Varaha Purana 40.2: Adhyaya 40, Shloka 2

Ritual Procedure for the Kūrma Dvādaśī Observance

Devanagari script

तस्येयं तिथिरुद्दिष्टा हरेर्वै कूर्मरूपिणः । पुष्यमासस्य या शुद्धा द्वादशी शुक्लपक्षतः ॥ ४०.२ ॥

Sanskrit recitationVaraha Purana 40.2

Transliteration

tasyeyaṁ tithir uddiṣṭā harer vai kūrma-rūpiṇaḥ | puṣya-māsasya yā śuddhā dvādaśī śukla-pakṣataḥ || 40.2 ||

Translation

Dies ist das für Hari in seiner Kūrma-Gestalt festgelegte Tithi: die reine Dvādaśī, der zwölfte Mondtag der hellen Hälfte (śukla-pakṣa) im Monat Puṣya.

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Word by Word

• tasya: of him/of that (Lord)
• tasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• iyam: this
• iyam: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• tithiḥ: lunar day (tithi)
• tithiḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tithi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• uddiṣṭā: is prescribed/indicated
• uddiṣṭā: Kriyā (क्रिया; predicate in nominal sentence)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud + diś (धातु) + kta (क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (predicate)

• hareḥ: of Hari (Viṣṇu)
• hareḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-निपात (indeed/certainly)

• kūrma-rūpiṇaḥ: of (him) having the form of a tortoise
• kūrma-rūpiṇaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kūrma (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; तृतीया/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषभावः (kūrma-rūpaḥ asya iti; here genitive agreeing with hareḥ)

• puṣya-māsasya: of the month of Puṣya
• puṣya-māsasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṣya (प्रातिपदिक) + māsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (puṣyasya māsaḥ)

• yā: which
• yā: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक-सर्वनाम

• śuddhā: pure
• śuddhā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śuddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (dvādaśī इत्यस्य)

• dvādaśī: the Dvādaśī (12th lunar day)
• dvādaśī: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvādaśī (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तिथिनाम

• śukla-pakṣataḥ: from the bright fortnight / in the bright half
• śukla-pakṣataḥ: Apādāna (अपादान/From; source-side)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: śukla (प्रातिपदिक) + pakṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + tas (तस्-प्रत्यय, ablatival adverb)
• Form: तसिलन्त-अव्यय (ablatival adverb: 'from/on the side of'); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषाधार (śuklasya pakṣaḥ) + तस्

Speaker

Varāha

Tags

• Purāṇic Literature
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Hindu Calendrical Studies
• Sanskrit Philology

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves a calendrical prescription (tithi–māsa specification) typical of Purāṇic compendia, useful for reconstructing the history of observance traditions and the ritual calendar in Sanskrit textual culture.

Which geographic location is identified?

No specific geographic site is named in this verse; the focus is temporal (month and lunar day) rather than spatial.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Rather than a direct ethical maxim, the verse conveys a cultural discipline of time-keeping and intentional practice—framing observance as orderly, precise, and aligned with an auspicious calendrical structure.