Varaha Purana 21.41: Adhyaya 21, Shloka 41

The Disruption of Dakṣa’s Sacrifice, the Hari-Hara Conflict, and the Establishment of Rudra’s Sacrificial Share

Pūrva Bhāga · Narrative of conflict with Yama’s forces (cosmic order and protection motifs)

Devanagari script

देवा रौद्राणि भूतानि निरसन्तो यमालयम् । चिक्षिपुः सायकान् घोरान् असिंश्च सपरश्वधान् ॥ २१.४२ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 21.41

Transliteration

devā raudrāṇi bhūtāni nirasanto yamālayam | cikṣipuḥ sāyakān ghorān asīṃś ca saparaśvadhān || 21.42 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

দেৱতাসকলে ৰৌদ্ৰ ভয়ংকৰ ভূতসমূহক আঁতৰাই যমালয়ৰ দিশে আগবাঢ়িল। তেওঁলোকে ঘোৰ শৰ নিক্ষেপ কৰি খড়্গ আৰু পৰশু প্ৰহাৰ কৰিলে।

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Word by Word

• देवाः: the gods
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन
• Role: कर्ता (Karta/कर्ता)
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)

• रौद्राणि: fierce
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (भूतानि)
• Role: कर्म (Karma/कर्म)
• Root: रौद्र (प्रातिपदिक)

• भूतानि: beings/spirits
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन
• Role: कर्म (Karma/कर्म)
• Root: भूत (प्रातिपदिक)

• निरसन्तः: driving away/repelling
• Type: Verb
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (शतृ/Present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोग (देवाः)
• Role: कर्ता (Karta/कर्ता)
• Root: नि-रस् (धातु)

• यम-आलयम्: Yama’s abode
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (यमस्य आलयः)
• Role: कर्म (Karma/कर्म)
• Root: यम (प्रातिपदिक) + आलय (प्रातिपदिक)

• चिक्षिपुः: threw
• Type: Verb
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद
• Role: क्रिया (Kriyā/क्रिया)
• Root: क्षिप् (धातु)

• सायकान्: arrows
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन
• Role: कर्म (Karma/कर्म)
• Root: सायक (प्रातिपदिक)

• घोरान्: terrible
• Type: Adjective
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (सायकान्)
• Role: कर्म (Karma/कर्म)
• Root: घोर (प्रातिपदिक)

• असीन्: swords
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन
• Role: कर्म (Karma/कर्म)
• Root: असि (प्रातिपदिक)

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक/conjunction)
• Role: समुच्चय (connector)
• Root: च (अव्यय)

• स-परश्वधान्: axes (together with)
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; सह-तत्पुरुष (परश्वधान् सहितान्)
• Role: कर्म (Karma/कर्म)
• Root: स (अव्यय/उपसर्गसदृश) + परश्वध (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• यमालयम् = यम-आलयम्
• असिंश्च = असीन् + च
• सपरश्वधान् = स-परश्वधान् (सह/with- prefix)

Speaker and setting

Vira and Raudra rasaSetting: Cosmic/otherworldly realm

Speaker

Varāha

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Cosmic order (ṛta) vs. adharma

Subjects

CosmologyEthicsMythic conflict narrative

Core idea

When disorder swells into ‘raudra’ forms, the guardians of dharma act collectively to re-establish balance, even entering liminal realms like Yama’s domain.

In practice

Resist adharma with disciplined courage and coordinated effort; do not confuse righteous protection with personal vendetta.

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Narrative
• Sanskrit Epic Style
• Indic Cosmology

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It exemplifies Purāṇic narrative style where cosmic order is dramatized through conflicts involving divine agents and liminal beings; such passages are useful for studying mythic idiom, martial vocabulary, and conceptions of Yama’s realm in early medieval Sanskrit literature.

Which geographic location is identified?

No terrestrial geographic site is named here; “Yamālaya” denotes Yama’s abode (a cosmological/otherworldly locus rather than a mapped earthly location).

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Implicitly, the verse frames the restoration of order through the restraint or removal of destructive forces; it presents protection of the moral-cosmic balance as a legitimizing rationale for force within the narrative.