Varaha Purana 39.21: Adhyaya 39, Shloka 21
Discrimination of the Three Bodies and the Dharaṇī Vow: A Manual for Dvādaśī Observance
पृथिव्याः पार्थिवो भावः सलिले नातिरेचितः । तस्मिन् सलिलमग्ने तु पृथिवी प्रायाद्रसातलम् ॥ ३९.२१ ॥
pṛthivyāḥ pārthivo bhāvaḥ salile nātirecitaḥ | tasmin salilamagne tu pṛthivī prāyād rasātalam || 39.21 ||
पृथ्वीचा पार्थिव (घन) भाव पाण्यात अतिशय नव्हता; पण तेच पाणी प्रबळ होऊन सर्वत्र पसरले, तेव्हा पृथ्वी रसातळात गेली.
Varāha (default speaker per dialogue framework; not explicit in excerpt)
FAQs
It reflects a common Purāṇic cosmological motif in which the Earth becomes submerged and descends into an underworld realm, setting the narrative premise for Earth’s restoration (pṛthivī-uddhāra) in the Varāha-centered tradition.
Rasātala is not a terrestrial site but a mythic-cosmographic underworld region in Purāṇic models; it is typically treated in scholarship as part of layered cosmic geography rather than a directly mappable modern location.
The verse primarily conveys a philosophical observation about ecological imbalance—when waters become excessive, stability is lost—often read in archival context as supporting themes of stewardship and the restoration of environmental order.
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