Varaha Purana 213.85: Adhyaya 213, Shloka 85

The Glory of Gokarṇeśvara: Nandin’s Austerities and Śiva’s Boons

Devanagari script

प्रादेशमात्रं रुचिरं शतशीर्षं शतोदरम् ॥ सहस्रबाहुचरणं सहस्राक्षिशिरोमुखम् ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 213.85

Transliteration

prādeśamātraṃ ruciraṃ śataśīrṣaṃ śatodaram || sahasrabāhucaraṇaṃ sahasrākṣiśiromukham ||

Translation

उसने एक रूप देखा। वो इतना छोटा था कि हाथ में आ सकता था। उसमें सौ सिर थे, और सौ पेट थे। हज़ारों हाथ और पैर थे। हज़ारों आँखें थीं, और उतने ही सिर और चेहरे थे।

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Word by Word

• prādeśa-mātram: span-sized; of a span’s measure
• prādeśa-mātram: Karma (कर्म/Object; descriptive accusative)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prādeśa (प्रातिपदिक) + mātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) ‘prādeśa-mātra’ = ‘of the measure of a span’; Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया) Singular (एकवचन)

• ruciram: beautiful; charming
• ruciram: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rucira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया) Singular (एकवचन)

• śata-śīrṣam: hundred-headed
• śata-śīrṣam: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śata (प्रातिपदिक) + śīrṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Dvigu (द्विगु) numeral compound ‘hundred-headed’; Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया) Singular (एकवचन)

• śata-udaram: hundred-bellied
• śata-udaram: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śata (प्रातिपदिक) + udara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Dvigu (द्विगु) ‘hundred-bellied’; Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया) Singular (एकवचन)

• sahasra-bāhu-caraṇam: having a thousand arms and feet
• sahasra-bāhu-caraṇam: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक) + bāhu (प्रातिपदिक) + caraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Dvandva (द्वन्द्व) within a larger compound: ‘bāhu-caraṇa’ = ‘arms and feet’, with numeral qualifier ‘sahasra’; overall bahu-caraṇa as copulative; Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया) Singular (एकवचन)

• sahasra-akṣi-śiras-mukham: having a thousand eyes, heads, and faces
• sahasra-akṣi-śiras-mukham: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक) + akṣi (प्रातिपदिक) + śiras (प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Dvandva (द्वन्द्व) within a larger compound: ‘akṣi-śiras-mukha’ = ‘eyes, heads, and faces’, with numeral qualifier ‘sahasra’; Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया) Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Varāha (default dialogue framework: instructor/narrator)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Iconography
• Mythic Description
• Religious Art History

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves a stock of pan-Indic iconographic language (multi-headed, multi-armed, thousand-eyed) useful for tracing motifs across Purāṇic and epic corpora and later visual traditions.

Which geographic location is identified?

No location is named in this verse; it is a descriptive theophany within the Gokarṇa narrative frame.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse primarily functions descriptively; ethically, it supports reverence and attentiveness in encounters with the transcendent as represented through symbolic magnitude.