Varaha Purana 21.6: Adhyaya 21, Shloka 6
The Disruption of Dakṣa’s Sacrifice, the Hari-Hara Conflict, and the Establishment of Rudra’s Sacrificial Share
Pūrva Bhāga · Tapas and Creation (Ascetic Power Narratives)
तपोऽर्थित्वं तपोहीनः स्रष्टुं शक्नोति न प्रजाः । एवं चिन्त्य जले मग्नस्ततो रुद्रः प्रतापवान् ॥ २१.७ ॥
tapo'rthitvaṃ tapohīnaḥ sraṣṭuṃ śaknoti na prajāḥ | evaṃ cintya jale magnas tato rudraḥ pratāpavān || 21.7 ||
taporthitvaM tapohInaH straShTuM shaknoti na prajAH | evaM chintya jale magnastato rudraH pratApavAn || 21.7 ||
തപസ്സില്ലാത്തവൻ തപഫലം ആഗ്രഹിച്ചാലും പ്രജകളെ സൃഷ്ടിക്കാൻ കഴിയില്ല. ഇങ്ങനെ ചിന്തിച്ച് പ്രതാപവാൻ രുദ്രൻ ജലത്തിൽ മുങ്ങി.
Sandhi Notes
- तपोऽर्थित्वम् = तपः + अर्थित्वम्
- तपोहीनः = तपः + हीनः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)
Varāha
Adhikāra arises from tapas; outcomes require inner qualification, not mere longing (phala-arthitva).
Undertake vows, study, or leadership only after cultivating discipline; align desire with sustained practice (abhyāsa) and restraint.
Tapas is presented as a necessary inner qualification for effective creation/undertaking; mere desire for results without discipline is fruitless.
Cultivating tapas yields capacity and order (siddhi/śakti for one’s aims); lacking it leads to incapacity and stagnation despite desire.
Varāha–Pṛthivī dialogue: creation sequence motifs in adjacent sarga passages
FAQs
It reflects a common Purāṇic ethical-cosmological idea: disciplined austerity (tapas) is presented as a prerequisite for legitimate creative agency, a theme widespread in early Sanskrit narrative literature.
No explicit geographic place-name appears in this verse; the setting is described generically as 'water' (jala), a cosmological motif rather than a mapped terrestrial location.
The verse emphasizes that aspiration alone is insufficient; sustained discipline and self-cultivation (tapas) are portrayed as necessary conditions for responsible creation or generative action.
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