Varaha Purana 143.22: Adhyaya 143, Shloka 22

Exposition of the Glory of the Mandāra Sacred Grove

Uttara Bhāga · Tīrtha-māhātmya (Hydrography and mountain-lake description)

Devanagari script

तस्य दक्षिणपूर्वेण समस्रोतो वराङ्गने ॥ पतते विन्ध्यशृङ्गेषु अगाधश्च महाह्रदः ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 143.22

Transliteration

tasya dakṣiṇapūrveṇa samasroto varāṅgane | patate vindhyaśṛṅgeṣu agādhaś ca mahāhradaḥ ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

उसके साउथईस्ट साइड में एक नदी बहती है, लेवल में। वो विंध्य के पहाड़ियों के बीच से आती है। वहाँ एक बहुत बड़ा तालब है, जिसका कोई एंड नहीं दिखता।

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Word by Word

• तस्य: of that / his
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन
• Role: सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी/Genitive relation)
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• दक्षिण-पूर्वेण: to the southeast (by the south-east)
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; दिक्-निर्देशः (directional)
• Role: अधिकरण (करण-प्रयोगे दिशानिर्देशः)
• Root: दक्षिण (प्रातिपदिक) + पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)

• सम-स्रोतः: having an even/current (uniform flow)
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम्
• Role: विशेषण (of महाह्रदः/its stream)
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक) + स्रोतस् (प्रातिपदिक)

• वर-अङ्गने: O fair-limbed lady
• Type: Noun
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन
• Role: सम्बोधन (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Root: वर (प्रातिपदिक) + अङ्गना (प्रातिपदिक)

• पतते: falls / flows down
• Type: Verb
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्
• Role: क्रिया (Verb)
• Root: पत् (धातु)

• विन्ध्य-शृङ्गेषु: on the peaks of the Vindhya (mountains)
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), बहुवचन
• Role: अधिकरण (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Root: विन्ध्य (प्रातिपदिक) + शृङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)

• अगाधः: unfathomable / very deep
• Type: Adjective
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम्
• Role: विशेषण (of महाह्रदः)
• Root: अगाध (प्रातिपदिक)

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)
• Role: समुच्चय (Connector)
• Root: च (अव्यय)

• महाह्रदः: the great lake
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन
• Role: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Root: महā (प्रातिपदिक) + ह्रद (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• समस्रोतो = सम + स्रोतः (कर्मधारय)
• विन्ध्यशृङ्गेषु = विन्ध्य-शृङ्गेषु
• अगाधश्च = अगाधः + च
• महाह्रदः = महा-ह्रदः

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Shanta rasa

Speaker

Varāha

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

Varaha teaches her

Her state of mind

Curious, attentive to ecological-geographic detail

What she asks

Implicit: what other sacred hydrological features lie in the surrounding directions?

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Sacred ecology / dhārmic geography

Subjects

GeographyHeritage SitesEcology

Core idea

Natural features (streams, lakes, mountains) are carriers of sacred presence and merit when approached with reverence.

In practice

Treat waterscapes as sacred: maintain purity, avoid harm, and approach pilgrimage sites with conservation-minded conduct.

The Varaha avatara

With the Earth

Continues instructive mapping of sacred landscape to Bhū-devī, addressing her as 'varāṅgane' while describing waters and lake.

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Ancient Geography
• Sacred Hydrology
• Landscape Description

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

The verse is valuable for the study of Purāṇic hydrography and how major ranges like the Vindhya are integrated into sacred landscape narratives.

Which geographic location is identified?

The Vindhya range is explicitly named; it is a major central Indian mountain system, though the described stream and lake remain unspecified without further textual context.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Implicitly, it encourages attention to natural formations—streams and lakes—as culturally significant features within a mapped sacred environment.