Varaha Purana 32.7 — Adhyaya 32, Shloka 7
Dharma as the Bull-Form: Soma’s Transgression and the Institution of the Thirteenth Lunar Day Observance
तथा आद्यन्त ओङ्कार द्विशिराः सप्तहस्तवान् । त्रिबद्धबद्धो विप्राणां मुख्यः पालयते जगत् ॥ ३२.८ ॥
tathā ādyanta oṅkāra dviśirāḥ saptahastavān | tribaddhabaddho viprāṇāṁ mukhyaḥ pālayate jagat || 32.8 ||
Demikian pula, prinsip awal-dan-akhir, yakni Oṁkāra: berkepala dua dan bertangan tujuh; terikat oleh ikatan tiga lapis; sebagai yang utama di antara para brāhmaṇa, ia melindungi jagat raya.
Varāha (default dialogue framework; speaker not explicit in fragment)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"None","key_question":"None"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":false,"topic":"None","instruction_summary":"None","karmic_consequence":"None"}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false,"vrata_name":"None","tithi_month":"None","promised_fruit":"None"}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":true,"symbolic_interpretation":"Oṁkāra is presented as a cosmic-protective principle with anthropomorphic iconography (two-headed, seven-handed, threefold bound), aligning sacred sound with the sustaining power that guards the world—an extension of Yajña-Varāha logic where mantra is the body of order.","yajna_varaha_imagery":"Two-headed: duality such as ādi/anta, or waking/dream, or pravṛtti/nivṛtti; seven-handed: seven meters/notes/worlds or seven tongues of fire—suggesting manifold ritual reach; threefold binding: triad structures (guṇas, fires, Vedic divisions) that ‘bind’ and stabilize cosmos.","vedantic_connection":"Praṇava as brahman-sign (tāraka): beginning and end of speech and contemplation; meditating on Oṁ integrates multiplicity into the one sustaining reality."}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"mantra-metaphysics","core_concept":"Praṇava (Oṁ) is the primordial-total principle that protects and orders the world when properly understood and upheld.","practical_application":"Daily praṇava-japa and meditation with ethical restraint; treat mantra as discipline (niyama) that stabilizes mind and conduct."}
Subject Matter: ["Cosmology","Sacred Sound (Oṁ)","Iconography","Dharma (Protective order)"]
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: śānta
Type: None
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa passages praising praṇava and Vedic sound as protective order (within the same discourse unit)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A radiant Oṁkāra-deity form: two faces looking to beginning and end, seven arms holding ritual/knowledge emblems, bound by three sacred bands; the world sheltered beneath like a dome of sound.","item_prompts":["glowing Oṁ glyph","two-headed deity form","seven arms with emblems (rosary, book, conch, discus, ladle, lotus, bell)","three binding bands/cords","world/people under protective aura"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: stylized praṇava figure with symmetrical two faces and seven arms; thick outlines; three sacred bands across torso; concentric sound-halo protecting a miniature world below.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: central Oṁ glyph in gold leaf behind the two-headed figure; seven arms richly ornamented; embossed three bands with gemstones; tiny world scene at base.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: refined iconography with soft glow; detailed hand-gestures and emblems; subtle depiction of ‘ādi-anta’ as sunrise/sunset behind the two faces.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: poetic, simplified two-faced figure with seven arms; flowing banners showing Oṁ; small village/world nestled under a luminous canopy."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"reverent, incantatory","suggested_raga":"Bhairav","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"deep, resonant, mantra-like"}
FAQs
The verse reflects a Purāṇic tendency to integrate mantra-theory (Oṁkāra) with anthropomorphic/iconographic description, indicating how sound-symbolism and cosmological governance were expressed in classical Sanskrit religious literature.
No geographic location is named in this verse; the focus is cosmological and conceptual (Oṁkāra as a protective principle).
The central philosophical instruction is the notion of cosmic protection and sustaining order (pālayate jagat), presenting governance/preservation as a defining function of the foremost principle associated here with Oṁkāra.
Ask anything about this verse
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Varaha Purana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.