Varaha Purana 38.27: Adhyaya 38, Shloka 27

The Hunter’s Austerity and the Gaining of Durvāsas’ Favor

Pūrva Bhāga · Sacred Geography and Riverine Narratives (Tīrtha/Prayāga Mahātmya context)

Devanagari script

तस्य पादौ स्वयं देवी क्षालयन्ती सरिद्वरा । जगाम ह्रादिनी भूत्वा व्याधाश्रमसमीपतः ॥ ३८.२७ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 38.27

Transliteration

tasya pādau svayaṃ devī kṣālayantī saridvarā | jagāma hrādinī bhūtvā vyādhāśramasamīpataḥ || 38.27 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

देवी ने खुद दुर्वासा के पैर धोए। वो नदियों में सबसे बड़ी थी। फिर वो ह्रदिनी नदी बन गई और शिकारी के आश्रम के पास चली गई।

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Word by Word

• tasya: of him
• Type: Noun
• Form: Sarvanāma (सर्वनाम), Puṃliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग) (context), Ṣaṣṭhī-vibhakti (6th/षष्ठी), Ekavacana (singular)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)

• pādau: (two) feet
• Type: Noun
• Form: Puṃliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग), Dvitīyā-vibhakti (2nd/द्वितीया), Dvivacana (dual)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: pāda (प्रातिपदिक)

• svayam: herself
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Svārtha-avyaya (स्वार्थ: “oneself/by oneself”)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: svayam (अव्यय)

• devī: the goddess
• Type: Noun
• Form: Strīliṅga (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Prathamā-vibhakti (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (singular)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)

• kṣālayantī: washing
• Type: Verb
• Form: Śatṛ-pratyaya (शतृ, present active participle), Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; kartari: “washing”
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: kṣāl (धातु)

• sarid-varā: the best river (river-goddess)
• Type: Noun
• Form: Strīliṅga (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Prathamā-vibhakti (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (singular); ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa: “best of rivers”
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: sarit (प्रातिपदिक) + vara (प्रातिपदिक)

• jagāma: went
• Type: Verb
• Form: Liṭ-lakāra (लिट्, perfect), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd person), Ekavacana (singular)
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: gam (धातु)

• hrādinī: a lake/pond (one that delights; here: a pool)
• Type: Noun
• Form: Strīliṅga (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Prathamā-vibhakti (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (singular); predicate-noun with bhūtvā
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: hrādinī (प्रातिपदिक)

• bhūtvā: having become
• Type: Verb
• Form: Ktvā-pratyaya (क्त्वा, absolutive/gerund): “having become”
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: bhū (धातु)

• vyādha-āśrama-samīpataḥ: from near the hunter’s hermitage
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyayībhāva (अव्ययीभाव) with ablative sense; samīpatas (समीपतस्) = “from near”; whole: “from near the hunter’s hermitage”
• Role: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Root: vyādha (प्रातिपदिक) + āśrama (प्रातिपदिक) + samīpa (प्रातिपदिक) + tas (प्रत्यय)

Sandhi Notes

• saridvarā = sarit + varā
• vyādhāśramasamīpataḥ = vyādha + āśrama + samīpataḥ (avyayībhāva with -tas)

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Bhakti rasaSetting: Āśrama-side river / tīrtha

Speaker

Varāha

The teaching

Path

Bhakti Dharma

Subjects

GeographyHeritage SitesEcological Narratives

Core idea

True greatness expresses itself as service: even a ‘saridvarā’ becomes a servant to dharma embodied in a ṛṣi.

In practice

Practice atithi/ṛṣi-sevā (offer water, wash feet, provide clean space); treat natural forces as sacred participants in ethical life.

The Varaha avatara

With the Earth

Earth’s river-goddess personally serves the sage: Devikā washes Durvāsā’s feet and then manifests as Hrādinī, relocating near the hunter’s āśrama.

Dharma

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Narrative
• Ancient Geography
• River Cultures

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves a Purāṇic motif in which a river is personified as a goddess who performs an act of service, reflecting the cultural history of river veneration and tīrtha-oriented sacred geography in early Sanskrit literature.

Which geographic location is identified?

The verse names the river Hrādinī and places the event near a vyādha-āśrama (hunter’s hermitage). A precise modern identification is not possible from this fragment alone without corroborating manuscript context or regional tīrtha lists.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The passage emphasizes humility and respectful service toward a worthy figure, expressed through the symbolic act of washing the feet, alongside an implicit valuation of rivers as culturally protected and morally significant landscapes.