Varaha Purana 32.22: Adhyaya 32, Shloka 22
Dharma as the Bull-Form: Soma’s Transgression and the Institution of the Thirteenth Lunar Day Observance
Pūrva Bhāga · Philosophical Theology (Guṇa-Doctrine and Ātman discourse)
त्वमात्मा सर्वभूतानां सतां सत्त्वस्वरूपवान् । राजसानां रजस्त्वं च तामसानां तम एव च ॥ ३२.२३ ॥
tvam ātmā sarvabhūtānāṃ satāṃ sattvasvarūpavān | rājasānāṃ rajastvaṃ ca tāmasānāṃ tama eva ca || 32.23 ||
tvamAtmA sarvabhUtAnAM satAM sattvasvarUpavAn | rAjasAnAM rajastvaM cha tAmasAnAM tama eva cha || 32.23 ||
Ty jesteś Jaźnią (Atmanem) wszystkich istot; pośród cnotliwych jesteś natury sattwy. Pośród tych naznaczonych radżasem, ty jesteś samym radżasem; a pośród tych naznaczonych tamasem, ty jesteś zaprawdę samym tamasem.
Sandhi Notes
- सत्त्वस्वरूपवान् analyzed as bahuvrihi: ‘सत्त्वस्वरूपं यस्य सः’
Varāha
Curious/reflective (receiving guṇa-ātman teaching)
How can the one Supreme be the Self of all beings while appearing as sattva, rajas, and tamas in different dispositions?
The Lord is the Self of all; guṇas describe modes of manifestation in beings, not a limitation of the Supreme.
Cultivate sattva (purity, clarity) through diet, conduct, and worship; recognize rajas/tamas as conditions to be transformed, while maintaining compassion for all beings as sharing one ātman.
Continues instruction to Pṛthivī by mapping the Lord’s immanence as ātman and as the operative presence within the three guṇas.
Yajña-Varāha as cosmic person: the Lord is the inner self of beings and the functional principle behind guṇic differentiation—one reality expressing as multiple qualities without losing unity.
Guṇa-triad functions as a conceptual ‘threefold band’ of prakṛti through which the one ātman is reflected in conduct and temperament.
Sāṃkhya-influenced Purāṇic synthesis: īśvara as ātman/antaryāmin while prakṛti’s guṇas condition empirical experience; points toward guṇa-transcendence through knowledge and devotion.
32.32.22 (nothing exists apart from you); 32.32.24 (symbolic/ritualized body description that can be read through guṇa/yajña lenses)
FAQs
It reflects a common Purāṇic synthesis in which a supreme principle is described as immanent in beings while also being expressible through the Sāṃkhya-style guṇas (sattva, rajas, tamas), illustrating cross-pollination between devotional and philosophical vocabularies.
No geographic location is named in this verse; it is primarily a doctrinal statement about the Self and the guṇas.
The verse frames moral and psychological dispositions (sattva/rajas/tamas) as meaningful categories for self-understanding, implying that ethical cultivation involves increasing sattva (clarity, balance) and reducing the dominance of rajas and tamas.
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