Varaha Purana 21.5: Adhyaya 21, Shloka 5
The Disruption of Dakṣa’s Sacrifice, the Hari-Hara Conflict, and the Establishment of Rudra’s Sacrificial Share
सर्गकालेषु तं ब्रह्मा तपसा प्रत्युवाच ह । रुद्र प्रजाः सृजस्वेति पौनःपुन्येन चोदितः । असमर्थोऽहमिति जले निमज्जत महाबलः ॥ २१.६ ॥
sargakāleṣu taṁ brahmā tapasā pratyuvāca ha | rudra prajāḥ sṛjasveti paunaḥpunyena coditaḥ | asamartho 'ham iti jale nimajjata mahābalaḥ || 21.6 ||
創造の時々に、ブラフマーは苦行の力によって彼に語りかけた。幾度も「ルドラよ、衆生を創れ」と促されたが、大力の者は「我にはできぬ」と言い、水中に沈み入った。
Varāha (default framework; speaker not explicit in fragment)
FAQs
It reflects a common Purāṇic cosmogonic motif: the delegation of creation tasks among deities and the use of tapas (ascetic potency) as an authoritative force in narrative cosmology.
No specific geographic location is named in this verse; it is set in a mythic-cosmic context (“times of creation”) rather than a terrestrial sacred geography frame.
The verse foregrounds responsibility and capacity in delegated action: when urged to undertake creation, the figure expresses incapacity, highlighting the tension between command and competence within cosmological order.
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