Varaha Purana

अन्यच्च ते वरं दद्मि श्रृणु नारद साम्प्रतम् । यदिदं पञ्चरात्रं मे शास्त्रं परमदुर्लभम् । तद्भवान् वेत्स्यते सर्वं मत्प्रसादान्न संशयः ।। ६६.

And now I grant you another boon, Narada—listen: by my grace, you shall know all of this Pancharatra, my exceedingly rare scripture; there is no doubt.

वेदेन पञ्चरात्रेण भक्त्या यज्ञेन च द्विज । प्राप्योऽहं नान्यथा वत्स वर्षकोट्यायुतैरपि ।। ६६.

O twice-born, I am to be attained only through the Veda, the Pañcarātra, devotion, and sacrifice—not otherwise, even in ten million years, dear one.

एवमुक्त्वा स भगवान् नारदं परमेश्वरः । जगामादर्शनं सद्यो नारदोऽपि ययौ दिवम् ।। ६६.

Having spoken thus, the Blessed Lord, Supreme Ruler, became invisible to Nārada at once; and Nārada too went to heaven.

भद्राश्व उवाच । भगवन् सितकृष्णे द्वे भिन्ने जगति केशवान् । स्त्रियौ बभूवतुः के द्वे सितकृष्णा च का शुभा ।। ६७.

Bhadrāśva said: O Lord, who are the two women, one white and one black, said to be separate in the world, O Keśava? Who are these two women, and who is the auspicious one called white and black?

कश्चासौ पुरुषो ब्रह्मन् य एकः सप्तधा भवेत् । कोऽसौ द्वादशधा विप्र द्विदेहः षट्शिराः शुभः ।। ६७.

And who is that man, O Brāhmaṇa, who becomes one and then sevenfold? Who is that twice-bodied, six-headed, twelvefold lord, O excellent one?

दम्पत्यं च द्विजश्रेष्ठ कृतसूर्योदयादनम् । कस्मादेतज्जगदिदं विततं द्विजसत्तम ।। ६७.

O best of twice-born, what is the union of husband and wife, and the eating after sunrise? Why is this world so spread out, O best of Brāhmaṇas?

अगस्त्य उवाच । सितकृष्णे स्त्रियौ ये ते ते भगिन्यौ प्रकीर्तिते । सत्यासत्ये द्विवर्णा च नारी रात्रिरुदाहृता ।। ६७.

Agastya said: The two women, one white and one black, are said to be sisters; night is declared to be the woman of two colors, representing truth and untruth.

यः पुमान् सप्तधा जात एको भूत्वा नरेश्वर । स समुद्रस्तु विज्ञेयः सप्तधैको व्यवस्थितः ।। ६७.

That man who, being one, is born sevenfold, O lord of men, is to be understood as the ocean, existing as one in seven forms.

योऽसौ द्वादशधा राजन् द्विदेहः षट्शिराः प्रभुः । संवत्सरः स विज्ञेयः शरीरे द्वे गती स्मृते । ऋतवः षट् च वक्त्राणि एष संवत्सरः स्मृतः ।। ६७.

That lord who is twelvefold, with two bodies and six faces, is to be known as the year; the two bodies are the two courses, and the six mouths are the six seasons—thus is the year remembered.

दम्पत्यं तदहोरात्रं सूर्याचन्द्रमसौ ततः । ततो जगत् समुत्तस्थौ देवस्यास्य नृपोत्तम ।। ६७.

That union of husband and wife is day and night; from them, the sun and moon arose, and from them, O best of kings, this world came forth.

स विष्णुः परमो देवो विज्ञेयो नृपसत्तम । न च वेदक्रियाहीनः पश्यते परमेश्वरम् ।। ६७.

That Viṣṇu, the supreme god, is to be known, O best of kings; and one without Vedic rites does not behold the Supreme Lord.

भद्राश्व उवाच । योऽसौ परापरो देवो विष्णुः सर्वगतो मुने । चतुर्युगे त्वसौ कीदृग् विज्ञेयः परमेश्वरः ।। ६८.

Bhadrāśva said: O sage, that supreme and non-supreme god Viṣṇu, who is all-pervading—how is he to be understood in each of the four ages, O Supreme Lord?

युगे युगे क आचारो वर्णानां भविता मुने । कथं च शुद्धिर्विप्राणामन्यस्त्रीसंकरैर्मुने ।। ६८.

In each age, what will be the conduct of the castes, O sage? And how will the purity of Brāhmaṇas be, when there is intermixture with other women, O sage?

अगस्त्य उवाच । कृते युगे मही देवैर्भुज्यते वेदकर्मणा । यजद्भिरसुरैस्त्रेतां तद्वद् देवैश्च सत्तम ।। ६८.

Agastya said: In the Kṛta age, the earth is enjoyed by the gods through Vedic rites; in the Tretā age, it is likewise enjoyed by those who perform sacrifices and by the gods, O excellent one.

द्वापरे सत्त्वरजसी बहुले नृपसत्तम । यावद् धर्मसुतो राजा भविष्यति महामते ।। ६८.

In the Dvāpara age, O best of kings, when sattva and rajas are predominant, as long as the king who is the son of Dharma exists, O wise one.

ततस्तमः प्रभविता कलिरूपो नरेश्वर । तस्मिन् कलौ वर्त्तमाने स्वमार्गाच्च्यवते द्विजः ।। ६८.

Then, darkness will prevail in the form of Kali, O lord of men; and in that Kali age, the twice-born will deviate from their own path.

राजानो वैश्यशूद्राश्च प्रायशो हीनजातयः । भविष्यन्ति नृपश्रेष्ठ सत्यशौचविवर्जिताः ।। ६८.

Kings, Vaiśyas, and Śūdras will mostly be of low birth, O best of kings, devoid of truth and purity.

अगम्यागमनं तत्र करिष्यन्ति द्विजातयः । अनृतं च वदिष्यन्ति वेदमार्गबहिष्कृताः । विवाहांश्च करिष्यन्ति सगोत्रानसमांस्तथा ।। ६८.

There, the twice-born will approach the unapproachable, will speak falsehood, will be excluded from the Vedic path, and will marry those of the same lineage and those not equal as well.

राजानो ब्राह्मणान् हिंस्युर्वित्तलोभान्विताः शठाः । अन्त्यजा अपि वैश्यत्वं करिष्यन्ति पणे रताः । अभिमानिनो भविष्यन्ति शूद्रजातिषु गर्विताः ।। ६८.

Kings, greedy for wealth and deceitful, will harm Brāhmaṇas; even outcastes will assume the status of Vaiśyas, delighting in trade; and those of Śūdra birth will become proud and arrogant.

सर्वाशिनो भविष्यन्ति ब्राह्मणाः शौचवर्जिताः । सुरा पेयमिति प्राहुः सत्यशौचविवर्जिताः ।। ६८.

Brahmins will become all-consuming, devoid of purity; they will declare that drinking liquor is permitted, lacking both truthfulness and cleanliness.

ततो विनश्यते लोको वर्णधर्मश्च नश्यते ।। ६८.

Then the world will perish, and the duties of the social orders will be destroyed.

भद्राश्व उवाच । अगम्यागमनं कृत्वा ब्राह्मणः क्षत्रियोऽपि वा । शूद्रोऽपि शुद्ध्यते केन किं वाऽगम्यं तु शंस मे ।। ६८.

Bhadrāśva said: If a Brahmin, or even a Kshatriya, commits intercourse with a forbidden woman, or a Shudra does so—by what means is he purified? And what women are considered forbidden? Tell me.

अगस्त्य उवाच । चातुर्गामी भवेद् विप्रस् त्रिगामी क्षत्रियो भवेत् । द्विगामी तु भवेद् वैश्यः शूद्र एकगमः स्मृतः ।। ६८.

Agastya said: A Brahmin may go to four kinds of women, a Kshatriya to three, a Vaishya to two, and a Shudra is said to have access to only one.

अगम्यां ब्राह्मणीं प्राहुः क्षत्रियस्य नरेश्वर । क्षत्राणीं चैव वैश्यस्य वैश्यां शूद्रस्य पार्थिव । अधमस्योत्तमा नारी अगम्या मनुरब्रवीत् ।। ६८.

The wife of a Brahmin is forbidden for a Kshatriya, O lord of men; the wife of a Kshatriya is forbidden for a Vaishya, and the wife of a Vaishya for a Shudra, O king. Manu has declared that a woman of a higher class is forbidden to a man of a lower class.

माता मातृष्वसा श्वश्रूर्भातृपत्नी च पार्थिव । स्नुषा च दुहिता चैव मित्रपत्नी स्वगोत्रजा ।। ६८.

Mother, maternal aunt, mother-in-law, brother’s wife, daughter-in-law, daughter, friend’s wife, and a woman of one’s own lineage—

राजजायाऽऽत्मजा चैव अगम्या मुख्यतः स्त्रियः । रजकादिषु चान्याश्च स्त्रियोऽगम्याः प्रकीर्तिताः । अगम्यागमनं चैतत् कृतं पापाय जायते ।। ६८.

The wife or daughter of a king, and other women such as washerwomen and so on, are chiefly considered forbidden. Intercourse with such women is declared to be sinful.

वियोनिगमनायाशु ब्राह्मणाय भवत्यलम् । शेषस्य शुद्धिरेषैव प्राणायामशतं भवेत् ।। ६८.

For a Brahmin, intercourse with a woman outside his caste brings grave impurity; for others, purification is achieved by performing a hundred breath-control exercises.

बहुनाऽपि हि कालेन यत् पापं समुपार्जितम् । वर्णसंकरसंगत्या ब्राह्मणेन नरर्षभ ।। ६८.

Even after a long time, whatever sin is accumulated by a Brahmin through association with mixed castes, O best of men—

दशप्रणवगायत्रीं प्राणायामशतैस्त्रिभिः । मुच्यते ब्रह्महत्यायाः किं पुनः शेषपातकैः ।। ६८.

By reciting the Gayatri with ten Pranava syllables, and performing three hundred breath-control exercises, one is freed even from the sin of killing a Brahmin—how much more so from lesser sins.