Varaha Purana 13.11: Adhyaya 13, Shloka 11

The Genealogy of the Pitṛs and the Determination of Śrāddha Times

Pūrva Bhāga · Cosmogony and Lineages of Sages

Devanagari script

मार्कण्डेयः । सर्वेषामेव देवानामाद्यो नारायणो गुरुः । तस्माद् ब्रह्मा समुत्पन्नः सोऽपि सप्तासृज्जन्मुनीन् ॥ १३.११ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 13.11

Transliteration

mārkaṇḍeyaḥ | sarveṣām eva devānām ādyō nārāyaṇo guruḥ | tasmād brahmā samutpannaḥ so 'pi saptāsṛj janmunīn || 13.11 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

मार्कण्डेय ने कहा, नारायण सब देवताओं में पहले हैं और सबके गुरु हैं। उनसे ब्रह्मा पैदा हुआ। उसने अपने आप से सात रिशि बनाए।

Ask anything about this verse...Ask

Word by Word

• mārkaṇḍeyaḥ: Mārkaṇḍeya
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (वक्ता/कर्ता)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: mārkaṇḍeya (प्रातिपदिक)

• sarveṣām: of all
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.)/सर्वनामसदृश, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)

• eva: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Root: eva (अव्यय)

• devānām: of the gods
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)

• ādyaḥ: the first/primeval
• Type: Adjective
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (nārāyaṇaḥ-विशेषण)
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: ādya (प्रातिपदिक)

• nārāyaṇaḥ: Nārāyaṇa
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: nārāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)

• guruḥ: (is) the teacher
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विधेय (predicate nominative)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: guru (प्रातिपदिक)

• tasmāt: from him/therefore
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: तस्मात्-इत्यव्ययप्रयोग (ablatival adverb), अपादानार्थ (from that)
• Role: Apadana (अपादान)
• Root: tad (तद्, सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• brahmā: Brahmā
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: brahman (ब्रह्मन्, प्रातिपदिक)

• samutpannaḥ: arisen/produced
• Type: Adjective
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (brahmā-विशेषण)
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: sam + ut + √pad (पद्, धातु) + kta (क्त)

• saḥ: he
• Type: Noun
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: tad (तद्, सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• api: also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-निपात (also/even)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Root: api (अव्यय)

• sapta: seven
• Type: Adjective
• Form: संख्यावाचक (numeral), अव्ययवत्/विशेषण, (munīn-विशेषण)
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: sapta (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)

• asṛjat: created
• Type: Verb
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: √sṛj (सृज्, धातु)

• janma-munīn: the birth-born sages (the seven sages)
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/कर्म), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘janmanā (jātyā) munayaḥ’/‘janma-sambandhinaḥ munayaḥ’ (सप्त ऋषयः)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: janman (जन्मन्, प्रातिपदिक) + muni (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• देवानामाद्यो → devānām + ādyaḥ
• सोऽपि → saḥ + api
• सप्तासृज् → sapta + asṛjat (सन्धि/लिप्यन्तर-भेद)

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Shanta rasaSetting: Cosmological plane

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Theology / cosmology

Subjects

CosmologyGenealogy of SagesTheology (neutral, textual)

Core idea

All divine and Vedic authority is rooted in Nārāyaṇa as the primordial guru; secondary creators operate by derivation.

In practice

Anchor dharma and ritual practice in a coherent source-tradition; cultivate guru-bhāva toward the ultimate source (Nārāyaṇa) and human teachers.

Symbolism of the boar

Mathura and Krishna

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Studies
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Sanskrit Philology

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It reflects a common Purāṇic cosmogonic model in which a supreme principle (here, Nārāyaṇa) precedes Brahmā, and the early creation includes the archetypal group of seven sages (saptaṛṣi), a motif widely attested across Purāṇic and Itihāsa literature.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is named in this verse; it is primarily cosmological and genealogical in focus.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Rather than a direct ethical injunction, the verse conveys a philosophical hierarchy of knowledge and origin—portraying Nārāyaṇa as the primordial teacher and framing the sages as foundational transmitters of cultural and intellectual tradition.