Category Archives: varunaha

Bhagavad Gita Verse 39, Chapter 11

22 Thursday Nov 2012

Posted by in 11.39, agnihi, astu, bhooyoha, chapter 11 verse 39, namaha, prajaapatihi, prapitaamaha, punaha, sahastrakritvaha, shashaankaha, varunaha, vayuhu, yamaha

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vayuryamognirvarunaha shashaankaha prajaapatistvam prapitaamahashcha |
namo namastestu sahastrakritvaha punashcha bhooyopi namo namaste || 39 ||
 
You are Vayu, Yama, Agni, Varuna, Shashaanka, Prajaapati and Prapitaamaha. Salutations to you a thousand times. Salutations to you, again and again.
 
vayuhu : Vayu
yamaha : Yama
agnihi : Agni
varunaha : Varuna
shashaankaha : Shashaanka
prajaapatihi : Prajaapati
tvam : you
prapitaamaha : Prapitaamaha
cha : and
namaha : salutations
namaha : salutations
te : to you
astu : let there be
sahastrakritvaha : a thousand times
punaha : again
cha : and
bhooyoha : again
api : also
namaha : salutations
namaha : salutations
te : to you
 
Arjuna understood that the source of nature’s power was none other than Ishvara. He saw Ishvara in all the primal forces of nature and listed their presiding deities: Vayu, the lord of wind who sustains all living beings. Yama, the lord of death who ensures justice for everyone. Agni, the lord of fire who provides energy to all beings. Varuna, the lord of life-giving water. Shashaanka, the moon, who nourishes all plants and herbs.
 
How could Ishvara manifest as all these deities? Because Ishvara functions as Prajaapati, also known as Lord Brahmaa, creator of the universe who brought all the deities into existence. Vedic texts refer to Brahmaa as Hiranyagarbha, the golden womb that brought forth the universe. But Ishvara existed even before Brahmaa was created, he is the Prapitaamaha, the great-grandfather, the original person.
 
When we are humbled, when we come in the presence of someone who is infinitely more capable than we are, we could have one of two reactions. If we have no respect for that person, we could harbour feelings of resentment and anger. But in this case, Arjuna was humbled by Ishvara for whom he had the utmost reverence. Knowing that the source of the universe was on his side, all he could do was repeatedly prostrate and offer his salutations. Knowing that it was Ishvara who was doing his work all along, Arjuna’s completely surrendered his pride.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 29, Chapter 10

29 Saturday Sep 2012

Posted by in 10.29, aham, anantaha, aryamaa, asmi, cha, chapter 10 verse 29, naagaanaam, pitrunaam, samyataamaham, varunaha, yaadasaam, yamaha

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anantashchaasmi naagaanaam varuno yaadasaamaham |
pitrunaamaryamaa chaasmi yamaha samyataamaham || 29 ||
 
Among the water snakes I am Ananta and among the marine beings I am Varuna. Among the Pitrs I am Aryamaa and among the controllers I am Yama.
 
anantaha : Ananta
cha : and
asmi : I am
naagaanaam : among the water snakes
varunaha : Varuna
yaadasaam : marine beings
aham : I am
pitrunaam : among the Pitrs
aryamaa : Aryamaa
cha : and
asmi : I am
yamaha : Yama
samyataamaham : among the controllers
 
In the previous shloka, Shri Krishna spoke about Ishvara’s expressions among snakes that live on land. Here, he says that among the snakes that live in water, Ishvara’s foremost expressions is Ananta. Also known as Aadishesha, he is depicted with a thousand heads, each head singing the glory of Lord Vishnu, who rests on Aadishesha’s coils. His name comes from the Sanskrit root “sis” meaning “that which remains”, because Aadishesha remains unaffected after the dissolution of the universe.
 
Next, we encounter the world of marine dwelling beings or “Yaadas”. Among these, Shri Krishna says that Ishvara is Lord Varuna, the king of the ocean. He is mentioned as part of the daily prayer ritual known as Sandhyavandanam. Symbolically, “yaadas” refers the to divinity prevalent in any seemingly inert object. Recognizing the divinity in everything, the Indian tradition encourages worship of the Tulsi leaf, of trees, of the earth and so on.
 
Pitra loka is the realm of the manes or ancestor gods. The seven primary manes are Kavyavaha, Anala, Soma, Yama, Aryama, Agnisvatta and Barhisat. Among these, Shri Krishna says that Ishvara is Aryaman, the chief of the manes. Ishvara is also Lord Yama among all the controllers. This is because he is also the lord of justice, using the ultimate punishment o death to maintain order and harmony in the universe.