Varaha Purana 12.6: Adhyaya 12, Shloka 6

Supratīka’s Hymn to Rāma and the Granting of a Boon through Divine Manifestation

Devanagari script

भवार्णवे दुःखतरोर्मिसङ्कुले तथाक्षमाणाग्रहणेऽतिभीषणे । न मज्जति त्वत्स्मरणप्लवो नरः स्मृतोऽसि रामेति तथा तपोवने ॥ १२.६ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 12.6

Transliteration

bhavārṇave duḥkha-tarormi-saṅkule tathākṣamāṇā-grahaṇe ’tibhīṣaṇe | na majjati tvat-smaraṇa-plavo naraḥ smṛto ’si rāmeti tathā tapovane || 12.6 ||

Translation

സംസാരസമുദ്രത്തിൽ—ദുഃഖവൃക്ഷസദൃശമായ തരംഗങ്ങളാൽ നിറഞ്ഞതും, അസഹ്യമായ ഗ്രഹണത്താൽ അതിഭീകരവുമായതിൽ—നിന്റെ സ്മരണ തന്നെയാണ് പ്ലവം (തോണി) ആയിരിക്കുന്ന മനുഷ്യൻ മുങ്ങുകയില്ല. അതുകൊണ്ട് തപോവനത്തിലും നീ ‘രാമ’ എന്നു സ്മരിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു.

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Word by Word

• bhava-arṇave: in the ocean of worldly existence
• bhava-arṇave: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhava (प्रातिपदिक) + arṇava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (भवस्य अर्णवः)

• duḥkha-tara-urmi-saṅkule: crowded with waves of intense sorrow
• duḥkha-tara-urmi-saṅkule: Viśeṣaṇa of Adhikaraṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक) + tara (प्रातिपदिक) + urmi (प्रातिपदिक) + saṅkula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (दुःखतराः ऊर्मयः यस्मिन् सः)

• tathā: thus / likewise
• tathā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• akṣamāṇā-grahaṇe: in the seizing by the unforbearing (forces)
• akṣamāṇā-grahaṇe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: akṣamāṇa (कृदन्त; √kṣam धातु, शतृ-प्रत्यय, नकारार्थे) + grahaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; तत्पुरुषः (अक्षमाणानां ग्रहणम्)

• ati-bhīṣaṇe: in the extremely terrifying (place/state)
• ati-bhīṣaṇe: Viśeṣaṇa of Adhikaraṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ati (अव्यय) + bhīṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; अव्ययीभावः (अतिभीषणम्)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Negation particle (निषेध)

• majjati: sinks
• majjati: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √majj (मज्ज् धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), Parasmaipada, 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• tvat-smaraṇa-plavaḥ: the raft of remembrance of you
• tvat-smaraṇa-plavaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvat (युष्मद्-प्रातिपदिक) + smaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + plava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; तत्पुरुषः (त्वत्स्मरणं प्लवः)

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• smṛtaḥ: remembered
• smṛtaḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया-अङ्ग)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √smṛ (स्मृ धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (कृत्: क्त), Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; used predicatively

• asi: you are
• asi: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (अस् धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), Parasmaipada, 2nd person (मध्यमपुरुष), Singular

• rāma-iti: as “Rāma”
• rāma-iti: Vākyārtha/Quotation marker (उद्धरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: rāma (प्रातिपदिक) + iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Quotative particle with name; 'iti' (उद्धरणसूचक अव्यय)

• tathā: thus / likewise
• tathā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• tapo-vane: in the forest of austerities
• tapo-vane: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक) + vana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; तत्पुरुषः (तपसः वनम्)

Speaker

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

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Studies
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Sanskrit Poetics

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves a widely attested Purāṇic and epic-era metaphor—saṃsāra as an ocean—and frames remembrance (smaraṇa) as a disciplined practice, reflecting the didactic style typical of Purāṇic instruction and its integration with ascetic (tapovana) settings.

Which geographic location is identified?

No specific toponym is named here; “tapovana” denotes an ascetic forest/grove as a literary and cultural landscape category rather than a uniquely identifiable modern location.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse emphasizes sustained recollection (smaraṇa) as a stabilizing discipline amid suffering and fear—presented as a practical ethical-philosophical method for maintaining composure and direction within the uncertainties of worldly life.