Editing Varuna (section)

=== Mahabharata ===
[[File:Varuna with Varunani.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Varuna with his queen. Statue carved out of [[basalt]], dates back to 8th century CE, discovered in Karnataka. On display at the [[Prince of Wales museum]], Mumbai.]]
In the epic ''[[Mahabharata]]'' (c. 400 BCE - 400 CE), Varuna undergoes a notable transformation from his earlier Vedic portrayal. He is no longer depicted as the supreme sky god or an omnipotent sovereign administering cosmic order and morality, though his pairing with [[Mitra (Hindu god)|Mitra]] remains. The epic forgets his earlier associations with ''[[ṛta]]'' (cosmic order) and ethical oversight, emphasizing instead his role within a new mythological framework.<ref name=":Mbh">{{Cite book |last=Chaudhuri |first=Dr Usha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HODWjwEACAAJ |title=Indra And Varuna In Indian Mythology |publisher=Nag Publishers |year=1978 |isbn=978-81-7081-034-6 |pages=153–163 |language=en |chapter=Varuṇa in the Mahābhārata}}</ref>

Varuna is still identified as the son of [[Aditi]] and fifth of the twelve [[Adityas]], but his status is reduced as one of the [[Lokapala|Lokapalas]], or guardians of the directions, specifically presiding over the western quarter—a symbolic alignment with the setting sun and perhaps with darkness and night. In this context, [[Kashyapa]], Varuna's father, installed Varuna as ''Salileśvara,'' the sovereign of all forms of water, including rivers, lakes, and oceans.<ref name=":Mbh" />

As a water-god, Varuna is described being handsome, having the splendor of [[Lapis lazuli|Lapis Lazuli]]. Unlike earlier texts where the waters (''[[Ap (water)|āpaḥ]]'') held deep philosophical and metaphysical significance, the ''Mahabharata'' presents them in a more literal sense. Varuna resides beneath the waters, in a grand palace of pure white colour situated in ''[[Nagaloka]]'', the oceanic realm (''[[samudra]]''), described vividly in the ''[[Udyoga Parva]]''. There, adorned in radiant attire and gleaming jewels, he sits enthroned beside his queen, surrounded by aquatic beings, including [[Nāga|nāgas]], [[Daitya|daityas]], [[Sadhyas|sādhyas]], and [[Rivers in Hinduism|river goddesses]] including [[Ganga (goddess)|Ganga]] and [[Yamuna in Hinduism|Yamuna]].  According to the ''[[Sabha Parva]]'', Varuna also attends celestial assembly of the creator god, [[Brahma]].<ref name=":Mbh" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Mani|first=Vettam|url=https://archive.org/details/puranicencyclopa00maniuoft/page/832/mode/2up?view=theater|title=Puranic encyclopaedia : a comprehensive dictionary with special reference to the epic and Puranic literature|date=1975|publisher=Delhi : Motilal Banarsidass|others=Robarts – University of Toronto|isbn=978-0-8426-0822-0 }}</ref>

The ''Mahabharata'' expands Varuna's personal life. His chief-queen is most commonly identified as [[Varuni]], who is depicted alongside him in his underwater palace. The ''Udyoga Parva'' refers to his beloved-wife as Gauri, while the ''Adi Parva'' names his spouse as Jyeshtha or Devi, the eldest daughter of [[Shukra]]. With Jyeshtha, Varuna is said to have fathered a son, Bala, and a daughter [[Varuni|Sura]], the wine goddess. The ''[[Vana Parva|Vanaparva]]'' further mentions Vandin as another of Varuna’s sons. The ''Udyoga Parva'' adds another son, Pushkara, who married the daughter of the [[Chandra|Moon god]]. In the ''Udyoga Parva'', Varuna is also stated to have fathered the [[Kalinga (Mahabharata)|Kalinga]] king—[[Shrutayudha]]—from the river goddess Parnasha. Varuna also granted Shrutayudha a divine mace in response to prayers by Parnasha.<ref name=":Mbh" /><ref name=":2" />

The ''Mahabharata'' also references Varuna’s iconic weapon, the ''[[Pasha (Hinduism)|pāśa]]'' (noose), though without the symbolic judicial weight it carried in the Vedic tradition. He is briefly mentioned as ''Pāśabhṛt'', ''Ugrapāśa'', ''Pāśin'', and ''Pāśavān'', with the noose appearing merely as one of his divine attributes.<ref name=":Mbh" />

Varuna appears in several narrative episodes throughout the epic. The ''[[Adi Parva]]'' recounts that during the burning of the [[Khandava Forest|Khandava forest]], Varuna gifted Arjuna the celestial bow [[Gandiva]], an inexhaustible quiver, and a monkey-bannered chariot, as well as the mace [[Kaumodaki]] to [[Krishna]]. Later, in the ''[[Mahaprasthanika Parva]]'', Arjuna returned the Gandiva by casting it into the sea, effectively returning it to Varuna.<ref name=":Mbh" /><ref name=":2" />

Another episode in the ''Adi Parva'' tells how Varuna abducted [[Bhadra]], the wife of the sage Utathya. In response, Utathya dried up the ocean until Varuna returned her. The same text also narrates that when Kashyapa took Varuna’s sacred cow (''homadhenu'') for a sacrifice, Varuna and [[Brahma]] cursed him to be reborn as a [[Vasudeva|cowherd]]. The ''[[Shalya Parva]]'' states that Varuna performed a [[rajasuya]] sacrifice at Yamunatirtha and later provided the war god [[Kartikeya|Skanda]] with an elephant and two followers named Yama and Atiyama.<ref name=":Mbh" /><ref name=":2" />

Other episodes include Varuna giving the sage Richika a thousand black-eared horses, testing King [[Nala]] alongside other deities, and granting Nala a boon that allowed him to assume any form, along with a garland of fragrant flowers.<ref name=":2" /> The ''[[Drona Parva]]'' also records that Varuna was once defeated in battle by Krishna, indicating the evolving hierarchy among deities in the epic tradition.<ref name=":Mbh" />