Varaha Purana 31.3: Adhyaya 31, Shloka 3
The Manifestation of Viṣṇu’s Form for Cosmic Governance
the Vaiṣṇava Creation Narrative
सृष्टा चेयं मया सृष्टिः पालनिया मयैव ह । कर्मकाण्डं त्वमूर्त्तेन कर्तुं नैवेह शक्यते । तस्मान्मूर्त्तिं सृजाम्येकां यया पाल्यमिदं जगत् ॥ ३१.३ ॥
sṛṣṭā ceyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭiḥ pālanīyā mayaiva ha | karmakāṇḍaṁ tv amūrtena kartuṁ naiveha śakyate | tasmān mūrtiṁ sṛjāmy ekāṁ yayā pālyam idaṁ jagat || 31.3 ||
“Esta creación ha sido creada por mí, y en verdad debe ser protegida por mí mismo. Pero el ámbito de la acción ritual (karmakāṇḍa) no puede realizarse aquí por quien carece de forma. Por eso creo una única forma encarnada, mediante la cual este mundo sea gobernado y preservado.”
Varāha (default speaker logic: instructor voice in the Varāha–Pṛthivī dialogue)
FAQs
It reflects a common Purāṇic theological-philosophical motif: the transition from a formless principle (amūrta) to an embodied agency (mūrti) to sustain cosmic order, integrating cosmology with ritual and social governance.
No specific geographic location is named in this verse; it is framed as a cosmological and ritual-theoretical statement rather than a tīrtha or regional description.
The verse foregrounds stewardship (pālana) of the created world as an explicit responsibility of the creator, presenting governance and protection of the world as a foundational philosophical duty.
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