Shloka 253
वारुणी सभा — Varuṇa’s Divine Assembly
Nārada’s Description
उपासते महात्मानं॑ सर्वे जलचरास्तथा । समस्त सरिताएँ, जलाशय, सरोवर, कूप, झरने, पोखरे और तालाब, सम्पूर्ण दिशाएँ, पृथ्वी, पर्वत तथा सम्पूर्ण जलचर जीव अपने-अपने स्वरूप धारण करके महात्मा वरुणकी उपासना करते हैं
upāsate mahātmānaṃ sarve jalacarās tathā | samastāḥ saritaś ca jalāśayāḥ sarovarāḥ kūpāḥ jharāṇi poḍharāṇi tāḍāgāś ca, samastā diśaḥ pṛthivī parvatāś ca, samastāś ca jalacarā jīvāḥ sva-sva-rūpaṃ dhṛtvā mahātmā varuṇaṃ upāsate |
Nārada says that all aquatic beings likewise worship the great-souled Varuṇa. Rivers and every kind of water-source—lakes, wells, springs, ponds, and tanks—together with the directions, the earth, and the mountains, and all creatures that move in water, each assuming its own proper form, offer reverent worship to Varuṇa.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents Varuṇa as the sustaining principle of the waters and of cosmic order: all beings and natural domains remain harmonious when each honors the rightful guardian and performs its role according to its own nature (sva-sva-rūpa).
Nārada describes a cosmic scene of reverence in which rivers, water-bodies, directions, earth, mountains, and aquatic creatures are portrayed as worshipping Varuṇa, emphasizing his universal sovereignty over the watery realm.