Varaha Purana 113.28: Adhyaya 113, Shloka 28

Hymn to Varāha and Pṛthivī’s Inquiry

Prelude to the Sanatkumāra Dialogue

Devanagari script

गत्वा च शरणं देवी दैन्यं वदति माधवी ॥ प्रसीद मम देवेन्द्र मग्नाहं भारपीडिता

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 113.28

Transliteration

gatvā ca śaraṇaṃ devī dainyaṃ vadati mādhavī || prasīda mama devendra magnāhaṃ bhārapīḍitā

Translation

ثمّ مضت تلتمس الملجأ، فتتكلّم الإلهة—مادهافِي—في ضيق: «تلطّف بي يا سيّد الآلهة؛ لقد غُصتُ وغرقتُ، مثقلةً بوطأة الحمل».

Ask anything about this verse...Ask

Word by Word

• gatvā: having gone
• gatvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त), from √gam; ‘having gone’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चय)

• śaraṇam: refuge
• śaraṇam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; ‘refuge’

• devī: the goddess
• devī: Kartā (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• dainyam: misery / wretchedness
• dainyam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dainya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; object of ‘vadati’

• vadati: speaks
• vadati: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vad (धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), Parasmaipada, 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular

• mādhavī: Mādhavī
• mādhavī: Kartā (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mādhavī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; proper name/epithet

• prasīda: be gracious
• prasīda: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sad (धातु)
• Form: Imperative (लोट्), Parasmaipada, 2nd person (मध्यमपुरुष), Singular; from pra-√sad; ‘be gracious’

• mama: of me / my
• mama: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular; pronoun

• devendra: O lord of gods
• devendra: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष ‘indra of the gods’

• magnā: submerged / sunk
• magnā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: magna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; past passive participle sense ‘submerged/sunk’

• aham: I
• aham: Kartā (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; pronoun

• bhārapīḍitā: oppressed by burden
• bhārapīḍitā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhāra + pīḍita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; तृतीया-तत्पुरुष ‘afflicted by burden’ (bhāreṇa pīḍitā)

Speaker

Pṛthivī

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Vaishnavism
• Ecological Ethics
• Puranic Dialogue

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves a narrative idiom where Earth personified petitions for relief, a recurring Purāṇic strategy for articulating crisis and restoration.

Which geographic location is identified?

No specific location is named; the imagery is cosmic (Earth ‘sinking’ under burden) rather than regional.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse frames ‘burden’ as a moral-ecological problem requiring corrective care—an early narrative form of stewardship discourse.