Varaha Purana 187.3: Adhyaya 187, Shloka 3

Determination of the Origin and Procedure of the Ancestral Offering

Pitṛyajña/Śrāddha

Devanagari script

पितृयज्ञस्य माहात्म्यं सोमदत्तो नराधिपः ॥ मृगयां समुपागम्य यत्त्वया पूर्वभाषितम् ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 187.3

Transliteration

pitṛyajñasya māhātmyaṁ somadatto narādhipaḥ || mṛgayāṁ samupāgamya yat tvayā pūrvabhāṣitam ||

Translation

Was die Größe des Pitṛyajña betrifft: Ich meine das, was du zuvor über König Somadatta, den Herrscher der Menschen, erzählt hast, als er zur Jagd aufbrach.

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Word by Word

• pitṛ-yajñasya: of the ancestral sacrifice
• pitṛ-yajñasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + yajña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘पितॄणां यज्ञः’

• māhātmyam: greatness; glory
• māhātmyam: Karma/Topic (कर्म/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māhātmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• somadattaḥ: Somadatta
• somadattaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: somadatta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• narādhipaḥ: king; lord of men
• narādhipaḥ: Apposition (विशेष्य-सम्बन्ध; to Somadattaḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक) + adhipa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘नराणाम् अधिपः’

• mṛgayām: hunt; hunting
• mṛgayām: Karma (कर्म/object of samupāgamya)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛgayā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• samupāgamya: having approached; having gone to
• samupāgamya: Purvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-upa-√gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), ‘having approached/undertaken’

• yat: which; that which
• yat: Karma/Content (कर्म/विषय; ‘that which’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक सर्वनाम (relative)

• tvayā: by you
• tvayā: Karta (कर्ता; agent in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuṣmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: मध्यमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• pūrva: previously
• pūrva: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (adverb: formerly/previously)

• bhāṣitam: spoken; said
• bhāṣitam: Karma (कर्म; with implied ‘tat’)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhāṣ (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘spoken’

Speaker

Pṛthivī (implied continuation of inquiry)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Narrative
• Dharma-śāstra Interface
• Ritual Discourse

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It signals the use of a royal exemplum (Somadatta) to explain ritual efficacy—an established Purāṇic method for connecting social history, kingship, and dharma practice.

Which geographic location is identified?

No specific place-name is provided here; the reference is to a narrative setting associated with a hunt.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Ritual responsibility is framed through exemplary conduct: rulers and householders alike are accountable for duties toward ancestors.