Varaha Purana 67.6 — Adhyaya 67, Shloka 6
On the Two ‘Sita–Kṛṣṇā’ Figures, the Sevenfold Ocean, and the Twelvefold Year
योऽसौ द्वादशधा राजन् द्विदेहः षट्शिराः प्रभुः । संवत्सरः स विज्ञेयः शरीरे द्वे गती स्मृते । ऋतवः षट् च वक्त्राणि एष संवत्सरः स्मृतः ॥ ६७.६ ॥
yo 'sau dvādaśadhā rājan dvidehaḥ ṣaṭ-śirāḥ prabhuḥ | saṃvatsaraḥ sa vijñeyaḥ śarīre dve gatī smṛte | ṛtavaḥ ṣaṭ ca vaktrāṇi eṣa saṃvatsaraḥ smṛtaḥ || 67.6 ||
O King, that sovereign principle which is twelvefold, two-bodied, and six-headed should be understood as the “year” (saṃvatsara). In its body two courses are remembered; and the six seasons are said to be its six faces—such is the year as described.
Varāha (default attribution within Varāha–Pṛthivī dialogue framework; addressee: “rājan” indicates a royal interlocutor in this passage)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"None","key_question":"None"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":false,"topic":"None","instruction_summary":"None","karmic_consequence":"None"}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false,"vrata_name":"None","tithi_month":"None","promised_fruit":"None"}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":true,"symbolic_interpretation":"Time (saṃvatsara) is personified as a sovereign cosmic being: twelvefold (months/solar divisions), two-bodied (two courses), six-faced (ṛtus).","yajna_varaha_imagery":"Implicit yajña-time mapping: the year as the ritual body; two gatis as paired paths (often read as uttarāyaṇa/dakṣiṇāyana), six faces as seasons governing offerings and rites.","vedantic_connection":"Kāla as a manifestation/śakti within the Lord’s order (ṛta); supports seeing temporal cycles as expressions of the supreme principle rather than independent reality."}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"time-reckoning/cosmology","core_concept":"The year is a structured living principle: months/divisions (12), dual courses (2), seasons (6).","practical_application":"Use time as a dharmic framework—align actions/rites with seasonal and calendrical order; cultivate awareness of cyclical impermanence."}
Subject Matter: ["Cosmology","Time-reckoning","Philosophical Anthropology"]
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Type: temporal-cosmological domain
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa adhyāya 67: progression from cosmic elements to time and celestial generation
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A regal anthropomorphic ‘Year’ deity: twelve emblems around, two bodies or two flowing paths, six faces representing seasons.","item_prompts":["crowned figure labeled Saṃvatsara","twelve month-symbols in a ring","two directional arcs (north/south course)","six seasonal faces or masks","calendar-wheel motif"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: majestic Saṃvatsara with six stylized faces in profile arrangement, surrounded by twelve medallions; strong reds/ochres.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: central enthroned Saṃvatsara with gold-leaf arch; twelve month-medallions as jeweled roundels; two gati arcs in gold.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: elegant calendar-wheel composition; refined facial expressions for six seasons; soft shading and ornate textiles.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: poetic depiction of six seasons as gentle faces/figures around a central year-king; delicate landscape hints for each season."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"didactic-contemplative","suggested_raga":"Yaman","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"clear, measured, instructive"}
FAQs
It preserves a Purāṇic model of calendrical thought in which the year (saṃvatsara) is expressed through embodied symbolism (twelvefold structure and six seasonal ‘faces’), reflecting early Indian attempts to align ritual, astronomy, and cosmology.
No specific geographic site is named in this verse; the focus is conceptual (the structure of time as the year and its seasonal divisions).
The verse primarily offers a philosophical instruction rather than a direct moral command: it encourages disciplined understanding of time (kāla) as an ordered system, linking human life and seasonal cycles through a coherent cosmological framework.
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