28, apart from the ascription of general greatness, almost all that is said of Varuna is that he is a priest, that he causes rivers to flow, and loosens the bond of sin.[74] The finest hymn to Varuna, from a literary point of view, is the one translated above, and it is mainly on the basis of this hymn that the lofty character of Varuna has been interpreted by occidental writers.

To our mind this hymn belongs to the close of the first epoch of the three which the hymns represent.
That it cannot be very early is evident from the mention of the intercalated month, not to speak of the image of Varuna eating the sweet oblation 'like a priest.' Its elevated language is in sharp contrast to that of almost all the other Varuna hymns.

As these are all the hymns where Varuna is praised alone by himself, it becomes of chief importance to study him here, and not where, as in iii.

62, iv.
41, vi.

51, 67, 68, and elsewhere, he is lauded as part of a combination of gods (Mitra or Indra united with Varuna).