Varaha Purana 196.4: Adhyaya 196, Shloka 4

Description of the City of Dharmarāja

Yama

Devanagari script

हर्म्यप्रासादसंबाधमहाट्टालसमन्वितम् ॥ सौवर्णेनैव महता प्राकारॆणाभिवेष्टितम् ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 196.4

Transliteration

harmyaprāsādasaṁbādhamahāṭṭālasamanvitam || sauvarṇenaiva mahatā prākāreṇābhiveṣṭitam

Translation

Abarrotada de mansiones y edificios palaciegos, provista de grandes torres de vigilancia, está cercada por una enorme muralla, enteramente de oro.

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Word by Word

• harmya-prāsāda-saṁbādha-mahā-aṭṭāla-samanvitam: filled with mansions and palaces, furnished with great towers
• harmya-prāsāda-saṁbādha-mahā-aṭṭāla-samanvitam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: harmya (प्रातिपदिक) + prāsāda (प्रातिपदिक) + saṁbādha (प्रातिपदिक) + mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + aṭṭāla (प्रातिपदिक) + samanvita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of puram): ‘endowed with great towers, densely packed with mansions and palaces’

• sauvarṇena: with golden
• sauvarṇena: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sauvarṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of prākāreṇa): golden

• eva: indeed; only
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक (particle: 'indeed/only')

• mahatā: great; huge
• mahatā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of prākāreṇa)

• prākāreṇa: by/with a rampart; wall
• prākāreṇa: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prākāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• abhiveṣṭitam: enclosed; surrounded
• abhiveṣṭitam: Kriyā (क्रियापद-विशेषण; predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: abhi-√veṣṭ (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मणि (enclosed)

Speaker

Nāciketa (continuation of description)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Architectural Vocabulary
• Purāṇic Cosmography
• Sanskrit Philology

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves specialized architectural lexicon that helps modern readers map Purāṇic imagination onto broader Sanskrit descriptive conventions.

Which geographic location is identified?

The described setting remains the mythic city of Dharmarāja (Yama), not a historical terrestrial location.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The ordered, fortified city imagery supports a worldview of structured moral governance, though the verse itself is primarily descriptive.