Varaha Purana 147.18: Adhyaya 147, Shloka 18
The Sacred Merit of Goniṣkramaṇa
the Tīrtha of the Cows’ Emergence/Release
Uttara Bhāga · Āśrama-dāha (Hermitage Burning) and Śāpa (Curse) Narrative
महाभयात्तु लोकानां न कश्चित्पर्यवारयत्॥ तत्क्षणादेव देवेशि ईशोऽपि जगतो विभुः॥
mahābhayāt tu lokānāṃ na kaścit paryavārayat || tatkṣaṇād eva deveśi īśo 'pi jagato vibhuḥ ||
mahAbhayAttu lokAnAM na kashchitparyavArayat || tatkShaNAdeva deveshi Isho.api jagato vibhuH
Namun kerana ketakutan besar yang meliputi segala loka, tiada seorang pun tampil menghalang. Pada saat itu juga, wahai Devī, Īśa—Tuhan Penguasa jagat—juga (menampakkan diri).
Sandhi Notes
- महाभयात्तु = mahābhayāt + tu
- कश्चित्पर्यवारयत् = kaścit + paryavārayat
- तत्क्षणादेव = tatkṣaṇāt + eva
- ईशोऽपि = īśaḥ + api
Varāha
Anxious/concerned listener; seeking clarity about cosmic governance amid fear
When the worlds are immobilized by fear and no one intervenes, what principle or agent ensures protection and order?
When finite agents fail due to fear, īśvara’s sovereignty ensures continuity of dharma and protection of the whole.
Do not normalize fear-based passivity in communal danger; cultivate responsibility while trusting a higher moral order beyond individual capacity.
Varāha addresses Devī/Pṛthivī directly, framing the crisis as requiring immediate divine intervention when all others are paralyzed by fear.
The verse pivots from human/social paralysis to īśvara as the transcendent regulator; Varāha’s narrative voice implies avatāra as the mechanism by which the cosmic Lord enters history to re-stabilize dharma.
Īśvara as jagad-vibhu (all-pervading Lord) is the ultimate ground of agency; when jīvas are bound by bhaya, the Lord’s līlā/avatāra becomes the effective upāya for loka-rakṣaṇa.
In a public crisis, collective fear-induced inaction is adharma; protection of the many ultimately depends on the sovereign (īśa) principle stepping in when society fails.
Failure to act from fear enables harm to spread; rightful intervention by the protector restores loka-saṅgraha (welfare of the worlds).
Varāha–Pṛthivī dialogue frame (Devī addressed as interlocutor); World-crisis narrative sequence leading to curse/fire motif in following verses
FAQs
It captures a recurring Purāṇic theme: collective inaction under fear, which necessitates intervention by a higher authority to restore stability.
No geographic site is specified; the verse describes a broad, world-level reaction.
It implies that fear can paralyze communities, allowing harm to escalate unless responsible agents act to restrain it.
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