Vāruṇi

By Swami Harshananda

Vāruṇi, as a Goddess & Gauri

Vāruṇi means liquor or an intoxicating drink. Hence, Vāruṇī represents the goddess that presides over it. Vāruṇī is also the name of one of the queens of the deity Varuṇa. She is also known as Gaurī.

Deity Vāruṇi

• The deity Vāruṇī is also known by other names such as Amṛteśvarī and Sudhāmālinī.
• She is described by the works on iconography as a goddess with four arms holding a cup of liquor, a bowl of cooked meat, a bejeweled jar and a blue lotus.
• She is surrounded by a host of śaktis or feminine spirits.
• As an associate of the goddess Lalitā, she is described as the controller of the fleet of boats.

References

• The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore