Varaha Purana 144.67: Adhyaya 144, Shloka 67

The Māhātmya of Someśvara and Related Liṅgas: The Liberation-Field of Triveṇī and the Śālagrāma Sacred Landscape

Uttara Bhāga · Tīrtha–Māhātmya (Sacred Geography and Pilgrimage Merit)

Devanagari script

स्नात्वा तु बाणगङ्गायां दृष्ट्वा बाणेश्वरं प्रभुम् ॥ गङ्गास्नानफलं प्राप्य मोदते देववद्दिवि ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 144.67

Transliteration

snātvā tu bāṇagaṅgāyāṃ dṛṣṭvā bāṇeśvaraṃ prabhum || gaṅgā-snānaphalaṃ prāpya modate devavad divi ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

बनगंगा में नहा के बनेश्वर भगवान को देख लो। गंगा में नहाने जैसा फल मिलता है। स्वर्ग में भगवान जैसी खुशी होती है।

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Word by Word

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• Type: Verb
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund), अव्ययभाव; पूर्वक्रिया—‘having bathed’
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Root: स्ना (धातु)

• तु: indeed/and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle: but/indeed)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: तु (अव्यय)

• बाणगङ्गायाम्: in the Bāṇa-Gaṅgā (river)
• Type: Noun
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (बाण-नाम्नी गङ्गा)
• Role: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Root: बाणगङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• Type: Verb
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund), अव्ययभाव; पूर्वक्रिया—‘having seen’
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Root: दृश् (धातु)

• बाणेश्वरम्: Bāṇeśvara (Lord Bāṇa)
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (बाणस्य ईश्वरः)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: बाण + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)

• प्रभुम्: the Lord
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; बाणेश्वरम् इति विशेषण/अप्पोजिशन
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: प्रभु (प्रातिपदिक)

• गङ्गास्नानफलम्: the fruit of bathing in the Ganges
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (गङ्गायां स्नानस्य फलम्)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: गङ्गा + स्नान + फल (प्रातिपदिक)

• प्राप्य: having obtained
• Type: Verb
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त (Gerund/Absolutive), अव्ययभाव; ‘having obtained’
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु)

• मोदते: rejoices
• Type: Verb
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Root: मुद् (धातु)

• देववत्: like a god
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानवाचक (comparative adverb: like a god)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: देववत् (अव्यय/तद्धित)

• दिवि: in heaven
• Type: Noun
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (द्यौः), सप्तमी विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; स्थान
• Role: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Root: दिव् (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• बाणगङ्गायाम् = बाणगङ्गा+सप्तमी
• गङ्गास्नानफलम् = गङ्गा+स्नान+फल (तत्पुरुष)
• देववत् तद्धितान्त अव्यय

Speaker and setting

Shanta and Adbhuta rasaSetting: River/ford (tīrtha) and temple/shrine

Speaker

Varāha

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

Varaha teaches her

Her state of mind

Curious; receptive to tīrtha-phala descriptions

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Tīrtha-theology (place as condensed grace)

Subjects

GeographyHeritage SitesEthics

Core idea

Sacred geography can function as a ‘compressed’ form of pan-Indian sanctity: local snāna and darśana can equal archetypal Gaṅgā merit.

In practice

Combine bodily purification (snāna) with devotional seeing (darśana); treat pilgrimage as ethical self-renewal rather than tourism.

Dharma

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Ancient Geography
• Pilgrimage Literature
• Cultural Heritage

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It records a common Purāṇic strategy: establishing local water-sites and shrines as ritually equivalent to pan-Indic paradigms (here, Gaṅgā bathing), aiding the formation of regional pilgrimage networks.

Which geographic location is identified?

Bāṇagaṅgā and the associated shrine of Bāṇeśvara; modern identification depends on regional toponymy and archaeological/epigraphic correlation.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse promotes disciplined ritual action (bathing and respectful viewing/darśana) as a means of moral-spiritual cultivation, framed in the idiom of merit.