Varaha Purana 187.42: Adhyaya 187, Shloka 42
Determination of the Origin and Procedure of the Ancestral Offering
Pitṛyajña/Śrāddha
Uttara Bhāga (traditional division; chapter-level placement may vary by recension) · Devotional concentration and mental discipline (bhakti-yoga orientation)
संयम्य मयि चित्तं यो युक्त आसीत मत्परः ॥ प्रयुञ्जीत तदात्मानं मद्भक्तो नान्यमानसः ॥
saṃyamya mayi cittaṃ yo yukta āsīta matparaḥ || prayuñjīta tadātmānaṃ madbhakto nānyamānasaḥ ||
saMyamya mayi chittaM yo yukta AsIta matparaH || prayu~njIta tadAtmAnaM madbhakto nAnyamAnasaH
जिसने अपना मन मेरे ऊपर रखा और मुझपे लगा रहा। वो मेरे भक्त थे, उनका मन कहीं और नहीं था। ऐसे लोग को अपने आप को पूरा उस काम में लगाना चाहिए।
Sandhi Notes
- मत्परः = मत् + परः
- तदात्मानम् = तत् + आत्मानम्
- मद्भक्तः = मत् + भक्तः
- नान्यमानसः = न + अन्यमानसः
Varāha
Curious, receptive
How should the mind be restrained and fixed on the Supreme so that practice becomes one-pointed bhakti-yoga?
Mind-restraint culminating in ananya-bhakti (exclusive devotion) as the operative sādhana.
Daily meditation with the Lord as sole support; reduce competing desires/objects; cultivate matparatā (supreme aim in Him).
Instruction given within the Varāha–Vasundharā dialogue-frame; direct interaction is pedagogical rather than physical.
Varāha as the stabilizing axis of consciousness: the mind (citta) is ‘lifted’ from dispersion and set upon the Lord, mirroring Earth’s uplift from the abyss.
Implicit: ‘saṃyama’ and ‘yukti’ echo yajña-discipline; the Lord as the single altar-object (ālambana) for meditation.
Ekāgratā and ananya-bhakti align with antaḥkaraṇa-śuddhi leading toward brahma/īśvara-sākṣātkāra; ‘madbhaktaḥ nān्यमānasaḥ’ resonates with Gītā’s ananya-yoga.
One should restrain the mind and practice single-pointed devotion to Bhagavān, excluding other aims.
Steadfast one-pointed bhakti-yoga leads to inner purification and liberation-oriented merit; distraction sustains saṃsāric bondage.
General Vaiṣṇava theism (matpara, madbhakta) that can be read as pan-Viṣṇu devotion.
Varāha–Bhū dialogue passages on dharma and devotion (general frame)
FAQs
The verse exemplifies a Purāṇic idiom where yogic concentration is framed through a devotional vocabulary, indicating cross-fertilization between bhakti and yoga discourses.
No location is mentioned; the verse is prescriptive, centered on mental focus and devotion.
Maintain single-pointed attention and avoid distraction—discipline the mind and commit to a highest aim.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Varaha Purana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
