Varaha Purana 167.2: Adhyaya 167, Shloka 2
The Glory of the Viśrānti Tīrtha and the Account of a Rākṣasa’s Liberation
Uttara Bhāga · Dharma-ācāra and Social Ethics (Narrative Exempla)
पृथिव्युवाच ॥ किमर्थं राक्षसेनोक्ता संज्ञा विश्रान्तिसंज्ञिता ॥ किमर्थं पृष्टवान्विप्रः सर्वं कथय मे प्रभो ॥
pṛthivī uvāca || kimarthaṃ rākṣasenoktā saṃjñā viśrāntisaṃjñitā || kimarthaṃ pṛṣṭavān vipraḥ sarvaṃ kathaya me prabho ||
pRRithivyuvAcha || kimarthaM rAkShasenoktA saMj~nA vishrAntisaMj~nitA || kimarthaM pRRiShTavAnvipraH sarvaM kathaya me prabho
धरती ने पूछा, प्रभु, वो राक्षस ने जो नाम बताया था, उसको विश्रांति क्यों कहते हैं? और उस ब्राह्मण ने ऐसा क्यों पूछा? मुझे सब बता दो।
Sandhi Notes
- पृथिव्युवाच = पृथिवी + उवाच
- राक्षसेनोक्ता = राक्षसेन + उक्ता
- पृष्टवान्विप्रः = पृष्टवान् + विप्रः
- विश्रान्तिसंज्ञिता = विश्रान्ति-संज्ञिता (समास)
Pṛthivī
Curious, investigative, eager for complete understanding
Why is the designation called ‘Viśrānti’; why did a rākṣasa speak it; and why did the brāhmaṇa inquire—what is the full story and its meaning?
Names (saṃjñā) are not arbitrary; they encode dharmic causality and spiritual function, prompting inquiry (jijñāsā) as a virtue.
Cultivate respectful questioning in scripture study and pilgrimage; ask ‘why this name/rite?’ to convert travel into transformative understanding.
Bhū-devī directly questions Varāha, requesting the full explanation of the name ‘Viśrānti’ and the motives of the rākṣasa and brāhmaṇa—an explicit teacher–student exchange.
‘Viśrānti’ (rest) can be read as a spiritual metaphor: the jīva seeks viśrānti in brahman/viṣṇu; Bhū-devī’s inquiry turns geography into a pointer toward inner cessation of saṃsāric fatigue.
Rest as completion of ritual exertion: after yajña, there is śānti/viśrānti; the tīrtha-name hints at śānti-phala analogous to ritual pacification.
Upaśama/śānti as marks of realization: the question invites a teaching where true ‘rest’ is cessation of craving and fear, culminating in mokṣa.
The name ‘Viśrānti’ naturally aligns with later Kṛṣṇa-kathā of resting after heroic deeds in Mathurā; the inquiry invites that layered kṣetra-memory.
Varāha Purāṇa: continuation of the Viśrānti-nāma-kathā immediately following this question
FAQs
It exemplifies the Purāṇic dialogic method in which a personified entity (Pṛthivī) prompts an explanatory narrative, a common technique for embedding ethical and geographic lore.
No location is specified in this verse; it functions as a question introducing a narrative explanation.
The verse foregrounds inquiry and clarification—ethical teaching is prepared through careful definition of terms and reasons (kimartham).
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