Vedic Mythology c5.s1.t2.5

c5.s1.t2.5

Varuṇa alone, or conjointly with Mitra, is often called a king (*rājā*), like the other leading deities and Yama (1, 24⁷·⁸ &c.)⁴. He is king of all, both gods and men (10, 132⁴; 2, 27¹⁰), of the whole world (5, 85³), and of all that exists (7, 87⁶). Varuṇa is also a self-dependent ruler (2, 28¹), a term generally applied to Indra. Much more frequently Varuṇa, alone or mostly in association with Mitra, is called a universal monarch (*samrāj*). This term is also applied to Agni a few times and oftener to Indra. Counting the passages in which Varuṇa and Mitra together are so called, it is connected with Varuṇa nearly twice as often as with Indra. Considering that for every eight or ten hymns celebrating Indra only one is dedicated to Varuṇa in the RV., the epithet may be considered peculiarly appropriate to Varuṇa.