Varaha Purana 163.10: Adhyaya 163, Shloka 10

The Greatness of Kapila-Varāha: The Efficacy of Vaikuṇṭha Tīrtha and the Installation History of the Varāha Image

Uttara Bhāga (traditional classification) · Tīrtha-māhātmya (revelation of divine identity; conclusion)

Devanagari script

इत्युक्तस्तैर्देवदेवस्तत्रैवान्तरधीयत ॥ एष प्रभावस्तीर्थस्य वैकुण्ठस्य वसुन्धरे ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 163.10

Transliteration

ity uktaṣ tair devadevas tatraivāntaradhīyata || eṣa prabhāvas tīrthasya vaikuṇṭhasya vasundhare ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

जब लोगों ने यह कहा तो भगवान वही गायब हो गए। यह वैकुंठ तीर्थ की ताकत है ज़मीन पर।

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Word by Word

• इति: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Particle/quotative (निपात)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: इति (अव्यय)

• उक्तः: having been spoken/addressed
• Type: Verb
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Masculine, Nominative, Singular
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: वच् (धातु)

• तैः: by them
• Type: Noun
• Form: Pronoun, Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural
• Role: Karana (करण)
• Root: तद् (प्रातिपदिक)

• देवदेवः: God of gods
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: देवानां देवः
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: देव + देव (प्रातिपदिक)

• तत्र: there
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Adverb (देशवाचक अव्यय)
• Role: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Emphatic particle (निपात)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: एव (अव्यय)

• अन्तर्धीयत: disappeared
• Type: Verb
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), 3rd person, Singular; आत्मनेपद; ‘disappeared’
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Root: अन्तर्धा + इ (धातु)

• एषः: this
• Type: Noun
• Form: Pronoun, Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: एतद् (प्रातिपदिक)

• प्रभावः: power/effect
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular
• Role: Pradhana/Predicate (विधेय)
• Root: प्रभाव (प्रातिपदिक)

• तीर्थस्य: of the pilgrimage-place
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)

• वैकुण्ठस्य: of Vaikuṇṭha
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (proper name), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: वैकुण्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)

• वसुन्धरे: O Earth (Vasundharā)
• Type: Noun
• Form: Feminine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular
• Role: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Root: वसुन्धरा (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• इत्युक्तः = इति + उक्तः
• तत्रैव = तत्र + एव
• अन्तरधीयत = अन्तर्धीयत (prefix अन्तर्धा-)

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Shanta rasaSetting: Tīrtha (sacred ford/bathing place)

Speaker

Varāha

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

Varaha teaches her

Her state of mind

Attentive; receiving a concluding assurance about tīrtha-potency

What she asks

Implicit: what is the efficacy (prabhāva) of the Vaikuṇṭha tīrtha and what does the epiphany signify for pilgrims?

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Tīrtha-śraddhā (faith in sacred geography)

Subjects

Heritage SitesSacred GeographyNarrative Closure

Core idea

Sacred places function as condensed loci of divine presence; even when the deity withdraws, the place retains transformative potency.

In practice

Approach tīrthas with reverence and attentiveness; treat the narrative of epiphany as a cue for disciplined pilgrimage conduct (snāna, remembrance, restraint).

The Varaha avatara

With the Earth

Addresses Vasundharā while concluding a tīrtha-māhātmya episode; the deity vanishes (antaradhīyate), leaving the teaching as the interaction.

Mathura and Krishna

Cross references

Tags

• Purāṇic Literature
• Tīrtha-māhātmya
• Epiphany Motif
• Ancient Pilgrimage

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

The disappearance (antaradhāna) functions as narrative authentication, a common Purāṇic closure that seals the tīrtha’s reputation through divine confirmation.

Which geographic location is identified?

Vaikuṇṭha-tīrtha is explicitly named and foregrounded as the heritage site whose efficacy is being asserted.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

It reinforces the cultural premise that certain places are regarded as ethically and ritually transformative within the text’s worldview.