Varaha Purana 124.25: Adhyaya 124, Shloka 25
Ritual Observances Aligned with the Seasons
Seasonal Devotional Procedure
Pūrva Bhāga · Pṛthivī-Uddhāra (Pṛthivī’s Inquiry into Dharma/Action)
शरणं त्वां प्रपन्नाहं त्वद्भक्ता त्वं गतिः प्रभुः ॥ किं कर्म कर्मणा केन किं वा जन्मपरायणम् ॥
śaraṇaṃ tvāṃ prapannāhaṃ tvadbhaktā tvaṃ gatiḥ prabhuḥ || kiṃ karma karmaṇā kena kiṃ vā janmaparāyaṇam ||
sharaNaM tvAM prapannAhaM tvadbhaktA tvaM gatiH prabhuH || kiM karma karmaNA kena kiM vA janmaparAyaNam
मैं आपकी शरण में आ गई हूँ। मैं आपकी भक्त हूँ। आप ही मेरा सहारा हों। कौनसा काम अच्छा होता है? कैसे करना चाहिए? ज़िन्दगी कैसे बितानी चाहिए?
Sandhi Notes
- प्रपन्नाहं = प्रपन्ना + अहम् (आ + अ → आ)
- त्वद्भक्ता = त्वद् + भक्ताः/भक्ता (द् + भ → द्भ)
Pṛthivī (Dharā)
Devotional, earnest, inquisitive; seeking ethical clarity
Which actions lead to good (kalyāṇa), by what kind of karma, and what life-orientation regarding birth should one adopt?
Śaraṇāgati and devotion ground the search for right action; the quality and intention of karma matter
Adopt a life of deliberate karma-viveka: choose actions that purify, serve, and orient the mind toward the Lord rather than toward mere worldly gain
Earth takes śaraṇāgati to the Lord and asks for guidance on karma and life-orientation
The rescuer becomes the teacher: cosmic restoration culminates in dharma-upadeśa; śaraṇāgati is presented as the epistemic and soteriological entry-point
Implicit: ‘karma’ language evokes yajña/ritual action, but no explicit Yajña-Varāha limb-mapping here
Karma-viveka under bhakti: action is to be evaluated by its alignment with īśvara-prītyartha and its capacity to reduce saṃsāra; ‘gati’ hints at the Lord as the ultimate end (parama-gati)
Frames a dharma-śāstra inquiry: discern the right kind of karma and the proper life-aim (janma-parāyaṇatā) under devotion and refuge in the Lord
Implied: right action aligned with devotion leads to welfare/liberation; wrong action leads to continued bondage (not explicitly stated)
Varāha Purāṇa 124.28 (how to please the Lord); Varāha Purāṇa 124.31 (conduct/food of those who behold Mādhava)
FAQs
It shifts from mythic action to normative inquiry, typical of Purāṇas that embed ethical and soteriological questions within narrative.
No location is named; the verse is programmatic, asking about conduct and life-orientation.
The verse frames ethics as inquiry into effective action (karma) and sustained commitment (parāyaṇa), emphasizing reflective moral reasoning.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Varaha Purana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
