Varuna
God of Oceans and Rain
The lord of the oceans, rivers, and rain, who rides a sea creature called a makara. Farmers pray to him when they need the rains to come.
- Sanskrit/Telugu name: వరుణుడు
- Also known as: Varuna Deva, Lord of the Waters
- Vehicle (vahana): Makara (మకరం)
- Weapons: Pasha (noose)
- Symbols: Ocean waves, Rain clouds
Story
Varuna Deva rules everything that flows - the oceans, the rivers, the rain, even the water in your glass. He rides a makara, a wonderful sea creature that's part crocodile and part fish, and carries a noose called a pasha to catch those who break their promises. In the oldest Vedic hymns, Varuna was one of the mightiest of all gods, the keeper of rita - the cosmic order that makes sure the sun rises, the seasons turn, and truth is honored. He was said to know everything, because his spies were the stars themselves, watching from the night sky! Over time he became mainly the god of the seas, and he appears in the Ramayana too: when Rama needed to cross the ocean to Lanka, he prayed to Varuna, and when the ocean didn't answer, Rama's fiery arrows made the sea god appear, fold his hands, and help plan the great bridge. In coastal Andhra, farmers and fishing villages still pray to Varuna - Varuna japam is performed to this day when the rains are late.
Fun fact
When rains fail in Andhra and Telangana, priests still perform Varuna japam - a special chant asking Varuna, quite literally, to please turn on the sky's taps.