Varaha Purana 1.16: Adhyaya 1, Shloka 16

Praise of Varāha and Pṛthivī’s Foundational Questions

Pūrva Bhāga · Pṛthivī-uddhāra (Cosmological Vision and Earth’s Condition)

Devanagari script

सचन्द्रसूर्यग्रहसप्तलोकानन्तः स्थितांस्तावदुपात्तधर्मान् । इतीदृशं पश्यति सा समस्तं यावत्क्षितिर्वेपितसर्वगात्रा ॥ १.१७ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 1.16

Transliteration

sacandra-sūrya-graha-sapta-lokānantaḥ sthitāṁs tāvad upātta-dharmān | itīdṛśaṁ paśyati sā samastaṁ yāvat kṣitir vepita-sarva-gātrā || 1.17 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

അവൾ ഭൂമിദേവി ചന്ദ്രൻ, സൂര്യൻ, ഗ്രഹങ്ങൾ എന്നിവയോടുകൂടിയ സപ്തലോകങ്ങളെ അനന്തവ്യാപ്തിയുടെ അന്തർഭാഗത്ത് സ്ഥാപിതമായി, ഓരോന്നും തത്തത് ധർമ്മക്രമത്തിൽ നിലകൊള്ളുന്നതായി സമസ്തമായി ദർശിച്ചു; ഭൂമി സർവ്വാംഗങ്ങളിലും വിറച്ചു।

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Word by Word

• sa-candra-sūrya-graha-sapta-lokān: the worlds along with moon, sun, planets, and the seven worlds
• Type: Noun
• Form: Samāsa: primarily Dvandva (द्वन्द्व) with prefixed 'sa-' meaning 'along with'; Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया), Plural (बहुवचन)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: sa (अव्यय) + candra (प्रातिपदिक) + sūrya (प्रातिपदिक) + graha (प्रातिपदिक) + sapta (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक)

• anantaḥ: within
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय) used as adverb/postposition meaning 'within/inside' (अन्तः)
• Role: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/locative sense)
• Root: ananta (प्रातिपदिक)

• sthitān: situated
• Type: Verb
• Form: Kridanta (कृदन्त), past passive participle (क्त), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया), Plural (बहुवचन) (qualifying lokān)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: sthā (धातु) + kta (क्त)

• tāvat: so long/then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), adverb (तावत्) indicating extent/meanwhile
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः/adverbial)
• Root: tāvat (अव्यय)

• upātta-dharmān: endowed with assumed/accepted dharmas
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) compound; Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया), Plural (बहुवचन) (qualifying lokān)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: upātta (उप-आ-√dā धातु + क्त) + dharma (प्रातिपदिक)

• iti: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), quotative particle
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः/quotative marker)
• Root: iti (अव्यय)

• īdṛśam: such
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन) (qualifying samastam)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: īdṛśa (प्रातिपदिक)

• paśyati: sees
• Type: Verb
• Form: Tinganta (तिङन्त), Present (लट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Root: dṛś (धातु)

• sā: she
• Type: Noun
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• samastam: the whole/all
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: samasta (प्रातिपदिक)

• yāvat: until/as long as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), correlative adverb 'as long as/until' (यावत्)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)

• kṣitiḥ: the Earth
• Type: Noun
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: kṣiti (प्रातिपदिक)

• vepita-sarva-gātrā: with all limbs trembling
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) compound; Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन) (qualifying kṣitiḥ)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: vepita (√vip/vep धातु + क्त) + sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + gātra (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• sacandra-sūrya-graha-sapta-lokān = sa + candra + sūrya + graha + sapta + lokān (compound)
• tāvad upātta- = tāvat + upātta-
• itīdṛśam = iti + īdṛśam
• yāvat kṣitir = yāvat + kṣitiḥ (visarga sandhi)
• vepita-sarva-gātrā compound

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Bhayanaka rasaSetting: Cosmological realm

Speaker

Pṛthivī (implied, within the Varāha–Pṛthivī dialogue frame)

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

She listens

Her state of mind

Trembling, overwhelmed by the cosmic vision; physically shaken (vepita-sarvagātrā)

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Cosmology-theology bridge

Subjects

CosmologyEarth’s conditionPuranic narrative framework

Core idea

Cosmic plurality abides in appointed order (dharma), yet the whole is held within the infinite; the finite trembles before the infinite totality.

In practice

Cultivate humility and steadiness (dhairya) when contemplating cosmic scale; align personal conduct with one’s svadharma as each loka abides in its ‘assumed order’.

Symbolism of the boar

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Cosmology
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Sanskrit Textual Heritage

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It exemplifies a standard Purāṇic cosmological register—enumerating the seven lokas and celestial bodies—used to situate the Earth’s narrative condition within a vast, ordered universe.

Which geographic location is identified?

No specific terrestrial pilgrimage site or geographic toponym is named in this verse; it remains at the level of cosmic geography (lokas and celestial bodies).

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Rather than a direct moral injunction, the verse foregrounds the concept of dharma as sustaining order—implying that stability (and the Earth’s well-being) is connected to adherence to an appropriate cosmic/natural order.