Varaha Purana 175.16: Adhyaya 175, Shloka 16

The Sanctity of the Kṛṣṇagaṅgā Pilgrimage-Ford and the Account of the Brahmin Vasu’s Daughter

Devanagari script

तेन सार्थेन सा कन्या मथुरायां जगाम च॥ कनिष्ठा भगिनी तेषां बालरण्डा बभूव ह॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 175.16

Transliteration

tena sārthena sā kanyā mathurāyāṃ jagāma ca || kaniṣṭhā bhaginī teṣāṃ bālaraṇḍā babhūva ha

Translation

Us saath mein woh ladki bhi Mathura gayi. Uski sabse choti behen bhi thi, jo badi jaldi vidhwa ho gayi thi.

Ask anything about this verse...Ask

Word by Word

• tena: with that
• tena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; Instrumental: ‘with/by that’

• sārthena: with the caravan
• sārthena: Sahakārī (सहकारी/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sārtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; Instrumental: ‘with the caravan/company’

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• kanyā: the girl
• kanyā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kanyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; apposition to sā

• mathurāyām: in/at Mathurā
• mathurāyām: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mathurā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; Locative

• jagāma: went
• jagāma: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (गम्) धातु
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; Perfect: ‘went’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• kaniṣṭhā: younger
• kaniṣṭhā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kaniṣṭhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; adjective of bhaginī

• bhaginī: sister
• bhaginī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhaginī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; Genitive plural: ‘of them’

• bāla-raṇḍā: a young widow
• bāla-raṇḍā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāla (प्रातिपदिक) + raṇḍā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—बालैव रण्डा = ‘a young widow’

• babhūva: became
• babhūva: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (भू) धातु
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; Perfect: ‘became’

• ha: indeed (narrative)
• ha: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ha (अव्यय)
• Form: कथानक-निपात (narrative particle)

Speaker

Varāha (default narrative voice) to Pṛthivī (inquirer framework)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Narrative
• Pilgrimage Culture
• Women in Sanskrit Narratives

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It hints at travel infrastructure (sārtha) and social vulnerability (early widowhood), themes that appear in narrative literature as catalysts for later ethical and ritual developments.

Which geographic location is identified?

Mathurā is explicitly named.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse is primarily descriptive; ethically it sets a context of social precarity that later Purāṇic passages often address through norms of care and support.