Varaha Purana 13.20 — Adhyaya 13, Shloka 20
The Genealogy of the Pitṛs and the Determination of Śrāddha Times
प्रभावं च महर्द्धिं च विस्तरेण निबोध मे । धर्ममूर्तिधरास्तेषां त्रयोऽन्ये परमा गणाः । तेषां नामानि लोकांश्च कीर्तयिष्यामि तच्छृणु ॥ १३.२० ॥
prabhāvaṃ ca maharddhiṃ ca vistareṇa nibodha me | dharmamūrtidharās teṣāṃ trayo'nye paramā gaṇāḥ | teṣāṃ nāmāni lokāṃś ca kīrtayiṣyāmi tac chṛṇu || 13.20 ||
Matutuhan mo mula sa akin, nang masinsinan, ang kanilang kapangyarihan at dakilang kasaganaan. Sa kanila ay may tatlo pang kataas-taasang pangkat, mga tagapagdala ng Dharma na may anyo. Isasalaysay ko ang kanilang mga pangalan at mga daigdig—pakinggan mo.
Varāha (default dialogue framework: instructor addressing Pṛthivī)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":true,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"Varāha promises detailed exposition to Earth: influence, prosperity, and dharma-bearing groups and their worlds."}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"curious","key_question":"What are the powers (prabhāva), prosperities (maharddhi), names, and lokas of these dharma-embodied supreme gaṇas?"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":false,"topic":"None","instruction_summary":"None","karmic_consequence":"None"}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false,"vrata_name":"None","tithi_month":"None","promised_fruit":"None"}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":true,"symbolic_interpretation":"Varāha’s teaching frames dharma as an embodied cosmic principle (dharma-mūrti), suggesting that moral order is ontologically real and world-generative.","yajna_varaha_imagery":"Implicit: dharma as ‘body’ parallels yajña’s structured limbs—order, measure, and right performance sustaining prosperity (ṛddhi).","vedantic_connection":"Dharma as expression of ṛta/īśvara-niyati: ethical order is not merely social but woven into cosmic hierarchy and loka-allocation."}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"ethico-cosmology","core_concept":"Dharma is ‘embodied’ in higher orders of beings; their prabhāva/ṛddhi and lokas reflect alignment with dharma.","practical_application":"Pursue dharma not only as rule-following but as attunement to cosmic order; prosperity is portrayed as downstream of dharmic embodiment."}
Subject Matter: ["Cosmology","Ethics","Taxonomy of beings (gaṇa)"]
Primary Rasa: śānta
Secondary Rasa: vīra
Type: celestial taxonomy
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 13.13.21-22 (Santānakā lokas; Vairājas as Virāja’s progeny; deities worship them)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Varāha speaks with solemn authority, indicating that he will detail prabhāva and maharddhi; behind him appear three luminous ‘dharma-bodied’ gaṇas as archetypal figures.","item_prompts":["Varāha teaching gesture (vyākhyāna mudrā)","Bhu Devī attentive posture","three radiant groups/figures labeled symbolically as dharma-mūrti","scroll/inscription motif indicating ‘names and worlds’"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: bold outlines; Varāha and Bhu Devī in dialogue; three stacked luminous registers for the ‘parama gaṇāḥ’; ornamental script bands.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: gold-leaf emphasis on ‘mahā-ṛddhi’ radiance; three embossed halos behind representing the supreme groups; rich jewelry and textiles.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: elegant courtly discourse; subtle depiction of three groups as faint celestial silhouettes; emphasis on calm pedagogy.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: sparse, poetic; Varāha and Earth on a hill/cloud; three distant shining peaks/orbs as metaphor for ‘parama gaṇāḥ’."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"majestic-didactic","suggested_raga":"Kedar","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"deep, confident, slightly expansive on ‘prabhāva’ and ‘maharddhi’"}
FAQs
It reflects a common Purāṇic cataloguing style in which cosmological classes (gaṇas) and their associated realms (lokas) are enumerated, supporting the text’s broader encyclopedic and didactic function.
No specific terrestrial location is named in this verse; it refers instead to lokas (realms/worlds) in a cosmological sense.
The verse frames dharma as something embodied and upheld by exemplary groups, emphasizing attentive listening and learning as the means to understand moral-cosmological order.
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