Varaha Purana 113.27: Adhyaya 113, Shloka 27
Hymn to Varāha and Pṛthivī’s Inquiry
Prelude to the Sanatkumāra Dialogue
शनैश्चरो बुधो नात्र न चेन्द्रो धनदो यमः ॥ वरुणोऽपि न विद्येत नान्ये केचिद्दिवौकसः
śanaiścaro budho nātra na cendro dhanado yamaḥ || varuṇo'pi na vidyeta nānye keciddivaukasaḥ
अत्र शनैश्चरः बुधश्च न विद्येते; न चेन्द्रो न धनदः न यमः। वरुणोऽपि न विद्येत, नान्ये केचिद्दिवौकसः॥
Pṛthivī
How can cosmic governance function when even Indra, Yama, Kubera, Varuṇa—and all divaukasaḥ—are absent?
grave, emphasizing total absence of both grahas and devas; existentially alarmed
The verse collapses the usual hierarchy of cosmic administration (dikpālas, lokapālas, grahas) to imply that all delegated powers are contingent; only the supreme source remains meaningful when the ‘staff’ of the cosmos is withdrawn.
In Yajña-Varāha imagery, devas often correspond to functions/limbs of cosmic order; here their non-existence underscores that the cosmic body is not yet ‘assembled’ into functional offices.
Supports the Purāṇic-Vedāntic claim that īśvara is the ultimate adhikaraṇa (substratum) and that devatās are vyāvahārika (functional) manifestations dependent on creation.
Devas and planetary powers are not absolute; they arise within cosmic order and can be absent—pointing to a single ultimate refuge beyond them.
Shift reliance from omens/planetary fear and even deva-mediated security to direct dharma and bhakti toward the supreme protector.
Varāha Purāṇa 113 (Earth’s appeal and ensuing rescue logic)
FAQs
It documents a hierarchical inventory of devas and cosmic regulators, helping scholars trace how Purāṇic texts conceptualize governance of the cosmos.
No geographic place is named; the verse describes a condition in which even cosmic offices (Indra, etc.) are absent.
The passage relativizes authority: even the highest offices are depicted as conditional within cosmic cycles.
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