Varaha Purana 195.5: Adhyaya 195, Shloka 5

Description of Sinners Abiding in Yama’s Realm

Catalog of Transgressions and the Logic of Retribution

Devanagari script

शूद्राणां याजकाश्चैव हाहाभूता द्विजातयः ॥ अयाज्ययाजकाश्चैव ये ये कुष्ठयुता नराः

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 195.5

Transliteration

śūdrāṇāṃ yājakāś caiva hāhābhūtā dvijātayaḥ || ayājya-yājakāś caiva ye ye kuṣṭhayutā narāḥ

Translation

शूद्रों के लिए पूजा करने वाले पंडित भी पापी हैं, यह द्विज लोग बहुत दुखी हैं। जिनको पूजा नहीं करनी चाहिए उनके लिए पूजा करने वाले भी पापी हैं। और जो लोग कुष्ठ रोग से पीड़ित हैं वो भी पापी हैं।

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Word by Word

• śūdrāṇām: of Śūdras
• śūdrāṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śūdra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• yājakāḥ: priests who perform sacrifices (for)
• yājakāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yājaka (प्रातिपदिक; from √yaj यज् धातु)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, conjunction

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, emphatic particle

• hāhā-bhūtāḥ: become ‘hāhā’ (wretched/crying ‘alas’)
• hāhā-bhūtāḥ: Karta (कर्ता—qualifier of dvijātayaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hāhā (अव्यय/निपात-प्रयोग) + bhūta (कृदन्त, √bhū धातु)
• Form: Avyayībhāva-like compound with exclamation ‘hāhā’; ‘bhūta’ as past participle (क्त), Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• dvijātayaḥ: the twice-born (classes)
• dvijātayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvi (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + jāti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (द्विजातयः = द्विज-जातयः, ‘twice-born classes’)

• ayājya-yājakāḥ: priests who sacrifice for the unworthy
• ayājya-yājakāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a-yājya (प्रातिपदिक) + yājaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (अयाज्यस्य याजकाः—those who officiate for the unfit)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, conjunction

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, emphatic particle

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (यद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Relative pronoun, Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ye: who (indeed)
• ye: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (यद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Relative pronoun, Masculine, Nominative, Plural (repetition for emphasis)

• kuṣṭha-yutāḥ: afflicted with leprosy
• kuṣṭha-yutāḥ: Karta (कर्ता—qualifier of narāḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kuṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक) + yuta (कृदन्त, √yuj धातु)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (कुष्ठेन युताः/युक्ताः)

• narāḥ: men/persons
• narāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

Nāciketa

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Narrative
• Ritual Studies

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It reflects intersections between Purāṇic moral cataloging and Dharmaśāstra-like discussions on ritual eligibility and officiation, valuable for the study of normative ritual discourse.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is identified.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

It frames ritual conduct and eligibility as ethically consequential within the narrative’s moral universe, though the verse itself lists categories rather than giving a procedural rule.