Devanagari
अयं तु कथित: कल्पो द्वितीयस्यापि भारत ।
वाराह इति विख्यातो यत्रासीच्छूकरो हरि: ॥ ३७ ॥
Verse text
ayaṁ tu kathitaḥ kalpo
dvitīyasyāpi bhārata
vārāha iti vikhyāto
yatrāsīc chūkaro hariḥ
Synonyms
ayam
—
this
;
tu
—
but
;
kathitaḥ
—
known as
;
kalpaḥ
—
the current millennium
;
dvitīyasya
—
of the second half
;
api
—
certainly
;
bhārata
—
O descendant of Bharata
;
vārāhaḥ
—
Vārāha
;
iti
—
thus
;
vikhyātaḥ
—
is celebrated
;
yatra
—
in which
;
āsīt
—
appeared
;
śūkaraḥ
—
hog shape
;
hariḥ
—
the Personality of Godhead .
Translation
O descendant of Bharata, the first millennium in the second half of the life of Brahmā is also known as the Vārāha millennium because the Personality of Godhead appeared in that millennium as the hog incarnation.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
O Vidura! The first day in the second half of Brahmā’s life is called Vārāha-kalpa, during which Varāha appeared.
This verse describes the first day in the fifty-first year of Brahmā, in the second half of his life. The Pādma-kalpa (the previous day) is described in verses such as pādmaṁ kalpam atho śṛṇu (SB 2.10.47) and the verses after udāplutaṁ viśvam idaṁ (SB 3.8.10), with a description of a lotus in one ocean of water. The appearance of one Brahmā with no one else present is described in vilokya tatrānyad apaśyamānaḥ (SB 2.9.7) Thus, Brahmā did not see Sanaka and the others who live for the whole of Brahmā’s life.
Because of these verses, some have another explanation for the Pādma-kalpa.
They say that Mahaloka, Janaloka, Tapoloka and Satyloka, which remain without being destroyed until the end of the second half of his life, become covered with water at the end of the first half of Brahmā’s life (thus no planets or the great sages are not visible to Brahmā on the first day of his fifty-first year). Those who live till the end of Brahmā’s life on those planets enter into Nārāyaṇa along with Brahmā during the night at the end of the first half of Brahmā’s life. They say that the first day in the second half of Brahmā’s life (when he appears on a lotus and sees no planets and no sages) is called Śveta-vārāha or Pādma-kalpa. As well, in the next chapter it will be explained that Sanaka, Marīci and others appeared from Brahmā. This is similar to the Brahmā-kalpa. That day cannot be called Brāhma-kalpa since it comes after this description of the Pādma-kalpa.
In verse 36 of this chapter, describing Pādma-kalpa, the word ante can mean “at the end of the first day.” Thus the second day after Brahmā’s birth could be called the Pādma-kalpa. Ayam tu in this verse then means that the Pādma-kalpa is also a name for the Vārāha-kalpa, the first day in the second half of Brahmā’s life. It is called Vārāha-kalpa because Varāha avatāra appeared during that kalpa. The word api after dvitīyasya indicates that even the first kalpa of Brahmā’s life is called the Pādma-kalpa. This is the explanation of some persons. [Note: Thus Padma-kalpa can refer to the first or second day of Brahmā’s life, the last day of the fiftieth year of his life, or the first day of his fifty-first year.]
Purport
The different millenniums known as the Brāhma, Pādma and Vārāha
kalpas
appear a little puzzling for the layman. There are some scholars who think these
kalpas
to be one and the same. According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī, the Brāhma-kalpa in the beginning of the first half appears to be the Pādma-kalpa. We can, however, simply abide by the text and understand that the present millennium is in the second half of the duration of the life of Brahmā.