Varaha Purana 21.6: Adhyaya 21, Shloka 6
The Disruption of Dakṣa’s Sacrifice, the Hari-Hara Conflict, and the Establishment of Rudra’s Sacrificial Share
Pūrva Bhāga · Tapas and Creation (Ascetic Power Narratives)
तपोऽर्थित्वं तपोहीनः स्रष्टुं शक्नोति न प्रजाः । एवं चिन्त्य जले मग्नस्ततो रुद्रः प्रतापवान् ॥ २१.७ ॥
tapo'rthitvaṃ tapohīnaḥ sraṣṭuṃ śaknoti na prajāḥ | evaṃ cintya jale magnas tato rudraḥ pratāpavān || 21.7 ||
taporthitvaM tapohInaH straShTuM shaknoti na prajAH | evaM chintya jale magnastato rudraH pratApavAn || 21.7 ||
Ang sinumang salat sa disiplina ng tapas, kahit naghahangad ng bunga ng pag-austeridad, ay hindi makalilikha ng mga nilalang. Sa pagninilay na gayon, ang makapangyarihang Rudra ay lumubog sa tubig.
Sandhi Notes
- तपोऽर्थित्वम् = तपः + अर्थित्वम्
- तपोहीनः = तपः + हीनः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)
Varāha
Adhikāra arises from tapas; outcomes require inner qualification, not mere longing (phala-arthitva).
Undertake vows, study, or leadership only after cultivating discipline; align desire with sustained practice (abhyāsa) and restraint.
Tapas is presented as a necessary inner qualification for effective creation/undertaking; mere desire for results without discipline is fruitless.
Cultivating tapas yields capacity and order (siddhi/śakti for one’s aims); lacking it leads to incapacity and stagnation despite desire.
Varāha–Pṛthivī dialogue: creation sequence motifs in adjacent sarga passages
FAQs
It reflects a common Purāṇic ethical-cosmological idea: disciplined austerity (tapas) is presented as a prerequisite for legitimate creative agency, a theme widespread in early Sanskrit narrative literature.
No explicit geographic place-name appears in this verse; the setting is described generically as 'water' (jala), a cosmological motif rather than a mapped terrestrial location.
The verse emphasizes that aspiration alone is insufficient; sustained discipline and self-cultivation (tapas) are portrayed as necessary conditions for responsible creation or generative action.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Varaha Purana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
