Varaha Purana 2.42: Adhyaya 2, Shloka 42

Cosmogony and the Ninefold Creation: Rudra’s Origin and the Prelude to the Sāvitrī-Veda Narrative

Pūrva Bhāga · Cosmogonic Genealogies (Sarga/Creation Narratives)

Devanagari script

श्रीवराह उवाच । प्रथमं ब्रह्मणा सृष्टा रुद्राद्यास्तु तपोधनाः । सनकादयस्ततः सृष्टा मरीच्यादय एव च ॥ २.४१ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 2.42

Transliteration

śrīvarāha uvāca | prathamaṃ brahmaṇā sṛṣṭā rudrādyās tu tapodhanāḥ | sanakādayas tataḥ sṛṣṭā marīcyādaya eva ca || 2.41 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

Modern Hindi

वराह भगवान बोले - पहले ब्रह्मा ने रुद्र और उसके साथी बनाए। वो सब तप करते थे। उसके बाद सनक और उसके भाई बने। फिर मरीचि और उसके साथी बने।

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Word by Word

• śrī-varāhaḥ: Śrī-Varāha
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता; speaker identifier)
• Root: śrī (प्रातिपदिक) + varāha (प्रातिपदिक)

• uvāca: said
• Type: Verb
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: vac (धातु)

• prathamam: first/at first
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyayībhāva usage (अव्ययीभाववत्), adverbial accusative (द्वितीया-प्रयोग) meaning ‘first/at first’
• Role: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Root: prathama (प्रातिपदिक)

• brahmaṇā: by Brahmā
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (ब्रह्मन्), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karaṇa (करण; agent-instrument in passive)
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)

• sṛṣṭāḥ: created
• Type: Verb
• Form: Past passive participle (कृत्: क्त), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); passive predicate ‘were created’
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया; passive predicate)
• Root: sṛj (धातु)

• rudra-ādyāḥ: Rudra and the others
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता; logical subject of passive: those created)
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)

• tu: indeed/and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), particle (निपात)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Root: tu (अव्यय)

• tapo-dhanāḥ: austerity-rich sages
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); bahuvrīhi ‘those whose wealth is austerity’
• Role: Samānādhikaraṇa (समानाधिकरण; apposition to rudrādyāḥ)
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक) + dhana (प्रातिपदिक)

• sanaka-ādayaḥ: Sanaka and the others
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता; logical subject of passive)
• Root: sanaka (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)

• tataḥ: then/thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), adverb (क्रियाविशेषण) ‘then/from there’
• Role: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)

• sṛṣṭāḥ: created
• Type: Verb
• Form: Past passive participle (कृत्: क्त), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया; passive predicate)
• Root: sṛj (धातु)

• marīci-ādayaḥ: Marīci and the others
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता; logical subject of passive)
• Root: marīci (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)

• eva: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), emphatic particle
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/emphasis)
• Root: eva (अव्यय)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), conjunction
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Root: ca (अव्यय)

Sandhi Notes

• śrī + varāhaḥ → śrīvarāhaḥ
• rudra-ādyāḥ + tu → rudrādyās tu
• sanaka-ādayaḥ → sanakādayaḥ
• marīci-ādayaḥ → marīcyādayaḥ

Speaker and setting

Shanta and Adbhuta rasaSetting: Cosmic/primordial time

Speaker

Varāha

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

Varaha teaches her

Her state of mind

Curious

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Cosmic functionalism (roles in creation)

Subjects

CosmologyGenealogy of sages/deitiesCreation narratives

Core idea

Creation unfolds through archetypal orders: ascetic power (tapas), pure knowledge/renunciation (Kumāras), and progenitor-sages (Prajāpatis).

In practice

Recognize complementary life-paths—tapas, jñāna, and loka-saṅgraha—as legitimate cosmic functions; integrate one’s svadharma accordingly.

The Varaha avatara

With the Earth

Varāha responds to Earth’s inquiry by narrating the first created orders (Rudra, Kumāras, Prajāpatis).

Symbolism of the boar

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Cosmology
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Sanskrit Textual Tradition

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It reflects a common Purāṇic method of organizing cosmology through genealogical lists (sarga), aligning major figures (e.g., Rudra, Kumāras such as Sanaka, and Prajāpatis such as Marīci) within a creation sequence attributed to Brahmā.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is named in this verse; it is primarily a cosmogonic and genealogical statement.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Rather than a direct ethical injunction, the verse foregrounds the cultural valuation of tapas (austerity/discipline) by describing early created beings as “tapo-dhanāḥ,” indicating disciplined practice as an esteemed ideal in the text’s worldview.