Varaha Purana 81.34: Adhyaya 81, Shloka 34

Description of the Divine Mountain Abodes: Meru, Devakūṭa, and Kailāsa

Pūrva Bhāga · Sacred Geography of Meru and Adjacent Peaks (Cosmography)

Devanagari script

श्वेतोदये गिरिवरे महागन्धर्वभवनम्॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 81.34

Transliteration

śvetodaye girivare mahāgandharvabhavanam

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

श्वेतोदय पर्वत बहुत बड़ा है। वहाँ गंधर्व लोग रहते हैं। उनका मकान वहाँ है।

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Word by Word

• श्वेतोदये: at Śvetodaya
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (श्वेतस्य उदयः = ‘Śvetodaya’)
• Role: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Locative)
• Root: श्वेत + उदय (प्रातिपदिक)

• गिरिवरे: on the excellent mountain
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular); समासः—कर्मधारयः (वरः गिरिः = ‘excellent mountain’)
• Role: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Locative)
• Root: गिरिवर (प्रातिपदिक)

• महागन्धर्वभवनम्: the abode of the great Gandharvas
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc. 1st/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (महागन्धर्वाणां भवनम् = ‘dwelling of the great Gandharvas’)
• Role: विधेय (Predicate nominal)
• Root: महा + गन्धर्व + भवन (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• compounds: श्वेतोदये (तत्पुरुष), गिरिवरे (कर्मधारय), महागन्धर्वभवनम् (तत्पुरुष)

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Shanta rasaSetting: Mythic/cosmic mountain peak

Speaker

Varāha

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

Varaha teaches her

Her state of mind

Curious, receptive

What she asks

Which beings inhabit the exalted peaks of the cosmic mountains, and what are their renowned dwellings?

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Cosmological hierarchy

Subjects

CosmologyGeographyHeritage Sites

Core idea

The cosmos is populated by graded orders of beings (deva, gandharva, kinnara, nāga), each with appropriate loci—suggesting moral/ontological stratification.

In practice

Cultivate sattvic refinement (gīta, stotra, śravaṇa) and reverence for higher orders of life; use the imagery to elevate mind during japa/recitation.

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Puranic Cosmography
• Ancient Geography
• Mythic Ethnography

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves a mythic ethnography where celestial communities (Gandharvas) are spatially located, aiding comparative study of Purāṇic world-models.

Which geographic location is identified?

Śvetodaya is a named peak within the Meru-region in Purāṇic cosmography; it is not reliably mapped to a single modern site.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

No explicit ethical teaching is stated; the function is topographic description.