Varaha Purana 113.22: Adhyaya 113, Shloka 22
Hymn to Varāha and Pṛthivī’s Inquiry
Prelude to the Sanatkumāra Dialogue
Pūrva Bhāga · Avatāra Reminiscence (Paraśurāma/Jāmadagnya Reference)
पुनर्निःक्षत्ररूपेण त्वया अहं विकृता पुरा ॥ जामदग्न्येन रामेण त्वया दृष्टा सकृत्प्रभो
punarniḥkṣatrarūpeṇa tvayā ahaṃ vikṛtā purā || jāmadagnyena rāmeṇa tvayā dṛṣṭā sakṛtprabho
punarniHkShatrarUpeNa tvayA.ahaM vikRRitA purA || jAmadagnyena rAmeNa tvayA dRRiShTA sakRRitprabho
फिर एक बार तुमने ऐसा रूप लिया कि सारी दुनिया से क्षत्रिय खत्म हो गए। उसमें तुमने मुझे बदल दिया। और जब राम जमदग्न्य थे, तब तुमने मुझे एक बार देखा भी था, प्रभु।
Sandhi Notes
- punarniḥkṣatrarūpeṇa → punar + niḥ-kṣatra-rūpeṇa
- tvayā ahaṃ → tvayā + aham
- jāmadagnyena rāmeṇa → apposition
- sakṛtprabho → sakṛt + prabho
Pṛthivī
Burdened/affected by social-ethical upheaval; reflective, seeking coherence in divine actions
Divine agency may employ severe measures to restore balance when a ruling class becomes structurally adharmic.
For rulers: restrain violence and greed; for society: uphold accountability so ‘correction’ need not become catastrophic.
Earth is ‘vikṛtā’ (altered/afflicted) by the kṣatriya-less upheaval associated with Paraśurāma’s campaign; interaction is indirect through avatāra action affecting Earth’s social order.
When kṣatriya power becomes adharmic, its suppression/reset (symbolized by ‘niḥkṣatra’) is portrayed as a drastic dharma-correction affecting the whole Earth.
Abuse of kṣatriya authority invites catastrophic rebalancing; social order can be forcibly ‘reconfigured’ when dharma collapses.
The verse situates avatāras within a dharma-history that later frames Kṛṣṇa’s kingship teachings.
Continuation of Earth’s avatāra-recollection leading into her question about creation (vv. 26ff.)
FAQs
It reflects the Purāṇic habit of summarizing multiple avatāra episodes, which helps trace how later compendia organized earlier heroic cycles into a theological-ethical framework.
No explicit place-name occurs; the focus is on social-cosmic transformation rather than a specific region.
The verse gestures toward the idea that social power must be regulated; when warrior authority becomes destructive, corrective intervention is narrated as restoring balance.
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