Varaha Purana 185.17: Adhyaya 185, Shloka 17
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Uttara Bhāga · Ritual Manuals (Mantra for bodily purification)
गात्रसंशोधनार्थाय इमं मन्त्रमुदाहरेत्॥
gātrasaṁśोधनārthāya imaṁ mantramudāharet ||
gAtrasaMshodhanArthAya imaM mantramudAharet
जब मूर्ति को साफ करो, तब यह मंत्र पढ़ो। यह अंगों को शुद्ध करता है।
Sandhi Notes
- गात्रसंशोधनार्थाय = गात्र + संशोधन + अर्थाय (तत्पुरुष-समास)
- मन्त्रमुदाहरेत् = मन्त्रम् + उदाहरेत् (म् + उ → मु)
Varāha
Purity is intentional and enacted: speech (mantra) directs bodily action toward sacred readiness.
Use short purification mantras before pūjā, study, or service; pair recitation with mindful washing and restraint.
Gātra-śodhana links the microcosm (body) to the macrocosm (tīrtha-waters invoked by mantra): the body becomes a fit vessel for dharma and devotion.
Mantra as inner ‘water’ cleansing limbs; ritual speech (vāc) functions as purifier akin to consecrated waters.
Suggests adhyātma-śuddhi: purification is ultimately of the self’s instruments (body/mind) to reflect the ever-pure ātman under īśvara.
For bodily purification (gātra-śodhana), one should utter the prescribed mantra.
Mantra-recitation effects śuddhi and fitness for worship; omission leaves the rite incomplete and the performer ritually unprepared.
Varāha Purāṇa: the following tīrtha-invocation mantra (185.19) supplies the content used for śuddhi
FAQs
Such rubric-like lines are characteristic of ritual handbooks embedded in Purāṇas, showing how liturgical performance was systematized for transmission.
None; the verse is a procedural marker introducing the next mantra.
Cultivation of cleanliness and self-discipline as prerequisites for ritual action.
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