Varaha Purana 113.20: Adhyaya 113, Shloka 20

Hymn to Varāha and Pṛthivī’s Inquiry

Prelude to the Sanatkumāra Dialogue

Pūrva Bhāga · Pṛthivī-uddhāra (Earth-Restoration) and Avatāra Reminiscence

Devanagari script

पुनर्वराहरूपेण मां गच्छन्तीं रसातले ॥ उज्जहारैकदंष्ट्रेण भवानेव महार्णवात्

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 113.20

Transliteration

punarvarāharūpeṇa māṃ gacchantīṃ rasātale || ujjahāraikadaṃṣṭreṇa bhavāneva mahārṇavāt

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

വീണ്ടും വരാഹരൂപം ധരിച്ചു, ഞാൻ രസാതലത്തിലേക്ക് താഴ്ന്നുപോകുമ്പോൾ, ഹേ പ്രഭോ, നീ തന്നേ മഹാസമുദ്രത്തിൽ നിന്ന് ഒരു ദംഷ്ട്ര (ഒറ്റ കൊമ്പ്/ദന്തം) കൊണ്ട് എന്നെ ഉയർത്തി എടുത്തു.

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Word by Word

• punar: again
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Role: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Root: punar (अव्यय)

• varāha-rūpeṇa: in the form of a boar
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन); तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष): ‘varāhasya rūpam’
• Role: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Root: varāha (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)

• mām: me
• Type: Noun
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• gacchantīm: (me) going / descending
• Type: Verb
• Form: Present active participle (वर्तमान-कर्तरि-शतृ), Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); agreeing with ‘mām’ (understood as feminine)
• Role: Karma (कर्म) — object qualified by participle
• Root: gam (धातु) → gacchantī (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)

• rasā-tale: in Rasātala (netherworld)
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष): ‘rasāyāḥ talaḥ’
• Role: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location)
• Root: rasā (प्रातिपदिक) + tala (प्रातिपदिक)

• ujjahāra: lifted up / rescued
• Type: Verb
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: ud-√hṛ (धातु)

• eka-daṃṣṭreṇa: with (his) single tusk
• Type: Noun
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन); कर्मधारय-समास: ‘ekā daṃṣṭrā’
• Role: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक) + daṃṣṭrā (प्रातिपदिक)

• bhavān: you
• Type: Noun
• Form: Pronoun of respect (भवत्), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Kartā (कर्ता/Subject)
• Root: bhavat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• eva: indeed / alone
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), emphatic particle (निपात)
• Role: Sambandha/Emphasis (निपात)
• Root: eva (अव्यय)

• mahā-arṇavāt: from the great ocean
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular (एकवचन); कर्मधारय-समास: ‘mahān arṇavaḥ’
• Role: Apādāna (अपादान/Source)
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + arṇava (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• punarvarāharūpeṇa → punar + varāha-rūpeṇa
• ujjahāraikadaṃṣṭreṇa → ujjahāra + eka-daṃṣṭreṇa
• bhavāneva → bhavān + eva
• mahārṇavāt → mahā-arṇavāt

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Karuna rasaSetting: Mythic-cosmological geography

Speaker

Pṛthivī

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

She worships

Her state of mind

Burdened and endangered (sinking toward Rasātala), speaking with gratitude and remembrance

What she asks

Implicit: who but you can rescue and re-establish me when I fall into the nether depths?

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Theology of grace and restoration

Subjects

CosmologyEcological NarrativesMythic Geography

Core idea

When the very ground of order collapses, divine compassion and power restore stability; the world is upheld not merely by mechanics but by īśvara’s will.

In practice

In संकट (crisis), cultivate remembrance (smaraṇa) of the rescuer; align actions with restoration—protect land, life, and dharma as participation in Varāha’s ‘uplift’.

The Varaha avatara

The boar form

Lifted with a single tusk (ekadaṃṣṭra)

With the Earth

Varāha rescues Bhū-devī by physically raising her from the great ocean as she sinks toward Rasātala

Symbolism of the boar

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Vaishnavism
• Ancient Geography
• Ecological Ethics

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves a key Purāṇic motif—Earth’s restoration (Pṛthivī-uddhāra)—which functions as a cultural memory of cosmic order (dharma) being re-established after disruption.

Which geographic location is identified?

Rasātala is a netherworld realm in Purāṇic cosmography; it is not a mappable terrestrial site but a conceptual ‘lower region’ within a multi-tiered universe.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse frames restoration and protection of the world as a central responsibility of ideal sovereignty—cosmic care rather than domination.