God Varuna was present in the Indus Valley civilization

Abstract

An Indus seal depicts a god within a watery realm, who could be Varuna, a pre-Vedic god. The pre-Vedic gods were branded as asuras in the Vedic period. Varuna was a god of moral order and punisher of a violator of laws. He carried a noose and stick to punish people. He was accompanied by a crocodile, the latter-day Makara vahana. Indra took over the powers of Varuna, and Varuna was delegated to lower realms. The death god ‘Yama’ is not seen in IVC seals; most probably, ‘Varuna’ played the role of the death god.

Figure god Varuna surrounded by crocodiles and fishes.

The above-given Indus seal depicts an Indus god in a seat surrounded by crocodiles and fishes. In my earlier articles, I already discussed that fish indicates the soul of dead persons, and the crocodile could be the equivalent of the Egyptian goddess Ammit (1) (2). Now, a third factor has arisen in the above-given seal, which is the symbol of water. The god, the crocodiles and fishes, are enclosed in a water symbol, visible on both edges of the seal. That symbol could be indicating the watery realm of “Varuna”.

Varuna is a Vedic deity associated first with the sky, later with waters, and with Ṛta (justice) and Satya (truth). He is found in the oldest layer of Vedic literature of Hinduism, such as the hymn 7.86 of the Rigveda. He is possibly one of the earliest Indo-Aryan triads with parallels to an Avestan deity, possibly Iranian Ahura Mazda. His streak of violent demonic tendencies, according to Hindu mythology, led to his demotion and Indra taking away most of his powers (3). In the Hindu Puranas, Varuna is the god of oceans, his vehicle is a Makara (part fish, sea creature), and his weapon is a Pasha (noose, rope loop). He is the guardian deity of the western direction (3).

Figure : Modern day version of Varuna with the noose.

Picture courtesy — (4)

Etymology

Varuna is related to the root vṛ (“vri”), which, states Adrian Snodgrass, means “to surround, to cover” or “to restrain, to check”. With uṇan, it gives “Varuna”, meaning “he who covers or binds all things”. The sea or ocean is his domain, while the universal law or Ṛta (dharma) is the abstract binder that connects all things. His name is related to the Indo-European root “uer” or “to bind”. In later Hindu literature, the term Varuna evolves to mean god of waters, the source of rains and the one who rules over the Nagas (divine sea serpents) (3).

Vedas

In the earliest layer of the Rigveda, Varuna is the guardian of the moral law. He punishes those who sin without remorse, and at the same time, forgives those who err with guilt. He is mentioned in many Rig Vedic hymns, such as 7.86–88, 1.25, 2.27–30, 8.8, 9.73 and others. His relationship with waters, rivers and oceans is already mentioned in the Vedas. And according to Hermann Oldenberg, he is already the Indian version of Poseidon in these texts. Yet, the Vedic poets describe him as an aspect and one of the plural perspectives of the same divine or spiritual principle (3). All the above-said facts fit very well with the god shown in the seal. Hence, it can be assumed that the god Varuna was present in the Indus Valley civilization.

Figure : water symbol is seen in the seal inscription

Picture courtesy: (5) Sue Sullivan

The above-given seal inscription shows the water symbol along with the sacrifice symbol. Both these symbols stand together for the word “Varuna sacrifice”. “Varuna Yajna” is still common in India, a special Yajna directed towards Varuna, praying for rains. Later only, God Indra replaces Varuna as the god of rain. It is a known fact that in the Early Vedic period, ‘Varuna’ was the god of sky and rain. In the later Vedic period, this power was transferred to Indra and Varuna was relegated to a minor deity position. This seal inscription suggests the idea that the ‘Rig Vedic period’ might have coincided with the Indus Valley civilization period.

Water symbol indicates the Vedic god Varuna

Water symbol followed by ‘X’ symbol. I had written a separate article that the ‘X’ symbol indicates the god of death. This seal inscription confirms the association of Varuna with the ‘X’ symbol, which is the god of death. It is pertinent to note that no specific evidence of Yama is not seen in IVC seal inscriptions. Yama was likely a later Vedic period god.

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In this seal inscription, the water symbol is followed by the cow’s uterus symbol. The uterus symbol indicated goddess Meshkhenet.

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In this seal inscription, the water symbol is followed by the ‘Kavu’ (sacrifice)symbol. This symbol pair could have stood for the meaning ‘Varuna Kavu’.

The noose and stick symbol also stands for Varuna.

In addition to the water symbol, the noose and stick symbol also could stand for ‘Varuna’. In Egyptian hieroglyphics, a similar symbol stands for the idea ‘rope on a stick’. (Gardiner’s dictionary -page 524). (6) Most probably, the Indus scribes had followed the Egyptian hieroglyphics in this regard. Read my article,’ Indus script follows the Egyptian hieroglyphics’, for more information. (7)

Here in this inscription, the ‘noose’ symbol is shown within the watery realm. Most probably, this noose symbol also indicates the god Varuna. Further, this noose symbol is followed by the ‘stick’ symbol. Which again confirms the idea of the god Varuna.

—	In this seal inscription, the noose symbol is followed by the ‘Sastha’ (god) symbol. This symbol pair stands for the meaning ‘Varuna Sastha’.

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(Read from right to left) The ‘X’ symbol is followed by Karkida symbol (karkida month) and noose-stick symbol. The ‘X’ symbol indicates the Varuna Yajna, and the noose and stick symbol indicates god Varuna himself.

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The noose and stick symbol could be indicating the god ‘Varuna’. The noose and stick ideogram also could have indicated the idea of ‘command’ of Varuna.

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‘X’ symbol is associated with ‘Varuna Yajna’. The rope symbol (noose) indicates ‘Varuna’. Together these two symbols stand for the name ‘Varuna Yajna’. This rope symbol with ladder indicates ascendency to heaven by the dead man’s soul. Read the article ‘Agnicayana Yajna’ for more information. (8)

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This rope symbol and rope wound on a stick could be indicating god ‘Varuna’. This rope symbol with ladder indicates ascendency to heaven by the dead man’s soul. (8)

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This’ noose ‘symbol could be indicating the ‘death threat’ of ‘Varuna’. The noose symbol is followed by the ‘twisted bird’ ideogram—this ideogram stands for the idea ‘fear’ as per the Egyptian Hieroglyphics. (9) Hence, these two symbol pairs give a meaningful association.

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Bibliography

1. Jeyakumar(Fish-symbolism). Fish_symbolism_in_Indus_Valley_Civilization. academia.edu. [Online] December 2015. https://www.academia.edu/19550772/Fish_symbolism_in_Indus_Valley_Civilization.

2. Jeyakumar(crocodile). Crocodile_depictions_in_IVC_seal. https://www.academia.edu. [Online] 2016. https://www.academia.edu/22868949/Crocodile_depictions_in_IVC_seal_inscriptions_are_comparable_to_Egyptian_goddess_Ammit.

3. wikipedia.org. Varuna. https://en.wikipedia.org. [Online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varuna.

4. wikipedia(Varuna). Varuna. wikipedia. [Online] April 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varuna.

5. Sullivan, Sue. Indus Script Dictionary. s.l. : Suzanne Redalia, 2011.

6. Gardiner, Alan. Egyptian grammer: Being an introduction to the study of Hierglyphics. Oxford. : Griffith Institue., 1957.

7. Jeyakumar(Egyptian-hieroglyphic-influence). Indus_symbols_follow_the_Egyptian_hieroglyphics_way_of_writing_and_ideas. Academia.edu. [Online] https://www.academia.edu/43722883/Indus_symbols_follow_the_Egyptian_hieroglyphics_way_of_writing_and_ideas.

8. Jeyakumar(Agnistoma-Jyotirstoma). Agnistoma_and_Jyotistoma_Yajna_for_uplifting_the_dead_mans_soul_to_heaven. Academia.edu. [Online] 2015. https://www.academia.edu/10969959/Agnistoma_and_Jyotistoma_Yajna_for_uplifting_the_dead_mans_soul_to_heaven.

9. Jeyakumar(twisted-bird-fear). The twisted bird symbol stands for the idea of fear. Academia.edu. [Online] 2020. https://www.academia.edu/41144309/The_twisted_bird_symbol_stands_for_the_idea_fear.