Varaha Purana 205.1: Adhyaya 205, Shloka 1

Description of the Proclamation of Auspicious and Inauspicious Karmic Results

Devanagari script

अथ शुभाशुभफलानुकीर्तनवर्णनम् ॥ ऋषिपुत्र उवाच ॥ इदमन्यत्पुरा विप्राः श्रूयतां तस्य भाषितम् ॥ यमस्य चित्रगुप्तस्य यच्च तत्र मया श्रुतम् ॥

Sanskrit recitationVaraha Purana 205.1

Transliteration

atha śubhāśubha-phalānukīrtana-varṇanam | ṛṣiputra uvāca | idam anyat purā viprāḥ śrūyatāṃ tasya bhāṣitam | yamasya citraguptasya yac ca tatra mayā śrutam ||

Translation

Darauf folgt die Darstellung, welche die Verkündigung der heilsamen und unheilsamen Folgen beschreibt. Der Sohn eines Ṛṣi sprach: „O Brāhmaṇas, hört noch eine weitere alte Begebenheit: was er sagte und was ich dort über Yama und Citragupta vernahm.“

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Word by Word

• atha: now/then
• atha: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb/particle (निपात), sequence marker

• śubhāśubha-phalānukīrtana-varṇanam: the description of recounting the fruits of good and bad (deeds)
• śubhāśubha-phalānukīrtana-varṇanam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śubha+aśubha+phala+anukīrtana+varṇana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; multi-member compound: śubhāśubha (good-and-bad, dvandva inside) + phala (result) + anukīrtana (recounting) + varṇana (description)

• ṛṣiputraḥ: the sage's son
• ṛṣiputraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛṣi+putra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa: 'son of a sage'

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: Dhātu: vac (वच्), Liṭ-lakāra (लिट्, Perfect), Parasmaipada, Prathama-puruṣa (3rd person), Singular

• idam: this
• idam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (सर्वनाम), Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• anyat: another / further
• anyat: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; qualifying idam

• purā: formerly/once
• purā: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (कालवाचक अव्यय)

• viprāḥ: O brāhmaṇas
• viprāḥ: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Plural

• śrūyatām: let it be heard
• śrūyatām: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: Dhātu: śru (श्रु), Loṭ-lakāra (लोट्, Imperative), Ātmanepada, Prathama-puruṣa (3rd person), Singular; passive/impersonal sense: 'let it be heard'

• tasya: of him/that
• tasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Masculine/Neuter, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular

• bhāṣitam: what was spoken
• bhāṣitam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāṣita (कृदन्त; bhāṣ धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; used substantively

• yamasya: of Yama
• yamasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular

• citraguptasya: of Citragupta
• citraguptasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: citragupta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular

• yat: which/what
• yat: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Neuter, Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular; relative pronoun referring to śrutam

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (देशवाचक अव्यय)

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun, 1st person, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular

• śrutam: heard
• śrutam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śruta (कृदन्त; śru धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Neuter, Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular; 'heard'

Speaker

Ṛṣiputra

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Narrative
• Karmic Theory
• Afterlife Accounts

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It introduces a didactic passage typical of Purāṇic compilations, linking moral causality to the administrative figures of the afterlife (Yama and Citragupta).

Which geographic location is identified?

No specific location is given; the reference is to a narrative setting “there” (tatra), associated with Yama’s domain in a general sense.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse frames an ethical discourse: actions have consequences that are recounted and assessed, thematically anchored in karmaphala.