Varaha Purana

श्रीवराह उवाच । सर्गश्च प्रतिसर्गश्च वंशो मन्वन्तराणि च । वंशानुचरितं चैव पुराणं पञ्चलक्षणम् ।। २.

Sri Varaha said: Creation, dissolution, genealogies, periods of Manus, and the accounts of dynasties—these five characteristics define a Purana.

आदिसर्गमहं तावत् कथयामि वरानने । यस्मादारभ्य देवानां राज्ञां चरितमेव च । ज्ञायते चतुरंशश्च परमात्मा सनातनः ।। २.

I shall first recount the primary creation, O radiant-faced one, from which the deeds of gods and kings begin to be known, and the eternal Supreme Soul is understood in fourfold aspects.

आदावहं व्योम महत् ततोऽणुं- रेकैव मत्तः प्रबभूव बुद्धिः । त्रिधा तु सा सत्त्वरजस्तमोभिः पृथक्पृथक्तत्त्वरूपैरुपेता ।। २.

At first, I was the great sky; then, from me, the subtle element arose—consciousness emerged as a single entity; that consciousness, divided threefold by sattva, rajas, and tamas, took on distinct forms of elements.

तस्मिंस्त्रिकेऽहं तमसो महान् स सदोच्यते सर्वविदां प्रधानः । उतस्मादपि क्षेत्रविदूर्जितोऽभूद् बभूव वुद्धिस्तु ततो बभूव ।। २.

In that triad, I am the darkness called 'mahat,' which is always named the chief by those who know all; from that, the knower of the field arose, and from that, intellect was born.

तस्मात्तु तेभ्यो श्रवणादिहेतवस् ततोऽक्षमाला जगतो व्यवस्थिता । भूतैर्गतैरेव च पिण्डमूर्ति- र्मया भद्रे विहिता त्वात्मनैव ।। २.

From those, the causes of hearing and so forth arose; then the chain of senses was established for the world; and by those elements, O blessed one, I fashioned the embodied form by my own self.

शून्यं त्वासीत् तत्र शब्दस्तु खं च तस्माद् वायुस्तत एवानु तेजः । तस्मादापस्तत एवानु देवि मया सृष्टा भवती भूतधात्री ।। २.

There was emptiness, sound, and space; from that arose air, then light; from that, water, and then, O goddess, you were created by me as the bearer of beings.

योगे पृथिव्या जलवत् ततोऽपि सबुद्बुदं कललं त्वण्डमेव । तस्मिन् प्रवृत्ते द्विगतेऽहमासी- दापोमयश्चात्मनात्मानमादौ ।। २.

On the earth, as in water, there appeared foam, then a lump, then an egg; when it was formed and split, I existed within it, composed of water, manifesting myself at the beginning.

सृष्ट्वा नारास्ता अथो तत्र चाहं येन स्यान्मे नाम नारायणेति । कल्पे कल्पे तत्र संयामि भूयः सुप्तस्य मे नाभिजः स्याद् यथाद्यः ।। २.

Having created the waters, I was present there; thus, my name became Nārāyaṇa, for I dwell in the waters; in every cycle, I return there again, and from my navel, as in the first time, arises one when I sleep.

एवंभूतस्य मे देवि नाभिपद्मे चतुर्मुखः । उत्तस्थौ स मया प्रोक्तः प्रजाः सृज महामते ।। २.

O goddess, from my navel-lotus, when I was thus, the four-faced one arose; I instructed him, 'Create the beings, O wise one.'

एवमुक्त्वा तिरोभावं गतोऽहं सोऽपि चिन्तयन् । आस्ते यावज्जगद्धात्रि नाध्यगच्छत किंचन ।। २.

Having spoken thus, I disappeared; he, pondering, remained, but as the sustainer of the world, he found nothing.

तावत् तस्य महारोषो ब्रह्मणोऽव्यक्तजन्मनः। संभूय तेन बालः स्यादङ्के रोषात्मसंभवः ।। २.

Then, great anger arose in Brahmā, the one born from the unmanifest; from that, a child appeared on his lap, born from his wrath.

यो रुदन् वारितस्तेन ब्रह्मणाऽव्यक्तमूर्त्तिना । ब्रवीति नाम मे देहि तस्य रुद्रेति सो ददौ ।। २.

That child, crying, was restrained by Brahmā, whose form was unmanifest; he said, 'Give me a name,' and Brahmā gave him the name Rudra.

सोऽपि तेन सृजस्वेति प्रोक्तो लोकमिमं शुभे । अशक्तः सोऽथ सलिले ममज्ज तपसे धृतः ।। २.

He too was told, 'Create this world, O auspicious one'; unable, he entered the waters, intent on austerity.

तस्मिन् सलिलमग्ने तु पुनरन्यं प्रजापतिम् । ब्रह्मा ससर्ज्ज भूतेषु दक्षिणाङ्गुष्ठतो वरम् । वामे चैव तथाऽङ्गुष्ठे तस्य पत्नीमथासृजत् ।। २.

Immersed in the waters, Brahmā then created another lord of creatures from his right thumb among beings; and likewise, from his left thumb, he created his wife.

स तस्यां जनयामास मनुं स्वायंभुवं प्रभुः । तस्मात् संभाविता सृष्टिः प्रजानां ब्रह्मणा पुरा ।। २.

In her, the lord begot Manu Svāyambhuva; thus, the creation of beings was accomplished by Brahmā in ancient times.

धरण्युवाच । विस्तरेण ममाचक्ष्व आदिसर्गं सुरेश्वर । ब्रह्मा नारायणाख्योऽयं कल्पादौ चाभवद् यथा ।। २.

The Earth said: Tell me in detail, O lord of gods, the original creation, and how Brahmā, called Nārāyaṇa, came to be at the beginning of the cycle.

श्रीभगवानुवाच । ससर्ज सर्वभूतानि यथा नारायणात्मकः । कथ्यमानं मया देवि तदशेषं क्षिते श्रृणु ।। २.

The Blessed Lord said: He created all beings as Nārāyaṇa; I shall tell you, O goddess, all of this as it happened, listen, O Earth.

गतकल्पावसाने तु निशि सुप्तोत्थितः शुभे । सत्त्वोद्रिक्तस्तथा ब्रह्मा शून्यं लोकमवैक्षत ।। २.

At the end of the past cycle, after waking from sleep at night, Brahmā, filled with sattva, saw the world as empty.

नारायणः परोऽचिन्त्यः पराणामपि पूर्वजः । ब्रह्मस्वरूपी भगवाननादिः सर्वसंभवः ।। २.

Nārāyaṇa is supreme, inconceivable, the ancestor even of the highest; the Blessed Lord, of the form of Brahmā, is beginningless and the source of all.

इदं चोदाहरन्त्यत्र श्लोकं नारायणं प्रति । ब्रह्मस्वरूपिणं देवं जगतः प्रभवाप्ययम् ।। २.

Here, they recite a verse about Nārāyaṇa: the god of the form of Brahmā is the origin and dissolution of the world.

आपो नारा इति प्रोक्ता आपो वै नरसूनवः । अयनं तस्य ताः पूर्वं तेन नारायणः स्मृतः ।। २.

The waters are called 'nārā'; the waters are indeed the offspring of Nara; their abode was first his, thus he is remembered as Nārāyaṇa.

सृष्टिं चिन्तयतस्तस्य कल्पादिषु यथा पुरा । अबुद्धिपूर्वकस्तस्य प्रादुर्भूतस्तमोमयः ।। २.

As he pondered creation at the beginning of the cycle, as before, there arose in him, without awareness, a manifestation composed of darkness.

तमो मोहो महामोहस्तामिस्त्रो ह्यन्धसंज्ञितः । अविद्या पञ्चपर्वैषा प्रादुर्भूता महात्मनः ।। २.

Darkness, delusion, great delusion, Tamisra, and what is called Andha—ignorance in five forms appeared in the great soul.

पञ्चधाऽवस्थितः सर्गो ध्यायतोऽप्रतिबोधवान् । बहिरन्तोऽप्रकाशश्च संवृतात्मा नगात्मकः । स मुख्यसर्गो विज्ञेयः सर्गविद्भिर्विचक्षणैः ।। २.

The creation established in fivefold form, while he was absorbed in meditation, was without conscious awareness; it was neither manifest outwardly nor inwardly, its nature concealed, consisting of immobile beings. This is to be known by the wise as the primary creation.

पुनरन्यदभूत् तस्य ध्यायतः सर्गमुत्तमम्। तिर्यक्स्त्रोतस्तु वै यस्मात् तिर्यक्स्त्रोतस्तु वै स्मृतः ।। २.

Then, as he continued to meditate, another, superior creation arose; because its current flows sideways, it is known as the 'tiryak-srotas' (lateral stream).

पश्वादयस्ते विख्याता उत्पथग्राहिणस्तु ते। तमप्यसाधकं मत्वा तिर्यक्स्त्रोतं चतुर्मुखः ।। २.

These, beginning with animals, are well known; they are led astray from the right path. Considering this 'tiryak-srotas' also as ineffective, the Four-Faced One (Brahma) regarded it thus.

ऊर्ध्वस्त्रोतस्त्रिधा यस्तु सात्त्विको धर्मवर्त्तनः । ततोर्ध्वचारिणो देवाः सर्वगर्भसमुद्भवाः ।। २.

The 'urdhva-srotas' (upward stream), which is threefold, is characterized by sattva and adherence to righteousness; from this arose the gods, who move upward and are born from all wombs.

तदा सृष्ट्वाऽन्यसर्गं तु तदा दध्यौ प्रजापतिः । असाधकांस्तु तान् मत्वा मुख्यसर्गादिसंभवान् ।। २.

Then, having created another creation, the Lord (Prajapati) again reflected; considering those originating from the primary creation and others as ineffective.

ततः स चिन्तयामास अर्वाक्स्त्रोतस्तु स प्रभुः । अर्वाक्स्त्रोतसि चोत्पन्ना मनुष्याः साधका मताः ।। २.

Then that Lord contemplated the 'arvāk-srotas' (downward stream); in the 'arvāk-srotas' arose humans, who are considered effective.