Varaha Purana 113.24: Adhyaya 113, Shloka 24

Hymn to Varāha and Pṛthivī’s Inquiry

Prelude to the Sanatkumāra Dialogue

Pūrva Bhāga · Philosophical Inquiry (Problem of Divine Action and Creation)

Devanagari script

न च जानाम्यहं देव तव किंचिद्विचेष्टितम् ॥ उद्धृत्य मां कथं देव सृजसे किंच कारणम्

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 113.24

Transliteration

na ca jānāmyahaṃ deva tava kiṃcidviceṣṭitam || uddhṛtya māṃ kathaṃ deva sṛjase kiṃca kāraṇam

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

اے دیو، میں تیری کسی خاص لیلا کو نہیں جانتا۔ مجھے اٹھا لینے کے بعد، اے دیو، تو پھر کیسے سِرجن کرتا ہے اور کس سبب سے؟

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Word by Word

• na: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), negation particle (निषेध-निपात)
• Role: Pratiṣedha (निषेध)
• Root: na (अव्यय)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), conjunction (समुच्चय)
• Role: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Root: ca (अव्यय)

• jānāmi: I know
• Type: Verb
• Form: Present (लट्), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 1st person (उत्तमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: √jñā (धातु)

• aham: I
• Type: Noun
• Form: Pronoun (अस्मद्), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Kartā (कर्ता/Subject)
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• deva: O god
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Address)
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)

• tava: your
• Type: Noun
• Form: Pronoun (युष्मद्), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठीसम्बन्ध/Possessor)
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• kiṃcit: anything
• Type: Noun
• Form: Indefinite pronoun (किम्), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Root: kiṃcid (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• vi-ceṣṭitam: (your) activity / deed
• Type: Noun
• Form: Past passive participle used as noun (क्त), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); object complement to ‘jānāmi’
• Role: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Root: vi-√ceṣṭ (धातु) → viceṣṭita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)

• uddhṛtya: having lifted up
• Type: Verb
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय; ल्यप्), ‘having lifted up’
• Role: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Root: ud-√hṛ (धातु)

• mām: me
• Type: Noun
• Form: Pronoun (अस्मद्), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• katham: how
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), interrogative adverb (प्रश्न-क्रियाविशेषण)
• Role: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Root: katham (अव्यय)

• deva: O god
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Address)
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)

• sṛjase: you create / you send forth
• Type: Verb
• Form: Present (लट्), Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद), 2nd person (मध्यमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: √sṛj (धातु)

• kiṃ: what
• Type: Noun
• Form: Interrogative pronoun (किम्), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); used adverbially with ‘kāraṇam’ = ‘what (as) cause?’
• Role: Karma/Prayojana-praśna (कर्म/प्रयोजन-प्रश्न)
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), particle (निपात)
• Role: Samuccaya/Emphasis (समुच्चय/निपात)
• Root: ca (अव्यय)

• kāraṇam: cause / reason
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Root: kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• jānāmyahaṃ → jānāmi + aham
• kiṃcidviceṣṭitam → kiṃcit + vi-ceṣṭitam
• kiṃca → kiṃ + ca

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Shanta rasaSetting: Cosmogonic space

Speaker

Pṛthivī

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

She asks

Her state of mind

Curious, intellectually unsettled; seeking causal explanation after being rescued

What she asks

Why, after lifting me up, do you create again—how does this process work, and what is the reason (kāraṇa) behind it?

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Cosmology / causation

Subjects

CosmologyPhilosophyEthics

Core idea

The Lord’s ‘workings’ (viceṣṭita) transcend ordinary cognition; creation is purposeful within cosmic cycles, not arbitrary.

In practice

Approach cosmological and life-events with inquiry and humility; seek coherent dharmic meaning rather than assuming randomness.

The Varaha avatara

Aspect

Dialogue

With the Earth

Direct address to the Lord who ‘lifted me up’ (uddhṛtya mām)—explicitly recalling Varāha’s raising of Earth and questioning the subsequent act of creation.

Symbolism of the boar

Mathura and Krishna

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Vaishnavism
• Indian Philosophy
• Cosmogony

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It exemplifies the Purāṇic mode of embedding philosophical inquiry—especially causality and cosmogenesis—within narrative dialogue.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is specified; the verse is conceptual, focused on causality and process.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

It models reflective inquiry: authority is approached through questioning aimed at understanding purpose and consequence.