Varaha Purana 70.4: Adhyaya 70, Shloka 4
Nārāyaṇa as the Sacrificial Principle, Analysis of the Three Guṇas, and the Account of Delusion-Doctrines
Pūrva Bhāga · Yajña–Deva-āhvāna (Ritual Narrative Context)
ततः कदाचिद् बहुना कालेन नृपनन्दन । यजतो मम देवेशं यज्ञमूर्तिं जनार्दनम् । आहूता आगता देवाः सममेव सवासवाः ॥ ७०.४ ॥
tataḥ kadācid bahunā kālena nṛpanandana | yajato mama deveśaṁ yajñamūrtiṁ janārdanam | āhūtā āgatā devāḥ samam eva savāsavāḥ || 70.4 ||
tataH kadAchid bahunA kAlena nRRipanandana | yajato mama deveshaM yaj~namUrtiM janArdanam | AhUtA AgatA devAH samameva savAsavAH || 70.4 ||
Dann, nach langer Zeit, o Königssohn: Während ich Janārdana verehrte—den Herrn der Götter, dessen Gestalt selbst das Opfer ist—kamen die herbeigerufenen Götter samt Indra zugleich herbei.
Sandhi Notes
- कदाचिद् → कदाचित् (पदान्ते द्)
- सममेव → समम् + एव
- सवासवाः = स + वासवाः (उपपद-समास)
Varāha
Awed, increasingly reassured by divine order
What happens when Janārdana is worshipped as the very embodiment of yajña—how do the gods respond?
The highest object of ritual is the Lord who is the ritual; devas are attendants within that hierarchy.
In worship, keep the intention fixed on the Supreme (Nārāyaṇa/Janārdana) even when invoking subsidiary deities or performing formal rites.
Varāha recounts a theophany sequence: while worshipping Janārdana as yajña-mūrti, the devas arrive—teaching Bhūdevī/a prince about divine responsiveness to properly oriented ritual.
‘Yajña-mūrti’ frames the Lord as the inner reality of sacrifice—anticipating Yajña-Varāha theology where cosmic form and ritual form coincide.
Explicit seed: Janārdana = yajña itself; devas arrive as functional powers within the sacrificial cosmos, subordinate to the yajña-person.
Brahman/Īśvara as the substratum of ritual: the many deities are modes; the one Lord is the sacrifice’s essence and goal.
Invoke devas within yajña, but recognize Janārdana as yajña-mūrti and devādhideva; proper invocation yields orderly divine attendance.
Correct ritual orientation brings swift divine presence and harmony among devas; misorientation risks fruitlessness or mere deva-kāmyatā without highest result.
Janārdana epithet later strongly associated with Kṛṣṇa in epic-purāṇic usage, but here functions as general Viṣṇu title without Mathurā localization.
70.70.3 (century-long worship) leading to this divine response; 70.70.5-6 (arrival of Vṛṣabhadhvaja/Rudra-form) as continuation of the assembly
FAQs
It reflects a common Purāṇic motif in which ritual invocation (yajña/arcana) functions as a narrative mechanism for divine assembly, illustrating how sacred rites are framed as culturally central acts within Purāṇic literature.
No specific place-name is stated in this verse; it is primarily a temporal and ritual scene-setting passage.
The verse implicitly emphasizes disciplined ritual action and reverent address—presented descriptively rather than as coercive doctrine—highlighting the cultural value placed on orderly worship and invocation.
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