Varaha Purana 96.41 — Adhyaya 96, Shloka 41
The Threefold Power: The Raudrī Observance and the Manifestation of Chāmuṇḍā
वास्च सर्वसंपन्न युयुधुनिच ॥ स च मायां महा इतं समताडयत् ॥ सर्वभूतमहाराुद्री या देवी परमेश्वरी ॥ संहारिणी तु या चैव कालरात्रिः प्रकीर्तिता ॥
vāś ca sarvasaṃpanna yuyudhuni ca || sa ca māyāṃ mahā itaṃ samatāḍayat || sarvabhūtamahāraudrī yā devī parameśvarī || saṃhāriṇī tu yā caiva kālarātriḥ prakīrtitā ||
(ഇവിടെ പാഠം കുറെ ഭ്രഷ്ടം/അസ്പഷ്ടം.) … പിന്നെ അവൻ ആ മഹാമായയെ പ്രഹരിച്ചു. സർവ്വഭൂതങ്ങൾക്കും മഹാഭയങ്കരിയായ പരമേശ്വരിയും സംഹാരിണിയുമായ ആ ദേവിയെയാണ് ‘കാലരാത്രി’ എന്നു പ്രസിദ്ധീകരിക്കുന്നത്।
Varāha (default, speaker not explicit in excerpt)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false,"speaker_role":"instructor"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":false}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false,"symbolic_interpretation":"The verse foregrounds Śākta theology (Kālarātri as saṃhāriṇī) rather than Yajña-Varāha mapping; if read within Varāha Purāṇa’s broader frame, it can be taken as the ‘tāmasic’ dissolution-power that even avatāras confront as māyā/śakti.","vedantic_connection":"Māyā as a cosmic power that deludes/veils; Kālarātri as the time-aspect of dissolution (kāla) that terminates forms—compatible with Purāṇic theism where Śakti operates under the Supreme."}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"theology_of_shakti","core_concept":"Kālarātri as the supreme, all-terrifying dissolver (saṃhāriṇī) and sovereign Devī; ‘māyā’ is a real narrative force that must be overcome/struck down.","practical_application":"Cultivate discernment (viveka) toward deceptive appearances; approach destructive/time-aspect of divinity with reverence, not denial—recognizing dissolution as part of cosmic order."}
Subject Matter: ["Goddess Epithets","Textual Criticism (corrupt transmission)","Mythic Theology"]
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 96 (Śākta-motif cluster around Devī epithets; corrupt/uncertain pāṭha noted in context)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A terrifying, sovereign Devī identified as Kālarātri stands as the embodiment of dissolution, while a hero/agent ‘strikes’ or dispels a great māyā (illusion) in a charged, cosmic atmosphere.","item_prompts":["Kālarātri/terrible Devī iconography (dark hue, fierce gaze)","aura of destruction/time (kāla)","shattered veil/illusion motif","surrounding darkness with sparks of divine energy"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: fierce Devī with bold eyes and stylized ornaments, deep indigo/black palette, māyā shown as a torn, patterned veil; flat yet dynamic composition.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: central Devī with heavy gold-leaf jewelry and prabhāmaṇḍala; māyā as a gilded but cracking halo/veil; rich reds and blacks.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: refined linework, controlled ferocity, luminous shading; māyā as translucent smoke being struck apart; emphasis on facial expression.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: dramatic night landscape, Devī as dark silhouette with bright ornaments; māyā as swirling cloud; minimal but intense scene."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"awe-struck and ominous","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"medium-slow","voice_tone":"grave, resonant, with emphatic stress on epithets (parameshvarī, saṃhāriṇī, kālarātri)"}
FAQs
It exemplifies how Purāṇic manuscripts often preserve variant or damaged readings; simultaneously, it records a goddess-epithet tradition (Kālarātri) that is significant for later theological and iconographic developments.
No geographic site is mentioned in the readable portion.
Rather than a direct ethical rule, it presents a doctrinal characterization: destructive power is framed as a cosmic function embodied by the goddess.
Ask anything about this verse
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