Varaha Purana 113.19: Adhyaya 113, Shloka 19

Hymn to Varāha and Pṛthivī’s Inquiry

Prelude to the Sanatkumāra Dialogue

Devanagari script

अन्यद्दैवः कूर्मरूपस्त्वं समुद्रस्य मन्थने ॥ धृतवानसि कौर्मेण मन्दरं मधुसूदन

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 113.19

Transliteration

anyad devaḥ kūrma-rūpas tvaṃ samudrasya manthane || dhṛtavān asi kaurmeṇa mandaraṃ madhusūdana

Translation

Et en une autre occasion, ô Dieu, prenant la forme d’une tortue lors du barattage de l’océan, tu soutins le mont Mandara par ta forme de tortue, ô Madhusūdana.

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Word by Word

• anyat: at another time/elsewhere
• anyat: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Adverbial accusative neuter used as avyaya-like (अन्यत् = ‘at another time/otherwise’)

• devaḥ: O god / the god
• devaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular

• kūrma-rūpaḥ: (as) the tortoise-form
• kūrma-rūpaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kūrma (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) ‘kūrmasya rūpam’; Masculine, Nominative, Singular; predicate/apposition to ‘tvaṃ’

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: 2nd person pronoun, Nominative (1st), Singular

• samudrasya: of the ocean
• samudrasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: samudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th), Singular

• manthane: in the churning
• manthane: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manthana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative (7th), Singular; ‘in the churning’

• dhṛtavān: having held/held
• dhṛtavān: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dhṛ (धृ धातु)
• Form: Past active participle (क्तवतु/क्तवत्), Masculine, Nominative, Singular; with ‘asi’ forms periphrastic perfect sense ‘you have held’

• asi: are (auxiliary)
• asi: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (अस् धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), 2nd Person, Singular

• kaurmeṇa: by means of the tortoise (form)
• kaurmeṇa: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kaurma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter/Masculine, Instrumental (3rd), Singular; ‘by/with (your) tortoise (form)’

• mandaram: Mandara (mountain)
• mandaram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mandara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• madhusūdana: O slayer of Madhu (Viṣṇu)
• madhusūdana: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madhu (प्रातिपदिक) + sūdana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) ‘madhoḥ sūdanaḥ’; Masculine, Vocative (8th), Singular

Speaker

Unspecified (defaults to Varāha–Pṛthivī dialogue frame); addressee clearly: Viṣṇu (Madhusūdana)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Purāṇic Mythology
• Cosmological Narratives

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It cross-references the widely attested samudra-manthana myth, showing how Purāṇas interlink avatāra narratives to build a shared cultural memory across texts.

Which geographic location is identified?

Mandara is named (mythic mountain used as the churning rod); its identification is primarily mythological rather than securely mappable to a single modern geographic feature.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Rather than a direct injunction, the verse emphasizes a cosmological motif of support and stabilization—divine agency presented as sustaining order during crisis.