Varuna

Quick Facts

About Varuna

Regent of the western quarter and master of the noose, whose hall of assembly Narada describes to Yudhishthira with the rivers and the oceans and the bound Daityas attending it. At Agni's asking he gave up the bow Gandiva, the two inexhaustible quivers and the ape-bannered chariot for Arjuna, and the mace Kaumodaki for Krishna, before the burning of Khandava. He also armed his son Srutayudha with an invincible mace on the condition that it never be hurled at a man not fighting, a condition that killed him.

In Their Words

No man born can be given immortality. Take instead a weapon, and the rule that governs it.

Varuna

Traits

• deep
• binding
• generous
• exacting

Story Appearances

• When Gods Made WarGiver of the Gandiva and the Kaumodaki❧ 18 min
• The Mace That Turned BackFather who set the fatal condition❧ 16 min
• The Five Halls of the GodsRegent whose hall Narada describes

Stories Featuring Varuna

58 further tales on this site name Varuna, in canonical reading order.

• The Sea God and the Wives at the FireTwo Small Mercies of VrindavanAdi Parva ‧ 5 min
• The Bow Out of the WaterWhat Varuna kept until two men needed itAdi Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Lineages of Gods and DemonsVaishampayana recites the descent of every creature from Brahma and the daughters of DakshaAdi Parva ‧ 22 min
• The Lake Called BinduWhere Maya found Bhima's club and Arjuna's conchSabha Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Hundred Questions of NaradaA sage audits an emperor before he lets him boastSabha Parva ‧ 17 min
• What the Blind King Was ToldDuryodhana's inventory of the rajasuya, and the quarrel it startedSabha Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Vows Sworn Before ExileFour brothers name their killings on the way out of the dice hallSabha Parva ‧ 23 min
• Nala and DamayantiThe King Who Lost Everything at Dice and Won It BackVana Parva ‧ 24 min
• Damayanti Alone in the ForestHalf a garment, a hunter, and a road out through strangersVana Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Two Pots of RiceA mother and daughter exchange their bowls and exchange their sonsVana Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Council at PrabhasaThe Yadavas find the exiles on the shore and argue about ending the exile by forceVana Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Map of the WorldsA priest naming the four quarters of the cosmos from a mountain shoulderVana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Horses of VamadevaA loan not returned, and two kings undone by the same refusalVana Parva ‧ 17 min
• Devasena and the Husband Not Yet BornA rescue on the Manasa hills and a promise the gods had to invent someone to keepVana Parva ‧ 16 min
• Swaha and the Six DisguisesThe wives who were punished for a child that was never theirsVana Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Testimony of the ElementsWhat Rama said when she was brought back to himVana Parva ‧ 16 min
• Nala's BridgeThe Ocean refuses to part and names a workman instead, and the monkey army walks to LankaVana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Ten Names of ArjunaA frightened prince demands proof at the burning groundVirata Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Lineage of GandivaBrihannala names five sets of weapons and the six who held the great bowVirata Parva ‧ 12 min
• The Cow at the Bottom of the WorldSurabhi, the four cows of the quarters, and the cities beneath PatalaUdyoga Parva ‧ 16 min
• Garuda's Map of the WorldThe four directions described from a bird's backUdyoga Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Sacrifice of BattleDuryodhana makes the coming war his own rite, and his father disowns him for itUdyoga Parva ‧ 23 min
• The Second Man SentBhima's crossing and the roar agreed on beforehandDrona Parva ‧ 18 min
• What Krishna Had Already DoneArjuna asks, and gets a list he did not expectDrona Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Weapon That Would Not Burn ThemAshwatthama's fire, and why it left two men standingDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• The One Who Walked Ahead of the ChariotArjuna finally asks who has been winning his battlesDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• Karna Takes the FieldThe vow that kept him out of ten days of war, and the grief that brought him into itDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Consecration of DronaKarna names the Preceptor commander, and Drona names the man he cannot killDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Silent CampArjuna comes back at dusk from the samsaptakas and learns that Abhimanyu is deadDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• The One Who Walked Before the CarVyasa tells Arjuna whose lance was breaking the ranks in front of himDrona Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Road to JayadrathaArjuna breaks through the head of Drona's array on the fourteenth morning, from the omens at dawn to the river of bloodDrona Parva ‧ 23 min
• The Brothers of AvantiTwo kings see Arjuna's horses tire, and one of them walks up to Krishna with a maceDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• Bhima Carried From the FieldAshwatthama's afternoon after the Narayana weapon, and the shaft that took Bhima's charioteerDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• The King Names the PairsYudhishthira assigns each Pandava his enemy as Karna's array comes onKarna Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Vows Before the Final DuelKarna, Shalya, Krishna and Arjuna each say what they will do when the other man diesKarna Parva ‧ 24 min
• Karna's Tales of the MadrakasThe abducted woman's curse, the rakshasa's ranking of dirt, and a driver who cannot get off the chariotKarna Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Anointing of the War GodEvery god brings a gift to a six-day-old commanderShalya Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Lords of the Waters and the TreasuresBalarama walks the Sarasvati past the fords where Varuna, Kubera, Indra and Surya won what they holdShalya Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Day the Rod VanishedWhat happened to the world when Chastisement disappearedShanti Parva ‧ 20 min
• Bali in the Nooses of VarunaThe prisoner who would not be mocked, and the god who let him beShanti Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Tribes Beyond the PaleBhishma names the peoples of the borders and dates them to the ending of the first ageShanti Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Fourth Portion of VishnuSanatkumara tells the defeated Vritra what holds up the universe, and Bhishma tells Yudhishthira who Krishna isShanti Parva ‧ 23 min
• The Three Born of the FireBhrigu, Angiras and Kavi rise from a libation, and three gods claim themAnushasana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Savitri Mantra of SalutationsBhishma gives Yudhishthira the roll of names to be said at dawnAnushasana Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Names That Cleanse SinAsked what destroys sin, Bhishma answers with a litany of gods, rivers, mountains, sages and kingsAnushasana Parva ‧ 15 min
• Tandi and the Ten Thousand YearsA rishi meditates for a hundred centuries, sees Mahadeva, and hymns him as the end of all five roadsAnushasana Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Brahmanas Who Deserve WorshipNarada tells Krishna whom he bows to, and Bhishma tells a king what it costs to forgetAnushasana Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Sraddhas Under the ConstellationsYama's calendar of offerings to the fathers, and the king who won the earth by itAnushasana Parva ‧ 13 min
• Flowers, Incense, and LampsThe goddess Earth tells Krishna what a household owes each day, and Shukra tells Bali which flowers belong to which beingsAnushasana Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Child Who Stopped Indra's ArmA boy on Uma's lap holds the thunderbolt in the airAnushasana Parva ‧ 15 min
• The Sage Who Drank the SeaUtathya, Bhadra, and the day Varuna came up on footAnushasana Parva
• The Two Bowls of RiceHow a mother's swap made a brahmana of one line and a warrior of the otherAnushasana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Wind Answers the Thousand-Armed KingKartavirya boasts, and an invisible voice begins to argueAnushasana Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Elephant the Sage Called SonGautama argues his way through every heaven for a stolen calfAnushasana Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Naked Priest of VaranasiHow a king outbid Indra for a brother nobody wantedAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 31 min
• The Night the Dead ReturnedVyasa Calls the Fallen Out of the GangaAshramavasika Parva ‧ 20 min
• Balarama Returns to the SeaThe Serpent Leaves by the Mouth It Came FromMausala Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Return of the PortionsWho everybody turned out to have beenSvargarohana Parva ‧ 17 min

Character Arc

1. 1The Weapons Out of the WaterAgni asks and Varuna yields bow, quivers and chariot
2. 2The Boon With a ClauseHe grants Parnasa's son a mace that must never strike the unarmed
3. 3The NoosesHe binds what is disorderly in the three worlds

Key Relationships

• Son➝Srutayudha
• Petitioner➝Agni
• Recipient of the Gandiva➝Arjuna
• Recipient of the Kaumodaki➝Krishna

Places in Varuna's Story

Drawn from the stories Varuna appears in.

• Kamyaka Forestकाम्यक वन
• Kundinapuraकुंडिनपुर
• Kosalaकोसल
• Vrindavanवृंदावन
• Yamunaयमुना
• The Oceanसमुद्र
• Vinashanaविनशन
• Saraswatiसरस्वती
• Khandava Forestखाण्डव वन
• Banks of the Yamunaयमुना तट
• Brahmalokaब्रह्मलोक
• Mount Kailasaकैलास

Related Characters

Others counted among the Divine Beings.

• ❉Krishna
• ◭Hanuman
• ❧Kacha
• ≈Goddess Ganga
• ★The Eight Vasus
• ॐSage Vyasa