Varaha Purana 2.36: Adhyaya 2, Shloka 36
Cosmogony and the Ninefold Creation: Rudra’s Origin and the Prelude to the Sāvitrī-Veda Narrative
Pūrva Bhāga · Sarga-Prakriyā (Cosmogony and Categories of Creation)
वैकारिकस्तृतीयस्तु सर्गश्चैन्द्रियकः स्मृतः । इत्येष प्राकृतः सर्गः सम्भूतो बुद्धिपूर्वकः ॥ २.३५ ॥
vaikārikas tṛtīyas tu sargaś cendriyakaḥ smṛtaḥ | ityeṣa prākṛtaḥ sargaḥ saṁbhūto buddhipūrvakaḥ || 2.35 ||
vaikArikastRRitIyastu sargashchaindriyakaH smRRitaH | ityeSha prAkRRitaH sargaH saMbhUto buddhipUrvakaH || 2.35 ||
तिसरा सर्ग वैकारिक म्हणून ओळखला जातो आणि तो ऐन्द्रियक (इंद्रियाधिष्ठित) असेही म्हटलेला आहे. असा हा प्राकृत सर्ग बुद्धीला पूर्वकारण मानून प्रकट होतो.
Sandhi Notes
- सर्गश्चैन्द्रियकः = सर्गः + च + ऐन्द्रियकः
- इत्येष = इति + एषः
Varāha
Curious; tracking the sequence of manifestation
How do the senses and their functions arise in the chain of creation, and why is buddhi said to precede (buddhi-pūrvaka) prākṛta manifestation?
Vaikārika/aindriyaka sarga (sense-formation) is part of prākṛta creation and is preceded by buddhi as the organizing principle.
Practice indriya-nigraha (sense-restraint) by strengthening buddhi through study, reflection, and meditation; treat sensory data as secondary to discriminative awareness.
Continues the cosmological instruction to Bhū-devī: defines the third (vaikārika/aindriyaka) sarga and notes buddhi as antecedent.
The ‘sense-based’ creation highlights how experience (indriya) depends on prior ordering intelligence (buddhi/mahat). Varāha’s role as teacher mirrors the cosmic buddhi-function: to discriminate and coordinate, preventing the senses from becoming mere rajas-driven instruments of duḥkha.
Buddhi as the proximate instrument of knowledge; liberation involves refining buddhi (sattva-śuddhi) so that indriyas are governed rather than governing—aligning with the inward turn from indriya-pravṛtti to ātma-vicāra.
Varāha Purāṇa 2.2.34 (Mahat) as the prior step implied by ‘buddhi-pūrvaka’; Varāha Purāṇa 2.2.36-37 (streams and classes of beings)
FAQs
It preserves a technical taxonomy of creation (sarga) that aligns with broader classical Indian cosmological discourse, including Sāṃkhya-style sequencing of principles such as buddhi and the senses.
No geographic location is mentioned in this verse; it is a conceptual (cosmological) classification rather than a sacred-geography reference.
The verse does not present a direct ethical injunction; its philosophical instruction is classificatory—linking a type of creation with sense-faculties and stating that manifestation proceeds with buddhi as a prior condition.
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