Varaha Purana 67.2: Adhyaya 67, Shloka 2
On the Two ‘Sita-Kṛṣṇā’ Figures, the Sevenfold Ocean, and the Twelvefold Year
Pūrva Bhāga · Cosmological and metaphysical inquiry (dialogue framework)
कश्चासौ पुरुषो ब्रह्मन् य एकः सप्तधा भवेत् । कोऽसौ द्वादशधा विप्र द्विदेहः षट्शिराः शुभः ॥ ६७.२ ॥
kaścāsau puruṣo brahman ya ekaḥ saptadhā bhavet | ko 'sau dvādaśadhā vipra dvidehaḥ ṣaṭśirāḥ śubhaḥ || 67.2 ||
kashchAsau puruSho brahman ya ekaH saptadhA bhavet | ko.asau dvAdashadhA vipra dvidehaH ShaTshirAH shubhaH || 67.2 ||
பிராமணரே! ஒருவனாக இருந்தும் ஏழு வகையாக ஆகும் அந்த புருஷன் யார்? மேலும், ஓ விப்பிரரே! அதே தத்துவம் பன்னிரண்டு வகையாக—இரு உடலுடையவன், ஆறு தலைகளுடையவன், மங்களமானவன்—என்று சொல்லப்படுவது யார்?
Sandhi Notes
- कश्चासौ = कः + च + असौ (विसर्ग-लोप)
- कोऽसौ = कः + असौ (विसर्ग-लोप/अवग्रह)
Pṛthivī
Curious, seeking metaphysical clarity
Who is the one Person that becomes sevenfold, and who becomes twelvefold—described as two-bodied and six-headed—though fundamentally one?
Unity underlying plurality: the same principle can be described through different enumerative lenses without losing oneness.
When encountering multiple ‘lists’ (7, 12, etc.) in śāstra, treat them as pedagogical mappings of one reality; avoid reifying the counts into competing absolutes.
The verse frames a classic Purāṇic move: the One appears as many through functional partitioning (kalā/vyūha/tattva). ‘Sevenfold’ and ‘twelvefold’ suggest cosmological enumerations (e.g., seven worlds/seven fires/seven meters; twelve Ādityas/months) governed by a single Puruṣa.
Implicit yajña-structure: the One sacrificer/sacrifice manifests as counted sets (saptadhā/dvādaśadhā) that organize time and cosmos.
Eka-tattva with nāma-rūpa bheda: multiplicity is upādhi-based; the ‘Puruṣa’ remains non-dual in essence while appearing as cosmic order.
Indirect: the ‘Puruṣa’ ultimately aligns with Nārāyaṇa/Keśava in Vaiṣṇava metaphysics, but no Mathurā/Kṛṣṇa-līlā anchor here.
67.67.3 (continues inquiry into world-expansion and rites); 67.67.4 (begins symbolic decoding of dualities)
FAQs
It reflects a common Purāṇic pedagogical method: framing metaphysical doctrine through numbered classifications (e.g., sevenfold and twelvefold), which aided memorization and systematic teaching in premodern Sanskrit intellectual culture.
No geographic location is named in this verse; the content is primarily cosmological/metaphysical rather than topographical.
No direct ethical injunction is stated here; the verse functions as a philosophical inquiry that sets up a doctrinal explanation about a single principle manifesting in multiple structured forms.
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