Varaha Purana 36.18: Adhyaya 36, Shloka 18
Account of the Maṇija Kings and a Hymn to Govinda Leading to Liberation
अगोत्रमस्पर्शमरूपगन्ध- मनामनिर्देशमजं वरेण्यम् । गोपेन्द्र त्वां यद्युपासन्ति धीराः- स्ते मुक्तिभाजो भवबन्धमुक्ताः ॥ ३६.१८ ॥
agotramasparśam arūpagandha- manāmanirdeśam ajaṃ vareṇyam | gopendra tvāṃ yady upāsanti dhīrā- ste muktibhājo bhavabandhamuktāḥ || 36.18 ||
गोपेन्द्र, जो लोग तुम्हे भजते हैं वो मुक्त हो जाते हैं। तुम किसी जात के नहीं हो, तुम्हे छुआ नहीं जा सकता। तुम्हारा कोई रूप नहीं, कोई खुशबू नहीं। तुम सोच से पारे हो और बोलने से भी पारे। तुम पैदा नहीं हुए, तुम हमेशा से हो। तुम सबसे बड़े हो। जो लोग तुम्हे भजते हैं वो इस दुनिया के बंधन से आज़ाद हो जाते हैं।
Varāha (default dialogue framework)
Varāha instructs by describing the Lord’s transcendence (apophatic nirguṇa descriptors) and the liberating effect of upāsanā.
Epithet ‘Gopendra’ evokes the cowherd-lord identity, foreshadowing Kṛṣṇa-bhakti within a Varāha/Viṣṇu frame.
The avatāra-speaker points beyond all limiting attributes: the Lord is not confined by gotra, sparśa, rūpa, gandha, manas, or nāma—yet is approachable through upāsanā; avatāra thus mediates nirguṇa reality for sādhakas.
Apophatic theology (neti-neti tendency) aligned with Upaniṣadic Brahman beyond speech/mind; liberation (mokṣa) arises from steadfast contemplation (upāsanā) culminating in freedom from bhava-bandha.
The Lord transcends all sensory and conceptual predicates; wise, steady worship leads to liberation from becoming.
Practice focused upāsanā (japa, dhyāna, pūjā) with non-anthropomorphic understanding—do not reduce the divine to social/physical categories.
Continuation of mokṣa discourse in adhyāya 36
FAQs
It exemplifies a Purāṇic synthesis of devotion (upāsanā) with philosophically apophatic language (describing the ultimate as beyond sense, mind, and naming), reflecting wider early-medieval Sanskrit theological and mokṣa-oriented discourse.
No specific geographic site is named in this verse; its focus is theological and soteriological rather than on sacred geography.
The verse promotes disciplined contemplation/worship by the dhīra (steadfast wise), presenting liberation as the outcome of sustained orientation toward the highest principle beyond sensory and conceptual limitation.
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