Varaha Purana 8.43: Adhyaya 8, Shloka 43
Dialogue on the Ethical Limits of Subsistence and the Five Great Sacrifices
Dharmavyādha, Mātaṅga, and Prasanna
दामोदरं रञ्जितभूतलं धिया यशोऽंशुशुभ्रं भ्रमराङ्गसप्रभम् । धराधरं नरकरिपुं पुरुष्टुतं नमामि विष्णुं शरणं जनार्दनम् ॥ ८.४३ ॥
dāmodaraṁ rañjitabhūtalaṁ dhiyā yaśo’ṁśuśubhraṁ bhramarāṅgasaprabham | dharādharaṁ narakaripuṁ puruṣṭutaṁ namāmi viṣṇuṁ śaraṇaṁ janārdanam || 8.43 ||
मैं विष्णु को नमस्ते करता हूँ, जनार्दन जो हमारा सहारा हैं। दामोदर जिन्होंने अपनी इच्छा से धरती को खुश कर दिया। उनकी कीर्ति चमक रही है जैसे रोशनी की किरण। उनका रंग काला है जैसे भ्रमर और चमकदार भी। वो धरती को उठाके रखते हैं और नरक के दुश्मन हैं। लोग उनकी तारीफ करते हैं।
Varāha (default, speaker not explicit in the fragment)
FAQs
It preserves a Purāṇic stuti-style formula in which Viṣṇu is praised through a sequence of epithets (nāma-saṅgraha), reflecting the broader Sanskrit hymn tradition used for recitation, memory, and doctrinal summarization.
No specific geographic site is named in this verse; the reference is cosmological and symbolic, emphasizing Viṣṇu as “earth-bearer” (dharādhara).
The verse foregrounds refuge-taking and reverential speech as a disciplined practice—presented here as a cultural-philosophical act of aligning the mind (dhī) with an ideal of protective stewardship (supporting the earth).
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