Varaha Purana 8.29: Adhyaya 8, Shloka 29

Dialogue on the Ethical Limits of Subsistence and the Five Great Sacrifices

Dharmavyādha, Mātaṅga, and Prasanna

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मणा तु पुरा सृष्टा ओषध्यः सर्ववीरुधः । यज्ञार्थं तत्तु भूतानां भक्ष्यमित्येव वै श्रुतिः ॥ ८.२९ ॥

Sanskrit recitationVaraha Purana 8.29

Transliteration

brahmaṇā tu purā sṛṣṭā oṣadhyaḥ sarvavīrudhaḥ | yajñārthaṃ tattu bhūtānāṃ bhakṣyam ity eva vai śrutiḥ || 8.29 ||

Translation

En verdad, en tiempos antiguos Brahmā creó las hierbas medicinales y toda la vegetación; y la śruti declara que éstas son alimento para los seres, destinadas al propósito del yajña (orden sacrificial).

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Word by Word

• brahmaṇā: by Brahmā
• brahmaṇā: Kartr-karana (कर्तृकरण/Agent expressed in instrumental; ‘by Brahmā’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (तृतीया/3), Singular (एकवचन)

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (विशेष/विरोधार्थक अव्यय)

• purā: formerly/once
• purā: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb of time (पूर्वकालवाचक अव्यय)

• sṛṣṭāḥ: created
• sṛṣṭāḥ: Kriya (क्रिया; predicate participle)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sṛṣṭa (कृदन्त; √sṛj)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त/PPP) from √sṛj; Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन)

• oṣadhyaḥ: medicinal plants/herbs
• oṣadhyaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: oṣadhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन)

• sarva-vīrudhaḥ: all plants/creepers
• sarva-vīrudhaḥ: Karta (कर्ता; apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + vīrudh (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन); कर्मधारय ‘all creepers/plants’ (apposition to oṣadhyaḥ)

• yajña-artham: for sacrifice
• yajña-artham: Prayojana (प्रयोजन/Purpose)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yajña (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन); प्रयोजनार्थे द्वितीया ‘for the purpose of sacrifice’

• tat: that
• tat: Karta (कर्ता/Subject of implied ‘asti’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Demonstrative pronoun (सर्वनाम), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (विशेषार्थक अव्यय)

• bhūtānām: of beings
• bhūtānām: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Genitive (षष्ठी/6), Plural (बहुवचन)

• bhakṣyam: edible/fit to be eaten
• bhakṣyam: Pratijna-puraka (Predicate complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhakṣya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन); predicate adjective

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Quotative particle (इति-कारक अव्यय)

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (अवधारणार्थक अव्यय)

• vai: certainly
• vai: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (निश्चयार्थक अव्यय)

• śrutiḥ: scriptural tradition/śruti
• śrutiḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śruti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Varāha (default dialogic framework; instructor voice)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Studies
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Ecological Ethics

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It reflects a Purāṇic synthesis of cosmology and social-ritual ethics, presenting vegetation as part of a created order linked to sustenance and yajña, a key category in early Sanskrit intellectual and ritual history.

Which geographic location is identified?

No specific geographic site is named in this verse; the focus is on a general cosmological account of the origin and purpose of plants.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse frames plant life as created for the sustenance of beings and for maintaining yajña-based order, implying responsible use of natural resources within an ethical and culturally regulated framework.