Varaha Purana 3.18: Adhyaya 3, Shloka 18

Nārada’s Account of a Former Birth and a Hymn to Nārāyaṇa

Devanagari script

कृते शितं रक्ततनुं तथा च त्रेतायुगॆ पूततनुं पुराणम् । तथा हरिं द्वापरतः कलौ च कृष्णीकृतात्मानमथो नमामि ॥ ३.१८ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 3.18

Transliteration

kṛte śitaṁ raktatanuṁ tathā ca tretāyuge pūtatanuṁ purāṇam | tathā hariṁ dvāparataḥ kalau ca kṛṣṇīkṛtātmānam atho namāmi || 3.18 ||

Translation

Ich erweise Hari Verehrung: Im Kṛta-Yuga wird Er als leuchtend hell und von rotem Leib beschrieben; im Tretā-Yuga als der Uralte mit geläutertem Körper; ebenso im Dvāpara-Yuga; und im Kali-Yuga als der, dessen Wesen zu „Kṛṣṇa“ (dunkel/geschwärzt) geworden ist.

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Word by Word

• कृते: in the Kṛta (Satya) yuga
• कृते: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन; 'कृतयुगे' (in the Kṛta age)

• शितम्: white
• शितम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (bright/white)

• रक्त-तनुम्: red-bodied
• रक्त-तनुम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रक्त (प्रातिपदिक) + तनु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—'रक्ता तनुः यस्य' (having a red body)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: सम्बन्ध/क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb) — 'likewise/so'

• च: and
• च: समुच्चय (Conjunctive)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• त्रेता-युगे: in the Tretā yuga
• त्रेता-युगे: अधिकरण (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रेता (प्रातिपदिक) + युग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—'त्रेतायुग' (in the Tretā yuga)

• पूत-तनुम्: pure-bodied
• पूत-तनुम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूत (प्रातिपदिक) + तनु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—'पूता तनुः यस्य' (having a pure body)

• पुराणम्: ancient
• पुराणम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुराण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (ancient)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: सम्बन्ध/क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• हरिम्: Hari (Vishnu)
• हरिम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• द्वापरतः: from (the time of) Dvāpara
• द्वापरतः: अपादान (Apādāna/Ablative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: द्वापर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb) — 'द्वापरात्' (from/in the Dvāpara [age], thence)

• कलौ: in Kali (yuga)
• कलौ: अधिकरण (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; 'कलियुगे' (in Kali age)

• च: and
• च: समुच्चय (Conjunctive)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• कृष्णी-कृत-आत्मानम्: having made (his form) dark; dark-formed
• कृष्णी-कृत-आत्मानम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृष्णी (अव्यय/उपसर्गवत्) + कृ (धातु) + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past participle) 'कृत'; तत्पुरुषः—'कृष्णीकृतः आत्मा यस्य' (whose self/form is made dark/black)

• अथो: then / moreover
• अथो: सम्बन्ध/निपात (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय) + उ (निपात)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/समुच्चयार्थक (then/and further)

• नमामि: I bow to
• नमामि: क्रिया (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नम् (धातु)
• Form: लट्, उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Varāha (default attribution within Varāha–Pṛthivī dialogue framework; speaker not explicit in excerpt)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Studies
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Sanskrit Philology

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It reflects a Purāṇic convention of correlating cosmic time (the four yugas) with changing descriptions of the divine, a motif also used in broader Sanskrit literature to frame ethical and cultural change across eras.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is named in this verse; it is primarily a cosmological and iconographic statement about yuga-based characterization.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse’s philosophical instruction is reverential orientation toward a stable cosmic principle (Hari/Viṣṇu) across changing ages, emphasizing continuity of dharmic focus amid historical transformation.