Varaha Purana 11.92: Adhyaya 11, Shloka 92

Hospitality at Gauramukha’s Hermitage and the Power of the Wish-Fulfilling Jewel

Pūrva Bhāga · Narrative Combat Episode (Heroic-Kāvya Style)

Devanagari script

सुप्रभः प्रघसं त्वाजौ ताडयामास पञ्चभिः । शरैराशीविषाकारैः प्रतप्तैः पतगैरिव ॥ ११.९३ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 11.92

Transliteration

suprabhaḥ praghasaṃ tv ājau tāḍayāmāsa pañcabhiḥ | śarair āśīviṣākāraiḥ prataptaiḥ patagair iva || 11.93 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

सुप्रभ ने युद्ध में प्रघस को पाँच बाण मारे। वो बाण ऐसे थे जैसे बड़ी गरम साँप। जल के पक्षी जैसे उड़ते हैं वैसे चमक रहे थे।

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Word by Word

• suprabhaḥ: Suprabha (name)
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st) एकवचनम्; proper name; कर्मधारयः—‘सु-प्रभः’ (of good splendor)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: su + prabha (प्रातिपदिक)

• praghasam: Praghasa (name)
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया (2nd) एकवचनम्; proper name/object
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: praghasa (प्रातिपदिक)

• tu: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: निपातः (particle) — emphasis/contrast
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Root: tu (अव्यय)

• ājau: in battle
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे सप्तमी (7th) एकवचनम्; ‘आजा/आजि’ = battle; locative
• Role: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Root: āja (प्रातिपदिक)

• tāḍayāmāsa: struck, beat
• Type: Verb
• Form: लिट् (Perfect) परस्मैपदम्; प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd) एकवचनम्; causative sense in stem (ताडय-)
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: tāḍ (धातु)

• pañcabhiḥ: with five
• Type: Adjective
• Form: तृतीया (3rd) बहुवचनम्; numeral adjective used instrumentally
• Role: Karaṇa (करण)
• Root: pañcan (प्रातिपदिक)

• śaraiḥ: with arrows
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd) बहुवचनम्
• Role: Karaṇa (करण)
• Root: śara (प्रातिपदिक)

• āśīviṣa-ākāraiḥ: having the shape of poisonous snakes
• Type: Adjective
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd) बहुवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः—‘आशीविषस्य आकारः येषाम्’ (having the form of venomous serpents) qualifying ‘śaraiḥ’
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: āśīviṣa + ākāra (प्रातिपदिक)

• prataptaiḥ: heated, blazing
• Type: Adjective
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd) बहुवचनम्; भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle) from √tap ‘to heat’
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: pratapta (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त from √tap)

• patagaiḥ: with birds
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd) बहुवचनम्
• Role: Upamāna (उपमान)
• Root: pataga (प्रातिपदिक)

• iva: like, as if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: उपमावाचक-अव्ययम् (particle of comparison)
• Role: Upamā-dyotaka (उपमाद्योतक)
• Root: iva (अव्यय)

Sandhi Notes

• tv ājau = tu ājau
• śarair āśīviṣākāraiḥ = śaraiḥ āśīviṣa-ākāraiḥ (visarga sandhi + compound)

Speaker and setting

Vira and Raudra rasaSetting: Raṇabhūmi

Speaker

Varāha

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Poetic-psychological (upamā as dhvani)

Subjects

Epic NarrativeConflict and KingshipPoetics (Simile/Upamā)

Core idea

Simile intensifies the felt reality of conflict: arrows become ‘venom-serpents’ and ‘blazing birds,’ conveying the moral peril and irreversible momentum of violence.

In practice

Recognize how metaphors shape emotion and judgment; cultivate restraint by seeing the ‘poison’ latent in anger-driven action.

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Narrative
• Sanskrit Poetics
• Vaiṣṇavism

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It exemplifies Purāṇic narrative style where martial episodes are presented with kāvya-like similes, reflecting how Purāṇas preserve and adapt epic aesthetics within their broader cosmological and cultural frameworks.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic place-name is specified in this verse; it is a scene set generally 'in battle' (ājau).

What is the primary ethical instruction?

No direct ethical injunction is stated; the verse functions descriptively, emphasizing intensity and consequence in conflict through controlled poetic imagery.