Varaha Purana 9.8: Adhyaya 9, Shloka 8

The Sequence of Creation, the Emergence of the Praṇava, and the Fish Incarnation’s Retrieval of the Vedas

Pūrva Bhāga · Cosmogonic Narrative (Sṛṣṭi-prakaraṇa)

Devanagari script

शून्यान् लोकानिमान् दृष्ट्वा सिसृक्षुर्मूर्तिमुत्तमाम् । क्षोभयित्वा मनोधाम तत्राकारः स्वमात्रतः ॥ ९.८ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 9.8

Transliteration

śūnyān lokān imān dṛṣṭvā sisṛkṣur mūrtim uttamām | kṣobhayitvā manodhāma tatrākāraḥ svamātrataḥ || 9.8 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

Ujrzawszy te światy jako puste, on, pragnąc stworzyć doskonałą ucieleśnioną formę, poruszył własną domenę umysłu; wówczas kształt powstał z jego samej istoty.

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Word by Word

• śūnyān: empty
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural (बहुवचन)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: śūnya (प्रातिपदिक)

• lokān: worlds
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural (बहुवचन)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)

• imān: these
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural (बहुवचन)
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• Type: Verb
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त), indeclinable verbal form (अव्ययीभाव-प्राय)
• Role: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रिया-विशेषण)
• Root: dṛś (दृश् धातु) + ktvā (क्त्वा)

• sisṛkṣuḥ: desiring to create
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Desiderative participle (सन्नन्त-इच्छार्थक, सिसृक्षु), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: sṛj (सृज् धातु) + san (सन्) + u (उ)

• mūrtim: a form
• Type: Noun
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: mūrti (प्रातिपदिक)

• uttamām: supreme, excellent
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)

• kṣobhayitvā: having agitated
• Type: Verb
• Form: Causative absolutive (णिजन्त-क्त्वान्त), indeclinable (अव्यय)
• Role: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रिया-विशेषण)
• Root: kṣubh (क्षुभ् धातु) + ṇic (णिच्) + ktvā (क्त्वा)

• manaḥ: mind
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: manas (प्रातिपदिक)

• dhāma: abode; seat
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: dhāman (प्रातिपदिक)

• tatra: there
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Adverb (देशवाचक-अव्यय)
• Role: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)

• ākāraḥ: form, shape
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: ākāra (प्रातिपदिक)

• sva: own
• Type: Adjective
• Form: (Used in compound-like relation) Masculine/Neuter, Genitive sense; here qualifying mātrataḥ
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक)

• mātrataḥ: from his own measure/essence; by himself alone
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Ablative in sense used adverbially (तसिल्/तस्-प्रत्ययभाव), 'from/only by measure'
• Role: Hetu/Apādāna (हेतु/अपादान)
• Root: mātratā (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• lokān imān: sandhi resolved from lokān imān
• mūrtimuttamām resolved as mūrtim + uttamām
• tatrākāraḥ resolved as tatra + ākāraḥ
• manodhāma split as manaḥ + dhāma (sandhi: aḥ + dh -> o dh)

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Shanta rasaSetting: Cosmic/ontological plane

Speaker

Varāha

The teaching

Path

Cosmogony/ontology

Subjects

CosmologyOntologyCreation Theory

Core idea

The cosmos arises when the Lord, seeing emptiness, wills embodiment; form is not external to him but emerges from his own essence.

In practice

Contemplate creation as dependent on the divine ground; cultivate śānta-bhāva by seeing all forms as sustained by the same source.

Symbolism of the boar

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Cosmology
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Sanskrit Manuscript Studies

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It reflects a common Purāṇic cosmogonic pattern: a primordial condition described as empty or unmanifest, followed by the emergence of form through an initiating agency. Such verses are valuable for tracing how early medieval Sanskrit texts articulated creation using psychological and metaphysical vocabulary.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is named in this verse; it is framed as a cosmological/ontological statement rather than a tīrtha or regional description.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse primarily conveys a philosophical instruction rather than a direct moral rule: it presents creation as arising from intentionality and internal potency (svamātrataḥ), emphasizing ordered emergence from an unmanifest state.