Varaha Purana 13.12 — Adhyaya 13, Shloka 12
The Genealogy of the Pitṛs and the Determination of Śrāddha Times
मां यजस्वेति तेनोक्तास्तदा ते परमेष्ठिना । आत्मनात्मानमेवाग्रे अयजन्त इति श्रुतिः ॥ १३.१२ ॥
māṁ yajasveti tenoktās tadā te parameṣṭhinā | ātmanātmānam evāgre ayajanta iti śrutiḥ || 13.12 ||
Alors Parameṣṭhin (le Suprême Ordonnateur) leur dit : « Sacrifiez pour Moi ». À ce sujet, la śruti affirme qu’au commencement ils accomplirent un sacrifice où le Soi seul fut offert par le Soi.
Varāha (default speaker framework; explicit speaker not stated in the excerpt)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":true,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false,"speaker_role":"None","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 (ritual-theory/cosmogonic śruti citation rather than prescriptive dharma rule).","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":"The primordial yajña is self-referential: the Absolute (Self) is both sacrificer and oblation; this underwrites Yajña-Varāha theology where creation is sustained by sacrificial order rooted in the Supreme.","yajna_varaha_imagery":"Not an explicit body-part mapping here; the key image is ‘ātmanā ātmanam’—Self offering Self—anticipating the Purāṇic idea that the Lord embodies yajña and its instruments.","vedantic_connection":"Advaitic/Upaniṣadic resonance: the Self as ultimate reality and agent; also Vaiṣṇava reading: Parameṣṭhin/Nārāyaṇa as the inner Self who empowers all yajñas, making sacrifice a participation in the divine."}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"ritual metaphysics","core_concept":"Yajña is ultimately grounded in the Self/Supreme: agency, offering, and recipient converge at the origin.","practical_application":"Perform ritual with inner consecration (bhāva): see offering and doer as instruments of the divine; cultivate self-surrender as the essence of sacrifice."}
Subject Matter: ["Cosmology","Vedic Intertextuality","Ritual Theory"]
Primary Rasa: śānta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: cosmological / metaphysical setting
Related Themes: Connects backward to Nārāyaṇa primacy (13.13.11) and forward to ritual/pitṛ discussions by grounding them in śruti
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A cosmic sacrificial scene: Parameṣṭhin commands ‘yajña to Me’; the first sages perform a primordial rite where the Self is both priest and offering—depicted as a luminous figure offering light into a cosmic fire.","item_prompts":["cosmic altar","sacrificial fire as radiant void","luminous ‘Self’ figure mirrored (doer/oblation)","Vedic implements (ladle, kuśa) as archetypes","śruti scroll/glow"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Symbolic, iconographic yajña scene with stylized fire and luminous central figure; restrained palette with sacred reds and deep greens; minimal literalism, more metaphysical symmetry.","tanjore_prompt":"Gold-dominant cosmic yajña; embossed fire and implements; central divine radiance; ornate aureoles suggesting śruti authority.","mysore_prompt":"Classical yajña depiction with refined implements and subtle cosmic background; emphasis on serene transcendence rather than dramatic action.","pahari_prompt":"Ethereal, poetic cosmic fire in a night-sky setting; delicate lines; mirrored self-figure motif to suggest ‘Self offering Self’."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"solemn, mystical, śruti-quoting","suggested_raga":"Todi","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"deep, steady, reverential"}
FAQs
It preserves a Purāṇic paraphrase of a Vedic-style formulation (śruti), showing how later Sanskrit narrative literature integrates and re-frames Vedic ritual language to explain origins and cosmic order.
No geographic location is named in this verse; the focus is cosmogonic and ritual-philosophical rather than topographical.
The verse foregrounds a philosophical model of offering and self-discipline: the act of yajña is framed as an inward, self-referential sacrifice (the Self offered by the Self), emphasizing interiorized responsibility rather than external compulsion.
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