Varaha Purana 141.3: Adhyaya 141, Shloka 3

The Sacred Greatness of Badarikāśrama

Badrinath Region

Devanagari script

दुर्लभं तन्मम क्षेत्रं हिमकूटशिलातले ॥ यस्तत्प्राप्नोति हि क्षेत्रं कृतकृत्यो भवेन नरः ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 141.3

Transliteration

durlabhaṁ tanmama kṣetraṁ himakūṭaśilātale | yastatprāpnoti hi kṣetraṁ kṛtakṛtyo bhavennaraḥ ||

Translation

ഹിമകൂടത്തിന്റെ പാറച്ചരിവുകളിൽ ഉള്ള എന്റെ ആ ക്ഷേത്രം ദുർലഭം. അതിനെ പ്രാപിക്കുന്ന മനുഷ്യൻ കൃതകൃത്യനാകുന്നു.

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Word by Word

• durlabham: hard to obtain
• durlabham: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dur-labha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन) (qualifying kṣetram)

• tat: that
• tat: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma-adjective (सर्वनाम-विशेषण), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन) (qualifying kṣetram)

• mama: my
• mama: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (सर्वनाम), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• kṣetram: sacred field/holy place
• kṣetram: Karta (कर्ता) (of implied ‘asti’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• hima-kūṭa-śilā-tale: on the rock-surface at the base of the snowy peak
• hima-kūṭa-śilā-tale: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hima (प्रातिपदिक) + kūṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + śilā (प्रातिपदिक) + tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) locative compound ‘on the surface at the rock-base of the snow-peak’; Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• yaḥ: who (he who)
• yaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (सर्वनाम), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• tat: that (place)
• tat: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (सर्वनाम), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन) (referring to kṣetram)

• prāpnoti: attains/reaches
• prāpnoti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-āp (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (लट्/Present), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• hi: indeed/for
• hi: Avadhāraṇa/Hetu (अवधारण/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (हेतु/निश्चयार्थक निपात)

• kṣetram: the holy place
• kṣetram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• kṛta-kṛtyaḥ: one who has fulfilled his duty / accomplished
• kṛta-kṛtyaḥ: Predicative adjective (विशेषण) of naraḥ
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛta (कृदन्त; kṛ धातु) + kṛtya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) ‘kṛtaṁ kṛtyaṁ yena’ (one whose duty is done); Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• bhavet: would become
• bhavet: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: Liṅ-lakāra (लिङ्/Optative), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

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

Speaker

Varāha (contextual continuation)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Ancient Geography
• Himalayan Studies

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It links a specific Himalayan toponym (Himakūṭa) with a sanctified ‘kṣetra,’ illustrating how Purāṇas sacralize terrain and encode pilgrimage routes.

Which geographic location is identified?

Himakūṭa (a snow-peak/mountain designation in Himalayan sacred geography), associated with Badarikāśrama’s rocky slopes.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse frames reaching and honoring a heritage site as a culmination of disciplined life-aims (kṛtakṛtyatā), emphasizing purposeful living.