Varaha Purana 73.12: Adhyaya 73, Shloka 12
Rudra’s Hymn: Vision of Nārāyaṇa, the Emergence of the Ādityas, and the Mutual Boon of Hari and Hara
Pūrva Bhāga · Theophany and Self-Identification (Nārāyaṇa as Jalāśāyī)
एवमुक्तस्तु रुद्रेण स पुमान् प्रत्यभाषत । अहं नारायणो देवो जलशायी सनातनः ॥ ७३.१२ ॥
evam uktas tu rudreṇa sa pumān pratyabhāṣata | ahaṁ nārāyaṇo devo jalāśāyī sanātanaḥ || 73.12 ||
evamuktastu rudreNa sa pumAn pratyabhAShata | ahaM nArAyaNo devo jalashAyI sanAtanaH || 73.12 ||
रुद्र ने जब ऐसा कहा, तो वो पुरुष ने जवाब दिया। मैं नारायण हूँ, भगवान हूँ। मैं हमेशा से हूँ और पानी पे सोता हूँ।
Sandhi Notes
- एवमुक्तस्तु = एवम् + उक्तः + तु
- प्रत्यभाषत = प्रति + अभाषत
- जलशायी = जल + शायी (तत्पुरुष)
The highest reality discloses itself as Nārāyaṇa—eternal and prior to the cosmos—establishing authority of revelation over speculation.
Ground devotion and metaphysical claims in recognized theophanic descriptions; cultivate remembrance of the Lord as the sustaining basis amid change.
Self-revelation of the supreme sustaining deity as Nārāyaṇa, characterized by primordial ‘water-reclining’ (jalāśāyī): the Lord as ground of cosmos prior to manifest creation.
Nārāyaṇa as eternal (sanātana) and causal substratum; aligns with Upaniṣadic/itihāsa-purāṇa theology where the absolute is personal and the source of creation.
Varāha Purāṇa: Nārāyaṇa/Varāha identity threads across cosmology sections
FAQs
It exemplifies a common Purāṇic narrative device: a theophany where a figure explicitly self-identifies using established epithets, aiding textual cross-referencing across Vaiṣṇava cosmological motifs (e.g., the deity reclining on primordial waters).
No geographic location is named in this verse; the imagery is cosmological (“waters” as primordial/creation-setting) rather than topographical.
The verse is primarily identificatory rather than prescriptive; its philosophical function is to establish authority and cosmological identity within the dialogue framework.
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