Varaha Purana 34.6: Adhyaya 34, Shloka 6

Account of the Origin of the Ancestors (Pitṛs) and the Regulations for Śrāddha Offerings

Devanagari script

ऊर्ध्ववक्त्रास्तु ये तत्र ते नान्दीमुखसंज्ञिताः । वृद्धिश्राद्धेषु सततं पूज्या श्रुतिविधानतः ॥ ३४.६ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 34.6

Transliteration

ūrdhvavaktrāstu ye tatra te nāndīmukhasaṃjñitāḥ | vṛddhiśrāddheṣu satataṃ pūjyā śrutividhānataḥ || 34.6 ||

Translation

Diejenigen, die dort „mit nach oben gerichtetem Antlitz“ sind, heißen Nāndīmukhas. Bei den Riten der vṛddhi-śrāddha (Śrāddha zu Anlässen von Zuwachs und glückverheißendem Gedeihen) sind sie fortwährend zu ehren, gemäß den Vorschriften der Śruti.

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Word by Word

• ऊर्ध्व-वक्त्राः: those whose faces are upward
• ऊर्ध्व-वक्त्राः: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ऊर्ध्व (प्रातिपदिक) + वक्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि-समास (possessive: 'whose faces are upward'), प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural), पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine)

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: वाक्यालङ्कार (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: निपात (contrastive particle)

• ये: who
• ये: कर्ता (Relative subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural), पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: देशाधिकरण (Locative setting)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• ते: they
• ते: कर्ता (Correlative subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural), पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine)

• नान्दीमुख-संज्ञिताः: called ‘Nandīmukha’
• नान्दीमुख-संज्ञिताः: कर्ता (Predicate adjective/कर्तृसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नान्दीमुख (प्रातिपदिक) + संज्ञित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्त/PPP from संज्ञा/सम्-ज्ञा)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास ('named as Nandīmukha'), क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP), प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural), पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine)

• वृद्धि-श्राद्धेषु: in vṛddhi-śrāddha rites
• वृद्धि-श्राद्धेषु: अधिकरण (Locative context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृद्धि (प्रातिपदिक) + श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास ('vṛddhi'-type śrāddhas), सप्तमी (Locative/अधिकरण), बहुवचन (Plural), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter)

• सततम्: always
• सततम्: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सततम् (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: काल/आवृत्तिवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: always)

• पूज्याः: worthy of worship; to be honored
• पूज्याः: कर्ता (Predicate adjective/कर्तृसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूज्य (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, यत्/gerundive from पूज् धातु)
• Form: यत्-प्रत्ययान्त (gerundive: 'to be worshipped'), प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural), पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine)

• श्रुति-विधानतः: according to scriptural injunction
• श्रुति-विधानतः: हेतु/प्रमाण (Reason/authority)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: श्रुति (प्रातिपदिक) + विधान (प्रातिपदिक) + तस् (तसिल्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास ('scriptural injunction') + तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb: 'according to/from'), हेतौ/प्रमाणे (as authority)

Speaker

Varāha

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Studies
• Ritual Protocol
• Vaishnavism

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It reflects a Purāṇic systematization of śrāddha practice by naming a category (Nāndīmukha) and grounding the honorific protocol in śruti-vidhāna, illustrating how Purāṇas often align ritual details with Vedic authority in later Sanskrit textual culture.

Which geographic location is identified?

No explicit geographic location is named in this verse; the reference is classificatory and ritual (concerned with a type of pitṛ and a śrāddha occasion) rather than topographical.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse emphasizes disciplined observance of ancestral-honor rites—specifically, that Nāndīmukha-associated recipients are to be honored in vṛddhi-śrāddha according to established authoritative prescriptions (śruti-vidhāna).