Varaha Purana 26.2: Adhyaya 26, Shloka 2
The Sun’s Assumption of Form and the Gods’ Hymn of Pacification
Pūrva Bhāga · Cosmological Narratives (Ātman, jñāna-śakti, emanation)
महातपाः उवाच । योऽसावात्मा ज्ञानशक्तिरेको एव सनातनः । स द्वितीयं यदा चैच्छत् तदा स्वात्मस्थितो ज्वलत् ॥ २६.२ ॥
mahātapā uvāca | yo 'sāv ātmā jñānaśaktir eko eva sanātanaḥ | sa dvitīyaṃ yadā caicchat tadā svātmasthito jvalat || 26.2 ||
mahAtapA uvAcha | yo.asAvAtmA j~nAnashaktireka eva sanAtanaH | sa dvitIyaM yadA chaichChat tadA svAtmasthito jvalat || 26.2 ||
Mahātapā rzekł: "To Jaźń, jedyna, wieczna, której mocą jest wiedza, gdy zapragnęła drugiego, wtedy trwając w swojej własnej Jaźni, rozpromieniła się."
Sandhi Notes
- योऽसौ = यः + असौ
- ज्ञानशक्तिरेको = ज्ञानशक्तिः + एकः
- चैच्छत् = च + ऐच्छत्
- स्वात्मस्थितो = स्वात्मस्थितः (विसर्ग-लोप)
- ज्वलत् is present participle used predicatively
Mahātapā
The ultimate principle is a single eternal Self whose jñāna-śakti is creative; multiplicity arises from ‘desire’/volition while the Self remains unchanged in essence.
Contemplate the self-luminous awareness as primary; treat worldly multiplicity as dependent manifestation; cultivate inward steadiness (svātma-sthiti) amid change.
Creation begins as an inner effulgence: the one eternal Self, whose very nature is knowledge-power, ‘desires’ multiplicity and manifests as radiance while remaining self-abiding—an emanation model compatible with Purāṇic sṛṣṭi and Vedāntic non-duality.
The ‘blazing forth’ (jvalat) can be read as the primordial sacrificial fire/light from which ordered manifestation proceeds, later mapped in Purāṇic idiom onto cosmic-body symbolism.
Ātman/Brahman as ekam, sanātana; manifestation as līlā/saṅkalpa without real division—Self remains in itself (svātma-sthita) even as appearance of ‘second’ arises (vivarta/ābhāsa-friendly reading).
26.26.1
FAQs
It exemplifies a common Purāṇic cosmological motif: a singular, eternal principle initiating manifestation through will or desire, framed in concise philosophical Sanskrit.
No geographic location is mentioned in this verse; the content is metaphysical and cosmological rather than topographical.
Rather than a direct ethical injunction, the verse presents a philosophical principle: the primacy of an eternal Self whose cognitive potency underlies the emergence of plurality.
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