Varaha Purana 136.8: Adhyaya 136, Shloka 8

A Sūtra-like Manual of Expiations for Ritual Transgressions

Devanagari script

संसारशोधनं चैव यत्कृत्वा लभते शुभम् ॥ श्मशानं यो नरो गत्वा अस्नात्वैव तु मां स्पृशेत्

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 136.8

Transliteration

saṁsāra-śodhanaṁ caiva yat kṛtvā labhate śubham | śmaśānaṁ yo naro gatvā asnātvaiva tu māṁ spṛśet ||

Translation

Und dies ist ebenfalls eine Reinigung vom Saṃsāra; wer es vollzieht, erlangt Heil: wenn ein Mann, nachdem er zum Verbrennungsplatz gegangen ist, Mich berührt, ohne gebadet zu haben…

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Word by Word

• saṁsāra: worldly existence

• śodhanam: purification/cleansing

• ca eva: and indeed

• yat: which

• kṛtvā: having done

• labhate: obtains

• śubham: auspiciousness/well-being

• śmaśānam: cremation-ground

• yaḥ: who

• naraḥ: man/person

• gatvā: having gone

• asnātva: without bathing

• eva: indeed

• tu: but

• mām: me (Earth, in dialogue)

• spṛśet: would touch

Speaker

Varāha (addressing Pṛthivī; “mām” contextually refers to Earth as the touched entity)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Vaishnavism
• Ritual Purity
• Sacred/Boundary Spaces

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It highlights cremation-grounds (śmaśāna) as ritually sensitive boundary spaces, preserving social-ritual norms around impurity, bathing, and contact—common concerns in Dharma and Purāṇic corpora.

Which geographic location is identified?

The term ‘śmaśāna’ denotes a cremation-ground as a type of place rather than a named site; no specific toponym is provided.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

That contact after visiting impurity-marked spaces should be preceded by cleansing (bathing), framing purity as a disciplined practice linked to well-being.