Varaha Purana 7.25: Adhyaya 7, Shloka 25

The Sanctity of Gayā: Raibhya’s Encounter and Hymn to Viṣṇu

Gadādhara

Pūrva Bhāga · Gayā-Māhātmya (Śrāddha and ancestral rites; sacred geography)

Devanagari script

सकृद् गयाभिगमनं सकृत्पिण्डप्रदापनम् । दुर्लभं त्वं पुनर्नित्यमस्मिन्नेव व्यवस्थितः ॥ ७.२५ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 7.25

Transliteration

sakṛd gayābhigamanaṃ sakṛt piṇḍapradāpanam | durlabhaṃ tvaṃ punar nityam asminn eva vyavasthitaḥ || 7.25 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

Eine einzige Wallfahrt nach Gayā und eine einzige Darbringung von piṇḍas sind wohl erreichbar; doch Dich — der Du hier immerdar verweilst — wiederzuerlangen ist schwer zu erlangen.

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Word by Word

• सकृत्: once
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of frequency): ‘once’
• Role: क्रियाविशेषण (Kriyāviśeṣaṇa/Adverbial)
• Root: सकृत् (अव्यय)

• गया: Gayā (holy place)
• Type: Noun
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन (Nominative Singular); स्थाननाम (proper noun)
• Role: समासपूर्वपद/विशेष्यनिर्देशक (Qualifier within compound)
• Root: गया (प्रातिपदिक)

• अभिगमनम्: going/visiting
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन (Nominative Singular); भाववाचक कृदन्त-नाम (action noun)
• Role: कर्ता/विधेय (Predicate nominal)
• Root: अभि√गम् (धातु) + अन (प्रत्यय) → अभिगमन (प्रातिपदिक)

• सकृत्: once
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण: ‘once’
• Role: क्रियाविशेषण (Kriyāviśeṣaṇa/Adverbial)
• Root: सकृत् (अव्यय)

• पिण्ड: funeral rice-ball offering (piṇḍa)
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन (Nominative Singular) (समासपूर्वपद)
• Role: समासपूर्वपद/कर्मनिर्देशक (Object-specifier within compound)
• Root: पिण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)

• प्रदापनम्: the act of offering/giving
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन; भाववाचक कृदन्त-नाम (act of causing to be given/offering)
• Role: कर्ता/विधेय (Predicate nominal)
• Root: प्र√दा (धातु) + णिच् (causative) + अन (प्रत्यय) → प्रदापन (प्रातिपदिक)

• दुर्लभम्: rare/difficult to obtain
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन; विशेषण (predicate adjective)
• Role: विधेयविशेषण (Predicate qualifier)
• Root: दुर्लभ (प्रातिपदिक)

• त्वम्: you
• Type: Noun
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा-एकवचन (Nominative Singular)
• Role: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• पुनः: again
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; पुनरुक्ति/पुनरावृत्तिवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb): ‘again’
• Role: क्रियाविशेषण (Kriyāviśeṣaṇa/Adverbial)
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय)

• नित्यम्: always
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्ययीभावे नपुंसक-एकवचनरूपेण क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial accusative): ‘always/constantly’
• Role: क्रियाविशेषण (Kriyāviśeṣaṇa/Adverbial)
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)

• अस्मिन्: in this
• Type: Noun
• Form: सर्वनाम, सप्तमी-एकवचन (Locative Singular)
• Role: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Locative)
• Root: अस्मद्/इदम्-प्रत्ययान्त (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• एव: indeed/only
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक निपात (particle of emphasis): ‘indeed/only’
• Role: निपात (Particle/Emphasis)
• Root: एव (अव्यय)

• व्यवस्थितः: situated/abiding
• Type: Adjective
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/भूतकृदन्त (past participle): ‘situated/established’
• Role: विधेय (Predicate; complement of ‘त्वम्’)
• Root: वि + अव + √स्था (धातु) + क्त (प्रत्यय) → व्यवस्थित (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• गयाभिगमनम् = गया + अभिगमनम्
• सकृत्पिण्डप्रदापनम् = सकृत् + पिण्डप्रदापनम्
• पुनर्नित्यम् = पुनः + नित्यम्
• अस्मिन्नेव = अस्मिन् + एव

Speaker and setting

Shanta and Adbhuta rasa

Speaker

Varāha

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

Varaha teaches her

Her state of mind

Curious

What she asks

Why is a person ‘ever abiding here’ rarer than performing even famed Gayā pilgrimage and piṇḍa offering once—what makes this locale/person uniquely efficacious?

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Niṣṭhā (steadfastness) over episodic merit

Subjects

Heritage SitesEthicsGeography

Core idea

Sustained dhārmic presence and service can be spiritually rarer than single high-merit events; continuity (nitya) deepens sanctity and benefit.

In practice

Beyond occasional pilgrimages, cultivate regular practice—daily tarpaṇa/śrāddha duties when appropriate, consistent charity, and steady service at sacred places or to teachers.

Dharma

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Studies
• Sacred Geography
• Ritual Culture

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It reflects the Purāṇic framing of Gayā as a major cultural-ritual landscape associated with ancestral offerings (piṇḍa/śrāddha), illustrating how pilgrimage networks and commemorative rites were textualized in medieval Sanskrit literature.

Which geographic location is identified?

Gayā—classically identified with the Gayā region in present-day Bihar (India), widely attested in Dharmaśāstra and Purāṇic sources as a prominent tīrtha connected with ancestral rites.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse contrasts the relative ease of performing a single externally defined rite (pilgrimage and offering) with the rarity of sustained inner or continual attainment implied by “ever abiding here,” emphasizing perseverance/steadfastness rather than one-time action.