Varaha Purana 13.11: Adhyaya 13, Shloka 11

The Genealogy of the Pitṛs and the Determination of Śrāddha Times

Devanagari script

मार्कण्डेयः । सर्वेषामेव देवानामाद्यो नारायणो गुरुः । तस्माद् ब्रह्मा समुत्पन्नः सोऽपि सप्तासृज्जन्मुनीन् ॥ १३.११ ॥

Sanskrit recitationVaraha Purana 13.11

Transliteration

mārkaṇḍeyaḥ | sarveṣām eva devānām ādyō nārāyaṇo guruḥ | tasmād brahmā samutpannaḥ so 'pi saptāsṛj janmunīn || 13.11 ||

Translation

มารกัณฑยะกล่าวว่า “สำหรับเทพทั้งปวง นารายณะทรงเป็นปฐมและเป็นครู จากพระองค์พรหมาได้บังเกิด และพรหมานั้นก็ได้สร้างมุนีผู้กำเนิดทั้งเจ็ด คือสัปตฤๅษี จากตนเอง”

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Word by Word

• mārkaṇḍeyaḥ: Mārkaṇḍeya
• mārkaṇḍeyaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mārkaṇḍeya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (वक्ता/कर्ता)

• sarveṣām: of all
• sarveṣām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.)/सर्वनामसदृश, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle)

• devānām: of the gods
• devānām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• ādyaḥ: the first/primeval
• ādyaḥ: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ādya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (nārāyaṇaḥ-विशेषण)

• nārāyaṇaḥ: Nārāyaṇa
• nārāyaṇaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• guruḥ: (is) the teacher
• guruḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guru (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विधेय (predicate nominative)

• tasmāt: from him/therefore
• tasmāt: Apadana (अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (तद्, सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तस्मात्-इत्यव्ययप्रयोग (ablatival adverb), अपादानार्थ (from that)

• brahmā: Brahmā
• brahmā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (ब्रह्मन्, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• samutpannaḥ: arisen/produced
• samutpannaḥ: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam + ut + √pad (पद्, धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (brahmā-विशेषण)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद्, सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-निपात (also/even)

• sapta: seven
• sapta: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sapta (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक (numeral), अव्ययवत्/विशेषण, (munīn-विशेषण)

• asṛjat: created
• asṛjat: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sṛj (सृज्, धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• janma-munīn: the birth-born sages (the seven sages)
• janma-munīn: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: janman (जन्मन्, प्रातिपदिक) + muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/कर्म), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘janmanā (jātyā) munayaḥ’/‘janma-sambandhinaḥ munayaḥ’ (सप्त ऋषयः)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Studies
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Sanskrit Philology

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It reflects a common Purāṇic cosmogonic model in which a supreme principle (here, Nārāyaṇa) precedes Brahmā, and the early creation includes the archetypal group of seven sages (saptaṛṣi), a motif widely attested across Purāṇic and Itihāsa literature.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is named in this verse; it is primarily cosmological and genealogical in focus.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Rather than a direct ethical injunction, the verse conveys a philosophical hierarchy of knowledge and origin—portraying Nārāyaṇa as the primordial teacher and framing the sages as foundational transmitters of cultural and intellectual tradition.