Varaha Purana 94.4: Adhyaya 94, Shloka 4

The Birth of Mahiṣāsura and the Goddess’s Victory as Mahīṣamardinī

Devanagari script

यस्माद्भीषयसे मां त्वं महिषीरूपधारिणी । अतो भव महिष्येव पापकर्मे शतं समाः ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 94.4

Transliteration

yasmād bhīṣayase māṃ tvaṃ mahiṣī-rūpa-dhāriṇī | ato bhava mahiṣy eva pāpa-karme śataṃ samāḥ ||

Translation

तुमने मुझे डरा दिया है। तुमने भैंस की शकल ले ली है। इसलिए तुम एक सौ साल तक भैंस बन कर रहोगी। यह तुम्हारे बुरे काम की सज़ा है।

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Word by Word

• yasmāt: because of which / since
• yasmāt: Hetu/Apādāna (हेतु/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular; relative pronoun (यद्)

• bhīṣayase: you frighten
• bhīṣayase: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhīṣ (धातु) [causative of bhī (भी) understood]
• Form: Present (लट्), 2nd Person (मध्यम), Singular; Ātmanepada; causative sense ‘you frighten’

• mām: me
• mām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Feminine (pronoun), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• tvam: you
• tvam: Kartā (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Feminine (pronoun), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• mahiṣī-rūpa-dhāriṇī: bearing the form of a she-buffalo
• mahiṣī-rūpa-dhāriṇī: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahiṣī (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक) + dhāriṇī (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; धृ धातु + णिनि)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; compound qualifier of ‘tvam’; ‘one who bears the form of a buffalo-cow’

• ataḥ: therefore
• ataḥ: Sambandha/Hetu (सम्बन्ध/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Indeclinable adverb (अव्यय, कारण/फल-निर्देशक)

• bhava: become
• bhava: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: Imperative (लोट्), 2nd Person (मध्यम), Singular; Parasmaipada

• mahiṣī: a she-buffalo
• mahiṣī: Karma/Pradhāna-predicative (कर्म/प्रत्ययार्थ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahiṣī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; predicate nominative with ‘bhava’

• eva: indeed / only
• eva: Avadhāraṇa (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Indeclinable particle (निश्चय/अवधारण)

• pāpa-karme: in sinful acts / with sinful karma
• pāpa-karme: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; used adverbially ‘in/with sinful deed(s)’

• śatam: a hundred
• śatam: Kāla-parimāṇa (काल-परिमाण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; numeral used as measure

• samāḥ: years
• samāḥ: Kāla-adhikaraṇa/Karma (काल-अधिकरण/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural; ‘years’ (समाः) as time-span object

Speaker

Unspecified (defaults to primary dialogue framework: Varāha as instructor-voice)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Narrative
• Karma and Consequence
• Vaishnavism (textual context)

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It illustrates a common Purāṇic narrative device—śāpa (curse)—used to encode moral causality and social memory within episodic storytelling.

Which geographic location is identified?

No explicit location appears in this verse; the broader passage later references the Narmadā riverbank.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Actions that cause fear or harm are framed as morally culpable and are narratively linked to consequences over time.