Varaha Purana 12.7: Adhyaya 12, Shloka 7

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

Pūrva Bhāga · Avatāra-kathā (Cosmic Preservation Narratives)

Devanagari script

वेदेषु नष्टेषु भवांस्तथा हरे करोषि मात्स्यं वपुरात्मनः सदा । युगक्षये रञ्जितसर्वदिङ्मुखो भवांस्तथाग्निर्बहुरूपधृग्विभो ॥ १२.७ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 12.7

Transliteration

vedeṣu naṣṭeṣu bhavāṁs tathā hare karoṣi mātsyaṁ vapur ātmanaḥ sadā | yugakṣaye rañjita-sarva-diṅmukho bhavāṁs tathāgnir bahu-rūpa-dhṛg vibho || 12.7 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

ഹേ ഹരി! വേദങ്ങൾ നശിച്ചാൽ നീ വീണ്ടും വീണ്ടും സ്വയം മത്സ്യരൂപം ധരിക്കുന്നു. യുഗാന്തത്തിൽ സർവ്വദിക്കുകളെയും പ്രകാശിപ്പിക്കുന്ന മുഖമുള്ള, ബഹുരൂപധാരി വിഭോ, നീ അഗ്നിരൂപമായി പ്രത്യക്ഷമാകുന്നു.

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Word by Word

• vedeṣu: in the Vedas
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Plural (बहुवचन)
• Role: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक)

• naṣṭeṣu: when (they are) lost
• Type: Verb
• Form: Past passive participle (कृत्: क्त), Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Plural; agrees with vedeṣu
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa of Adhikaraṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: √naś (नश् धातु)

• bhavān: you
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: bhavat (प्रातिपदिक; 2nd person honorific pronoun)

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

• hare: O Hari
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular
• Role: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)

• karoṣi: you make/assume
• Type: Verb
• Form: Present tense (लट्), Parasmaipada, 2nd person (मध्यमपुरुष), Singular
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: √kṛ (कृ धातु)

• mātsyam: fish-like / of a fish
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; used adjectivally with vapuḥ
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: mātsya (प्रातिपदिक)

• vapuḥ: a body/form
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: vapus (प्रातिपदिक)

• ātmanaḥ: of yourself
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular
• Role: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक)

• sadā: always
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Adverb (कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण)
• Role: Kāla (काल)
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)

• yuga-kṣaye: at the end of an age
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; तत्पुरुषः (युगस्य क्षयः)
• Role: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Root: yuga (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)

• rañjita-sarva-diṅ-mukhaḥ: whose faces in all directions are reddened/brightened
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; बहुव्रीहिः (रञ्जितानि सर्वदिङ्मुखानि यस्य सः)
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa of Karta (विशेषण)
• Root: rañjita (कृदन्त; √rañj धातु, क्त) + sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + diś (प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)

• bhavān: you
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: bhavat (प्रातिपदिक)

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

• agniḥ: (as) fire
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular
• Role: Pratipādya (उपमान/रूप)
• Root: agni (प्रातिपदिक)

• bahu-rūpa-dhṛk: bearing many forms
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; तत्पुरुषः (बहूनि रूपाणि धरति)
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa of Karta (विशेषण)
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक) + dhṛk (कृदन्त; √dhṛ धातु, क्विप्/क्विन्)

• vibho: O Lord
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular
• Role: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Root: vibhu (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• bhavāṁs = bhavān
• yugakṣaye = yuga-kṣaye
• rañjita-sarva-diṅmukho = rañjita-sarva-diṅ-mukhaḥ
• tathāgnir = tathā + agniḥ
• bahu-rūpa-dhṛg = bahu-rūpa-dhṛk (final k before voiced consonant)

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Shanta rasaSetting: Cosmological horizon

Speaker

Pṛthivī

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

She asks

Her state of mind

Curious, reverent; seeking cosmological clarification about divine interventions across yugas

What she asks

How do your recurring avatāras (Matsya; cosmic Fire at yuga-end) preserve Veda and regulate dissolution?

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Avatāra-theology within cyclical cosmology

Subjects

CosmologyAvatar DoctrineScriptural Preservation

Core idea

One Lord repeatedly assumes forms to preserve Veda and to dissolve/recreate the cosmos at yuga boundaries.

In practice

Cultivate śraddhā in śāstra and in divine guardianship of knowledge; interpret historical/cosmic crises as occasions for dharma-restoration.

Symbolism of the boar

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Studies
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Cosmic Cycles (Yuga Theory)

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It reflects a Purāṇic motif in which sacred knowledge (the Vedas) is periodically threatened and ritually re-secured through avatāra narratives, illustrating how Purāṇas frame textual authority within cyclical cosmology.

Which geographic location is identified?

No specific geographic site is named in this verse; the reference is cosmological (loss of the Vedas, end of a yuga) rather than topographical.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse primarily conveys a philosophical instruction about stewardship of knowledge and order: cultural memory and dharma are portrayed as requiring preservation across cycles of disruption.