Varaha Purana 169.34: Adhyaya 169, Shloka 34

The Greatness of Mathurā: The Ardhacandra Sacred Bathing Rite and the Procedure for the Yajñopavīta Observance

Uttara Bhāga · Māhātmya (Vrata: fasting, bathing, worship, night-vigil)

Devanagari script

चैत्रस्य शुक्लद्वादश्यामुपोष्य स्नानमाचरेत् ॥ चिन्ताविष्णुं समभ्यर्च्य कृत्वा वै जागरं निशि ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 169.34

Transliteration

caitrasya śukladvādaśyām upoṣya snānam ācaret || cintāviṣṇuṃ samabhyarcya kṛtvā vai jāgaraṃ niśi ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

चैत्र महीने की शुक्ल द्वादशी को व्रत रखना। नहा के विष्णु की पूजा करनी। रात को जागना है, सोने का नहीं।

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Word by Word

• caitrasya: of Caitra (month)
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Root: caitra (प्रातिपदिक)

• śukla-dvādaśyām: on the bright (fortnight) twelfth
• Type: Noun
• Form: Karmadhāraya (कर्मधारय) compound; Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Root: śukla (प्रातिपदिक) + dvādaśī (प्रातिपदिक)

• upoṣya: having fasted
• Type: Verb
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वा/ल्यप्) form (ल्यप्): ‘having fasted’
• Role: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Root: upa-√vas (वस्-धातु)

• snānam: bathing
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: snāna (प्रातिपदिक)

• ācaret: should perform
• Type: Verb
• Form: Liṅ-lakāra (लिङ्/Optative), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Root: ā-√car (चर्-धातु)

• cintā-viṣṇum: Cintāviṣṇu (Viṣṇu as object of contemplation)
• Type: Noun
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) compound (name/epithet); Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: cintā (प्रातिपदिक) + viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)

• samabhyarcya: having worshipped
• Type: Verb
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वा/ल्यप्) form (ल्यप्): ‘having worshipped’
• Role: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Root: sam-abhi-√arc (अर्च्-धातु)

• kṛtvā: having done
• Type: Verb
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वा): ‘having done/made’
• Role: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Root: √kṛ (कृ-धातु)

• vai: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Particle (निपात) emphatic ‘indeed/verily’
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Root: vai (अव्यय)

• jāgaram: wakefulness/vigil
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: jāgara (प्रातिपदिक)

• niśi: at night
• Type: Noun
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Root: niś (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• śukladvādaśyāmupoṣya = śukla-dvādaśyām upoṣya
• snānamācaret = snānam ācaret (vowel sandhi)

Speaker and setting

Bhakti and Shanta rasa

Speaker

Varāha

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Devotional discipline

Subjects

Ritual calendarTemple/Deity cult (Cintāviṣṇu)Pilgrimage and observance

Core idea

Bhakti is enacted through integrated limbs—upavāsa (restraint), snāna (purity), arcana (attention), jāgara (wakeful remembrance).

In practice

Plan observance as a sequence: fasting → bathing → focused worship → night-long remembrance (kīrtana/japa) rather than isolated acts.

Dharma

Vrata

Mathura and Krishna

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Studies
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Ritual Studies

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It records a structured vrata sequence (fasting, bathing, worship, vigil) characteristic of Purāṇic ritual manuals and helpful for reconstructing regional devotional practice.

Which geographic location is identified?

No explicit place-name appears in this verse; it focuses on the Caitra calendar observance and a deity-name (Cintāviṣṇu).

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Discipline of body and attention—fasting and wakeful vigil—paired with focused worship, emphasizing intentional practice rather than mere ritual formality.