Varaha Purana 73.5: Adhyaya 73, Shloka 5

Rudra’s Hymn: Vision of Nārāyaṇa, the Emergence of the Ādityas, and the Mutual Boon of Hari and Hara

Pūrva Bhāga · Pr̥thivī–Varāha Saṃvāda (Dialogic Narrative)

Devanagari script

मया पृष्टाः के भवन्तो जलादुत्तीऱ्य तेजसा । तापयन्तो जलं छेदं क्व वा यास्यथ संशत ॥ ७३.५ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 73.5

Transliteration

mayā pṛṣṭāḥ ke bhavanto jalād uttīrya tejasā | tāpayanto jalaṃ chedaṃ kva vā yāsyatha saṃśata || 73.5 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

Als ich fragte: „Wer seid ihr?“, seid ihr aus dem Wasser in strahlender Kraft hervorgetreten, habt das Wasser erhitzt und es gespalten—sagt mir: Wohin geht ihr alle gemeinsam?

Ask anything about this verse...Ask

Word by Word

• मया: by me
• Type: Noun
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), तृतीया विभक्ति (Instrumental/करण), एकवचन (Singular)
• Role: कर्ता (Kartā/agent in passive sense)
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• पृष्टाः: asked (questioned)
• Type: Verb
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (Past passive participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्मणि भावः (those who were asked)
• Role: कर्म (Karma in passive construction; logical object)
• Root: प्रच्छ् (धातु)

• के: who?
• Type: Noun
• Form: प्रश्नवाचक-सर्वनाम (interrogative pronoun), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन
• Role: कर्ता (Kartā; predicate interrogative)
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• भवन्तः: you (honored ones)
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; आदरार्थक-सम्बोधनार्थे अपि प्रयुज्यते (polite 'you')
• Role: सम्बोधन/कर्ता (Addressed subject)
• Root: भवत् (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनामवत्)

• जलात्: from the water
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (Ablative), एकवचन
• Role: अपादान (source)
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक)

• उत्तीऱ्य: having come out (having crossed)
• Type: Verb
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/absolutive), उपसर्ग: उत्; 'having crossed/come out'
• Role: पूर्वकालक्रिया (prior action adjunct)
• Root: उत्-तॄ (धातु)

• तेजसा: with (your) brilliance
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन
• Role: करण (instrument/means)
• Root: तेजस् (प्रातिपदिक)

• तापयन्तः: heating
• Type: Verb
• Form: वर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्तरि
• Role: कर्ता (agent)
• Root: तप् (धातु)

• जलम्: the water
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन
• Role: कर्म (object)
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक)

• छेदम्: a cleaving/cut (breach)
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन; (अर्थः: 'breaking/cleaving' अथवा 'gap/cut')
• Role: कर्म/उद्देश्य (object/purpose complement; unclear context)
• Root: छेद (प्रातिपदिक)

• क्व: where?
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय, प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb of place)
• Role: देशाधिकरण (place adjunct)
• Root: क्व (अव्यय)

• वा: or/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय, विकल्पार्थक-निपात (disjunctive/alternative particle)
• Role: सम्बन्ध (particle)
• Root: वा (अव्यय)

• यास्यथ: will you go
• Type: Verb
• Form: लृट् (Simple future), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), बहुवचन (Plural), परस्मैपद
• Role: क्रिया (action)
• Root: या (धातु)

• संशत: O (respected) one
• Type: Noun
• Form: सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), पुंलिङ्ग, एकवचन; संबोधन-शब्दः (addressing term)
• Role: सम्बोधन (Address)
• Root: संशत् (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• जलादुत्तीऱ्य = जलात् + उत्तीर्य
• (IAST ’ indicates elision elsewhere; none critical here)

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Bhayanaka rasaSetting: Cosmic/elemental region

Speaker

Pṛthivī

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

She asks

Her state of mind

Curious and alarmed at the disruptive tejas in the waters; seeking explanation of an uncanny ecological/cosmic event

What she asks

Who are you, why do you emerge blazing from the waters (heating and cleaving them), and where are you all going together?

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Phenomenology of tejas and karmic trajectory

Subjects

CosmologyEcologyPhenomenology of radiance (tejas)Dialogue/Narrative framing

Core idea

Tejas is both perceptible radiance and a sign of inner attainment; movement through elements hints at post-mortem/otherworldly transit.

In practice

Read extraordinary ‘signs’ (light, heat, upward motion) as indicators of inner discipline; cultivate discernment and inquiry rather than fear.

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Narrative
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Environmental Motifs

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It illustrates a common Purāṇic narrative technique: direct questioning within a dialogue to introduce unidentified beings or forces, framed through vivid elemental imagery (water and radiance).

Which geographic location is identified?

No specific geographic site is named in this verse; the setting is described generically as an emergence “from the water” (jalāt).

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse primarily functions as an inquiry rather than a moral injunction; philosophically, it emphasizes discernment—seeking clarity about powerful phenomena that affect the environment (heating and cleaving water).