Varaha Purana 175.1: Adhyaya 175, Shloka 1
The Sanctity of the Kṛṣṇagaṅgā Pilgrimage-Ford and the Account of the Brahmin Vasu’s Daughter
श्रीवराह उवाच ॥ शृणु चान्यद्वरारोहे कृष्णगङ्गासमुद्भवम् ॥ यमुनास्रोतसि स्नात्वा कृष्णद्वैपायनो मुनिः ॥
śrīvarāha uvāca || śṛṇu cānyad varārohe kṛṣṇagaṅgāsamudbhavam || yamunāsrotasi snātvā kṛṣṇadvaipāyano muniḥ ||
ພຣະສຣີວະຣາຫະຕັດວ່າ: “ຈົ່ງຟັງຕໍ່ໄປ ໂອ ຜູ້ງາມສູງສົ່ງ ເລື່ອງກຳເນີດແຫ່ງ ກຣິສນະຄັງຄາ. ເມື່ອອາບນ້ຳໃນສາຍທາລາຂອງຍະມຸນາແລ້ວ ມຸນີ ກຣິສນະທະໄວປາຍະນະ (ວະຍາສະ) …”
Varāha
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":true,"earth_interaction":"Varāha addresses the Earth as a listener (‘varārohe’), continuing the instructive sacred-geography narration."}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"curious","key_question":"Implicit: ‘Tell me further about the origin and sanctity of the Kṛṣṇagaṅgā and its tīrtha-context in the Yamunā stream.’"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":true,"specific_site":"Yamunā (Kālindī) in the Mathurā region; Kṛṣṇagaṅgā origin narrative begins here.","parikrama_context":"Sets up pilgrimage listening/itinerary: hearing māhātmya as part of tīrtha-yātrā and potential Mathurā-maṇḍala circuit.","krishna_connection":"Strong foreshadowing via Kṛṣṇagaṅgā and Yamunā—core landscape of Kṛṣṇa’s later līlā in Mathurā-Vraja."}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":false}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"śravaṇa as sādhana (listening to māhātmya)","core_concept":"Sacred geography is accessed through attentive listening and remembrance; tīrtha becomes meaningful through lineage (Vyāsa) and narrated origin.","practical_application":"Approach pilgrimage with śravaṇa: learn the tīrtha’s origin-story and teacher-lineage before/while visiting and bathing."}
Subject Matter: ["Sacred Geography","River Traditions","Pilgrimage Culture","Textual Genealogy (Vyāsa)"]
Primary Rasa: śānta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: river confluence/river tradition within a sacred region
Related Themes: Continuation into the Kṛṣṇagaṅgā origin account in the following verses
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Varāha, as divine narrator, addresses Bhūdevī and begins recounting the Kṛṣṇagaṅgā’s origin; in the background, Vyāsa is shown bathing in the Yamunā current.","item_prompts":["Varāha as teacher (seated, blessing/teaching gesture)","Bhūdevī listening attentively","Yamunā river with gentle current","Vyāsa (Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana) with matted hair and staff, bathing","scroll/palm-leaf indicating narration"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: Varāha and Bhūdevī in dignified dialogue posture; Yamunā as stylized blue band; Vyāsa as ascetic vignette; warm earth tones.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: Varāha and Bhūdevī central with gold-leaf ornaments; Yamunā rendered with metallic highlights; Vyāsa small but detailed at the river edge.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: elegant courtly rendering of Bhūdevī; Varāha with refined ornaments; soft river landscape; Vyāsa in subdued ascetic palette.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: narrative split—foreground dialogue, background river-bathing scene; crisp Himalayan color blocks; delicate trees along Yamunā bank."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"narrative-inviting, reverent","suggested_raga":"Bhairavī","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"warm, storytelling, authoritative"}
FAQs
It introduces a tīrtha-origin narrative linked to the Yamunā and Vyāsa, illustrating how Purāṇas encode pilgrimage networks and authoritative sages into sacred geography.
The Yamunā (Yamunāsrotas) is explicitly named; it is commonly identified with the modern Yamuna River of North India.
Attentive transmission and listening (śravaṇa) to cultural memory: knowledge of place and practice is framed as something to be carefully heard and preserved.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Varaha Purana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.