Varaha Purana 113.19: Adhyaya 113, Shloka 19
Hymn to Varāha and Pṛthivī’s Inquiry
Prelude to the Sanatkumāra Dialogue
Uttara Bhāga · Mythic recollection (Kūrma avatāra and churning of the ocean)
अन्यद्दैवः कूर्मरूपस्त्वं समुद्रस्य मन्थने ॥ धृतवानसि कौर्मेण मन्दरं मधुसूदन
anyad devaḥ kūrma-rūpas tvaṃ samudrasya manthane || dhṛtavān asi kaurmeṇa mandaraṃ madhusūdana
anyaddevaH kUrmarUpastvaM samudrasya manthane || dhRRitavAnasi kaurmeNa mandaraM madhusUdana
एक और बार तुमने कछुआ का रूप लिया था। जब समुंदर मथ रहे थे, तब तुमने मंदर पर्वत को अपनी पीठ पे उठा लिया था। मधुसूदन, यह तुमने किया था।
Sandhi Notes
- anyad devaḥ appears as anyad + devaḥ (often written anyad-daivaḥ in some recensions)
- kūrma-rūpas tvaṃ = kūrma-rūpaḥ + tvam (visarga before t → s)
Great undertakings succeed when the sustaining ground is secured; divine support is the hidden condition for cosmic and personal transformation.
In practice: establish steadiness (dharma, discipline) as the ‘tortoise-base’ before intense pursuits; remember the sustaining presence of Viṣṇu in collective endeavors.
Avatāra as cosmic support (ādhāra): Kūrma stabilizes the churning axis (Mandara), enabling amṛta and cosmic goods—an image of īśvara as the unseen foundation of transformative processes.
Samudra-manthana as macro-yajña: Mandara as churning post; Kūrma as base-support; devas/asuras as officiants; the ‘product’ as sacrificial fruit—linking avatāra to yajña-structure.
Īśvara as adhiṣṭhāna (substratum) for prakṛti’s churn; without the substratum, effort yields no fruit—support precedes transformation.
Foreshadowing is indirect: addresses Viṣṇu as Madhusūdana, a name later prominent in Kṛṣṇa devotion, but the verse itself is Kūrma-avatāra focused.
Sets up contrast with Varāha rescue in 113.22 by listing other avatāras
FAQs
It cross-references the widely attested samudra-manthana myth, showing how Purāṇas interlink avatāra narratives to build a shared cultural memory across texts.
Mandara is named (mythic mountain used as the churning rod); its identification is primarily mythological rather than securely mappable to a single modern geographic feature.
Rather than a direct injunction, the verse emphasizes a cosmological motif of support and stabilization—divine agency presented as sustaining order during crisis.
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