Varaha Purana 2.26: Adhyaya 2, Shloka 26

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

Devanagari script

तमो मोहो महामोहस्तामिस्त्रो ह्यन्धसंज्ञितः । अविद्या पञ्चपर्वैषा प्रादुर्भूता महात्मनः ॥ २.२६ ॥

Sanskrit recitationVaraha Purana 2.26

Transliteration

tamo moho mahāmohaḥ tāmistro hy andhasaṁjñitaḥ | avidyā pañcaparvaiṣā prādurbhūtā mahātmanaḥ || 2.26 ||

Translation

Dunkelheit (tamas), Verblendung (moha), große Verblendung (mahāmoha) und der Zustand namens tāmisra, auch andhasa genannt — diese fünfgliedrige Unwissenheit (avidyā) trat aus dem Großgesinnten hervor.

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Word by Word

• tamaḥ: darkness
• tamaḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (member of list)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tamas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathamā Ekavacana

• mohaḥ: delusion
• mohaḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (member of list)
• Type: Noun
• Root: moha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga, Prathamā Ekavacana

• mahā-mohaḥ: great delusion
• mahā-mohaḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (member of list)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + moha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Karmadhāraya; Pumliṅga, Prathamā Ekavacana

• tāmistraḥ: tāmistra (a kind of darkness)
• tāmistraḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (member of list)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāmistra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga, Prathamā Ekavacana

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात) giving emphasis/reason

• andha-saṁjñitaḥ: called ‘blindness’
• andha-saṁjñitaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: andha (प्रातिपदिक) + saṁjñita (√jñā, क्त)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa; saṁjñita = PPP (क्त) from sam-√jñā; Pumliṅga, Prathamā Ekavacana; qualifying tāmistraḥ

• avidyā: ignorance
• avidyā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a- (नञ्) + vidyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā Ekavacana

• pañca-parvā: having five stages/knots
• pañca-parvā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pañca (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + parvan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Dvigu compound; Strīliṅga, Prathamā Ekavacana; agreeing with eṣā (avidyā)

• eṣā: this
• eṣā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā Ekavacana; demonstrative pronoun referring to avidyā

• prādurbhūtā: manifested / arose
• prādurbhūtā: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prādur-√bhū (प्रादुर्+भू धातु)
• Form: Kṛdanta: past active participle; Strīliṅga, Prathamā Ekavacana; agrees with avidyā/eṣā

• mahātmanaḥ: of the great-souled one
• mahātmanaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Karmadhāraya; Pumliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī Ekavacana

Speaker

Varāha (default dialogue framework; not explicit in fragment)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Studies
• Sāṅkhya-influenced Terminology
• Vaishnavism

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves a technical, enumerative vocabulary for forms of ignorance (avidyā) that aligns with broader Indian philosophical discourse (notably Sāṅkhya/śāstric taxonomies), illustrating how Purāṇic texts catalog psychological and cosmological categories in concise verse.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is mentioned in this verse; it is a conceptual enumeration rather than a sacred-geography reference.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse frames ignorance as structured and manifold, implying a philosophical instruction toward discernment: recognizing specific modes of delusion is presented as a prerequisite to overcoming them.