Varaha Purana 6.40: Adhyaya 6, Shloka 40

The Puṇḍarīkākṣapāraka Hymn and Puṣkara Tīrtha: The Account of King Vasu’s Release from Sin

Pūrva Bhāga · Tīrtha-māhātmya (Puṣkara-yātrā and ritual merit)

Devanagari script

यश्चैतत् पुण्डरीकाक्षपारगं शृणुयात् परम् । तस्य पुष्करयात्रायां विधिस्नानफलं भवेत् ॥ ६.४० ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 6.40

Transliteration

yaś caitat puṇḍarīkākṣa-pāragaṃ śṛṇuyāt param | tasya puṣkara-yātrāyāṃ vidhi-snāna-phalaṃ bhavet || 6.40 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

जो कोई भी पुंडरीकाक्ष की यह कथा ध्यान से सुनेगा, उसको पुष्कर यात्रा में इतना पुण्य मिलेगा। जैसे किसी स्पेशल स्नान का फल मिलता है। इतना फायदा होगा उसको।

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Word by Word

• yaḥ: whoever
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); relative pronoun
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Samuccaya-avyaya (समुच्चय-अव्यय), conjunction
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: ca (अव्यय)

• etat: this
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• puṇḍarīkākṣa-pāragam: (this hymn) that leads to Puṇḍarīkākṣa
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) compound; Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); etat-viśeṣaṇa (refers to stotra)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: puṇḍarīkākṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + pāraga (प्रातिपदिक)

• śṛṇuyāt: should hear
• Type: Verb
• Form: Vidhi-liṅ (विधिलिङ्/Optative), Prathama-puruṣa (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: √śru (श्रु धातु)

• param: supremely/excellently
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); adverbial/qualifying sense
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)

• tasya: for him/of him
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• puṣkara-yātrāyām: in the Puṣkara pilgrimage
• Type: Noun
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) compound; Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Root: puṣkara (प्रातिपदिक) + yātrā (प्रातिपदिक)

• vidhi-snāna-phalam: the fruit of prescribed ritual bathing
• Type: Noun
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) compound (multi-member); Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: vidhi (प्रातिपदिक) + snāna (प्रातिपदिक) + phala (प्रातिपदिक)

• bhavet: would be/should be
• Type: Verb
• Form: Vidhi-liṅ (विधिलिङ्/Optative), Prathama-puruṣa (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: √bhū (भू धातु)

Sandhi Notes

• yaś caitat → yaḥ ca etat
• puṣkara-yātrāyāṃ is a tatpuruṣa compound
• vidhi-snāna-phalaṃ is a multi-member tatpuruṣa compound

Speaker and setting

Bhakti and Shanta rasaSetting: Sacred lake/pilgrimage center

Speaker

Varāha

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

Varaha teaches her

Her state of mind

Attentive/receiving instruction (implied by Varāha’s didactic tone).

What she asks

What merit accrues from śravaṇa of Puṇḍarīkākṣa-kathā, and how can it substitute for tīrtha-ritual acts like Puṣkara-snāna?

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Bhakti as inner yajña / accessibility of merit

Subjects

Heritage SitesGeographyEthics

Core idea

Devotional hearing can internalize and equalize the fruits of external pilgrimage rites.

In practice

If unable to travel, engage in focused listening to Viṣṇu-kathā/stotra with reverence; treat it as a disciplined ritual act.

The Varaha avatara

With the Earth

Instructional address implied.

Dharma

Mathura and Krishna

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Studies
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Sacred Geography

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It reflects a common Purāṇic strategy of sacralizing pilgrimage landscapes (tīrthas) by correlating physical rites (ritual bathing) with textual practices (listening/recitation), indicating how manuscript culture and travel-based devotion coexisted in early medieval religious life.

Which geographic location is identified?

Puṣkara, a prominent tīrtha traditionally associated with the Puṣkara lake region near modern Ajmer in Rajasthan (India), widely discussed in Sanskrit pilgrimage literature.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse promotes attentive listening and engagement with authoritative teachings as a culturally valued practice, presenting it as ethically and socially meaningful—comparable in merit to performing a prescribed ritual act during a pilgrimage.