Varaha Purana 75.17: Adhyaya 75, Shloka 17
Description of Jambūdvīpa: its regions, mountains, measurements, and cosmic structure
पार्श्वमुत्तरतस्तस्य रक्तवर्णं विभाव्यते। तेनास्य क्षत्रभावः स्यादिति वर्णाः प्रकीर्तिताः॥ ७५.१७॥
pārśvam uttaratas tasya raktavarṇaṃ vibhāvyate | tenāsya kṣatrabhāvaḥ syād iti varṇāḥ prakīrtitāḥ || 75.17 ||
An seiner Nordseite wird eine rote Färbung wahrgenommen; daraus wird seine kṣatriya-hafte Gesinnung erschlossen — so werden die varṇa beschrieben.
Varāha
FAQs
It reflects a Purāṇic-era tendency to correlate social typologies (varṇa) with observable bodily markers and inferred dispositions, a theme that intersects with broader Dharmaśāstra and physiognomic traditions in Sanskrit literature.
No geographic location is mentioned in this verse; it focuses on directional (uttara/north) bodily reference rather than sacred geography.
Rather than a direct moral injunction, the verse presents a classificatory principle: it proposes that certain visible features (here, a red hue on the northern side) are used to infer a Kṣatriya disposition, illustrating a normative framework for social identification.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Varaha Purana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.