Varaha Purana 12.4: Adhyaya 12, Shloka 4
Supratīka’s Hymn to Rāma and the Granting of a Boon through Divine Manifestation
Pūrva Bhāga · Pr̥thivī-uddhāra & Tattva-Cosmology (Elements and Qualities)
भवान् सदा देव समस्ततेजसां करोषि तेजांसि समस्तरूपधृक् । क्षितौ भवान् पञ्चगुणस्तथा जले चतुःप्रकारस्त्रिविधोऽथ तेजसि । द्विधाऽथ वायौ वियति प्रतिष्ठितो भवान् हरे शब्दवपुः पुमानसि ॥ १२.४ ॥
bhavān sadā deva samastatejasāṃ karoṣi tejāṃsi samastarūpadhṛk | kṣitau bhavān pañcaguṇas tathā jale catuḥprakāras trividho 'tha tejasi | dvidhā 'tha vāyau viyati pratiṣṭhito bhavān hare śabdavapuḥ pumān asi || 12.4 ||
bhavAn sadA deva samastatejasAM karoShi tejAMsi samastarUpadhRRik | kShitau bhavAn pa~nchaguNastathA jale chatuHprakArastrividho.atha tejasi | dvidhA.atha vAyau viyati pratiShThito bhavAn hare shabdavapuH pumAnasi || 12.4 ||
भगवान, तुम सबकी शक्ति को बढ़ाते हो और हर रूप में हो। धरती में तुम पाँच गुण के साथ हो। पानी में चार गुण के साथ हो। आग में तीन गुण के साथ हो। हवा में दो गुण के साथ हो। और आसमान में तुम शब्द रूप में हो।
Sandhi Notes
- samastatejasāṃ = samasta + tejasām
- samastarūpadhṛk = samasta-rūpa-dhṛk
- trividho 'tha = trividhaḥ + atha
- dvidhā 'tha = dvidhā + atha
Pṛthivī
Curious, contemplative
How does the one Hari pervade the pañcabhūtas with differing numbers of qualities, and how is he ‘sound-bodied’ in space?
The one Lord assumes all forms and expresses through graded elemental qualities; sound is foundational in space as the medium of mantra and meaning.
Practice contemplative ‘bhūta-śuddhi’: perceive earth/water/fire/wind/space as divine modes; use mantra (sound) as a direct entry into the subtle basis of experience.
Bhu Devī addresses Hari directly, acknowledging his immanence across the elements and his role as the source of all tejas.
Immanence theology: the Lord as the inner controller (antaryāmin) of the elements; ‘śabda-vapuḥ’ aligns ākāśa with sound, making creation intelligible as vibration/word-order.
Yajña-cosmos mapping is implicit: elements as ritual fields; ākāśa as the carrier of mantra (śabda), enabling yajña and revelation.
Bridges Sāṃkhya-like guṇa enumeration with Vedāntic Īśvara-pervasion: the one consciousness/power manifests as the ordered field of tanmātras and bhūtas.
Varāha Purāṇa cosmology passages on elements and divine pervasion (within the same adhyāya sequence)
FAQs
It reflects a widely attested Indic cosmological model in which the five elements are characterized by increasing/decreasing sensory qualities (guṇa), aligning Purāṇic discourse with older philosophical and scholastic traditions used for teaching cosmology and metaphysics.
No specific geographic site is named in this verse; it is a cosmological classification of elements rather than a tīrtha or regional description.
The verse primarily conveys a philosophical instruction: the divine is presented as immanent within elemental reality and its qualities, encouraging a view of the world as structured, intelligible, and worthy of careful stewardship rather than exploitation.
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