Varaha Purana 2.69: Adhyaya 2, Shloka 69
Cosmogony and the Ninefold Creation: Rudra’s Origin and the Prelude to the Sāvitrī-Veda Narrative
Pūrva Bhāga · Veda-śakti and Sāvitrī (personified speech) narrative
कन्योवाच । माता अहं सर्ववेदानां सावित्री नाम नामतः । मां न जानासि येन त्वं ततो वेदा हृतास्तव ॥ २.६८ ॥
kanyovāca | mātāhaṃ sarvavedānāṃ sāvitrī nāma nāmataḥ | māṃ na jānāsi yena tvaṃ tato vedā hṛtās tava || 2.68 ||
kanyovAcha | mAtA.ahaM sarvavedAnAM sAvitrI nAma nAmataH | mAM na jAnAsi yena tvaM tato vedA hRRitAstava || 2.68 ||
乙女は言った。「我は一切のヴェーダの母、名をサーヴィトリーという。汝が我を認めぬゆえに、汝のヴェーダは奪い去られたのだ。」
Sandhi Notes
- कन्योवाच = कन्या + उवाच
- माता अहं = माता + अहं (माताहं)
- सर्ववेदानाम् is a compound
Kanyā (Sāvitrī, personified)
The addressee is chastened/ignorant (non-recognition leading to loss).
Why has sacred knowledge (the Vedas) been lost?—because the personified source (Sāvitrī) was not recognized.
Sacred knowledge is relational: recognition of its divine source (Sāvitrī/Vāk) conditions its presence; neglect leads to its ‘theft’ (withdrawal).
Approach mantra/śruti with reverence to its devatā and source; cultivate right understanding before recitation or study.
Veda is not merely text but a living śakti (Sāvitrī/Vāk); epistemic ‘recognition’ (pratyabhijñā-like knowing of the source) is prerequisite for Vedic access and efficacy.
Instead, Veda is mapped to a feminine personification as ‘mother’.
Knowledge depends on right apprehension of the locus of revelation (śabda-brahman); failure of discernment (avidyā) results in loss/withdrawal of śruti-access.
2.2.70-2.2.72 (Veda-deity identifications that explain Sāvitrī’s claim)
FAQs
It reflects a common Purāṇic motif in which Vedic knowledge is treated as a recoverable, personified power; the verse also preserves the cultural idea that access to sacred learning depends on proper recognition and qualification.
No geographic location is named in this verse; it is a doctrinal-narrative statement about the status of the Vedas and Sāvitrī.
The verse emphasizes epistemic responsibility: neglecting or failing to recognize the source and discipline of knowledge leads to its loss—an implicit instruction toward attentiveness, respect for learning, and proper transmission.
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