Varaha Purana 147.3: Adhyaya 147, Shloka 3

The Sacred Merit of Goniṣkramaṇa

the Tīrtha of the Cows’ Emergence/Release

Uttara Bhāga (probable) · Kṣetra-Māhātmya (Sacred Geography) — Introduction to the secret cause and place

Devanagari script

श्रीवराह उवाच ॥ शृणु भूमे प्रयत्नेन कारणं परमं मम ॥ गुह्यमस्त्यपरं चैव हिमशृङ्ग शिलोच्चये

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 147.3

Transliteration

śrīvarāha uvāca || śṛṇu bhūme prayatnena kāraṇaṁ paramaṁ mama || guhyam asty aparaṁ caiva himaśṛṅga śilocchaye

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

वराह ने कहा, धरती, ध्यान से सुन। मैं एक बात बताता हूँ। एक और सीक्रेट जगह है पहाड़ पर जिसका नाम हिमशृंगा है।

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Word by Word

• śrī-varāhaḥ: Śrī Varāha
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular; honorific karmadhāraya 'glorious Varāha'
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: śrī (प्रातिपदिक) + varāha (प्रातिपदिक)

• uvāca: said
• Type: Verb
• Form: Liṭ lakāra (लिट्, perfect), Parasmaipada, Prathama-puruṣa, Ekavacana
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Root: vac (धातु)

• śṛṇu: listen
• Type: Verb
• Form: Loṭ lakāra (लोट्, imperative), Parasmaipada, Madhyama-puruṣa, Ekavacana
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Root: śru (धातु)

• bhūme: O Earth
• Type: Noun
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Vocative (सम्बोधन), Singular
• Role: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Root: bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक)

• prayatnena: with effort, carefully
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (तृतीया), Singular
• Role: Karana (करण/तृतीया)
• Root: prayatna (प्रातिपदिक)

• kāraṇam: reason, cause
• Type: Noun
• Form: Napumsaka, Accusative (द्वितीया), Singular
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)

• paramam: supreme
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Napumsaka, Accusative, Singular; qualifying kāraṇam
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)

• mama: my
• Type: Noun
• Form: Genitive, Singular; pronoun
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)

• guhyam: a secret (thing)
• Type: Noun
• Form: Napumsaka, Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular; used substantively
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: guhya (प्रातिपदिक)

• asti: is/exists
• Type: Verb
• Form: Lat lakāra, Parasmaipada, Prathama-puruṣa, Ekavacana
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Root: as (धातु)

• aparam: another, further
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Napumsaka, Nominative, Singular; qualifying guhyam
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: apara (प्रातिपदिक)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Conjunction/particle
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: ca (अव्यय)

• eva: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Emphatic particle (निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: eva (अव्यय)

• hima-śṛṅga: O Himaśṛṅga (Snow-peak)
• Type: Noun
• Form: Napumsaka, Vocative (सम्बोधन), Singular; तत्पुरुष: 'snow-peak' used as address (proper name/epithet)
• Role: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Root: hima (प्रातिपदिक) + śṛṅga (प्रातिपदिक)

• śila-uccaye: on the rocky height/mound
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Locative (सप्तमी), Singular; तत्पुरुष: 'heap/mass of rocks'
• Role: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/सप्तमी)
• Root: śilā (प्रातिपदिक) + uccaya (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• guhyam asty aparaṁ caiva → guhyam + asti + aparam + ca + eva
• himaśṛṅga treated as hima-śṛṅga (tatpuruṣa) in vocative
• śilocchaye → śilā-uccaye (tatpuruṣa) with sandhi ā+u→o

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Shanta rasaSetting: Mountain/rocky peak

Speaker

Varāha

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

Varaha teaches her

Her state of mind

Curious, attentive

What she asks

What is Varāha’s ‘supreme reason’ and what is the hidden matter associated with the Himaśṛṅga peak?

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Epistemic/initiatory instruction

Subjects

GeographyHeritage SitesCosmology

Core idea

Sacred knowledge is disclosed through attentive listening (śravaṇa) and is often anchored to tīrtha-like geography as a carrier of cosmic causes.

In practice

Cultivate disciplined listening to śāstra and teachers; approach sacred places as prompts for inquiry into deeper causes rather than mere sightseeing.

The Varaha avatara

With the Earth

Varāha addresses Bhūmi directly, instructing her to listen attentively and introducing a ‘supreme reason’ plus a ‘secret’ connected to Himaśṛṅga.

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Vaishnavism
• Ancient Geography
• Purāṇic Narrative

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It signals a transition from inquiry to authoritative disclosure, typical of Purāṇic cataloging of sacred landscapes through named toponyms.

Which geographic location is identified?

Himaśṛṅga (“Snow-peak”) is named as a prominent rocky elevation; precise modern identification is uncertain without additional contextual markers.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse foregrounds attentive listening and careful transmission as virtues in preserving cultural and geographic knowledge.