Varaha Purana 13.21: Adhyaya 13, Shloka 21
The Genealogy of the Pitṛs and the Determination of Śrāddha Times
Pūrva Bhāga · Cosmology and Pitṛ-loka Descriptions
लोकाः सन्तानकाः नाम यत्र तिष्ठन्ति भास्वराः । अमूर्त्तयः पितृगणास्ते वै पुत्राः प्रजापतेः ॥ १३.२१ ॥
lokāḥ santānakā nāma yatra tiṣṭhanti bhāsvarāḥ | amūrttayaḥ pitṛgaṇās te vai putrāḥ prajāpateḥ || 13.21 ||
lokAH saMtAnakA nAma yatra tiShThanti bhAsvarAH | amUrttayaH pitRRigaNAste vai putrAH prajApateH || 13.21 ||
‘சந்தானகா’ எனப்படும் உலகங்கள் உள்ளன; அங்கே ஒளிமிக்கோர் தங்குகின்றனர். அந்த அமூர்த்த பித்ருக் கணங்கள் உண்மையில் பிரஜாபதியின் புதல்வர்கள்.
Sandhi Notes
- पितृगणास्ते = पितृगणाः + ते (अः + त् → आस्त्)
Varāha
Curious
Where do the formless Pitṛ-gaṇas reside, and what is their origin lineage?
Formless (amūrta) Pitṛ-hosts inhabit distinct luminous worlds and are direct progeny of Prajāpati.
Approach Pitṛ rites with the understanding that subtle beings and realms are integral to the cosmos; cultivate śraddhā toward unseen orders.
Continues instruction to Earth: identifies Santānakā worlds and the formless Pitṛ-hosts as Prajāpati’s sons.
Varāha Purāṇa 13.13.19 (amūrta category introduced); Varāha Purāṇa 13.13.22 (Vairājas as deva-pitṛs)
FAQs
It reflects a standard Purāṇic cosmological taxonomy in which specific lokas (realms) are named and populated by classes of beings; it also preserves a genealogical model that links ancestral collectives (Pitṛs) to Prajāpati, a key progenitor figure in early Sanskrit cosmography.
No terrestrial geographic site is identified; the verse refers to a cosmological realm named “Santānakā,” treated as a non-earthly loka in Purāṇic cosmology.
The verse does not present a direct ethical injunction; its philosophical function is classificatory—situating the Pitṛs within an ordered cosmos and lineage, which indirectly supports ancestral remembrance as a culturally embedded practice.
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