Varaha Purana 2.74: Adhyaya 2, Shloka 74

Cosmogony and the Ninefold Creation: Rudra’s Origin and the Prelude to the Sāvitrī-Veda Narrative

Devanagari script

एते त्रयो महावेदाः ब्रह्मन् देवास्त्रयः स्मृताः । एते वर्णा अकाराद्याः सवनान्यत्र वै द्विज ॥ २.७३ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 2.74

Transliteration

ete trayo mahāvedā brahman devās trayaḥ smṛtāḥ | ete varṇā akā-rādyāḥ savanāny atra vai dvija || 2.73 ||

Translation

ಹೇ ಬ್ರಹ್ಮನ್! ಇವು ಮೂರು ಮಹಾವೇದಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಮೂರು ದೇವತೆಗಳು ಎಂದು ಸ್ಮೃತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹೇಳಲ್ಪಟ್ಟಿವೆ. ಹೇ ದ್ವಿಜ! ಇಲ್ಲಿ ‘ಅ’ದಿಂದ ಆರಂಭವಾಗುವ ವರ್ಣವರ್ಗಗಳು ಹಾಗೂ ಸವನಗಳು (ಯಜ್ಞಸವನ) ಕೂಡ ಇವೇ.

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Word by Word

• ete: these
• ete: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• trayaḥ: three
• trayaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural), संख्यावाचक (numeral)

• mahā-vedāḥ: great Vedas
• mahā-vedāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + veda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (महान्तः वेदाः), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• brahman: O Brahmin / O Brahman
• brahman: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन (Singular)

• devāḥ: gods
• devāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• trayaḥ: three
• trayaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural), संख्यावाचक (numeral)

• smṛtāḥ: are considered/remembered
• smṛtāḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √smṛ (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• ete: these
• ete: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• varṇāḥ: syllables/letters
• varṇāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• akāra-ādyāḥ: beginning with ‘a’
• akāra-ādyāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: akāra (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (अकारः आदिः येषाम्), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• savanāni: pressings/ritual sessions (savana)
• savanāni: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: savana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), बहुवचन (Plural)

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• dvija: O twice-born
• dvija: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Varāha

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Sanskrit
• Vedic Ritualism
• Indic Linguistics

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves a Purāṇic-style doctrinal enumeration linking Vedic authority (three Vedas), a triadic divine schema, and key ritual categories (savana), reflecting how later Sanskrit texts summarized Vedic learning for broader transmission.

Which geographic location is identified?

No specific geographic site is named in this verse; the focus is classificatory (Vedas, deities, phonemes, and savana).

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Rather than a direct moral injunction, the verse emphasizes disciplined knowledge—systematic categorization of authoritative texts, ritual practice, and linguistic units—as a foundation for learned discourse.