Varaha Purana 5.33: Adhyaya 5, Shloka 33

Reconciliation of Action and Knowledge: Offering All Acts to Nārāyaṇa and the Hymn to the Yajña-Puruṣa

Devanagari script

एतस्मिञ्ज्वलितो वह्निर्बहुशाखश्च सत्तम । मूलनाशे भवेन्नाशस्तद्वदेतदपि द्विज ॥ ५.३३ ॥

Sanskrit recitationVaraha Purana 5.33

Transliteration

etasmiñ jvalito vahnir bahuśākhaś ca sattama | mūlanāśe bhaven nāśas tadvad etad api dvija || 5.33 ||

Translation

Di sini api yang menyala menjalar menjadi banyak cabang, wahai yang terbaik di antara orang saleh. Bila akar dihancurkan, kebinasaan pun terjadi; demikian pula hal ini, wahai dvija.

Ask anything about this verse...Ask

Word by Word

• etasmin: in this (case/thing)
• etasmin: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (एतद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• jvalitaḥ: burning / kindled
• jvalitaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jval (ज्वल् धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: Kridanta past participle (क्त), Masculine, Nominative, Singular; qualifies vahniḥ

• vahniḥ: fire
• vahniḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vahni (वह्नि) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• bahu-śākhaḥ: many-branched
• bahu-śākhaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (बहु) + śākhā (शाखा) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; bahuvrīhi (बहुव्रीहि) 'having many branches' qualifying vahniḥ

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, conjunction (समुच्चय)

• sattama: O best one
• sattama: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sat (सत्) + tama (तमप् प्रत्यय) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular; superlative 'best among the good'

• mūla-nāśe: when the root is destroyed
• mūla-nāśe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūla (मूल) + nāśa (नाश) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular; tatpuruṣa 'in the destruction of the root'

• bhavet: would be / occurs
• bhavet: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (भू धातु)
• Form: Optative (विधिलिङ्), Parasmaipada, 3rd person, Singular

• nāśaḥ: destruction
• nāśaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāśa (नाश) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• tadvat: likewise
• tadvat: Upamāna-bhāva (उपमानभाव)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadvat (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, comparative particle 'likewise' (तद्वत्)

• etat: this (too)
• etat: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (एतद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• api: also
• api: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, particle (समुच्चय/अपि = also/even)

• dvija: O twice-born (brahmin)
• dvija: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (द्विज) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

Varāha (default speaker per dialogue framework; not explicit in the fragment)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Sanskrit
• Vaishnavism
• Dharma and Ethics

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It illustrates a common Purāṇic didactic method: teaching ethical and metaphysical causality through concrete analogies (fire, roots), reflecting broader Sanskrit scholastic styles of reasoning.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is named in this verse; it functions as a general philosophical analogy rather than a site-specific description.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse emphasizes foundational causality: addressing the root cause (mūla) is presented as decisive, since the removal of the foundation leads to the cessation of dependent outcomes.