Varaha Purana 21.32: Adhyaya 21, Shloka 32

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

Devanagari script

अहोरात्रे पताके द्वे धर्माधर्मे तु दण्डके । शकटं सर्वविद्याश्च स्वयं ब्रह्मादिसारथिः ॥ २१.३३ ॥

Sanskrit recitationVaraha Purana 21.32

Transliteration

ahorātre patāke dve dharmādharme tu daṇḍake | śakaṭaṃ sarvavidyāś ca svayaṃ brahmādisārathiḥ || 21.33 ||

Translation

Tag und Nacht sind die zwei Banner; Dharma und Adharma sind die zwei Stangen; der Wagen besteht aus allen Zweigen des Wissens—und der Lenker ist Brahmā selbst samt den übrigen uranfänglichen Wesen.

Ask anything about this verse...Ask

Word by Word

• अहः-रात्रे: day and night
• अहः-रात्रे: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahas (प्रातिपदिक) + rātri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Dual (द्विवचन)

• पताके: two banners
• पताके: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: patākā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Dual (द्विवचन)

• द्वे: two
• द्वे: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Numeral adjective (संख्याविशेषण), Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Dual (द्विवचन); qualifying ‘patāke’

• धर्म-अधर्मे: dharma and adharma
• धर्म-अधर्मे: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + adharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Dual (द्विवचन)

• तु: and/but
• तु: Sambandha-bodhaka (सम्बन्धबोधक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात)

• दण्डके: in the pole/shaft
• दण्डके: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daṇḍaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (सप्तमी/7), Singular (एकवचन)

• शकटम्: the cart-body
• शकटम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śakaṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• सर्व-विद्याः: all sciences/knowledges
• सर्व-विद्याः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + vidyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक)

• स्वयम्: by oneself
• स्वयम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: svayam (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• ब्रह्म-आदि-सारथिः: the charioteer beginning with Brahmā (i.e., Brahmā etc. as charioteer)
• ब्रह्म-आदि-सारथिः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahmā (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक) + sārathi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Varāha (default speaker framework; explicit speaker not stated in excerpt)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Cosmology
• Sanskrit Poetics
• Vaishnavism

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It illustrates a Purāṇic habit of encoding cosmology and ethics through extended metaphor (a cart with banners and poles), reflecting how early Sanskrit narrative literature linked moral order (dharma) with cosmic structure and learned disciplines (vidyā).

Which geographic location is identified?

No specific geographic toponym is mentioned in this verse; the imagery is primarily cosmological and ethical rather than tied to a site.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse frames dharma and adharma as structural forces within lived reality (like supporting poles), implying that moral orientation is foundational to how time (day/night) and human knowledge are meaningfully directed.