Varaha Purana 21.55: Adhyaya 21, Shloka 55

The Disruption of Dakṣa’s Sacrifice, the Hari-Hara Conflict, and the Establishment of Rudra’s Sacrificial Share

Pūrva Bhāga · Pr̥thivī-uddhāra and Iconographic Description (Narrative Passage)

Devanagari script

एकं गदां भ्रामयति द्वितीयं दण्डमेव च । एकं शोभति कण्ठस्थैर्मणिभिस्त्वस्थिभिः परम् । एकं पीताम्बरं तत्र द्वितीयं सर्पमेखलम् ॥ २१.५६ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 21.55

Transliteration

ekaṁ gadāṁ bhrāmayati dvitīyaṁ daṇḍam eva ca | ekaṁ śobhati kaṇṭhasthair maṇibhis tv asthibhiḥ param | ekaṁ pītāmbaraṁ tatra dvitīyaṁ sarpamekhalam || 21.56 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

Japanese

一方はガダー（棍棒）を振り回し、第二はただ杖（ダンダ）を執るのみ。ひとつは喉元の宝珠により輝き、さらに至上として骨をもって荘厳される。ひとつは黄衣（ピータームバラ）をまとい、第二は蛇の帯（サルパ・メーカラー）を締める。

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Word by Word

• ekam: one (as an object)
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; adjective used substantively (one [weapon/thing])
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)

• gadām: mace
• Type: Noun
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: gadā (प्रातिपदिक)

• bhrāmayati: whirls / makes (it) spin
• Type: Verb
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; causative sense (णिच्) ‘causes to whirl’
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: bhram (धातु)

• dvitīyam: the second
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; adjective used substantively (the second [thing])
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: dvitīya (प्रातिपदिक)

• daṇḍam: staff / rod
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: daṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)

• eva: indeed / just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; emphatic particle (निश्चयार्थक/अवधारण)
• Role: Sambandha/Modifier (सम्बन्ध/विशेषण)
• Root: eva (अव्यय)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; conjunction (समुच्चय)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: ca (अव्यय)

• ekam: one (another)
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; adjective used substantively
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)

• śobhati: shines / is adorned
• Type: Verb
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: śubh (धातु)

• kaṇṭhasthaiḥ: (with) neck-placed
• Type: Adjective
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी/सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष) ‘in/on the neck’ used as qualifier of maṇi
• Role: Karaṇa (करण)
• Root: kaṇṭhastha (प्रातिपदिक: kaṇṭha + stha)

• maṇibhiḥ: with gems
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन
• Role: Karaṇa (करण)
• Root: maṇi (प्रातिपदिक)

• tu: but / however
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; adversative/contrast particle (विरोध/विशेष)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: tu (अव्यय)

• asthibhiḥ: with bones
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन
• Role: Karaṇa (करण)
• Root: asthi (प्रातिपदिक)

• param: the other / another
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; adjective used substantively (the other/another one)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)

• ekam: one (more)
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; adjective used substantively
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)

• pītāmbaram: yellow garment
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारय ‘yellow garment’
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: pītāmbara (प्रातिपदिक: pīta + ambara)

• tatra: there
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; adverb of place (देशवाचक)
• Role: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)

• dvitīyam: the second
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; adjective used substantively
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: dvitīya (प्रातिपदिक)

• sarpamekhalam: snake-belt / serpent girdle
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) ‘snake-belt’
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: sarpa-mekhalā (प्रातिपदिक: sarpa + mekhalā)

Sandhi Notes

• kaṇṭhasthair = kaṇṭhasthaiḥ (visarga sandhi before m)
• maṇibhis tv = maṇibhiḥ tu (visarga before t)
• sarpamekhalam is a tatpuruṣa compound sarpa+mekhalā

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Vira rasaSetting: Iconographic panorama

Speaker

Varāha

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Integration of opposites

Subjects

IconographyMythic NarrativeComparative DescriptionMaterial Culture

Core idea

Adornment with jewels vs bones, yellow silk vs serpent-girdle: prosperity and cremation-ground austerity are presented as two faces of the divine, both within cosmic order.

In practice

See ‘śubha’ and ‘ugra’ experiences as complementary; cultivate equanimity amid wealth/beauty and loss/impermanence.

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Narrative
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Sanskrit Poetics

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

The verse preserves a stylized, comparative description of attributes (weapons, ornaments, garments) that can be used in manuscript studies and art-history research to trace Purāṇic iconographic conventions and their later reception in temple imagery.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is named in this verse fragment; it is primarily descriptive (iconographic/attribute-focused) rather than topographical.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

No explicit ethical injunction is stated here; the passage functions as descriptive narration, emphasizing recognizable attributes and symbolic markers rather than prescribing conduct.