicate that the fundamental conception underlying the word maya is that of a secret, mysterious power, possessed by good as well as evil beings, and the capacity to achieve miracles, which are incomprehensible from the point of view of normal beings The well regulated working of the enormous natural phenomena is thus regarded as resulting from the māja of Varuṇa The word majā has to be derived from miman or mim te, which root does not only mean ’to measure”, but also ’to create’, ’to arrange’, etc Maya thus represents the capacity to plan or to organise, mainly in the spiritual sense rather than in the technical sense As NEISSER has pointed out, 60 many Vedic passages actually connect the word maja with the root ma te mayino mamire supracetasah (I 159 4) any adanjadasuryam vasarā mi máyıno mamure rūpamasmin (IJI 38 7) māy avino mamire asja niayajā (IX 83 3) The word is philologically connected with Gk, metis cleverness’, Lit mónar magic?, Lett man’s legerdemain’, Abg manını . deceive’, Slav matoka spectre ghost’ etc 81 The conceptions underlying the words, asura and niajā, throw a good deal of light upon the true personality of Varuṇa As the crcator and the constructor of the universe, Varuṇa is regarded as the awe inspiring and miracle working magician Many Vedic passages will amply corroborate this assumption For instance. ami ja r. sa nilutāsa uccā nakram dadrśre kuha ciddneyuh/ adabdhānı sarunasja vratani vicākasaccandramā nakrameni // (1 24 10) 59 60 316 IT h. GELDNER De Rigoede in Auswahl, Glossar, 135 Neisser Festschrul/ur Hillebrandi, 14 fT, HILLEBRANDT, W 61 GUYTERT, OP 21, 113. K 13,ASURA VARUNA cutreblurabhraiupa tisthatho ravam dyan varsapatho asurasja mayaya / (V 63 3) waca me varuno medhuraja trih sapta namāging å bibhartı/ vdiān padasz a guhjā na vocadyırgaya vipra uparāya siksan (VII 874) In VII 88 6, Varuṇa is actually called jaksın, a magician, while 10 V 85 2 6 the whole working of the magic of asura Varuṇa is picturesquely described The hymn, VIII 41, is again dedicated to the glorification of the incomprehensible miracle accompushed by Varuṇa The sun traversed his path in the high heavens punctually every day, the changing phases of the moon appeared in the sky at night according to a definite plan, the innumerable stars twinkled The ancient Aryan saw and marvelled at all these patural phenomena, which appeared to him to be controlled and guided by some invisible hand He was deeply impressed by the shining vault of the heavens, he observed with awe the regular change of seasons, he imagined the night to be spreading a gigan tic cover over the heavenly dome, he was, indeed, overwhelmed by the riddle of the origin and growth of life He soon realised that there must have been some law, which regulated the working of nature and the activities of human beings, but for him that * law was shrouded in darkness and mystery He could, accor dingly, think of the only workable hypothesis in this regard, namely, that the creation and the workiog of the cosmos were the achievement of a tremendously powerful magician The starting point of this hypothesis was presumably his own experience of the tribal medicine man who, by virtue of the magic power substance, Mana, Orenda, asul, which he possessed, accomplished some feats which remained a veritable mystery to the ordinary man This popular belief paturally led to the assumption, in ancient religion, of a cosmic magician, who possessed the highest amount of the magic potence asu–Who was in other words, asura par exce llence – and could, therefore, achieve through his maja the most magpificent miracle of the universe The two currents of thought underlying the words, asura and māja, wbich may be anthropo logically traced back to almost every ancient religious belief, make 58 VEDIC MYTHOLOGICAL TRACTS thc essential personality of Vacuna in the Veda quite clear Varuṇa is the great asura, who possesses the largest amount of the magic power-substance asut, and his māja, resulting from this fact becomes manifest in the creation of the incomprehensibly majestic miracle of the cosmos He is the magician creator of the world as well as its suprcmc sovereign This particular characteristic of the essential nature of Varuṇa is most pictures quely represented in his other aspect, namely that of the Vedic god, Savitr 62 It is evidently a gross mistake to try to identify Varuṇa with some power of nature How does Varuṇa administer the cosmic law? The etymo logy of the name Varuṇa would considerably enlighten us on this question Attention has already been drawn to the fact that to derive the word varuna from the root ir to cover’ is unsound from the linguistic point of view MEILLET derives the word varuna from the IE root *ller ure to speak 63 The word vrata is also derived from that root The possible connection between god Varuṇa and his commands - trala - is hereby linguistically suggested Varuṇa is accordingly the commander god MEILLET further connects the word laruna with Obg rota oath, Gk relor etc. It will however, be seen tbat there is no deriva tive from *uer ure in u themes, which fact would render the derivation of the word varuna from it unacceptable The word varund is best derived from *uer to bind’ Other derivatives from that root are Lett Beru kert bind down, Obg veruga * chain’, Lat urvum, etc It will thus be seen that there are also u derivatives from that root It may, therefore, be concluded that the name Varuda is derived from the IE *ueru n os “the 62 See DANDEKAR, “New light on the Verbes gyl Sant’, published elsewhere in this Volume It has been suggested that the conception of a sovereign world magician creating, supervising and controlling the working of the cosmic law is common to many ancient religions The Australian tribes have postulated, in their religious bel ef Bajam, the Algonkın Indians of North America Atahocan, the Irokes Joskcha the Tzendals Votan the Novabo tribcs Absonnuth, the North Western races Tehl to play the same role as Varuṇa in the early Vedic religion | GUNTERT, OP «t, 116-17)
52. MEILLET, JA 1907, II, 156 ASURA VARUNA 59 binder 64 This etymology is amply corroborated by the pāśas attributed to Varuṇa and the whole religious thought dominated by thcm Thc supremc binder god Varuṇa binds down all phenomena in the universe by means of his pāśas and thereby controls and regulates their working (VII 84 2, X 149 1). He thus establishes cosmic order through his bondage 5 As a logical extension of this idea, Varuṇa, in his capacity of the world sovereign, of the upholder of the cosmic law, and of the moral governor, is represented to be employing his pāśa to put the singers against his law into bondage by way of punish ment (eg AV IV 16 6-9) The two currents of thought - cosmological and ethical – indicated above seem to have been blended together into the concept of the pasa of Varuṇa An analysis of the concept of ria would prove very helpful at this stage It was BRUGMANN who may be said to have started the linguistic investigations in this connection 66 According to him, Gk eirën (or uranā) 16 the reduplicated derivative from the IE *ar to bind ’to upite , éto join together’ Th GK word eirune means ‘well joined together, holy bond’, ‘deser bringing together’ Some further derivatives from that root, in different directions, are SK ara, aram, arpajall, Lat. TZ, crtus, etc There are still other derivatives from the IE, **-, ith an additional I in the base, such as Mhd ari, Sk rte, A crdar right lawful, Gk artios, etc 67 These lata zers Fill be seen to possess primarily some special ethical s The Vedic ra thus represents the holy bond - 163 Elable, 18 vulnerable lay - which is the foundation of 23 plesoren2 and which binds them down into a well-c- c c ’s The Vede references to rtasja tantu (AV II 15, XL: 0, would see to support this explanation of the The rat 61 CUNTERT OP 11, 147 60 VEDIC MYTHOLOGICAL TRACTS of rta is often said to have been spun out by means of threads of light: adarsı gatururare varijasi panthā riasya sama, ansia rasmi bhiscaksurbhagasja rasmibhih / dyuksam muitrasy a sådana marj amno varunasya ca atha dadhare brhadukshyam vaja upastutyam brhadiayah // (I 136 2) The Vedic concept of rta thus represents the same ideology as is more or less concretely persopiled ihrough Varuṇa The Iranian counterpart of rta will be clearly seen in asa, it would be particularly interesting to compare hham riasya with asahe xām (Y 10 4), riasāp with aśem aplı (Y 31 32), and redha rtasja with asayazdah GEIGER has shown that asa and druj of the Avesta are related to the Vedic rta and drh, which latter are clearly contrasted with each other (1 122 9 ) 68 GUNTERT believes that the concepts of rta and cosmos’ are semasıo logically connected with each other since the word cosnios itself can be traced back to a root ker meaning ’to bind together 69 It has been already pointed out that an outstanding feature of the Varuda religion is Varuṇa’s connection with the Adityas and Aditi Here too one would find the same concept of binding’ underlying these two words The words adıtı and ādit, a are derived from the IE de-Sk da to biod’ and are linguistically connected with the words like Sk daman bondage’ The whole world may be bound down by the fetters of Varuṇa, the world sovereign, but the Adityas, who are his favoured associates and who represent the different powers of the great asura Varuṇa, are naturally unbound and free 70 It may be incidentally pointed out that BLOOMFIELD’s suggestion that the word aditya may be connected with the word ādı’ beginning’, and that thus the prime val character of those gods may be assumed 71 is philologically 68 GEIGER, SBATV, Wien 176, 7, 194 ff 69 GUNTERT, Opat, 145 70 The follow.ng passages are quite sgaficant in this connection: II 27 10 28 3 VII 521, 605, VIII 47 6 67 18 71 M BLOOMTIELD, The Sytnbolic Gods, Gildersleeve Vol, 45, Rel of the Veda, 131 ASURA VARUNA unsound The Adityas belong to the entourage of asura Varuṇa; they may, under his behest, bind down others, but are themselves free from bondage It will thus be seen that Mitra the binder Varuņa ’the binder’, rta ‘holy bond’, ‘holy law’, Adityas ’thc un bound Obes’, and Aditi ’the unboundness belong to one and the same religious ideology which forms the fundamental basis of the Varuṇa religion in the Veda The unique affinity among these dividities often referred to in the Vedic bymns can be very satis factorily accounted for only by this hypothesis The whole circle of Mitra and Varuṇa seems to have been quite an ancient feature of the Aryan Teligion, since, in the Boghazkoi inscription of the 14th century BC, Varuṇa and Mitra are invoked not singly like Indra, but together with their groups 72 Varuṇa may thus be said to be representing the concept of the world sovereign who is characterised by those distinct features which are implied by the words, asura, majā, rta, mitra, adilja, aditi, etc This world sovereign further possesses all the attribu tes of royalty He is rajan (1 24 7), but more predominantly samraj (VII 822) Ksatra is said to be his special glory (1 25 5, VII 89 1-4) He wears a golden mantle and puts on a shining robe (1 25 13) The spies - spasah- of Varuṇa make his supreme sovereignty complete His imperial ordinances - Tratani - are unchallenged, and so he is dhrtavrata (1 25 6 ) The moral law governing the human beings, with which Varuṇa is often associa ted, is but an aspect of the cosmic law of which he is the principal guardian This regal aspect of Varuṇa’s personality may throw come light on the Vedic notion of kingshup 3 72 It has becn pointed out by GUNTIRT ( Op ar, 151–55) that several other ancient peoples 1 ke, for instance, the Icelanders the ‘Thrakians, and the Phrygians hasc glorified ther great god as “binder Such are Bond, Darzales, and Dendis 73 JOHANSSON actually suggests (Opal, 130 ) that the concept of kingship Is itself personified as a god in Varuṇa It would however be top much to derive the word roruna from the root or to choose and 10 suggest, on that basis that Vedic Ingship whose prototype s represented Ly Varupa was elective’ kogship INTERNITZ (HIL I 146 ) thioks that in 41 III +, ihe heascnly king Varuṇa appears as the onc who chooses the human Lung (On that hymn soc DAYPEKAR, D K Barva Comm Tol, 1966 32-37) the more who chooses 62 VEDIC MYTHOLOGICAL TRACTS The essential nature of Varuṇa is necessarily all comprehen sive Varuṇa s domain is, therefore, vast, and he is often severally represented as being almost identical with other Vedic dividities such as Soma, Yama, etc It must, however, be remembered that Varuṇa is not identical with any one of these, he includes and transcends them all in my paper entitled New light on the Vedic god Savitr, 74 I have shown that through the personality of Savitr a special aspect of Varuṇa - Varuṇa as a magician and Varuṇa as a commander - has heen glorified by the Vedic poets The number of hymns dedicated to Varuṇa’s praise is accor ding to MACDONELL not a sufficient criterion of his exalted character Hardly a dozen hymos celebrate him exclusively " In two dozen more hymns, however, Varuṇa is invoked along with his double, Mitra These hymns, addressed to Mitravarunau as a dual divinity present Mitra and Varuṇa as two gods supplemen ting each other 6 A critical study of the Mitravaruna hymns often makes one feel inclined to accept the suggestion of BOH. NENBERGER that Mitra and Varuṇa originally formed one single godhead, which was later on split up into two and that, even then, Mitra was merely used as an attribute of Varuṇa 77 It has already been shown on etymological grounds that the essential character of both the gods is the same But there are certain points in this connection which cannot be overlooked Firstly, Mitra alone is celebrated only in one hymd, secondly, in the hymns addressed to Miträvarunau, Varuṇa is more preemineptly glorified than biis associate Mitra, and, tbırdly even in spite of his essential character as ‘binder’, Mitra does not possess any paśas while Varuṇas paśas, which serve a double purpose, are often glorificd (1 24 15, I 25 21, VII 88 7, AV IV 16 6ft) On the basis of this evidence a plusible hypothesis regarding the distinct 74 Thu i publ shcd ciscwhere in ths Volume 75 MacDONELL Vedc Alythology, 22 76 Sometimes a slgbt contrast between the two is also implied 77 BOINENBERCER Opel ASURA VARUNA domains of Mitra and Varuṇa may be hazarded Bondage is of two types - by mcans of the bonds of friendship and by means of the bonds of subjection The first type of bondage is usually brought about between equals, while the second type of bondage implies the unchallengcable superiority of the binder Mitra presides over the bonds of friendship - agreements, contracts, and Ircatics Varuṇa produces through his pāśas an invisible net of magic in which the whole creation is held in bondage and is there. by controlled and regulated, Varuṇa also punishes the sinners against the cosmic and the moral law by means of his paśas As GUNTERT bas pointed out, Mitra, as a friendly divinity, helps to bring about friendly bondage between man and man, and bet Ween god and man, he is particularly the guardian of human laus Varuṇa, on the other hand, presides over an all inclusive cosmic domiin, his Law includes all laws Morcover, it is also suggested in the Vedic hymns that one becomes conscious of his having broken the law of Mitra Varuṇa’s 11w works in a very subtle way and there are often unconscious lapscs from it (V 85 8, VII 89 3, 5) It must, however, be remembered that this distinction between the domains of Varuṇa and Mitra is never forcefully emphasised in the Vcda. Indeed Mitra falls into the background and comes to be regarded merely as one of the Adityas Varuṇa dominates this particular aspect of the Vedic rcligion and Mitra is reduced to the position of his more or less subordinate double The later Vedic ritualistic literaturc desclop ed the originally slight distinction betneen the two gods in quite a different direction which fact give rise to a lot of misunder standing regarding their primary characters The original concep tions represented by Varunt and Mitra had no place in the scheme of the Vedic ritual, and conscquently their essential personalities were greatly modified so as to suit the ritualistic purpose The rivalry between Indra and Varuṇa forms an outstanding (cature of the Vedic mythology This question needs to be 70 Opf. 123-24 VEDIC MYTHOLOGICAL TRACTS studied in the proper historical perspective The early Vedic religious thought shows three very marked phases (1) The most ancient Aryan, who lived in very close proximity with nature - indeed, as a part of nature - , was struck by the vastness, brightness, and profuseness of nature He expressed his religious reaction to this experience through the mythological figure of Dyauh This aspect of what may be called the cosmic religion, however, suffered a retarded growth among the Aryans This was presumably due to the fact that the ancient Aryan chose to emphasise yet another remarkable feature of the cosmic phenomena and consequently mythologised it (2) The ancient Aryan realised that this vast universe was not chaos but that it was cosmos, there was some law which regulated and controlled all phenomena of nature, and there was a sovereign lord who enforced the proper conduct of that law This second phase is represented by the Varuṇa rta conception (3) This cosmic ethical phase of the religious thought of the ancient Aryans could not for long satisfy the religious urge of the fighting and conquering Vedic tribes The character of the religion of a people is largely conditioned by the kind of life which that people lives The fighting Aryans, accordingly, created a warrior god, Indra, who eventually surpassed all other gods The RV hymn, IV 42, is a remarkable document relating to the revolution in the order of ranking among the gods, which seems to have taken place during the Vedic period it indicates the supersession of Varuṇa, who stood at the height of divine glory in the Aryan period, through Indra, the national war.god of the Vedic lodzes 79 The Jd selyous vider made pace for the 79 In this sentence, the words “Aryan period and Vedic Indians’ are used deliberately for, it was during the Aryan period that is, during the period when the ancestors of the edic Aryans and ibc Iranian Aryans were living together presumably in the region round about Balkh that the Varuṇa pla concept had been developed, while Indra was specifically the god of the Vedic Aryans wlo were advancing towards Saptasındhu ASURA VARUNA 65 Dew one, on account of the changing circumstances of the Vedic people This assumption might explain why Varuṇa’s counter part in the Avesta, Ahura Mazdah, continued to be glorified as the supreme god by the Iranians, there was no original counter part of lodra to rival bim in their religion In the Vedic period also there was a group of Vedic Aryans, particularly the Vāsi. sthas, who preserved and promoted the ancient Varuṇa religion At the same time, serious attempts seem to have been made by the Yāsisthas themselves to bring about a compromise between the Varuṇa religion and the Indra religion, which fact is reflected in the Vedic passages such as, yrtränjanjah samithesu jiglinate yratanzanjo abhi raksate sada / (VII 83 9) Indra’conquers, but it is Varuṇa who rules B0 Thus there can be seen, in the Vedic hymns, three distinct phases of the relationship between Varuṇa and Iadra, namely, (1) Varuṇa’s unchallenged supremacy among all the gods, (2) rivalry between the old Varuṇa-religion and the new Indra religion, and attempts to bring about a compromise between the functions of Varuṇa and Indra, and finally (3) Varuṇa’s supersession through Indra and the consequent elevation of Indra to the position of the most precminent god of the RV All the same, the spirit of rivalry betwecn asura Varuṇa and irtrahā Indra characterises a large part of the Vedic literature and ritual si The difference in the esscotial nature of these two gods is reflected, as BERGAIGNE 80 On thus subject see my papers, * Vasha as religious conciliator” and “Alec god and m edic seer’, published elsewhere in this Volume 8t A suggestion may be hazarded a connection mth thc nivalry bet ween asua Varuṇa and Indra to the Veda, Indra is often called furendera (that u, the breaker of cities) The Indus Valley civilia uon as represented at Molicnjodaro and Larappa was primanly a city-civilisation Could it be that the Ved c Aryans under the leadership of pwandera lodra, destroyed that avituation? Is it further ponbic 11 at the Indus ciliation was in londe tense an Asyran en II sation and ibat the mytholog cal rivalry between &ws Varupa and Indra was to a certain citent accentuated by the mulitary rivalry between the Assyrians of the Indu valley and lodra of the Vedic Arnar? 66 VEDIC MYTHOLOGICAL TRACTS has pointed out,82 in the very prayers addressed to them Indra is the ideal of a fighting and conquering people, as his very name would indicate he is the symbol of manly vigour and physical strength, he is often represented in the Veda as an inveterate divine bully, ever indulging in drinking and fighting He pos sesses all the virtues and also the weaknesses of a manly hero. Varuṇa, on the other hand, is represented as the highly spirituali sed and idealised protector of law In contrast to Varuṇa, Indra, as the national war god, was celebrated in a very large number of myths The rivalry between Indra and Varuṇa would give us the necessary starting point for the consideration of the question of how the world sovereigo Varuṇa of the RV was transformed into the god of ocean in the classical Hindu mythology The deterio ration in Varuba’s religious supremacy began with the ascendancy of Indra 83 What remained of his divine sovereignty, after Indra’s rise, was divided among several gods Anindependent god came to be thought of as presiding over every region, over which Vacuna was represented in the Veda, to have ruled There remained only the ocean which came into prominence in later times The imperial ruler was reduced to the position of a provincial gover nor, Varuṇa became the god of ocean Varuṇa’s special connec tions with waters described in the Veda (II 28 4, V 85 3, 6, VII 87 1, VIII 41 2, X 75 2, AV VII 83 1), the conception of the upper’ ocean and the lower’ ocean in the Vedic cosmography as also the belief that Varuṇa administered his 82 Opal, III, 139-49 83 It is suggested that the central conception represented by Varuge developed in quite a different direction In India metaphysical thought cvolved out of mytholog cal imagery As DEUSSEN has pointed out the later Iadian metaphys cal speculations were founded on the older religious con cepuons In the mystic Upanipadic doctrine of brahman, a critical observer woull find the metaphys cal des clopment of the Varuṇa la religion in the Veda The tcaching of mukti moksa may also be traced back to the concep tion of the pasas of Varuṇa The spiritual side of Varuṇas personality or, in other words, the casentral nature of Varuṇa - was thus prçserted and philosophically modifiedASURA VARUNA 67 cosmic law from his abode among the celestial waters (I 25 10). and the usual tendency to regard the ocean as the repository of all mysteries, must have facilitated this transition to a certain extent : [First published ABORI 21, 1911, 1-3) ] 8t Rorii ay ( Opal ) in this concction “When, on the onc liand, the conception of Varuṇa as the all-cmbracing heaven had been established, tad on the other hand the observation of the filets Rowing towards the ends of the carth and to the sea had led to the conjccture that there existed an otcan enclosing the carth in its bosom, then the way wis thoroughly prepared for connect ng Varun with the occan” Whatever the forces which may have dethroned Varuņa froo bus high ethical cmunence to lc a mcrc ruler of the storms and tides, the dethronc. ment was, according to MACWICOL (Op 6, 11), “an cycot in the spi ritual history of India that was at oro a omptom and a determinant of the long, lucceeding process of its development The ‘IIebraic flavour’ that was in Varuṇa was then definitely declared to be sortign to the Indian spirit, and more that day its indications have been rart