Varaha Purana 113.25: Adhyaya 113, Shloka 25
Hymn to Varāha and Pṛthivī’s Inquiry
Prelude to the Sanatkumāra Dialogue
Pūrva Bhāga · Cosmic Dissolution Imagery (Absence of Elements and Activity)
सृष्ट्वा किमादिशः सर्वां न प्राज्ञायते किंचन ॥ न वाति पवनस्तत्र न चैवाग्निर्ज्वलत्यपि
sṛṣṭvā kimādiśaḥ sarvāṃ na prājñāyate kiṃcana || na vāti pavanastatra na caivāgnirjvalatyapi
sRRiShTvA kimAdishaH sarvAM na prAj~nAyata kiMchana || na vAti pavanastatra na chaivAgnirjvalatyapi
भगवान ने पूरी दुनिया बनाई, लेकिन अब कोई चीज़ दिखाई नहीं देती। वहाँ हवा भी नहीं चलती। आग भी नहीं जलती।
Sandhi Notes
- caiva = ca + eva
- agnirjvalati = agniḥ + jvalati
- jvalatyapi = jvalati + api (y-sandhi)
Pṛthivī
Perplexed, sensing an inert/undifferentiated condition; cognitively ‘in the dark’
What is this creation like, if nothing is cognized and even wind and fire do not function—what is the nature of the initial created state?
Cognition and elemental functions are not inherent at the earliest stage; manifestation proceeds in stages from undifferentiated potential to differentiated, knowable order.
Recognize that clarity and functionality arise through ordered causes/conditions; cultivate patience in ‘inert’ phases of life and seek the right enabling conditions (knowledge, discipline, grace).
Earth continues questioning the nature of the created state; interaction is pedagogical—setting up Varāha’s cosmological explanation.
The described non-functioning of vāyu and agni points to a pre-manifest or un-differentiated phase (avyakta/prākṛta state) before guṇa-differentiation and elemental activation—Varāha as the revealer who brings order from inert potentiality.
Negative-yajña imagery (absence of agni): without activated fire, ritual order cannot proceed—implying the need for divine ‘kindling’ of cosmic functions.
Sāṃkhya-Vedānta interface: avyakta (prakṛti) prior to tattva evolution; cognition (prājñāyate) absent until mind/indriyas and guṇa-vikāra arise under Īśvara’s supervision.
Builds on v. 26’s question about ‘how’ and ‘why’ of creation; anticipates Varāha’s explanatory response in subsequent verses.
FAQs
It records a cosmological topos—an unmanifest or inert condition—shared across Indian cosmogonic literature, useful for comparative studies of creation theories.
No earthly location is indicated; the setting is a cosmological ‘there’ (tatra) describing pre-manifest conditions.
Implicitly, it emphasizes epistemic humility: before order emerges, ordinary categories of experience (wind/fire) do not apply.
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