Varaha Purana 91.13: Adhyaya 91, Shloka 13

The Vaiṣṇavī Goddess on Mount Mandara: Emergence of the Maidens, Construction of the Goddess-City, and Nārada’s Visit

Pūrva Bhāga · Formal Welcome and Inquiry (Atithi-saṃvāda)

Devanagari script

स्वागतं भो मुनिश्रेष्ठ कस्माल्लोकादिहागतः । किं कार्यं वद ते कृत्यं मा ते कालात्ययो भवेत् ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 91.13

Transliteration

svāgataṃ bho muniśreṣṭha kasmāl lokād ihāgataḥ | kiṃ kāryaṃ vada te kṛtyaṃ mā te kālātyayo bhavet ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

आओ आओ, आपका स्वागत है। आप रिशियों में बड़े हैं। कौनसी दुनिया से आए हैं यहाँ? बताइए आपका काम क्या है। देर न हो जाए, इसलिए जल्दी बताएं।

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Word by Word

• स्वागतम्: welcome
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; interjectional nominal ‘welcome’
• Role: Sambodhana/Address (सम्बोधन)
• Root: स्वागत (प्रातिपदिक)

• भो: O!
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: सम्बोधन-निपात (vocative particle)
• Role: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Root: भो (अव्यय)

• मुनिश्रेष्ठ: best of sages
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘munīnām śreṣṭhaḥ’
• Role: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Root: मुनि + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)

• कस्मात्: from which
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, पञ्चमी (5th/ablative), एकवचन
• Role: Apadana (अपादान)
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• लोकात्: from the world
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/ablative), एकवचन
• Role: Apadana (अपादान)
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)

• इह: here
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)
• Role: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Root: इह (अव्यय)

• आगतः: has come
• Type: Verb
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; predicate participle ‘having come/come’
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: आ + गम् (धातु) → आगत (कृदन्त)

• किम्: what
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• कार्यम्: task/purpose
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: कार्य (प्रातिपदिक)

• वद: tell/say
• Type: Verb
• Form: लोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Root: वद् (धातु)

• ते: your/of you
• Type: Noun
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/genitive), एकवचन; enclitic pronoun
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• कृत्यम्: duty/what is to be done
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: कृत्य (प्रातिपदिक)

• मा: do not/let not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: निषेध-निपात (prohibitive particle)
• Role: Pratishedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Root: मा (अव्यय)

• ते: your/of you
• Type: Noun
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/genitive), एकवचन; enclitic pronoun
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• कालात्ययः: lapse of time/delay
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘kālasya atyayaḥ’
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: काल + अत्यय (प्रातिपदिक)

• भवेत्: may be/should occur
• Type: Verb
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Root: भू (धातु)

Sandhi Notes

• कस्माल्लोकात् = कस्मात् + लोकात्
• इहागतः = इह + आगतः
• कालात्ययः = काल + अत्ययः (समास)

Speaker and setting

Shanta and Adbhuta rasaSetting: Court/āśrama threshold

Speaker

Devī (speaker inferred from direct address; consistent with nearby verses)

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

Varaha teaches her

Her state of mind

Welcoming, alert to the guest’s urgency

What she asks

From which loka have you come, and what is your purpose—so I may help without delay?

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Dharma of time-conscious action (kāla-bodha)

Subjects

Ethics (hospitality and urgency)Inter-world cosmology (lokas as destinations)Dialogue etiquette

Core idea

Dharma is sensitive to kāla: even good intentions fail if delayed; urgency can be righteous when serving a higher purpose.

In practice

When someone seeks help for a time-bound duty, ask clearly and act quickly; remove procedural delays in service of dharma.

Dharma

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Narrative
• Dharma (Atithi)
• Sanskrit Studies

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves a conventional Sanskrit welcome formula and frames the sage as a traveler across 'lokas,' reflecting Purāṇic cosmological imagination embedded in social dialogue.

Which geographic location is identified?

No terrestrial place-name is given; instead, the verse references 'loka' (world/realm) as a cosmological category.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Hospitality includes attentiveness to the guest’s purpose and time—promptness and consideration are presented as ethical conduct.