Varaha Purana 113.27: Adhyaya 113, Shloka 27
Hymn to Varāha and Pṛthivī’s Inquiry
Prelude to the Sanatkumāra Dialogue
Pūrva Bhāga · Cosmic Dissolution Imagery (Absence of Deities and Guardians)
शनैश्चरो बुधो नात्र न चेन्द्रो धनदो यमः ॥ वरुणोऽपि न विद्येत नान्ये केचिद्दिवौकसः
śanaiścaro budho nātra na cendro dhanado yamaḥ || varuṇo'pi na vidyeta nānye keciddivaukasaḥ
shanaishcharo budho nAtra na chendro dhanado yamaH || varuNo.api na vidyeta nAnye kechiddivaukasaH
ત્યાં શનૈશ્ચર (શનિ) અને બુધ નથી; ઇન્દ્ર, ધનદ (કુબેર) અને યમ પણ નથી. વરુણ પણ નથી, અને અન્ય કોઈ દિવૌકસ પણ નથી.
Sandhi Notes
- nātra = na + atra
- cendro = ca + indraḥ
- varuṇo'pi = varuṇaḥ + api (visarga→o)
- nānye = na + anye
- keciddivaukasaḥ = kecit + divaukasaḥ
Pṛthivī
Grave, emphasizing total absence of both grahas and devas; existentially alarmed
How can cosmic governance function when even Indra, Yama, Kubera, Varuṇa—and all divaukasaḥ—are absent?
Devas and planetary powers are not absolute; they arise within cosmic order and can be absent—pointing to a single ultimate refuge beyond them.
Shift reliance from omens/planetary fear and even deva-mediated security to direct dharma and bhakti toward the supreme protector.
The verse collapses the usual hierarchy of cosmic administration (dikpālas, lokapālas, grahas) to imply that all delegated powers are contingent; only the supreme source remains meaningful when the ‘staff’ of the cosmos is withdrawn.
In Yajña-Varāha imagery, devas often correspond to functions/limbs of cosmic order; here their non-existence underscores that the cosmic body is not yet ‘assembled’ into functional offices.
Supports the Purāṇic-Vedāntic claim that īśvara is the ultimate adhikaraṇa (substratum) and that devatās are vyāvahārika (functional) manifestations dependent on creation.
Varāha Purāṇa 113 (Earth’s appeal and ensuing rescue logic)
FAQs
It documents a hierarchical inventory of devas and cosmic regulators, helping scholars trace how Purāṇic texts conceptualize governance of the cosmos.
No geographic place is named; the verse describes a condition in which even cosmic offices (Indra, etc.) are absent.
The passage relativizes authority: even the highest offices are depicted as conditional within cosmic cycles.
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