Varaha Purana 137.44: Adhyaya 137, Shloka 44

The Tale of the Vulture and the She-Jackal: The Māhātmya of the Saukarava Sacred Field

Uttara Bhāga · Kṣetra-māhātmya (Saukara-kṣetra) / Soteriological Framing

Devanagari script

एवं वै मानुषो भूत्वा अपराधविवर्जितः ॥ गमनं तस्य क्षेत्रस्य मरणं तत्र कारणम्

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 137.44

Transliteration

evaṁ vai mānuṣo bhūtvā aparādha-vivarjitaḥ || gamanaṁ tasya kṣetrasya maraṇaṁ tatra kāraṇam

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

ഇങ്ങനെ മനുഷ്യനായി, അപരാധവിവർജിതനായി, ആ പുണ്യക്ഷേത്രത്തിലേക്കുള്ള അവന്റെ ഗമനം—അവിടെത്തന്നെയുള്ള അവന്റെ മരണം—ഫലസിദ്ധിയുടെ കാരണമെന്നു പ്രസ്താവിക്കുന്നു।

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Word by Word

• evam: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: रीत्यर्थक-अव्यय (adverb of manner)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Root: evam (अव्यय)

• vai: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: निश्चयार्थक/खल्वर्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Root: vai (अव्यय)

• mānuṣaḥ: a man/human
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: mānuṣa (प्रातिपदिक)

• bhūtvā: having become
• Type: Verb
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय-भावकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive), ‘having become’
• Role: Purvakala (पूर्वकालः)
• Root: bhū (धातु)

• aparādha-vivarjitaḥ: free from offence
• Type: Adjective
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘aparādha’ (offence) ‘vivarjita’ (devoid of)
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषणम्)
• Root: aparādha + vivarjita (प्रातिपदिक)

• gamanam: going
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: gamana (प्रातिपदिक)

• tasya: of that
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• kṣetrasya: of the field/place
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)

• maraṇam: death
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: maraṇa (प्रातिपदik)

• tatra: there
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb: ‘there’)
• Role: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)

• kāraṇam: cause
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• aparādha-vivarjitaḥ is a tatpuruṣa compound functioning adjectivally to ‘mānuṣaḥ’
• ‘tasya kṣetrasya’ is a genitive chain: ‘of that field/place’

Speaker and setting

Shanta rasa

Speaker

Varāha

The teaching

Path

Discipline And Preparation

Subjects

Sacred geography (Kṣetra)EthicsDeath and merit (Soteriology)

Core idea

Outer śauca (cleanliness) is treated as a preparatory limb for inner steadiness and ritual readiness; measured action symbolizes regulated life (niyama).

In practice

Keep consistent daily disciplines (dinacaryā)—cleanliness, moderation, and readiness before undertaking worship, travel to tīrthas, or vows.

Dharma

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Sacred Geography
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Pilgrimage Studies

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It shows a typical Purāṇic linkage between sacred geography and moral qualification (freedom from aparādha), framing pilgrimage and death-in-place as a mechanism of merit.

Which geographic location is identified?

The verse refers generically to “that kṣetra”; the broader passage (not fully included here) indicates a Saukara-related sacred region.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Moral restraint—being free from transgression—is presented as a prerequisite for the kṣetra-related spiritual outcome.