Shloka 253

वारुणी सभा — Varuṇa’s Divine Assembly

Nārada’s Description

Devanagari script

उपासते महात्मानं॑ सर्वे जलचरास्तथा । समस्त सरिताएँ

Transliteration

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 |

Translation

那罗陀说：一切水中生灵也同样礼敬大心的伐楼那。诸河与一切水源——湖泊、井泉、清泉、池塘与水库——并同诸方、大地与群山，以及凡在水中游动的众生，各各现其本相，皆以恭敬之礼奉祀伐楼那。

Word by Word

• उपासते: they worship / attend upon
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप-आस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम, बहुवचन

• महात्मानम्: the great-souled one
• महात्मानम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: महात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• जलचराः: water-dwelling creatures
• जलचराः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: जलचर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• तथा: also / likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• Varuṇa
• rivers (saritaḥ)
• water-reservoirs (jalāśayāḥ)
• lakes (sarovarāḥ)
• wells (kūpāḥ)
• springs/waterfalls (jharāṇi)
• ponds (pokharāṇi/poḍharāṇi)
• tanks (tāḍāgāḥ)
• directions (diśaḥ)
• earth (pṛthivī)
• mountains (parvatāḥ)
• aquatic creatures (jalacarāḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

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).

What is happening in the narrative?

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.