Varaha Purana 20.3: Adhyaya 20, Shloka 3
The Birth of the Aśvins: Solar Lineage, Saṃjñā and Chāyā, and the Granting of a Hymn and Boons
Pūrva Bhāga · Genealogical-Cosmological Narratives (Prajāpati Lineages)
तस्य पुत्रो महातेजाः कश्यपो नाम वै मुनिः । स्वयं प्रजापतिः श्रीमान् देवतानां पिता अभवत् ॥ २०.३ ॥
tasya putro mahātejāḥ kaśyapo nāma vai muniḥ | svayaṃ prajāpatiḥ śrīmān devatānāṃ pitā abhavat || 20.3 ||
tasya putro mahAtejAH kashyapo nAma vai muniH | svayaM prajApatiH shrImAn devatAnAM pitA.abhavat || 20.3 ||
मरीचि का बेटा कश्यप बड़ा तेज ऋषि था। वो खुद प्रजापति बना और देवताओं का बाप कहा गया।
Sandhi Notes
- श्रीमान् देवतानां = श्रीमान् + देवतानाम् (no phonetic change)
- पिता अभवत् = पिता + अभवत् (hiatus retained in writing)
Varāha
Order in the universe is narrated as descent through luminous progenitors; ‘fatherhood’ signifies causal responsibility and sustaining capacity.
Cultivate tejas through disciplined living (tapas, truthfulness, restraint) as the inner analogue of Prajāpati’s generativity.
Kaśyapa as Prajāpati embodies generative order: the ‘father of deities’ motif encodes the principle that cosmic functions arise from a luminous tapas-driven lineage.
Prajāpati as yajña-lord: progeny as ‘offerings’ that populate and stabilize the cosmos; splendor (tejas) as sacrificial heat (tapas).
Tapas/tejas as the power of manifestation; the many devatās as functional names within one cosmic governance, supporting a unitive reading beneath plurality.
Varāha Purāṇa: continuation to Ādityas and other divine classes (next verse)
FAQs
It reflects a common Purāṇic strategy of organizing cosmology through genealogies, presenting Kaśyapa as a key progenitor figure (Prajāpati) used to structure the origins of divine and cosmic lineages.
No geographic location is specified in this verse; the focus is genealogical and cosmological rather than topographical.
No direct ethical injunction is stated; the verse primarily establishes lineage and authority through the designation of Kaśyapa as an illustrious progenitor.
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