Varaha Purana 69.34: Adhyaya 69, Shloka 34

Agastya’s Vision of Varuṇa as Nārāyaṇa in Ilāvṛta

Pūrva Bhāga · Sacred Geography & Hermitage Narratives (Saras-tīra episode)

Devanagari script

कथमिलावृते वर्षे सरस्तीरे महामुने । दृष्टवानस्मि सोऽहं त्वं सरस्तत् सा कुटी मुने । हेमहार्म्याकुले लोके किं वा स्थानं तु ते कुटिः ॥ ६९.३४ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 69.34

Transliteration

katham ilāvṛte varṣe saras-tīre mahāmune | dṛṣṭavān asmi so 'haṃ tvaṃ saras-tat sā kuṭī mune | hema-hārmyākule loke kiṃ vā sthānaṃ tu te kuṭiḥ || 69.34 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

Wie kommt es, dass ich dich in Ilāvṛta-varṣa am Ufer des Sees gesehen habe, o großer Weiser—und dort auch jene Einsiedlerhütte am See, o Muni? In einer Welt, die von goldenen Palästen wimmelt, welchen Stand oder welche Stellung hat denn deine Hütte?

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Word by Word

• katham: how?
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Interrogative adverb (प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/प्रश्न-प्रकार)
• Root: katham (अव्यय)

• ilā-vṛte: in Ilāvṛta (region)
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; place-name; समास: ilā + vṛta (तत्पुरुष)
• Role: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Root: ilāvṛta (प्रातिपदिक)

• varṣe: in the land/region (varṣa)
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular
• Role: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक)

• saras-tīre: on the lake-shore
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; समास: sarasaḥ tīraṃ (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)
• Role: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Root: saras (प्रातिपदिक) + tīra (प्रातिपदिक)

• mahā-mune: O great sage
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular; समास: mahān muniḥ (कर्मधारय)
• Role: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Root: mahā (उपसर्ग/पूर्वपद) + muni (प्रातिपदिक)

• dṛṣṭavān: (I) have seen
• Type: Verb
• Form: Past active participle (क्तवतु/क्तवत्), Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; used with auxiliary 'asmi'
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: dṛś (धातु) + tavat (कृत् प्रत्यय)

• asmi: am
• Type: Verb
• Form: Present tense (लट्), 1st person (उत्तमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Root: as (धातु)

• saḥ: that (one)/he
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; demonstrative pronoun
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• aham: I
• Type: Noun
• Form: Pronoun, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• tvam: you
• Type: Noun
• Form: Pronoun, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: yuṣmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• saras: the lake
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: saras (प्रातिपदिक)

• tat: that
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; demonstrative used adjectivally
• Role: Viseṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• sā: that
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; demonstrative used adjectivally
• Role: Viseṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• kuṭī: hut
• Type: Noun
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: kuṭī (प्रातिपदिक)

• mune: O sage
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular
• Role: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)

• hema-hārmya-ākule: crowded with golden mansions
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular agreeing with 'loke'; compound: hema-hārmya (कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष) + ākula (तत्पुरुष: hema-hārmyaiḥ ākulaḥ)
• Role: Viseṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: hema (प्रातिपदिक) + hārmya (प्रातिपदिक) + ākula (प्रातिपदिक)

• loke: in the world
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular
• Role: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)

• kim: what?
• Type: Noun
• Form: Interrogative pronoun, Neuter, Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular; here as predicate interrogative
• Role: Prashna (प्रश्न/प्रत्यय)
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• vā: indeed/or
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Particle (निपात), disjunctive/emphatic
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: vā (अव्यय)

• sthānam: place
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: sthāna (प्रातिपदिक)

• tu: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Particle (निपात), contrast/emphasis
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: tu (अव्यय)

• te: your
• Type: Noun
• Form: Pronoun, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Root: yuṣmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• kuṭiḥ: hut
• Type: Noun
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: kuṭī (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• so 'haṃ = saḥ + aham
• saras-tīre = sarasaḥ tīre (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)
• saras-tat = saras + tat (no major phonetic change)
• hema-hārmyākule = hema-hārmya-ākule
• trailokya-nāśe 'pi (in later verse) similar sandhi

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Shanta rasa

Speaker

Pṛthivī

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

She asks

Her state of mind

Curious, slightly perplexed by the contrast of austerity and opulence

What she asks

How can your hut by the lake exist/stand in Ilāvṛta amid a realm crowded with golden mansions—what is its true ‘status’ and why this arrangement?

The teaching

Path

Ethics/renunciation

Subjects

Sacred GeographyHermitage CultureMaterial Culture (wealth vs. ascetic dwelling)

Core idea

True worth is not measured by external wealth; tapas and simplicity can be sovereign even amid opulence.

In practice

Practice aparigraha and contentment; create a ‘hut-like’ inner discipline even when surrounded by luxury—reduce wants, increase sādhana.

The Varaha avatara

With the Earth

Bhūdevī questions the ascetic’s presence in Ilāvṛta by a lake and the status of his simple hut amid a world of golden mansions—probing dharma of renunciation within opulence.

Symbolism of the boar

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Narrative
• Sacred Geography
• Ascetic Traditions

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It reflects a Purāṇic narrative contrast between ascetic habitation (kuṭī) and elite architecture (hema-hārmya), a common literary device used to frame discussions of values, renunciation, and the social landscape of sacred places.

Which geographic location is identified?

Ilāvṛta-varṣa is named; in Purāṇic cosmography it denotes a central, mythic region associated with Jambūdvīpa rather than a securely identified modern geographic location.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse sets up an inquiry into the worth and status of simple dwelling amid opulence, preparing a philosophical discussion on non-material values, humility, and the cultural role of sages within sacred landscapes.