Varaha Purana 4.1: Adhyaya 4, Shloka 1
On Nārāyaṇa’s Ten Avatāras and Eightfold Manifestations, and the Account of King Aśvaśirā
धरण्युवाच । योऽसौ नारायणो देवः परमात्मा सनातनः । भगवन् सर्वभावेन उताहो नेति शंस मे ॥ ४.१ ॥
dharaṇy uvāca | yo 'sau nārāyaṇo devaḥ paramātmā sanātanaḥ | bhagavan sarvabhāvena utāho neti śaṃsa me || 4.1 ||
ధరణి పలికింది—ఓ భగవన్! ఆ నారాయణ దేవుడు, సనాతన పరమాత్మ—ఆయనను సర్వభావేన ‘ఇతి’ అని నిర్ధారించాలా, లేక ‘నేతి’ (నేతి-నేతి) ద్వారా గ్రహించాలా? నాకు వివరించండి।
Dharā / Dharaṇī (Pṛthivī, Earth)
FAQs
It frames a classic Purāṇic dialogue in which Earth (Dharaṇī) raises a philosophical question about how the supreme principle is described—reflecting broader Sanskrit intellectual traditions that include both affirmative descriptions and apophatic formulations such as “neti.”
No specific geographic site is named in this verse; the focus is conceptual, centered on the identity and describability of Nārāyaṇa as the Supreme Self.
The verse primarily conveys a philosophical instruction: inquiry and careful discernment in describing ultimate reality—whether through comprehensive affirmation (“in every respect”) or via negation (“not this”).
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