Varaha Purana 18.14: Adhyaya 18, Shloka 14
The Origin of Fire and the Liturgical Names of Agni
Pūrva Bhāga · Pṛthivī-uddhāra and allied narrative (cosmic conflict motif)
ततोऽस्य सुमहान् कोपो जज्ञे परमदारुणः । तस्मात् कोपात् सहस्रार्चिरुत्तस्थौ दहनात्मकः ॥ १८.१४ ॥
tato 'sya sumahān kopo jajñe paramadāruṇaḥ | tasmāt kopāt sahasrārcir uttasthau dahanātmakaḥ || 18.14 ||
tato.asya sumahAn kopo jaj~ne paramadAruNaH | tasmAt kopAt sahastrArchiruttasthau dahanAtmakaH || 18.14 ||
तब उनका बहुत बड़ा गुस्सा आया। बहुत तेज़ गुस्सा था। उस गुस्से से एक आग निकली। हज़ार फ्लेम वाली आग थी, जो सब को जला देती है।
Sandhi Notes
- ततोऽस्य = ततः अस्य
- सहस्रार्चिरुत्तस्थौ = सहस्रार्चिः उत्तस्थौ
Varāha
Unchecked anger is destructive, yet the same force can be transformed into constructive, dharmic energy when rightly directed.
Convert reactive impulses into disciplined practice (tapas, service, ritual duty) rather than letting them harm others.
The fierce anger (kopa) becomes a transformative cosmic energy that can destroy disorder but is meant to be harnessed into sacred function; the ‘thousand flames’ anticipates Agni as regulated power within yajña rather than chaotic consumption.
Thousand-flamed fire as proto-Agni: raw heat of tapas/kopa redirected into sacrificial fire; multiplicity of flames suggests many mouths of fire receiving offerings.
Guṇic turbulence (rajas/tamas) arises in secondary creator; higher order converts it into dharmic instrumentality—energy is not denied but sublimated.
Next verse: Brahmā redirects the burning force into havya-kavya carrying (Agni’s vocation)
FAQs
It exemplifies a common Purāṇic narrative device where an internal state (kopa, anger) is externalized into a cosmically effective force, illustrating how epic-Purāṇic literature links psychology, ethics, and cosmology within its storytelling.
No geographic location is named in this verse fragment; it functions primarily as a narrative-cosmological description rather than a sacred-geography marker.
Implicitly, the verse frames anger as a powerful, potentially destructive force that can manifest consequences beyond the individual, a philosophical caution consistent with Purāṇic ethical reflection on self-control and the effects of intense emotions.
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