Varaha Purana 13.12 — Adhyaya 13, Shloka 12
The Genealogy of the Pitṛs and the Determination of Śrāddha Times
मां यजस्वेति तेनोक्तास्तदा ते परमेष्ठिना । आत्मनात्मानमेवाग्रे अयजन्त इति श्रुतिः ॥ १३.१२ ॥
māṁ yajasveti tenoktās tadā te parameṣṭhinā | ātmanātmānam evāgre ayajanta iti śrutiḥ || 13.12 ||
Bấy giờ, Parameṣṭhin (Đấng Tối Thượng an bài) phán với họ: “Hãy tế tự Ta.” Về điều ấy, śruti nói rằng thuở ban sơ, họ đã cử hành một lễ tế trong đó chính Ngã (Ātman) được Ngã dâng hiến cho Ngã.
Varāha (default speaker framework; explicit speaker not stated in the excerpt)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":true,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false,"speaker_role":"None","bhu_devi_state":"None","key_question":"None"}
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 (ritual-theory/cosmogonic śruti citation rather than prescriptive dharma rule).","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":"The primordial yajña is self-referential: the Absolute (Self) is both sacrificer and oblation; this underwrites Yajña-Varāha theology where creation is sustained by sacrificial order rooted in the Supreme.","yajna_varaha_imagery":"Not an explicit body-part mapping here; the key image is ‘ātmanā ātmanam’—Self offering Self—anticipating the Purāṇic idea that the Lord embodies yajña and its instruments.","vedantic_connection":"Advaitic/Upaniṣadic resonance: the Self as ultimate reality and agent; also Vaiṣṇava reading: Parameṣṭhin/Nārāyaṇa as the inner Self who empowers all yajñas, making sacrifice a participation in the divine."}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"ritual metaphysics","core_concept":"Yajña is ultimately grounded in the Self/Supreme: agency, offering, and recipient converge at the origin.","practical_application":"Perform ritual with inner consecration (bhāva): see offering and doer as instruments of the divine; cultivate self-surrender as the essence of sacrifice."}
Subject Matter: ["Cosmology","Vedic Intertextuality","Ritual Theory"]
Primary Rasa: śānta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: cosmological / metaphysical setting
Related Themes: Connects backward to Nārāyaṇa primacy (13.13.11) and forward to ritual/pitṛ discussions by grounding them in śruti
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A cosmic sacrificial scene: Parameṣṭhin commands ‘yajña to Me’; the first sages perform a primordial rite where the Self is both priest and offering—depicted as a luminous figure offering light into a cosmic fire.","item_prompts":["cosmic altar","sacrificial fire as radiant void","luminous ‘Self’ figure mirrored (doer/oblation)","Vedic implements (ladle, kuśa) as archetypes","śruti scroll/glow"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Symbolic, iconographic yajña scene with stylized fire and luminous central figure; restrained palette with sacred reds and deep greens; minimal literalism, more metaphysical symmetry.","tanjore_prompt":"Gold-dominant cosmic yajña; embossed fire and implements; central divine radiance; ornate aureoles suggesting śruti authority.","mysore_prompt":"Classical yajña depiction with refined implements and subtle cosmic background; emphasis on serene transcendence rather than dramatic action.","pahari_prompt":"Ethereal, poetic cosmic fire in a night-sky setting; delicate lines; mirrored self-figure motif to suggest ‘Self offering Self’."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"solemn, mystical, śruti-quoting","suggested_raga":"Todi","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"deep, steady, reverential"}
FAQs
It preserves a Purāṇic paraphrase of a Vedic-style formulation (śruti), showing how later Sanskrit narrative literature integrates and re-frames Vedic ritual language to explain origins and cosmic order.
No geographic location is named in this verse; the focus is cosmogonic and ritual-philosophical rather than topographical.
The verse foregrounds a philosophical model of offering and self-discipline: the act of yajña is framed as an inward, self-referential sacrifice (the Self offered by the Self), emphasizing interiorized responsibility rather than external compulsion.
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