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Varuna (;〔("Varuna" ). ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.〕 Sanskrit: ' , Malay: ''Baruna'') is the Hindu god of water and the celestial ocean, as well as a god of law of the underwater world. A Makara is his mount. His consort is the Hindu goddess Varuni. Originally the chief god of the Vedic pantheon, Varuna was replaced by Indra and later faded away with the ascendancy of Shiva and Vishnu.〔(Heaven, Heroes, and Happiness: The Indo-European Roots of Western Ideology ) By Shan M. M. Winn, p.83〕〔(Ancient Indian History and Civilization ) By Sailendra Nath Sen, pp.48–9〕〔Encyclopedia Mythica by Stephen T. Naylor〕 == In the Vedas == As chief of the Adityas, Varuna has aspects of a solar deity though, when opposed to Mitra, he is rather associated with the night, and Mitra with the daylight. As the most prominent Deva, however, he is mostly concerned with moral and societal affairs than being a deification of nature. Together with Mitra–originally 'agreement' (between tribes) personified—being master of , he is the supreme keeper of order and god of the law. Varuna and Mitra are the gods of the societal affairs including the oath, and are often twinned Mitra-Varuna (a dvandva compound). Varuna is also twinned with Indra in the Rigveda, as ''Indra-Varuna'' (when both cooperate at New Year in re-establishing order〔F. B. J. Kuiper, Ancient Idian Cosmopony, Beombay 1983〕). The Rigveda and Atharvaveda〔Shaunakiya Atharvaveda 4.16, corresponding to Paippalada 5.32.〕 portrays Varuna as omniscient, catching liars in his snares. The stars are his thousand-eyed spies, watching every movement of men. In the Rigveda, Indra, chief of the Devas, is about six times more prominent than Varuna, who is mentioned 341 times. This may misrepresent the actual importance of Varuna in early Vedic society due to the focus of the Rigveda on fire and Soma ritual, Soma being closely associated with Indra; Varuna with his omniscience and omnipotence in the affairs of men has many aspects of a supreme deity. The daily Sandhyavandanam ritual of a ''dvija'' addresses Varuna in this aspect in its evening routine, asking him to forgive all sins, while Indra receives no mention. Both Mitra and Varuna are classified as Asuras in the Rigveda (e.g. RV 5.63.3), although they are also addressed as Devas as well (e.g. RV 7.60.12). Varuna, being the king of the Asuras, was adopted or made the change to a Deva after the structuring of the primordial cosmos, imposed by Indra after he defeats Vrtra. Vedic ''Varuna'' is sometimes thought to be a reflex of the same Proto-Indo-European theonym as Greek ''Ouranos'', based on similarities between both names and the respective gods' attributes, but no successful derivation has yet been produced that is consistent with known laws of sound change. In post-Vedic texts Varuna became the god of oceans and rivers and keeper of the souls of the drowned. As such, Varuna is also a god of the dead, and can grant immortality. He is attended by the nagas. He is also one of the Guardians of the directions, representing the west. Later art depicts Varuna as a lunar deity, as a yellow man wearing golden armor and holding a noose or lasso made from a snake. He rides the sea creature ''Makara''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Varuna」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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