Varaha Purana 39.20: Adhyaya 39, Shloka 20
Discrimination of the Three Bodies and the Dharaṇī Vow: A Manual for Dvādaśī Observance
दुर्वासा उवाच । कथयामि परं गुह्यं रहस्यं देवनिर्मितम् । धरण्या यत्कृतं पूर्वं मज्जन्त्या तु रसातले ॥ ३९.२० ॥
durvāsā uvāca | kathayāmi paraṃ guhyaṃ rahasyaṃ devanirmitam | dharaṇyā yatkṛtaṃ pūrvaṃ majjantyā tu rasātale || 39.20 ||
ദുർവാസാ പറഞ്ഞു— ദേവന്മാർ നിർമ്മിച്ച പരമഗുഹ്യമായ ഒരു രഹസ്യം ഞാൻ പറയുന്നു; മുമ്പ് ഭൂമി രസാതലത്തിലേക്ക് മുങ്ങിക്കൊണ്ടിരിക്കുമ്പോൾ ചെയ്തതിനെക്കുറിച്ച്.
Durvāsā
FAQs
It exemplifies a common Purāṇic framing device: an authoritative speaker (here, Durvāsā) introduces a “guhya/rahasya” account, signaling a transition into an esoteric or foundational mythic episode connected to cosmography and the Earth’s crisis narrative.
Rasātala is identified—not a surface geography but a netherworld realm in Purāṇic cosmology, often treated by scholars as part of a multi-tiered imagined universe rather than a mappable terrestrial site.
The verse primarily functions as a narrative preface rather than a direct moral injunction; its philosophical emphasis is on attentive transmission of guarded knowledge concerning the Earth’s distress and cosmic order.
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