Varaha Purana 35.10: Adhyaya 35, Shloka 10
The Account of Soma’s Decline and Restoration, and the Paurṇamāsī Observance
तानुवाच तदा देवो मथ्यतां कलशोदधिः । ओषध्यः सर्वतो देवाः प्रक्षिप्याशु सुसंयतैः ॥ ३५.१० ॥
tān uvāca tadā devo mathyatāṃ kalaśodadhiḥ | oṣadhyaḥ sarvato devāḥ prakṣipyāśu susaṃyataiḥ || 35.10 ||
แล้วเทพเจ้าตรัสว่า “จงกวนมหาสมุทรแห่งหม้อ (กะลศ-สมุทร) เถิด เหล่าเทพทั้งหลาย จงโปรยสมุนไพรจากทุกทิศโดยเร็ว ด้วยความสำรวม”
Varāha (default instructor-voice in the Varāha–Pṛthivī dialogue framework; explicit 'devaḥ' in verse)
How can Soma be restored—what concrete cosmic-ritual procedure should be performed?
For a cosmic deficit, perform a disciplined, collective remedial rite: churn the ocean and add healing herbs with restraint (saṃyama).
Disciplined cooperation and right means yield restoration and healing; undisciplined action risks further imbalance in the cosmic body (ocean/ecology).
The ocean-churning functions as an inner and outer yajña: the 'kalasa-udadhi' becomes the ritual vessel of transformation, and herbs represent sattvic inputs that transmute poison into nectar/medicine.
Ocean as mahā-kalaśa (ritual pot); herbs as āhuti (offerings); churning as manthana (yajñic friction) producing restorative Soma.
Suggests that restoration comes by right method (upāya) and purification of inputs; aligns with the idea that sattva (saumya) emerges when rajas/tamas are disciplined by saṃyama.
Ends (restoration) require purified means: disciplined action and wholesome inputs (herbs) transform the world.
In crisis-response, combine collective effort with restraint and healing resources; avoid impulsive remedies that ignore ecological/ethical inputs.
35.35.12 (churning yields Soma); 35.35.13 (Soma’s deeper identity as kṣetrajña/jīva)
FAQs
It preserves a Purāṇic cosmogonic motif—ritualized 'churning'—where natural substances (oṣadhis) function as cosmological resources, reflecting how classical Sanskrit literature links environment, medicine, and mythic origins.
No specific terrestrial location is named here; the reference is to a mythic-cosmological setting, the 'kalaśodadhi' (ocean associated with a jar/pot), rather than a mapped pilgrimage site.
The verse foregrounds disciplined restraint (susaṃyata) and careful use of natural resources (oṣadhis), aligning the narrative with a broader philosophical instruction of regulated action in transformative undertakings.
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