Varaha Purana 2.21: Adhyaya 2, Shloka 21

Cosmogony and the Ninefold Creation: Rudra’s Origin and the Prelude to the Sāvitrī-Veda Narrative

Devanagari script

गतकल्पावसाने तु निशि सुप्तोत्थितः शुभे । सत्त्वोद्रिक्तस्तथा ब्रह्मा शून्यं लोकमवैक्षत ॥ २.२१ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 2.21

Transliteration

gatakalpāvasāne tu niśi suptotthitaḥ śubhe | sattvodriktaḥ tathā brahmā śūnyaṁ lokam avaikṣata || 2.21 ||

Translation

Am Ende des vergangenen Kalpa, o Glückverheißende, erwachte Brahmā in der Nacht aus dem Schlaf; von der Qualität Sattva beherrscht, erblickte er die Welt als leer.

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Word by Word

• गत-कल्प-अवसाने: at the end of the past kalpa
• गत-कल्प-अवसाने: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + कल्प (प्रातिपदिक) + अवसान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष: ‘at the end of the (already) gone kalpa’ (time-locative)

• तु: indeed / but
• तु: सम्बन्ध (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/अन्वयार्थक-अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• निशि: at night
• निशि: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निशा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सुप्त-उत्थितः: having awakened from sleep
• सुप्त-उत्थितः: विशेषण (Viśeṣaṇa/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुप्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + उत्थित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; द्वन्द्व (itaretara): ‘slept and arisen’ (i.e., having awakened from sleep)

• शुभे: O auspicious one
• शुभे: सम्बोधन (Sambodhana/Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; संबोधन to Devī/Earth

• सत्त्व-उद्रिक्तः: predominant in sattva
• सत्त्व-उद्रिक्तः: विशेषण (Viśeṣaṇa/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सत्त्व (प्रातिपदिक) + उद्रिक्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘abounding in sattva’; ब्रह्मा इति विशेष्येण सह

• तथा: thus / then
• तथा: प्रकार (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकार/अन्वयवाचक-अव्यय (thus/then)

• ब्रह्मा: Brahmā
• ब्रह्मा: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• शून्यम्: empty
• शून्यम्: विशेषण (Viśeṣaṇa/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शून्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण लोकम् प्रति

• लोकम्: world
• लोकम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अवैक्षत: saw / beheld
• अवैक्षत: क्रिया (Kriyā/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव+ईक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Varāha (default dialogue framework: Instructor addressing Pṛthivī as inquirer)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Cosmology
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Sanskrit Philology

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It reflects a standard Purāṇic cosmological motif: cyclic time (kalpa), dissolution/transition, and Brahmā’s role at the threshold of renewed creation—useful for situating the Varāha Purāṇa within broader Sanskrit cosmography.

Which geographic location is identified?

No specific geographic site is named in this verse; the reference is cosmological (“loka,” the world) rather than to a particular tīrtha or region.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse primarily conveys a philosophical instruction about impermanence and cyclical time: worlds undergo emptiness/withdrawal and re-manifestation, framed through guṇa theory (sattva predominance) rather than a direct moral injunction.