Varaha Purana 13.1: Adhyaya 13, Shloka 1

The Genealogy of the Pitṛs and the Determination of Śrāddha Times

Pūrva Bhāga · Pr̥thivī–Varāha Saṃvāda (Dialogic Narrative Frame)

Devanagari script

धरण्युवाच । एतत् तन्महदाश्चर्यं दृष्ट्वा गौरमुखो मुनिः । ते चापि मणिजाः प्राप्ताः किं फलं तु वरं गुरोः ॥ १३.१ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 13.1

Transliteration

dharaṇyuvāca | etat tan mahadāścaryaṃ dṛṣṭvā gauramukho muniḥ | te cāpi maṇijāḥ prāptāḥ kiṃ phalaṃ tu varaṃ guroḥ || 13.1 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

धरणी ने कहा, यह तो बहुत बड़ा चमत्कार था। गौरमुख रिशि ने देखा और उनको वो मणि से पैदा हुए लोग भी मिल गए। गुरु जी, इससे क्या फायदा मिलता है? आप आशीर्वाद में क्या देंगे?

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Word by Word

• dharaṇī: Dharaṇī (Earth)
• Type: Noun
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; speaker tag
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: dharaṇī (प्रातिपदिक)

• uvāca: said
• Type: Verb
• Form: Liṭ (लिट्), Perfect, Parasmaipada, 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Root: vac (धातु)

• etat: this
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• tat: that
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; deictic/emphatic ‘that’
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• mahat-āścaryam: great marvel
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; karmadhāraya: ‘a great wonder’
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक) + āścarya (प्रातिपदिक)

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• Type: Verb
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वा), ‘having seen’
• Role: Purvakala (पूर्वकाल)
• Root: dṛś (धातु)

• gaura-mukhaḥ: the fair-faced
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; bahuvrīhi: ‘he whose face is fair’
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: gaura (प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)

• muniḥ: sage
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)

• te: they
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), conjunction (समुच्चय)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Root: ca (अव्यय)

• api: also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), particle (निपात)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Root: api (अव्यय)

• maṇi-jāḥ: jewel-born (ones)
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; tatpuruṣa: ‘born from jewels’ / ‘jewel-born (beings/things)’
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: maṇi (प्रातिपदिक) + ja (प्रातिपदिक)

• prāptāḥ: obtained; reached
• Type: Verb
• Form: Past active/resultative participle (क्त), Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; agrees with ‘te/maṇi-jāḥ’
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Root: prāpta (कृदन्त; प्र+आप् धातु, क्त)

• kim: what?
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular; interrogative ‘what?’
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• phalam: fruit; result
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक)

• tu: but
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), adversative particle (निपात)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Root: tu (अव्यय)

• varam: boon; best (thing)
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular; ‘boon/excellent thing’
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक)

• guroḥ: of the teacher
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Root: guru (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• dharaṇyuvāca → dharaṇī uvāca
• tanmahadāścaryam → tat mahat āścaryam (karmadhāraya as mahat-āścaryam)
• gauramukho → gaura-mukhaḥ
• cāpi → ca api

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Shanta rasaSetting: Narrative episode frame

Speaker

Dharaṇī (Pṛthivī)

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

She asks

Her state of mind

Curious and wonder-struck

What she asks

After witnessing the great marvel and Gauramukha’s obtaining of the gem-born beings, what is the true phala/boon that results from this event?

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Karma-phala inquiry

Subjects

Narrative frameDialogueWonder/Marvel motifBoon and karmic result (phala)

Core idea

Events in sacred narrative are read through the lens of phala (result/boon), linking marvels to moral-spiritual causality.

In practice

When hearing Purāṇic episodes, ask: what inner transformation or dharmic result is being taught, not merely what happened.

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Dialogue
• Vaishnavism
• Sanskrit Philology

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It exemplifies the Purāṇic question–answer format, where Dharaṇī (Earth) prompts the instructor-figure to explain causality, results (phala), and boons (vara), a common didactic device in Purāṇic literature.

Which geographic location is identified?

No explicit geographic location is named in this verse fragment; it functions as a narrative transition focusing on an event described as a “great wonder.”

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse foregrounds inquiry into consequences and meaning—an epistemic ethic of asking about the ‘fruit’ (phala) of actions/events rather than asserting conclusions without explanation.