Varaha Purana 113.26: Adhyaya 113, Shloka 26
Hymn to Varāha and Pṛthivī’s Inquiry
Prelude to the Sanatkumāra Dialogue
Pūrva Bhāga · Cosmic Dissolution Imagery (Absence of Luminaries and Planets)
अंशवश्च न विद्यन्ते न नक्षत्रा न वा ग्रहाः ॥ न चैवाङ्गारकस्तत्र न शुक्रो न बृहस्पतिः
aṃśavaśca na vidyante na nakṣatrā na vā grahāḥ || na caivāṅgārakastatra na śukro na bṛhaspatiḥ
aMshavashchana vidyante na nakShatrA na vA grahAH || na chaivA~NgArakastatra na shukro na bRRihaspatiH
അവിടെ കിരണങ്ങൾ ഇല്ല; നക്ഷത്രങ്ങളും ഗ്രഹങ്ങളും ഇല്ല. അവിടെ അങ്കാരകൻ (ചൊവ്വ), ശുക്രൻ (ശുക്രഗ്രഹം), ബൃഹസ്പതി (ഗുരു) എന്നിവരും ഇല്ല.
Sandhi Notes
- aṃśavaśca = aṃśavaḥ + ca
- caiva = ca + eva
- aṅgārakastatra = aṅgārakaḥ + tatra
Pṛthivī
Contemplative, describing a realm/phase devoid of astral markers; implicitly unsettled by cosmic absence
What is that condition/region in which even rays, stars, and grahas do not manifest?
Astral order is contingent; when its markers vanish, reliance shifts from empirical signs to śruti/purāṇic revelation and the divine ground.
Cultivate humility about human mapping of reality; use cosmological reflection to deepen vairāgya and dependence on dharma and devotion rather than ‘signs’.
Negation of luminaries and grahas functions as an apophatic cosmology: beyond measurable time (kāla) and its indicators, pointing to a pre-creation/extra-cosmic condition where ordinary pramāṇas (astral signs) fail.
By contrast with Yajña-Varāha mappings where luminaries/time are limbs of the cosmic body, this verse stresses their absence—suggesting a state prior to the ‘bodying forth’ of cosmic order.
Echoes nirguṇa/aprākṛta framing: when nāma-rūpa and kāla-markers (grahas/nakṣatras) are absent, the describable cosmos has not yet differentiated; invites reflection on Brahman/Viṣṇu as the ground beyond time-signs.
Varāha Purāṇa 113 (surrounding cosmology + Earth’s distress narrative)
FAQs
It attests to an established list of grahas and their names, valuable for studying the cultural history of astral terminology in Sanskrit literature.
No terrestrial location is identified; the verse describes a cosmic condition where luminaries are absent.
It underscores impermanence: even the ordered heavens are portrayed as contingent within cycles of manifestation and withdrawal.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple 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 word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
