Varaha Purana 73.2: Adhyaya 73, Shloka 2
Rudra’s Hymn: Vision of Nārāyaṇa, the Emergence of the Ādityas, and the Mutual Boon of Hari and Hara
Pūrva Bhāga · Cosmogony and Creation Narrative (Sṛṣṭi-kathā)
ब्रह्मणाऽहं पुरा सृष्टः प्रोक्तश्च सृज वै प्रजाः । अविज्ञानसमर्थोऽहं निमग्नः सलिले द्विज ॥ ७३.२ ॥
brahmaṇā’haṁ purā sṛṣṭaḥ proktaś ca sṛja vai prajāḥ | avijñānasamartho’haṁ nimagnaḥ salile dvija || 73.2 ||
brahmANA.ahaM purA sRRiShTaH proktashcha sRRija vai prajAH | avij~nAnasamartho.ahaM nimagnaH salile dvija || 73.2 ||
પૂર્વકાળે બ્રહ્માએ મને સર્જ્યો અને ‘પ્રજાઓ સર્જ’ એમ કહ્યું; પરંતુ અજ્ઞાનને કારણે અસમર્થ બની, હે દ્વિજ, હું જળમાં ડૂબી ગયો.
Sandhi Notes
- ब्रह्मणाऽहं = ब्रह्मणा + अहम्
- प्रोक्तश्च = प्रोक्तः + च
- समर्थोऽहं = समर्थः + अहम्
Varāha
How does incapacity born of ignorance (avijñāna) lead a created being to sink into primordial waters, and what follows from that surrender?
Command without knowledge cannot yield creation; humility before the task becomes the doorway to higher guidance.
When duty exceeds capacity, seek vidyā through contemplation, teacher, and surrender rather than forcing action from ignorance.
Primordial waters signify undifferentiated potential (avyakta/ap), and ‘sinking’ signals the collapse of egoic agency when knowledge is absent; creation requires jñāna empowered by the Supreme.
Waters as the pre-yajña field; the inability to ‘create’ without knowledge hints that ritual/cosmic ordering (ṛta) depends on right cognition and divine sanction.
Jñāna as the enabling cause for effective action (kartṛtva); without vidyā, the jīva’s projects dissolve back into prakṛti/avyakta (symbolized by immersion in ap).
Leads into the meditation episode (73.73.3) and the emergence of radiant beings (73.73.4)
FAQs
It reflects a common Purāṇic cosmogonic motif: creation is initiated by Brahmā, yet the process includes obstacles (ignorance, immersion in primordial waters), situating the narrative within broader early Indian mythic-phonological accounts of origins.
No specific geographic site is named in this verse; it refers instead to the primordial cosmic waters (salila), a cosmological setting rather than a terrestrial location.
The verse foregrounds epistemic humility: effective action (such as creation or governance) requires knowledge; without it, one becomes metaphorically and narratively ‘submerged,’ emphasizing the value of discernment and learning.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Varaha Purana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
