Adhyaya 41: Rite of the Varāha Dvādaśī Vow and an Exemplary Narrative on Expiation for Brahmin-Slaying

Verse 1

दुर्वासा उवाच । एवं माघे सिते पक्षे द्वादशीं धरणीभृतः । वराहस्य शृणुष्वाद्यां मुने परमधार्मिक ॥ ४१.१ ॥

Durvāsā said: “Thus, in the month of Māgha, in the bright fortnight, listen—O sage of highest dharma—to the account of Varāha’s Dvādaśī observance, He who bears the Earth.”

Verse 2

प्रागुक्तेन विधानेन सङ्कल्पस्नानमेव च । कृत्वा देवं समभ्यर्च्य एकादश्यां विचक्षणः ॥ ४१.२ ॥

Following the procedure stated earlier, having performed the saṅkalpa-bath (the ritual bath with a formal resolve) and duly worshiped the Deity, the discerning practitioner does so on the day of Ekādaśī.

Verse 3

धूपनैवेद्यगन्धैश्चार्चयित्वाऽच्युतं नरः । पश्चात्तस्याग्रतः कुम्भं जलपूर्णं तु विन्यसेत् ॥ ४१.३ ॥

Having worshiped Acyuta with incense, food-offerings (naivedya), and fragrances, one should thereafter place before Him a water-filled pot (kumbha).

Verse 4

ॐ वाराहायेति पादौ तु माधवायेति वै कटिम् । क्षेत्रज्ञायेति जठरं विश्वरूपेत्युरो हरेः ॥ ४१.४ ॥

Uttering “Oṁ, (salutation) to Varāha,” one should assign it to the feet; “to Mādhava” to the waist; “to Kṣetrajña” to the abdomen; and “to Viśvarūpa” to the chest of Hari.

Verse 5

सर्वज्ञायेति कण्ठं तु प्रजानां पतये शिरः । प्रद्युम्नायेति च भुजौ दिव्यास्त्राय सुदर्शनम् । अमृतोद्भवाय शङ्खं तु एष देवर्चने विधिः ॥ ४१.५ ॥

One should assign “Sarvajña (All-knowing)” to the throat; “Lord of creatures” to the head; “Pradyumna” to the arms; to the divine weapon, the Sudarśana (discus); and “Born of nectar” to the conch. This is the prescribed procedure in the worship of the Deity.

Verse 6

एवमभ्यर्च्य मेधावी तस्मिन्कुम्भे तु विन्यसेत् । सौवर्णं रौप्यताम्रं वा पात्रं विभवशक्तितः ॥ ४१.६ ॥

Having thus worshipped, the discerning practitioner should then place in that ritual pot a vessel—made of gold, or of silver, or of copper—according to one’s means and capacity.

Verse 7

सर्वबीजैस्तु सम्पूर्णं स्थापयित्वा विचक्षणः । तत्र शक्त्या तु सौवर्णं वाराहं कारयेद्बुधः ॥ ४१.७ ॥

Having established (the rite or installation) in a complete manner with all seeds, the discerning person should then, according to one’s capacity, commission a golden image of Varāha.

Verse 8

दंष्ट्राग्रेणोद्धृतां पृथ्वीं सपर्वतवनद्रुमाम् । माधवं मधुहन्तारं वाराहं रूपमास्थितम् ॥ ४१.८ ॥

He (Viṣṇu), having lifted up the Earth on the tip of his tusk—together with her mountains, forests, and trees—assumed the form of the Boar: Mādhava, the slayer of Madhu.

Verse 9

सर्वबीजभृते पात्रे रत्नगर्भं घटोपरि । स्थापयेत् परमं देवं जातरूपमयं हरिम् ॥ ४१.९ ॥

Upon a vessel that contains all seeds, and upon the top of the pot, one should install the supreme deity—Hari—fashioned of gold (jātarūpa).

Verse 10

सितवस्त्रयुगच्छन्नं ताम्रपात्रं तु वै मुने । स्थाप्यार्च्चयेद्गन्धपुष्पैर्नैवेद्यैर्विविधैः शुभैः ॥ ४१.१० ॥

O sage, having placed a copper vessel covered with a pair of white cloths, one should perform worship with fragrant substances and flowers, and with various auspicious food-offerings (naivedya).

Verse 11

पुष्पमण्डलिकां कृत्वा जागरं तत्र कारयेत् । प्रादुर्भावान् हरेस्तत्र वाचयेद् भावयेद् बुधः ॥ ४१.११ ॥

Having made a floral maṇḍala, one should arrange a vigil there; and there the wise should have the manifestations of Hari recited and contemplate them.

Verse 12

एवं सन्नियमस्यान्तं प्रभाते उदिते रवौ । शुचिः स्नात्वा हरिं पूज्य ब्राह्मणाय निवेदयेत् ॥ ४१.१२ ॥

Thus, having brought the niyama to its end at dawn when the sun has risen, one should, purified and after bathing, worship Hari and present the offering to a brāhmaṇa.

Verse 13

वेदवेदाङ्गविदुषे साधुवृत्ताय धीमते । विष्णुभक्ताय विप्रर्षे विशेषेण प्रदापयेत् ॥ ४१.१३ ॥

One should give—especially—to a brāhmaṇa sage learned in the Veda and its ancillary disciplines (vedāṅga), virtuous in conduct, wise, and devoted to Viṣṇu.

Verse 14

देवं सकुम्भं तं दत्त्वा हरिं वाराहरूपिणम् । ब्राह्मणाय भवेद्यद्धि फलं तन्मे निशामय ॥ ४१.१४ ॥

Having given that deity—Hari in the form of Varāha—together with a kumbha (water-pot) to a brāhmaṇa, whatever merit (phala) arises from it—hear that from me.

Verse 15

इह जन्मनि सौभाग्यं श्रीः कान्तिस्तुष्टिरेव च । दरिद्रो वित्तवान् सद्यः अपुत्रो लभते सुतम् । अलक्ष्मीर् नश्यते सद्यो लक्ष्मीः संविशते क्षणात् ॥ ४१.१५ ॥

In this very life, good fortune arises—prosperity, radiance, and contentment as well. The poor become wealthy at once; the sonless obtain a son. Misfortune (Alakṣmī) is destroyed immediately, and prosperity (Lakṣmī) enters in an instant.

Verse 16

इह जन्मनि सौभाग्यं परलोके निशामय । अस्मिन्नर्थे पुरावृत्तमितिहासं पुरातनम् ॥ ४१.१६ ॥

In this very life there is good fortune, and in the world beyond as well; listen. Concerning this matter, I shall relate an ancient historical account, an old tradition.

Verse 17

इह लोकेऽभवद् राजा वीरधन्वेति विश्रुतः । स कदाचिद् वनं प्रायान् मृगहेतोः परंतपः ॥ ४१.१७ ॥

In this world there was a king renowned by the name Vīradhanvan. At one time, that subduer of enemies went to the forest for the purpose of hunting game.

Verse 18

व्यापादयन् मृगगणान् तत्रार्षिवनमध्यगः । जघान मृगरूपान् सोऽज्ञानतो ब्राह्मणान् नृपः ॥ ४१.१८ ॥

While killing herds of deer, having entered the midst of that sages’ forest, the king—unknowingly—struck down brāhmaṇas who were in the form of deer.

Verse 19

भ्रातरस्तत्र पञ्चाशन्मृगरूपेण संस्थिताः । संवर्तस्य सुता ब्रह्मन् वेदाध्ययनतत्पराः ॥ ४१.१९ ॥

There, fifty brothers remained established in the form of deer. O brāhmaṇa, they were the sons of Saṃvarta, devoted to the study of the Vedas.

Verse 20

सत्यतपा उवाच । कारणं किं समाश्रित्य ते चक्रुर्मृगरूपताम् । एतन्मे कौतुकं ब्रह्मन् प्रणतस्य प्रसीद मे ॥ ४१.२० ॥

Satyatapā said: “Relying upon what cause did they assume the form of deer? This is my curiosity, O brāhmaṇa; be gracious to me, for I bow before you.”

Verse 21

दुर्वासा उवाच । ते कदाचिद्वनं याता दृष्ट्वा हरिणपोतकान् । जातमात्रान् स्वमात्रा तु विहीनान् दृश्य सत्तम । एकैकं जगृहुस्ते हि ते मृताः स्कन्धसंस्थिताः ॥ ४१.२१ ॥

Durvāsā said: Once they went to a forest. Seeing fawns—newly born and bereft of their own mother—O best of beings, they lifted them up one by one; and those fawns died, remaining upon their shoulders.

Verse 22

ततस्ते दुःखिताः सर्वे ययुः पितरमन्तिकम् । ऊचुश्च वचनं छेदं मृगहिंसामृते मुने ॥ ४१.२२ ॥

Then all of them, distressed, went near their father and spoke to the sage with resolute words, declaring their abstention from cutting and from violence toward animals.

Verse 23

ऋषिपुत्रका ऊचुः । जातमात्रा मृगाः पञ्च अस्माभिर्निहता मुने । अकामतस्ततोऽस्माकं प्रायश्चित्तं विधीयताम् ॥ ४१.२३ ॥

The sons of the seers said: “O sage, five deer, newly born, have been killed by us. Since it was unintended, let an expiation (prāyaścitta) be prescribed for us.”

Verse 24

संवर्त्त उवाच । मत्पिता हिंसकस्त्वासीदहं तस्माद्विशेषतः । भवन्तः पापकर्माणः संजाताः मम पुत्रकाः ॥ ४१.२४ ॥

Saṃvartta said: “My father was violent; and I, for that reason, especially so. Thus you—my sons—have been born as doers of sinful deeds.”

Verse 25

इदानीं मृगचर्माणि परिधाय यतव्रताः । चरघ्वं पञ्चवर्षाणि ततः शुद्धा भविष्यथ ॥ ४१.२५ ॥

“Now, having put on deerskins and observing disciplined vows, live thus for five years; thereafter you will become purified.”

Verse 26

एवमुक्तास्तु ते पुत्रा मृगचर्मोपवीतिनः । वनं विविशुरव्यग्रा जपन्तो ब्रह्म शाश्वतम् ॥ ४१.२६ ॥

Thus addressed, those sons—wearing deer-hide as a sacred upper garment—entered the forest, untroubled in mind, continually reciting the eternal Brahman.

Verse 27

तथा वर्षे व्यतिक्रान्ते वीरधन्वा महीपतिः । तत्राजगाम यस्मिंस्ते चरन्ति मृगरूपिणः ॥ ४१.२७ ॥

Then, when a year had passed, King Vīradhanvā came to that place where those beings—assuming the forms of deer—were roaming.

Verse 28

ते चाप्येकतरॊर्मूले मृगचर्मोपवीतिनः । जपन्तः संस्थितास्ते हि राज्ञा दृष्ट्वा मृगा इति । मत्वा विद्धास्तु युगपन्मृतास्ते ब्रह्मवादिनः ॥ ४१.२८ ॥

And they too, wearing deer-hide as the sacred upper garment, stood at the base of a certain tree, engaged in recitation. But the king, seeing them, supposed, “They are deer”; and, having shot them at once, those expounders of Brahman died together.

Verse 29

तान् दृष्ट्वा तु मृतान् राजा ब्राह्मणान् संहितव्रतान् । भयेन वेपमानस्तु देवराताश्रमं ययौ । तत्रापृच्छद् ब्रह्मवध्याः ममायाता महामुने ॥ ४१.२९ ॥

But when the king saw those brāhmaṇas—dead and steadfast in disciplined vows—he, trembling with fear, went to Devarāta’s hermitage. There he asked: “O great sage, has the sin of brahmin-slaying come upon me?”

Verse 30

अमूल्य तद्वधं वृत्तं कथयित्वा नराधिपः । भृशं शोकपरीतात्मा रुरोद भृशदुःखितः ॥ ४१.३० ॥

O Amūlya, having recounted the account of that killing, the king—his mind overwhelmed by grief—wept, deeply afflicted with sorrow.

Verse 31

स ऋषिर्देवरातस्तु रुदन्तं नृपसत्तमम् । उवाच मा भैर्नृपतेऽपनेष्यामि पातकम् ॥ ४१.३१ ॥

Then the sage Devarāta addressed the foremost of kings, who was weeping: “Do not fear, O king; I shall remove your sin and wrongdoing.”

Verse 32

पाताले सुतलाख्ये च यथा धात्री निमज्जती । उद्धृता देवदेवेन विष्णुना क्रोडमूर्त्तिना ॥ ४१.३२ ॥

When the Earth (Dhātrī) was sinking into Pātāla, in the realm called Sutala, she was lifted up by Viṣṇu—the God of gods—who had assumed the form of a boar.

Verse 33

तद्वद् भवन्तं राजेन्द्र ब्रह्मवध्यापरिप्लुतम् । उद्धरिष्यति देवोऽसौ स्वयमेव जनार्दनः ॥ ४१.३३ ॥

Likewise, O lord of kings, you—overwhelmed by the culpability of brahman-slaying—will be delivered by that very deity, Janārdana, of his own accord.

Verse 34

एवमुक्तस्ततो राजा हर्षितो वाक्यमब्रवीत् । कतरेण प्रकारेण स मे देवः प्रसीदति । प्रसन्ने चाशुभं सर्वं येन नश्यति सत्तम ॥ ४१.३४ ॥

Thus addressed, the king—delighted—spoke: “By what manner of practice does that deity become gracious toward me, O best of beings, and when he is pleased, by what is all inauspiciousness destroyed?”

Verse 35

दुर्वासा उवाच । एवमुक्तो मुनिस्तेन देवरात इमं व्रतम् । आचख्यौ सोऽपि तं कृत्वा भुक्त्वा भोगान्सुपुष्कलान् ॥ ४१.३५ ॥

Durvāsā said: Thus addressed by him, the sage Devarāta explained this sacred vow (vrata). Having performed it, one also enjoyed abundant pleasures and benefits.

Verse 36

मृत्युकाले मुनिश्रेष्ठ सौवर्णेन विराजता । विमानेनागमत् स्वर्गमिन्द्रलोकं स पार्थिवः ॥ ४१.३६ ॥

O best of sages, at the time of death that king, radiant in a golden celestial conveyance, departed to heaven—to Indra’s world.

Verse 37

तस्येन्द्रस्त्वर्घ्यमादाय प्रत्युत्थानेन निर्ययौ । आयान्तमिन्द्रं दृष्ट्वा तु तमूचुर्विष्णुकिङ्कराः । न द्रष्टव्यो देवराजस्त्वद्धीनस्तपसा इति ॥ ४१.३७ ॥

Then Indra, taking the arghya-offering, went out to receive him with respectful rising. But when Viṣṇu’s attendants saw Indra approaching, they said: “The king of the gods is not to be granted audience—by the power of austerity he stands under your authority.”

Verse 38

एवं सर्वे लोकपालाः निर्ययुस्तस्य तेजसा । प्रत्याख्याताश्च तैर्विष्णुकिंकरैर्हीनकर्मणः । एवं स सत्यलोकान्तं गतो राजा महामुने ॥ ४१.३८ ॥

Thus all the guardians of the worlds withdrew, overpowered by his radiance. And those attendants of Viṣṇu rejected the doer of ignoble deeds. In this manner, O great sage, the king went as far as the region of Satyaloka.

Verse 39

अपुनर्मारके लोके दाहप्रलयवर्ज्जिते । अद्यापि तिष्ठते देवैः स्तूयमानो महानृपः । प्रसन्ने यज्ञपुरुषे किं चित्रं येन तद्भवेत् ॥ ४१.३९ ॥

In that world where there is no return to death, free from the conflagration of cosmic dissolution, that great king still abides even now, being praised by the gods. When the Yajña-Puruṣa is gracious, what is astonishing in this coming to be?

Verse 40

इह जन्मनि सौभाग्यमायुरारोग्यसंपदः । एकैका विधिनोपास्ता ददात्यमृतमुत्तमम् ॥ ४१.४० ॥

In this very life, such observance grants good fortune, longevity, health, and prosperity. Each practice, when duly performed according to the prescribed method, bestows the highest “amṛta” (nectar), that is, the supreme benefit.

Verse 41

किं पुनर्वर्षसंपूर्णे स ददाति स्वकं पदम् । नारायणश्चतुर्मूर्तिः परार्ध्यं च न संशयः ॥ ४१.४१ ॥

Moreover, when a full year has been completed, he bestows his own abode. Nārāyaṇa—manifest in four forms—grants what is supremely precious; of this there is no doubt.

Verse 42

यथैवोद्धृतवान् वेदान् मत्स्यरूपेण केशवः । क्षीराम्बुधौ मथ्यमाने मन्दरं धृतवान् प्रभुः । तद्वच्च कूर्मरूपाख्या द्वितीया पश्य वैष्णवी ॥ ४१.४२ ॥

Just as Keśava, in the form of the Fish, rescued the Vedas, and as the Lord supported Mount Mandara when the Ocean of Milk was being churned—so too, behold the second manifestation, known as the Tortoise-form, O Vaiṣṇavī.

Verse 43

यथा रसातलात् क्ष्मां च धृतवान् पुरुषोत्तमः । वराहरूपी तद्वच्च तृतीया पश्य वैष्णवी ॥ ४१.४३ ॥

Just as Puruṣottama, taking the form of a Boar (Varāha), lifted up the Earth from Rasātala, so too—behold—this is the third manifestation, O Vaiṣṇavī.