Varaha Purana 50.6: Adhyaya 50, Shloka 6
The Procedure for the Dharaṇī Vow
Kārtika Dvādaśī Observance
Pūrva Bhāga · Stotra/Upacāra (Ritual Praise and Iconic Worship of Hari)
नमः सहस्रशिरसे शिरः सम्पूजयेद्धरेः । पुरुषायेति च भुजौ कण्ठं वै विश्वरूपिणे । ज्ञानास्त्रायेति चास्त्राणि श्रीवत्साय तथा उरः ॥ ५०.६ ॥
namaḥ sahasraśirase śiraḥ saṃpūjayed dhareḥ | puruṣāyeti ca bhujau kaṇṭhaṃ vai viśvarūpiṇe | jñānāstrāyeti cāstrāṇi śrīvatsāya tathā uraḥ || 50.6 ||
namaH sahastrashirase shiraH saMpUjayeddhareH | puruShAyeti cha bhujau kaNThaM vai vishvarUpiNe | j~nAnAstrAyeti chAstrANi shrIvatsAya tathA uraH || 50.6 ||
हरि के सिर को नमः करो, सहस्र शिरसे बोल के। हाथ को पुरुषाये बोल के पूजा करो। गले को विश्वरूपिणे बोल के पूजा करो। अस्त्र को ज्ञानास्त्राये बोल के पूजा करो। और सीना को श्रीवत्साय बोल के पूजा करो।
Sandhi Notes
- saṃpūjayed dhareḥ = saṃpūjayet hareḥ (d/t assimilation in some recensions)
- puruṣāyeti = puruṣāya iti
- jñānāstrāyeti = jñāna-astrāya iti
- cāstrāṇi = ca astrāṇi
Varāha
Mantra and form mutually illuminate: epithets disclose metaphysical attributes; limb-wise worship trains the mind to see the cosmic in the iconic.
During pūjā, consciously associate each offered act (flowers, sandal, lamp) with a specific limb and attribute to prevent distraction and cultivate viśvarūpa-bhāvanā.
The deity’s body is treated as the cosmic Puruṣa; limb-wise worship internalizes the universe-as-Viṣṇu vision, aligning pūjā with Puruṣa-sūkta cosmology.
Head=sahasraśīrṣa (cosmic sovereignty); arms=puruṣa (supporting power); throat=viśvarūpa (all-forms); weapons=jñānāstra (knowledge as divine instrument); chest=śrīvatsa (Lakṣmī-mark, auspiciousness).
Viśvarūpa/Puruṣa framing supports non-dual contemplation of the Lord as the substratum of all names and forms, while retaining personal devotion through iconographic aṅga-pūjā.
Perform aṅga-pūjā of Hari using specific epithets: sahasraśīrṣa for head, puruṣa for arms, viśvarūpa for throat, jñānāstra for weapons, śrīvatsa for chest.
Proper mantra-limb correspondence deepens iconographic correctness and devotional concentration, supporting vrata-phala.
Contributes to the vrata’s completeness and efficacy.
Varāha Purāṇa 50.50.7 (continues limb-wise worship: belly/waist/feet with cosmic epithets)
FAQs
It preserves a structured sequence of mantra-linked worship directed to specific bodily loci and emblems of Hari/Viṣṇu, reflecting Purāṇic-era devotional ritual standardization and iconographic theology.
No geographic location is named in this verse; the content is primarily ritual-iconographic rather than topographic.
The verse conveys a discipline of attentive, ordered reverence—linking speech (mantra) with mindful action (worship)—as a philosophical instruction in focused devotion and ritual propriety.
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