Varaha Purana 2.6: Adhyaya 2, Shloka 6
Cosmogony and the Ninefold Creation: Rudra’s Origin and the Prelude to the Sāvitrī-Veda Narrative
Pūrva Bhāga · Cosmogony and Tattva-Enumeration (Sāṃkhya-oriented cosmology)
आदावहं व्योम महत् ततोऽणुं—रेकैव मत्तः प्रबभूव बुद्धिः । त्रिधा तु सा सत्त्व-रजस्-तमोभिः पृथक्पृथक्तत्त्व-रूपैरुपेता ॥ २.६ ॥
ādāv ahaṃ vyoma mahat tato ’ṇuṃ—rekaiva mattaḥ prababhūva buddhiḥ | tridhā tu sā sattva-rajas-tamobhiḥ pṛthakpṛthak-tattva-rūpair upetā || 2.6 ||
AdAvahaM vyoma mahat tato.aNuM- rekaiva mattaH prababhUva buddhiH | tridhA tu sA sattvarajastamobhiH pRRithakpRRithaktattvarUpairupetA || 2.6 ||
આદિમાં હું વ્યોમ (આકાશ) થયો; પછી મહત્તત્ત્વ અને પછી અણુ. મારામાંથી જ એક બુદ્ધિ ઉત્પન્ન થઈ; તે સત્ત્વ-રજસ-તમસ ગુણોથી ત્રિવિધ છે અને જુદા જુદા તત્ત્વરૂપોથી યુક્ત છે।
Sandhi Notes
- आदावहम् = आदौ + अहम्। ततोऽणुम् = ततः + अणुम्। रेकैव इति पाठभेद/दुर्बोध
- अत्र ‘एक एव’ इति पदच्छेदः स्वीक्रियते (एकैव = एकः + एव)। रूपैरुपेता = रूपैः + उपेता।
Varāha
Absorbed, intellectually engaged
How do the first principles (space, mahat, atom, buddhi) arise from the Supreme, and how do guṇas differentiate tattvas?
From the Supreme arise space, mahat, aṇu, and a single buddhi that becomes threefold through sattva/rajas/tamas, producing distinct tattvas.
Contemplate guṇa-influence in one’s own buddhi (clarity, agitation, inertia) and cultivate sattva to reflect the single source more transparently.
Varāha instructs Bhū-devī in cosmogony using Sāṃkhya-like categories (vyoma, mahat, aṇu, buddhi, guṇas).
Yajña-Varāha as the immanent source of tattvas: the boar-lord is not merely a rescuer but the very ground from which guṇa-differentiated intellect and cosmic principles unfold.
Implicit: ‘from me alone’ (mattah) suggests the deity as adhiyajña/adhidaiva source.
Non-dual/qualified-nondual thrust: tattvas emerge from the Supreme as upādhi-conditioned manifestations; guṇas explain plurality while preserving a single ultimate source.
Builds toward sense-faculty causation and world-ordering in 2.2.8
FAQs
It preserves a Purāṇic cosmogonic outline that aligns with classical Sāṃkhya vocabulary (mahat, buddhi, guṇas), illustrating how Purāṇas often integrate philosophical taxonomies into narrative teaching frameworks.
No geographic location is named in this verse; the focus is metaphysical cosmology (space, mahat, atom, buddhi, and the three guṇas).
Rather than a direct moral injunction, the verse offers a philosophical instruction: understanding the differentiated operation of sattva, rajas, and tamas within intellect (buddhi) as a basis for discerning the structure of experience and causation.
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