Varaha Purana 2.38: Adhyaya 2, Shloka 38

Cosmogony and the Ninefold Creation: Rudra’s Origin and the Prelude to the Sāvitrī–Veda Narrative

Devanagari script

तथोर्ध्वस्रोतसां श्रेष्ठः सप्तमः स तु मानवः । अष्टमोऽनुग्रहः सर्गः सात्त्विकस्तामसश्च सः ॥ २.३७ ॥

Sanskrit recitationVaraha Purana 2.38

Transliteration

tathordhvasrotasāṃ śreṣṭhaḥ saptamaḥ sa tu mānavaḥ | aṣṭamo’nugrahaḥ sargaḥ sāttvikastāmasaś ca saḥ || 2.37 ||

Translation

ดังนี้ในหมู่สัตว์ผู้มีกระแส ‘ไหลขึ้น’ (อูรธวสโรตัส) ลำดับที่เจ็ดและประเสริฐที่สุดคือมนุษย์ สรรค์ที่แปดคืออนุเคราะห์สรรค์ (อนุครหะสรรค์) ซึ่งมีลักษณะทั้งสัตตวะและตมัส.

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Word by Word

• tathā: thus/so
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connecting adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• ūrdhva-srotasām: of the upward-streaming beings
• ūrdhva-srotasām: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ūrdhva (प्रातिपदिक) + srotas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (लिङ्ग: पुं/नपुं; srotas is commonly neuter), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन)

• śreṣṭhaḥ: the best
• śreṣṭhaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण of sa/mānavaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• saptamaḥ: seventh
• saptamaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण of sa/mānavaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saptama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• saḥ: he/that (one)
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), particle (निपात), contrast/emphasis

• mānavaḥ: man/human
• mānavaḥ: Karta (कर्ता; in apposition to saḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• aṣṭamaḥ: eighth
• aṣṭamaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण of sargaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aṣṭama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• anugrahaḥ: favor/grace
• anugrahaḥ: Samānādhikaraṇa (समानाधिकरण; predicate noun for sargaḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anugraha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• sargaḥ: creation/emanation
• sargaḥ: Karta (कर्ता; topic/subject: the creation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• sāttvikaḥ: sattvic
• sāttvikaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण of sargaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sāttvika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• tāmasaḥ: tamasic
• tāmasaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण of sargaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tāmasa (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक)

• saḥ: that/it
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता; resumptive: that one/it)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Varāha

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Cosmology
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Sāṃkhya-influenced Terminology

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It reflects a Purāṇic habit of systematizing creation (sarga) into numbered categories, using philosophical vocabulary (e.g., sattva/tamas) that overlaps with classical Indian cosmological and psychological frameworks.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is named in this verse; it is a classificatory statement about types of beings and modes of creation.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Rather than a direct ethical injunction, the verse frames humans as a ‘foremost’ category within a cosmological hierarchy, which later Purāṇic contexts often connect to heightened responsibility in conduct and discernment.