Varaha Purana 1.2: Adhyaya 1, Shloka 2
Praise of Varāha and Pṛthivī’s Foundational Questions
Pūrva Bhāga · Maṅgalācaraṇa (Invocatory Verse) / Varāha–Viṣṇu Stuti
यः संसारार्णवे नौरिव मरणजराव्याधिनक्रोर्मिभीमे भक्तानां भीतिहर्ता मुरनरकदशास्यान्तकृत्कोलरूपी। विष्णुः सर्वेश्वरोऽयं यमिह कृतधियो लीलया प्राप्नुवन्ति मुक्तात्मानो न पापं भवत्तु नुदितारातिपक्षः क्षितीशः ॥ १.३ ॥
yaḥ saṁsārārṇave naur iva maraṇajarāvyādhi-nakror mi-bhīme bhaktānāṁ bhītihartā muranaraka-daśāsyāntakṛt kola-rūpī | viṣṇuḥ sarveśvaro ’yaṁ yam iha kṛtadhiyo līlayā prāpnuvanti muktātmāno na pāpaṁ bhavattu nuditārāti-pakṣaḥ kṣitīśaḥ || 1.3 ||
yaH saMsArArNave nauriva maraNajarAvyAdhinakrormibhIme bhaktAnAM bhItihartA muranarakadashAsyAntakRRit kolarUpI| viShNuH sarveshvaro.ayaM yamiha kRRitadhiyo lIlayA prApnuvanti muktAtmAno napApaM bhavattu nuditArAtipakShaH kShitIshaH || 1.3 ||
मेरा कोई बुरा काम न हो। संसार जैसे समुंदर है, उसमें मौत और बीमारी और बुढ़ापा जैसे मगरमच्छ हैं। भगवान अपने भक्तों का डर दूर करते हैं। मुर और नरक और रावण सबका नाश किया। यह विष्णु हैं, सबके मालिक हैं। जो लोग उन्हें ध्यान से मानते हैं, वो मुक्त हो जाते हैं। दुश्मन भगा के यह धरती के राजा कल्याण करें।
Sandhi Notes
- सर्वेश्वरोऽयं = सर्वेश्वरः + अयम्
- नकror mi-bhīme in IAST reflects sandhi/spacing—taken as नक्र-ऊर्मि-भीमे
- नुदितारातिपक्षः = नुदित + अराति + पक्षः (बहुव्रीहि)
Varāha
The Lord removes bhaya (fear) and grants mukti; afflictions are real as experience but surmountable through refuge in Viṣṇu/Varāha.
Cultivate kṛta-dhī (steady discernment) and bhakti-smaraṇa; treat life’s ‘waves’ as occasions to take shelter rather than succumb to fear.
Explicitly ‘kolarūpī’ (in boar form).
Varāha/Vişṇu is the ‘boat’ across saṃsāra: the avatāra is read as salvific means (upāya) that carries devotees beyond existential terror (death/aging/disease).
The metaphorical imagery is nautical: saṃsāra as ocean, afflictions as crocodiles and waves, the Lord as the boat.
Liberation is attained by ‘kṛta-dhī’ (clear-minded/steadfast intellect) through līlā-recognition of the Lord; suggests bhakti-informed jñāna where the playful divine is still the supreme īśvara.
Mentions slaying of Mura and Naraka (Narakāsura), common Kṛṣṇa-avatāra deeds; functions as avatāra-synthesis rather than Mathurā-site praise.
Sets auspicious tone before Sūta introduces Bhū-devī’s questioning (1.1.4ff).
FAQs
It functions as an invocatory benediction (maṅgalācaraṇa) typical of Purāṇic composition, framing Viṣṇu/Varāha as a salvific figure who enables liberation and removes existential fear.
No specific geographic site is named in this verse; it uses cosmological-metaphorical imagery (the 'ocean of saṁsāra') rather than a locatable pilgrimage geography.
The verse foregrounds a philosophical orientation toward steadiness of understanding (kṛtadhiyo) and the alleviation of fear through disciplined insight and the liberative ideal (mukti), presented in a devotional-literary register.
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