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The word is Indic, not the concept and the sphere of influence of Varuna :
rta, magical links, unfriendly universe.
Arnaud
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NO. In fact, the unfriendly universe seems to be only a part of Varuna's world - there are specific papers available on this , online. May be Fransesco will supplement when scholars started recognizing that Varuna did have certain negative elements. Perhaps, the negative elements were the precursors for Rgvedic Yama.
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Nothing supports the idea of a growth followed by a decline.
Your conclusion is just absurd.
Arnaud
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I thought it was obvious. Few (and very few ) recognize Varuna as a Monarch yet, he lost his prominence. The verses attest his prominense, that they are very few and belong to earliest RV shows that he did grow in his prominence very early. In fact, absnece of myths about Varuna is a sure shot proof that he was very early god.
His decline is accepted by all - by Puranic times, he became a mere second line god, responsible for one direction.
Kishore patnaik