Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 44
Sṛṣṭi-pralaya-kathana: Mahābhūta-guṇāḥ, Vṛkṣa-indriya-vādaḥ, Prāṇa-vāyu-vyavasthā
परित्यक्ताश्च नश्यंति तेनेदं सर्वमावृत्तम् । पृथिवी पर्वता मेघा मूर्तिमंतश्च ये परे । सर्वं तद्वारुणं ज्ञेयमापस्तस्तंभिरे पुनः ॥ ४४ ॥
parityaktāśca naśyaṃti tenedaṃ sarvamāvṛttam | pṛthivī parvatā meghā mūrtimaṃtaśca ye pare | sarvaṃ tadvāruṇaṃ jñeyamāpastastaṃbhire punaḥ || 44 ||
Quand les Eaux sont délaissées, tout périt; par ce principe aqueux, l’univers entier est enveloppé. La terre, les montagnes, les nuages et toutes autres formes incarnées—sache que tout cela relève de Varuṇa, seigneur des eaux, car les Āpas les soutiennent de nouveau et les maintiennent unies.
Sanatkumara (teaching Narada in the Moksha-dharma dialogue)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
It points to Āpas (the cosmic Waters) as a sustaining, all-pervading principle: forms endure while supported by it, and when that support is withdrawn, they dissolve—encouraging detachment from perishable embodiments and contemplation of the underlying tattva.
By highlighting that all embodied things depend on a higher sustaining power, it prepares the mind for bhakti: seeing the world as upheld by a divine order (here expressed through Varuṇa/Āpas) and turning devotion toward the supporter rather than the supported.
Primarily nirukta-style (etymological/semantic) and cosmological understanding: recognizing vāruṇa (Varuṇa-related) as a technical descriptor for the watery principle (āpas) used in Vedic and Purāṇic element theory.