Varaha Purana 210.6: Adhyaya 210, Shloka 6

Inquiry into Moral Agency (Karma) and Practical Means for the Dissolution of Sin: the Śiśumāra Contemplation

Devanagari script

कस्यैतच्चेष्टितं तात कर्त्ता कारयितापि वा ॥ कः कर्षति जगच्चैको भूतग्रामं चतुर्विधम् ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 210.6

Transliteration

kasyaitac ceṣṭitaṃ tāta karttā kārayitāpi vā || kaḥ karṣati jagac caiko bhūtagrāmaṃ caturvidham ||

Translation

यह सब कौन कर रहा है? कौन करवा रहा है? एक ही कौन है जो पूरी दुनिया को खींच रहा है? चार तरह के जीव सब साथ में चल रहे हैं।

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Word by Word

• kasya: of whom/whose
• kasya: Shashthi-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध/Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम

• etat: this
• etat: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• ceṣṭitam: act, activity, doing
• ceṣṭitam: Karta (कर्ता/Subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ceṣṭita (प्रातिपदिक; from ceṣṭ/चेष्ट्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• tāta: O dear one
• tāta: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• kartā: doer, agent
• kartā: Karta (कर्ता/Agent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kartṛ (प्रातिपदिक; agent noun from kṛ/कृ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• kārayitā: one who causes (another) to do
• kārayitā: Karta (कर्ता/Causer)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kārayitṛ (प्रातिपदिक; causative agent noun from kṛ/कृ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अपि (also/even)

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक (disjunctive 'or')

• kaḥ: who
• kaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम

• karṣati: draws, drags, pulls
• karṣati: Kriya (क्रिया/Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛṣ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• jagat: the world
• jagat: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

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

• ekaḥ: alone, one
• ekaḥ: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (kaḥ-विशेषण)

• bhūta-grāmam: the multitude of beings
• bhūta-grāmam: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūta + grāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (collection of beings)

• catur-vidham: fourfold
• catur-vidham: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur + vidha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (fourfold)

Speaker

Nārada (contextual continuation of inquiry)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Dialogue
• Philosophical Inquiry

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It encapsulates a classical Sanskrit problem of agency (kartṛ/kārayitṛ) that spans Purāṇic, philosophical, and legal traditions, linking ethics with cosmological causation.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is specified in this verse.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

It frames ethical responsibility through the question of ultimate agency—who truly initiates actions and governs the movement of beings.