Adhyaya 67: On the Two ‘Sita-Kṛṣṇā’ Figures, the Sevenfold Ocean, and the Twelvefold Year
Sitakṛṣṇā-dvividhatā, Samudra-saptatva, Saṃvatsara-dvādaśatva ca
Cosmology & Temporal-Ecology (Symbolic Exegesis)
Framed within the Varāha–Pṛthivī pedagogical setting, this adhyāya presents a subsidiary dialogue in which Bhadrāśva questions the sage Agastya about symbolic cosmology: why two figures called Sitakṛṣṇā appear as distinct women, how a single being becomes sevenfold, and how another becomes twelvefold while being “two-bodied” and “six-headed.” Agastya explains these as interpretive correspondences: Sitakṛṣṇā denotes paired principles (truth/untruth) and is also identified with night; the “one becoming seven” is mapped to the ocean understood in sevenfold arrangement; and the “twelvefold, two-bodied, six-headed” figure is the saṃvatsara (year), structured through dual motions/paths and six seasons as its ‘faces.’ The text links day–night and the sun–moon to the emergence and ordering of the world, concluding that realizing Viṣṇu requires engagement with Vedic rites—an implicit ethic of maintaining cosmic-terrestrial balance through regulated time and practice.
Key Concepts
In this adhyaya
People
What happens
- How it opens
Within the overarching Varāha-Pṛthivī instructional setting, the narrative briefly shifts into a subsidiary exchange: Bhadrāśva approaches Agastya with interpretive questions about puzzling cosmological images and personifications.
- Stories within
A nested teacher-questioner exchange (Bhadrāśva-Agastya) inside the broader Varāha-Pṛthivī instruction; no separate mythic tale-cycle is developed beyond the interpretive mappings.
- The turning point
Bhadrāśva asks three linked riddles of symbolic cosmology: (1) why two figures named Sita-Kṛṣṇā appear as distinct women, (2) how a single entity becomes sevenfold, and (3) how another becomes twelvefold while being described as ‘two-bodied’ and ‘six-headed.’ Agastya answers by mapping each image to a structured correspondence: Sita-Kṛṣṇā as paired principles (satya/asatya) and as rātri (night); the ‘one becoming seven’ as the ocean conceived in a sevenfold schema; and the ‘twelvefold, two-bodied, six-headed’ as saṃvatsara (the year) organized by dual courses/motions and six seasons as its ‘faces.’
- How it ends
The explanation culminates in a time-cosmology synthesis: ahorātra (day-night) and the sūrya-candramas (sun-moon) are presented as ordering forces through which the world’s emergence and stability are intelligible. The ethical-theological resolution is that true realization of the supreme principle (Viṣṇu) is inseparable from veda-kriyā, disciplined Vedic ritual action aligned to temporal order.
Shlokas in Adhyaya 67
Verse 1
भद्राश्व उवाच । भगवन् सितकृष्णे द्वे भिन्ने जगति केशवान् । स्त्रियौ बभूवतुः के द्वे सितकृष्णा च का शुभा ॥ ६७.१ ॥
भद्राश्व ने पूछा, भगवान, दुनिया में सीता और कृष्णा, यह दोनों अलग हैं। पर दोनों काल से जुड़ीं हैं। यह दोनों औरतें कौन हैं? और वो सीता-कृष्णा कौन है जो शुभ काम करती है?
Verse 2
कश्चासौ पुरुषो ब्रह्मन् य एकः सप्तधा भवेत् । कोऽसौ द्वादशधा विप्र द्विदेहः षट्शिराः शुभः ॥ ६७.२ ॥
ब्राह्मण, वो पुरुष कौन है जो एक है पर सात रूप लेता है? विप्र, वो कौन है जो बारह रूप में आता है? दो शरीर और छह सर वाला, जो शुभ है?
Verse 3
दाम्पत्यं च द्विजश्रेष्ठ कृतसूर्योदयादनम् । कस्मादेतज्जगदिदं विततं द्विजसत्तम ॥ ६७.३ ॥
द्विज, पति-पत्नी का धरम भी बतादो। सूरज निकलने का पूजा कैसे करते हैं? यह दुनिया इतनी बड़ी कैसे फैल गई? सब कैसे चल रहा है?
Verse 4
अगस्त्य उवाच । सितकृष्णे स्त्रियौ ये ते ते भगिन्यौ प्रकीर्तिते । सत्यासत्ये द्विवर्णा च नारी रात्रिरुदाहृता ॥ ६७.४ ॥
अगस्त्य ने कहा, दो औरतें हैं, एक सफेद और एक काली। दोनों बहनें हैं यह। सच और झूठ, दोनों रंग, यह 'रात' नाम की औरत है ऐसे।
Verse 5
यः पुमान् सप्तधा जात एको भूत्वा नरेश्वर । स समुद्रस्तु विज्ञेयः सप्तधैकॊ व्यवस्थितः ॥ ६७.५ ॥
राजा, एक ही पुरुष है जो सात रूप में पैदा हुआ। वो समुंदर है, समझो एक है, लेकिन सात हिस्सों में बंटा है।
Verse 6
योऽसौ द्वादशधा राजन् द्विदेहः षट्शिराः प्रभुः । संवत्सरः स विज्ञेयः शरीरे द्वे गती स्मृते । ऋतवः षट् च वक्त्राणि एष संवत्सरः स्मृतः ॥ ६७.६ ॥
राजा, एक शक्ति है जो बारह हिस्सों में बंटी है। दो शरीर हैं उसके, और छह सर। इसको 'साल' समझो। इसके शरीर में रास्ते हैं, और छह मौसम उसके छह चेहरे हैं।
Verse 7
दाम्पत्यं तदहोरात्रं सूर्याचन्द्रमसौ ततः । ततो जगत्समुत्तस्थौ देवस्यास्य नृपोत्तम ॥ ६७.७ ॥
उससे पति-पत्नी का मिलन हुआ। फिर दिन और रात बनी। फिर सूरज और चाँद आए। फिर पूरा जहान बना, राजा, यह सब उस भगवान का है।
Verse 8
स विष्णुः परमो देवो विज्ञेयो नृपसत्तम । न च वेदक्रियाहीनः पश्यते परमेश्वरम् ॥ ६७.८ ॥
राजा, विष्णु को सबसे बड़ा भगवान समझो। जो वैदिक पूजा-पाठ नहीं करता, वो परमेश्वर को नहीं देख सकता।
Verse 9
॥ इति वराहपुराणे भगवच्छास्त्रे सप्तषष्ठितमोऽध्यायः ॥ ६७ ॥
यह पूरा ६७वां अध्याय खत्म हुआ वराह पुराण में। यह ग्रंथ भगवान के बारे में है।
Verse 10
तोह यह था वराह पुराण का सत्तावनवाँ अध्याय। भगवान की यह किताब में यह चैप्टर यहीं खत्म होता है।
Inside Adhyaya 67
Geographical context
No explicit toponyms are stated in this adhyāya. The chapter operates in a macro-cosmological register, referencing ecological-cosmic domains such as samudra (ocean) and temporal/seasonal cycles (ṛtavaḥ) rather than named pilgrimage sites or river systems.
Ritual instructions
- Primary RitualVeda-kriyā (Vedic ritual discipline) aligned to temporal cycles (ahorātra/saṃvatsara)
- BenefitCognitive and devotional alignment with cosmic order: the practitioner becomes fit to ‘see’/realize the supreme principle (Viṣṇu) by harmonizing conduct with regulated time and established ritual norms.
The narrative frame
- Dialogue ToneDidactic, exegetical, riddle-resolving (symbolic cosmology explained through correspondences)
The emotional journey
- Dominant RasaŚānta (contemplative clarity)
- Emotional ProgressionPerplexity at paradoxical images → interpretive illumination through structured correspondences → settled conviction that cosmic order is accessed through disciplined ritual-time alignment.
Planning a pilgrimage
- Visit FeasibilityNot applicable as a site-specific tirtha chapter; content is macro-cosmological and interpretive rather than geographically anchored.
Frequently Asked Questions
The text frames cosmic order as intelligible through disciplined practice: it states that perceiving the supreme principle (identified with Viṣṇu) is not accessible to one who is deficient in Vedic rites (veda-kriyā). In a neutral scholarly reading, this functions as a norm of maintaining order—personal and societal—by aligning conduct with established ritual-temporal frameworks.
The chapter emphasizes ahorātra (day–night) and the saṃvatsara (year) structured as dvādaśadhā (twelvefold). It explicitly names the six seasons (ṛtavaḥ ṣaṭ) as integral to the year’s structure. No specific lunar tithis are mentioned in this passage.
Environmental balance is implied through the ordering of nature by time: the ocean is conceptualized as sevenfold (a way of classifying ecological space), while the year is defined through cyclical divisions and seasons. By linking world-emergence and stability to regulated cycles (sun–moon, day–night, seasons), the text can be read as presenting an early model of terrestrial stewardship grounded in respecting and maintaining temporal-ecological rhythms.
The chapter names Bhadrāśva (a royal interlocutor) and Agastya (a prominent sage figure) as the immediate participants in the explanatory exchange. No extended dynastic genealogy is provided within the cited verses.
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