Varaha Purana 9.17: Adhyaya 9, Shloka 17

The Sequence of Creation, the Emergence of the Praṇava, and the Fish Incarnation’s Retrieval of the Vedas

Devanagari script

ऊरुभ्यामपि वैश्यांश्च पद्भ्यां शूद्रांस्तथा विभुः । ततस्तु ससृजे यक्षान् राक्षसांश्च तथा विभुः ॥ ९.१७ ॥

Sanskrit recitationVaraha Purana 9.17

Transliteration

ūrubhyām api vaiśyāṁś ca padbhyāṁ śūdrāṁs tathā vibhuḥ | tatastu sasṛje yakṣān rākṣasāṁś ca tathā vibhuḥ || 9.17 ||

Translation

Auch aus den Schenkeln ließ der Herr die Vaiśyas hervorgehen; und aus den Füßen ebenso die Śūdras. Danach erschuf der Herr auch die Yakṣas und die Rākṣasas.

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Word by Word

• ūrubhyām: by (his) thighs
• ūrubhyām: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ūru (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka? actually Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Dual (द्विवचन)

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), additive/emphatic

• vaiśyān: Vaiśyas
• vaiśyān: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaiśya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• padbhyām: by (his) feet
• padbhyām: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Dual (द्विवचन)

• śūdrān: Śūdras
• śūdrān: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śūdra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• vibhuḥ: the Lord
• vibhuḥ: Kartā (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vibhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण), ablatival sense 'thereafter/from that'

• tu: then/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), contrast/emphasis

• sasṛje: created
• sasṛje: Kriyā (क्रिया/Verbal action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sṛj (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• yakṣān: Yakṣas
• yakṣān: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• rākṣasān: Rākṣasas
• rākṣasān: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rākṣasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• vibhuḥ: the Lord
• vibhuḥ: Kartā (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vibhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Varāha (default, per primary dialogue framework)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Cosmology
• Vaishnavism
• Sanskrit Textual Studies

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It reflects a widely attested Purāṇic and Dharmic motif that correlates social categories with a cosmic body schema, offering evidence for how later Sanskrit literature systematized social and mythic classifications within cosmogonic narration.

Which geographic location is identified?

No specific geographic location is named in this verse; it focuses on cosmogony and the origins of social groups and mythic beings.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Rather than a direct injunction, the verse frames a worldview of ordered creation in which social roles and categories are presented as parts of a structured cosmos, a common Purāṇic strategy for explaining cultural institutions through cosmological narration.