Varaha Purana 75.48: Adhyaya 75, Shloka 48

Description of Jambūdvīpa: its regions, mountains, measurements, and cosmic structure

Pūrva Bhāga · Pṛthivī-uddhāra and Cosmographic Description

Devanagari script

तदम्बु वैष्णवः कायो यतो रत्नविभूषितः । पद्माकाराऽ समुत्पन्ना पृथिवी सवनद्रुमा ॥ ७५.४८ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 75.48

Transliteration

tadambu vaiṣṇavaḥ kāyo yato ratnavibhūṣitaḥ | padmākārā samutpannā pṛthivī savanadrumā || 75.48 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

वो पानी विष्णु का शरीर बन गया, जो रत्नों से सजा था। फिर धरती कमल की शकल में निकली, पेड़-पौधों के साथ।

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Word by Word

• tat-ambu: that water
• Type: Noun
• Form: Karmadhāraya (that water); Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (प्रथमा/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + ambu (प्रातिपदिक)

• vaiṣṇavaḥ: of Viṣṇu, Vaiṣṇava
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); agrees with kāyaḥ
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: vaiṣṇava (प्रातिपदिक)

• kāyaḥ: body, mass
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: kāya (प्रातिपदिक)

• yataḥ: from which, whence
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Relative indeclinable (सम्बन्धबोधक अव्यय), causal/ablatival sense: 'from which/whence'
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: yataḥ (अव्यय)

• ratna-vibhūṣitaḥ: adorned with jewels
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (adorned with jewels); Past passive participle (क्त-कृदन्त); Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); agrees with kāyaḥ
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: ratna (प्रातिपदिक) + vi-√bhūṣ (धातु) + kta (कृत्)

• padma-ākārā: lotus-shaped
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (lotus-shaped); Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); agrees with pṛthivī
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: padma (प्रातिपदिक) + ākāra (प्रातिपदिक)

• samutpannā: arisen, produced
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त-कृदन्त); Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); agrees with pṛthivī
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: sam-ut-√pad (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)

• pṛthivī: earth
• Type: Noun
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: pṛthivī (प्रातिपदिक)

• sa-vana-drumā: with forests and trees
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Bahuvrīhi (having forests and trees); Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); agrees with pṛthivī
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: sa (सह/सहित अर्थे उपसर्गवत्) + vana (प्रातिपदिक) + druma (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• tadambu = tat + ambu
• padmākārā = padma + ākārā
• padmākārā samutpannā (no sandhi; avagraha in Devanagari indicates elision)

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Shanta rasaSetting: Cosmic geography / bhū-maṇḍala origin

Speaker

Varāha

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

Varaha teaches her

Her state of mind

Newly manifested/formed

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Theology/ecological cosmology

Subjects

CosmologyGeographyEcological NarrativesSacred Imagery

Core idea

Nature (earth, forests, jewels) is not profane matter but a Vaiṣṇava manifestation—worthy of reverence and protection.

In practice

Practice dharmic stewardship: protect forests and land, treat resources as divine trusts rather than mere commodities.

The Varaha avatara

With the Earth

Earth arises (pṛthivī samutpannā) from the Vaiṣṇava causal waters/body; interaction is cosmogonic origination rather than physical lifting in this verse.

Symbolism of the boar

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Vaishnavism
• Purāṇic Cosmography
• Ecological Ethics

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It reflects a Purāṇic cosmographic motif in which Earth’s emergence is described through symbolic natural forms (e.g., lotus imagery), offering insight into early medieval Sanskrit narrative cosmology and its aesthetic vocabulary.

Which geographic location is identified?

No specific terrestrial site is named in this verse; it presents a generalized cosmological description of Earth’s arising with forests and trees rather than a locatable pilgrimage geography.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

While not framed as a direct injunction, the verse foregrounds Earth’s emergence together with vegetation, supporting an implicit philosophical emphasis on the integral value of forests and trees within the world’s ordered structure.