Varaha Purana 97.2: Adhyaya 97, Shloka 2

The Glory of Rudra: The Origin of the Kapālamocana Pilgrimage Site and Rudra’s Expiatory Vow

Pūrva Bhāga · Rudra-māhātmya (mythic origins of Rudra)

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मणा तु यदा सृष्टः पूर्वं रुद्रो वरानने ॥ तृतीये जन्मनि विभुः पिङ्गाक्षो नीललोहितः ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 97.2

Transliteration

brahmaṇā tu yadā sṛṣṭaḥ pūrvaṃ rudro varānane || tṛtīye janmani vibhuḥ piṅgākṣo nīlalohitaḥ ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

Quando Rudra foi criado pela primeira vez por Brahmā, ó de belo rosto, no terceiro nascimento o Poderoso manifestou-se como Piṅgākṣa, ‘Nīlalohita’, o ‘Azul-e-Vermelho’.

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Word by Word

• brahmaṇā: by Brahmā
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; कर्तृवाचक-तृतीया (by Brahmā/Brahman)
• Role: Karana (करण/Instrument—agent in passive)
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)

• tu: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: निपात (particle), विरोध/अन्वय (but/indeed)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Root: tu (अव्यय)

• yadā: when
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (temporal adverb): when
• Role: Kāla (काल/Time)
• Root: yadā (अव्यय)

• sṛṣṭaḥ: was created
• Type: Verb
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि—‘was created’
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया/Predicate)
• Root: sṛj (धातु) → sṛṣṭa (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)

• pūrvam: at first
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (formerly/at first)
• Role: Kāla (काल/Time)
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययभाव)

• rudraḥ: Rudra
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन
• Role: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)

• varānane: O fair-faced one
• Type: Noun
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन
• Role: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Address)
• Root: vara + ānana (प्रातिपदिके; समास)

• tṛtīye: in the third
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; क्रमवाचक (in the third)
• Role: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Locative)
• Root: tṛtīya (प्रातिपदिक)

• janmani: birth
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन
• Role: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Locative)
• Root: janman (प्रातिपदिक)

• vibhuḥ: the mighty one
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणार्थे अपि (mighty one)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता/Subject—apposition)
• Root: vibhu (प्रातिपदिक)

• piṅgākṣaḥ: tawny-eyed
• Type: Adjective
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—पिङ्गे अक्षिणी यस्य (one whose eyes are tawny)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता/Subject—epithet)
• Root: piṅga + akṣa (प्रातिपदिके; समास)

• nīlalohitaḥ: blue-and-red (hued)
• Type: Adjective
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; द्वन्द्वः (समाहार/इतरेतर)—नीलश्च लोहितश्च (blue and red-hued)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता/Subject—epithet)
• Root: nīla + lohita (प्रातिपदिके; समास)

Sandhi Notes

• nīlalohitaḥ = nīla + lohita (dvandva)
• piṅgākṣaḥ = piṅga + akṣa (bahuvrīhi)

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Shanta rasaSetting: Cosmogonic scene

Speaker

Varāha

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

Varaha teaches her

Her state of mind

Curious

What she asks

How did Rudra arise in creation, and what were his early births/forms (e.g., Piṅgākṣa, Nīlalohita)?

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Theology / iconographic ontology

Subjects

CosmologyMythic genealogyIconography (epithets and forms)

Core idea

Divine identity can manifest through successive ‘births’/modes; epithets (Piṅgākṣa, Nīlalohita) encode theological and iconographic meaning.

In practice

In worship and vrata, meditate on named forms (nāma-rūpa) as valid gateways to the same supreme divinity.

The Varaha avatara

With the Earth

Continuing instruction to Bhū-devī (‘varānane’) about Rudra’s cosmogonic emergence.

Vrata

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Studies
• Mythology
• Iconographic Terminology

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves a layered mythic account of Rudra’s manifestations, useful for comparing Rudra’s epithets (e.g., Nīlalohita) across Vedic and Purāṇic corpora.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is named; the verse is concerned with cosmogonic and iconographic description.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

No direct ethical injunction is stated; the verse functions as doctrinal narrative establishing the identity and epithets of Rudra.