Varaha Purana 67.8: Adhyaya 67, Shloka 8
On the Two ‘Sita-Kṛṣṇā’ Figures, the Sevenfold Ocean, and the Twelvefold Year
Pūrva Bhāga · Dharma and Vedakriyā (Ritual-Discipline) Teachings
स विष्णुः परमो देवो विज्ञेयो नृपसत्तम । न च वेदक्रियाहीनः पश्यते परमेश्वरम् ॥ ६७.८ ॥
sa viṣṇuḥ paramo devo vijñeyo nṛpasattama | na ca vedakriyāhīnaḥ paśyate parameśvaram || 67.8 ||
sa viShNuH paramo devo vij~neyo nRRipasattama | na cha vedakriyAhInaH pashyate parameshvaram || 67.8 ||
स एव विष्णुः परमो देवः इति विज्ञेयः, हे नृपसत्तम। वेदक्रियाहीनः तु परमेश्वरं न पश्यति।
Varāha
Viṣṇu is the supreme reality; ritual discipline (Veda-kriyā) is presented as a necessary condition for perceiving the Supreme.
Maintain daily/seasonal Vedic duties (as applicable) with devotion; treat ritual as purification and as a support for contemplation of Viṣṇu.
Yajña-centered epistemology: the Lord is known through Vedic action (kriyā) and its inner meaning; Viṣṇu as the telos of ritual and the supreme reality.
Implicit ‘yajña→Viṣṇu’ mapping: Vedic rites as the pathway/organ of perception; without yajña-dharma the ‘eye’ to see the Lord is absent.
Bridges karma-kāṇḍa to jñāna/bhakti: disciplined action purifies and enables higher knowledge; aligns with Purāṇic synthesis of ritual orthopraxy and Viṣṇu-bhakti.
Perception of the Supreme (Viṣṇu) is linked to adherence to Vedic rites; neglect of Veda-kriyā obstructs realization.
Following Vedic discipline supports ‘darśana’ (right perception) of the Lord; abandoning it results in non-perception/estrangement from the Supreme.
Adhyāya 67 conclusion: cosmology culminates in explicit Viṣṇu-paratva and a norm about Vedic practice
FAQs
It reflects a common Purāṇic synthesis in which devotion to a supreme deity is paired with the authority of Vedic practice, illustrating how later Sanskrit religious literature positioned itself in continuity with Vedic ritual culture.
No geographic location is named in this verse; it is a doctrinal statement about recognizing the supreme divine principle and the role of Vedic rites.
The verse emphasizes disciplined engagement with Vedic practices as a prerequisite for attaining insight (or ‘perception’) of the Supreme, presenting ritual discipline as an ethical-philosophical pathway to knowledge.
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