Varaha Purana 71.5: Adhyaya 71, Shloka 5
Vision of the Trimūrti in Rudra, the Gautama Curse, the Manifestation of the Godāvarī, and the Niḥśvāsa-saṃhitā Account
Pūrva Bhāga · Trimūrti-darśana (Iconic/Theological Description within Varāha–Pṛthivī Dialogue)
कृत्वोचुस्ते तदा देवं किमिदं परमेश्वर । एकस्यामेव मूर्तौ ते लक्ष्यन्ते च त्रिमूर्त्तयः ॥ ७१.५ ॥
kṛtvocuste tadā devaṃ kim idaṃ parameśvara | ekasyām eva mūrtau te lakṣyante ca trimūrttayaḥ || 71.5 ||
kRRitvochuste tadA devaM kimidaM parameshvara | ekasyAmeva mUrtau te lakShyante cha trimUrttayaH || 71.5 ||
तदा ते देवं प्रोचुः— “किमिदं परमेश्वर? एकस्यामेव तव मूर्तौ त्रिमूर्तयः अपि लक्ष्यन्ते।”
Sandhi Notes
- कृत्वोचुः = कृत्वा ऊचुः (आ + ऊ → ओ)
- किमिदम् = किम् इदम्
- एकस्यामेव = एकस्याम् एव
Pṛthivī
Curious, theologically perplexed (seeking clarification on unity/plurality)
How can the three divine functions/forms (Trimūrti) be perceived within your single form?
One Supreme can be apprehended as many deities/functions without real division in the Supreme.
Cultivate non-sectarian discernment: honor functional deities while anchoring devotion in the one highest reality.
Bhu-devī (as inquirer per context) addresses the Supreme about perceiving Trimūrti within a single form.
The single mūrti containing Trimūrti signals non-dual sovereignty: creation, maintenance, dissolution are functions within one Supreme reality; Varāha here serves as the integrative theistic principle rather than a merely episodic avatāra.
Implied that all deities/functions are ‘contained’ in the one Lord as the inner recipient of sacrifice and cosmic order.
Bhedābheda/advaita-friendly reading: nāmarūpa plurality is perceived, yet the underlying tattva is one; Trimūrti as upādhi-based functional differentiation.
Implicit theological groundwork for later Vaiṣṇava identification of one Supreme appearing as many.
71.71.6-9 (discussion of shared sacrificial share and Moha-śāstra)
FAQs
It reflects a Purāṇic-era tendency to describe major divine functions (often associated with the Trimūrti) as perceptible within a single supreme manifestation, illustrating theological synthesis in classical Sanskrit literature.
No geographic location is named in this verse fragment; the focus is doctrinal and iconographic rather than topographical.
No direct ethical injunction is stated here; the verse primarily raises a philosophical question about how multiple cosmic functions or forms can be apprehended within one manifestation.
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