Varaha Purana - Adhyaya 67
Varaha PuranaAdhyaya 6710 Shlokas

Adhyaya 67: On the Two ‘Sita-Kṛṣṇā’ Figures, the Sevenfold Ocean, and the Twelvefold Year

Sitakṛṣṇā-dvividhatā, Samudra-saptatva, Saṃvatsara-dvādaśatva ca

Cosmology & Temporal-Ecology (Symbolic Exegesis)

Sa loob ng pagtuturo nina Varāha at Pṛthivī, isinasalaysay ang usapang Bhadrāśva–Agastya tungkol sa simbolikong kosmolohiya: bakit may dalawang Sitakṛṣṇā bilang magkaibang babae, paano ang iisa ay nagiging pito, at paano ang isa pa ay nagiging labindalawa habang “dalawang-katawan” at “anim-ulo.” Ipinaliwanag ni Agastya na ang Sitakṛṣṇā ay tumutukoy sa magkapares na prinsipyo (katotohanan/kasinungalingan) at iniuugnay din sa gabi; ang “isa na nagiging pito” ay ang karagatang inuunawa sa pitong ayos; at ang “labindalawa, dalawang-katawan, anim-ulo” ay ang saṃvatsara (taon), na may dalawang landas o galaw at anim na panahon bilang mga “mukha.” Inuugnay ng teksto ang araw–gabi at araw–buwan sa paglitaw at pag-aayos ng daigdig, at nagtatapos na ang pagkakilala kay Viṣṇu ay nangangailangan ng pakikibahagi sa mga ritong Vedic, bilang pag-iingat sa balanse ng kosmos at lupa sa pamamagitan ng takdang panahon at pagsasagawa.

Speakers

VarāhaPṛthivīBhadrāśvaAgastya

Key Concepts

Sitakṛṣṇā as satya/asatya (symbolic dualism)Rātri (night) as a cosmological principleSamudra as saptadhā (sevenfold ocean schema)Saṃvatsara as dvādaśadhā (twelvefold year)Ṛtavaḥ ṣaṭ (six seasons) as temporal structureAhorātra (day-night) and sūrya-candramas (sun-moon) as world-ordering forcesVeda-kriyā (Vedic ritual action) as prerequisite for perceiving the supreme
Recitation with translationVaraha Purana Adhyaya 67

Shlokas in Adhyaya 67

Verse 1

भद्राश्व उवाच । भगवन् सितकृष्णे द्वे भिन्ने जगति केशवान् । स्त्रियौ बभूवतुः के द्वे सितकृष्णा च का शुभा ॥ ६७.१ ॥

Sinabi ni Bhadrāśva: “O Mapalad na Panginoon, sa daigdig ay may dalawa—Sītā at Kṛṣṇā—na magkahiwalay, ngunit kaugnay ni Keśava. Sino ang dalawang babaeng iyon? At sino ang mapalad na tinatawag na Sītā-Kṛṣṇā?”

Verse 2

कश्चासौ पुरुषो ब्रह्मन् य एकः सप्तधा भवेत् । कोऽसौ द्वादशधा विप्र द्विदेहः षट्शिराः शुभः ॥ ६७.२ ॥

“Sino, O Brahmin, ang yaong Persona na bagama’t iisa ay nagiging pitong-anyo? At sino, O marunong na vipra, ang yaong (iisang prinsipyo) na nagiging labindalawa—dalawang-katawan, anim ang ulo—na mapalad?”

Verse 3

दाम्पत्यं च द्विजश्रेष्ठ कृतसूर्योदयादनम् । कस्मादेतज्जगदिदं विततं द्विजसत्तम ॥ ६७.३ ॥

“At tungkol din sa buhay mag-asawa, O pinakamainam sa mga dalawang-ulit na isinilang—kasama ang ritong isinasagawa sa pagsikat ng araw—bakit ang sanlibutang ito ay nakalatag at lumaganap nang ganito, O pinakadakila sa mga dalawang-ulit na isinilang?”

Verse 4

अगस्त्य उवाच । सितकृष्णे स्त्रियौ ये ते ते भगिन्यौ प्रकीर्तिते । सत्यासत्ये द्विवर्णा च नारी रात्रिरुदाहृता ॥ ६७.४ ॥

Sinabi ni Agastya: “Ang dalawang babaeng iyon—puti at itim—ay ipinahahayag na magkapatid na babae. Bilang katotohanan at di-katotohanan, at bilang may dalawang kulay, ang babaeng tinatawag na ‘Gabi’ ay inilalarawan nang gayon.”

Verse 5

यः पुमान् सप्तधा जात एको भूत्वा नरेश्वर । स समुद्रस्तु विज्ञेयः सप्तधैकॊ व्यवस्थितः ॥ ६७.५ ॥

O panginoon ng mga tao, ang iisang Persona na isinilang sa pitong anyo, bagama’t nananatiling isa—siya’y dapat maunawaang siyang “Karagatan,” iisa ngunit itinatag sa pitong paraan.

Verse 6

योऽसौ द्वादशधा राजन् द्विदेहः षट्शिराः प्रभुः । संवत्सरः स विज्ञेयः शरीरे द्वे गती स्मृते । ऋतवः षट् च वक्त्राणि एष संवत्सरः स्मृतः ॥ ६७.६ ॥

O Hari, ang makapangyarihang prinsipyong yaon na labindalawa ang anyo, may dalawang katawan at anim na ulo, ay dapat maunawaang “taon” (saṃvatsara). Sa katawan nito ay inaalala ang dalawang landas; at ang anim na panahon ay sinasabing anim na mukha nito—ganyan ang taon ayon sa paglalarawan.

Verse 7

दाम्पत्यं तदहोरात्रं सूर्याचन्द्रमसौ ततः । ततो जगत्समुत्तस्थौ देवस्यास्य नृपोत्तम ॥ ६७.७ ॥

Mula roon ay sumibol ang pagsasamang mag-asawa; mula roon ang araw at gabi; saka ang Araw at ang Buwan. Pagkaraan, lumitaw ang sanlibutan—O pinakadakilang hari—na pawang nauukol sa Diyos na ito.

Verse 8

स विष्णुः परमो देवो विज्ञेयो नृपसत्तम । न च वेदक्रियाहीनः पश्यते परमेश्वरम् ॥ ६७.८ ॥

O pinakadakilang hari, si Viṣṇu ay dapat makilalang siyang Kataas-taasang Diyos. At ang sinumang salat sa mga gawang-ritwal ng Veda ay hindi nakakakita sa Panginoong Kataas-taasan.

Verse 9

॥ इति वराहपुराणे भगवच्छास्त्रे सप्तषष्ठितमोऽध्यायः ॥ ६७ ॥

Sa gayon nagtatapos ang ika-animnapu’t pitong kabanata sa Varāha Purāṇa, ang banal na kasulatang ukol sa Mapalad na Panginoon.

Verse 10

|| Sa gayon, sa Varaha Purana, sa śāstra ng Bhagavan, nagwawakas ang ika-67 na kabanata ||

Inside Adhyaya 67

How it unfolds

  1. Where it opens

    Within the overarching Varāha–Pṛthivī instructional setting, the narrative briefly shifts into a subsidiary exchange: Bhadrāśva approaches Agastya with interpretive questions about puzzling cosmological images and personifications.

  2. Central event

    Bhadrāśva asks three linked riddles of symbolic cosmology: (1) why two figures named Sita–Kṛṣṇā appear as distinct women, (2) how a single entity becomes sevenfold, and (3) how another becomes twelvefold while being described as ‘two-bodied’ and ‘six-headed.’ Agastya answers by mapping each image to a structured correspondence: Sita–Kṛṣṇā as paired principles (satya/asatya) and as rātri (night); the ‘one becoming seven’ as the ocean conceived in a sevenfold schema; and the ‘twelvefold, two-bodied, six-headed’ as saṃvatsara (the year) organized by dual courses/motions and six seasons as its ‘faces.’

  3. Climax resolution

    The explanation culminates in a time-cosmology synthesis: ahorātra (day–night) and the sūrya–candramas (sun–moon) are presented as ordering forces through which the world’s emergence and stability are intelligible. The ethical-theological resolution is that true realization of the supreme principle (Viṣṇu) is inseparable from veda-kriyā—disciplined Vedic ritual action aligned to temporal order.

Geographical context

No explicit toponyms are stated in this adhyāya. The chapter operates in a macro-cosmological register, referencing ecological-cosmic domains such as samudra (ocean) and temporal/seasonal cycles (ṛtavaḥ) rather than named pilgrimage sites or river systems.

Ritual instructions

  • Primary RitualVeda-kriyā (Vedic ritual discipline) aligned to temporal cycles (ahorātra/saṃvatsara)
  • BenefitCognitive and devotional alignment with cosmic order: the practitioner becomes fit to ‘see’/realize the supreme principle (Viṣṇu) by harmonizing conduct with regulated time and established ritual norms.

The narrative frame

  • Agastya (within a subsidiary dialogue nested in the Varāha–Pṛthivī pedagogical frame)Bhadrāśva · Didactic, exegetical, riddle-resolving (symbolic cosmology explained through correspondences)

The emotional journey

  • Dominant RasaŚānta (contemplative clarity)
  • Emotional ProgressionPerplexity at paradoxical images → interpretive illumination through structured correspondences → settled conviction that cosmic order is accessed through disciplined ritual-time alignment.

Planning a pilgrimage

  • Visit FeasibilityNot applicable as a site-specific tirtha chapter; content is macro-cosmological and interpretive rather than geographically anchored.

Frequently Asked Questions

The text frames cosmic order as intelligible through disciplined practice: it states that perceiving the supreme principle (identified with Viṣṇu) is not accessible to one who is deficient in Vedic rites (veda-kriyā). In a neutral scholarly reading, this functions as a norm of maintaining order—personal and societal—by aligning conduct with established ritual-temporal frameworks.

The chapter emphasizes ahorātra (day–night) and the saṃvatsara (year) structured as dvādaśadhā (twelvefold). It explicitly names the six seasons (ṛtavaḥ ṣaṭ) as integral to the year’s structure. No specific lunar tithis are mentioned in this passage.

Environmental balance is implied through the ordering of nature by time: the ocean is conceptualized as sevenfold (a way of classifying ecological space), while the year is defined through cyclical divisions and seasons. By linking world-emergence and stability to regulated cycles (sun–moon, day–night, seasons), the text can be read as presenting an early model of terrestrial stewardship grounded in respecting and maintaining temporal-ecological rhythms.

The chapter names Bhadrāśva (a royal interlocutor) and Agastya (a prominent sage figure) as the immediate participants in the explanatory exchange. No extended dynastic genealogy is provided within the cited verses.

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