Varaha Purana 21.55: Adhyaya 21, Shloka 55

The Disruption of Dakṣa’s Sacrifice, the Hari-Hara Conflict, and the Establishment of Rudra’s Sacrificial Share

Pūrva Bhāga · Pr̥thivī-uddhāra and Iconographic Description (Narrative Passage)

Devanagari script

एकं गदां भ्रामयति द्वितीयं दण्डमेव च । एकं शोभति कण्ठस्थैर्मणिभिस्त्वस्थिभिः परम् । एकं पीताम्बरं तत्र द्वितीयं सर्पमेखलम् ॥ २१.५६ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 21.55

Transliteration

ekaṁ gadāṁ bhrāmayati dvitīyaṁ daṇḍam eva ca | ekaṁ śobhati kaṇṭhasthair maṇibhis tv asthibhiḥ param | ekaṁ pītāmbaraṁ tatra dvitīyaṁ sarpamekhalam || 21.56 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

एक रूप गदा घुमा रहा है, दूसरा सिर्फ डंडा पकड़ा है। एक के गल में मणि चमक रही है और हड्डियाँ भी साफ दिख रही हैं। एक ने पीला कपड़ा पहना है, दूसरे ने साँप की कमरबंद बाँधी है।

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Word by Word

• ekam: one (as an object)
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; adjective used substantively (one [weapon/thing])
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)

• gadām: mace
• Type: Noun
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: gadā (प्रातिपदिक)

• bhrāmayati: whirls / makes (it) spin
• Type: Verb
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; causative sense (णिच्) ‘causes to whirl’
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: bhram (धातु)

• dvitīyam: the second
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; adjective used substantively (the second [thing])
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: dvitīya (प्रातिपदिक)

• daṇḍam: staff / rod
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: daṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)

• eva: indeed / just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; emphatic particle (निश्चयार्थक/अवधारण)
• Role: Sambandha/Modifier (सम्बन्ध/विशेषण)
• Root: eva (अव्यय)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; conjunction (समुच्चय)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: ca (अव्यय)

• ekam: one (another)
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; adjective used substantively
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)

• śobhati: shines / is adorned
• Type: Verb
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: śubh (धातु)

• kaṇṭhasthaiḥ: (with) neck-placed
• Type: Adjective
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी/सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष) ‘in/on the neck’ used as qualifier of maṇi
• Role: Karaṇa (करण)
• Root: kaṇṭhastha (प्रातिपदिक: kaṇṭha + stha)

• maṇibhiḥ: with gems
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन
• Role: Karaṇa (करण)
• Root: maṇi (प्रातिपदिक)

• tu: but / however
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; adversative/contrast particle (विरोध/विशेष)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: tu (अव्यय)

• asthibhiḥ: with bones
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन
• Role: Karaṇa (करण)
• Root: asthi (प्रातिपदिक)

• param: the other / another
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; adjective used substantively (the other/another one)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)

• ekam: one (more)
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; adjective used substantively
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)

• pītāmbaram: yellow garment
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारय ‘yellow garment’
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: pītāmbara (प्रातिपदिक: pīta + ambara)

• tatra: there
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; adverb of place (देशवाचक)
• Role: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)

• dvitīyam: the second
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; adjective used substantively
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: dvitīya (प्रातिपदिक)

• sarpamekhalam: snake-belt / serpent girdle
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) ‘snake-belt’
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: sarpa-mekhalā (प्रातिपदिक: sarpa + mekhalā)

Sandhi Notes

• kaṇṭhasthair = kaṇṭhasthaiḥ (visarga sandhi before m)
• maṇibhis tv = maṇibhiḥ tu (visarga before t)
• sarpamekhalam is a tatpuruṣa compound sarpa+mekhalā

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Vira rasaSetting: Iconographic panorama

Speaker

Varāha

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Integration of opposites

Subjects

IconographyMythic NarrativeComparative DescriptionMaterial Culture

Core idea

Adornment with jewels vs bones, yellow silk vs serpent-girdle: prosperity and cremation-ground austerity are presented as two faces of the divine, both within cosmic order.

In practice

See ‘śubha’ and ‘ugra’ experiences as complementary; cultivate equanimity amid wealth/beauty and loss/impermanence.

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Narrative
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Sanskrit Poetics

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

The verse preserves a stylized, comparative description of attributes (weapons, ornaments, garments) that can be used in manuscript studies and art-history research to trace Purāṇic iconographic conventions and their later reception in temple imagery.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is named in this verse fragment; it is primarily descriptive (iconographic/attribute-focused) rather than topographical.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

No explicit ethical injunction is stated here; the passage functions as descriptive narration, emphasizing recognizable attributes and symbolic markers rather than prescribing conduct.