Varaha Purana 147.33: Adhyaya 147, Shloka 33

The Sacred Merit of Goniṣkramaṇa

the Tīrtha of the Cows’ Emergence/Release

Uttara Bhāga · Tīrtha-Māhātmya (Sacred Geography and Vratāni)

Devanagari script

अस्ति पञ्चपदं नाम तस्मिन्क्षेत्रे परं मम ॥ मम पूर्वेण पार्श्वेण दृढाः पञ्च महाशिलाः ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 147.33

Transliteration

asti pañchapadaṃ nāma tasminkṣetre paraṃ mama || mama pūrveṇa pārśvena dṛḍhāḥ pañca mahāśilāḥ ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

എന്റെ ആ പരമ പുണ്യക്ഷേത്രത്തിൽ ‘പഞ്ചപദ’ എന്ന പേരിലുള്ള ഒരു സ്ഥലം ഉണ്ട്. അതിന്റെ കിഴക്കുവശത്ത് അഞ്ചു മഹാശിലകൾ ദൃഢമായി സ്ഥിരമായി നിലകൊള്ളുന്നു.

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Word by Word

• asti: there is/exists
• Type: Verb
• Form: लट् (Present); प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपद
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Root: अस् (धातु)

• pañchapadam: (a place called) Pañchapada / five-step
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative); एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (five steps/feet)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: pañca + pada (प्रातिपदिक)

• nāma: named/called
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; नामार्थक-निपात (particle meaning 'by name/called')
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)

• tasmin: in that
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक; सप्तमी विभक्ति (Locative); एकवचन; सर्वनाम
• Role: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• kṣetre: field/holy place
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी विभक्ति (Locative); एकवचन
• Role: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)

• param: supreme/excellent
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying pañchapadam)
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)

• mama: my
• Type: Noun
• Form: षष्ठी विभक्ति (Genitive); एकवचन; सर्वनाम
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• mama: my
• Type: Noun
• Form: षष्ठी विभक्ति; एकवचन; सर्वनाम
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• pūrveṇa: by/on the eastern (side)
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया विभक्ति (Instrumental); एकवचन; दिक्-विशेषण (by the eastern)
• Role: Karana (करण)
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक)

• pārśvena: side/flank
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया विभक्ति (Instrumental); एकवचन
• Role: Karana (करण)
• Root: pārśva (प्रातिपदिक)

• dṛḍhāḥ: firm/solid
• Type: Adjective
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative); बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying mahāśilāḥ)
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: dṛḍha (प्रातिपदिक)

• pañca: five
• Type: Adjective
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्या; प्रथमा; बहुवचनार्थे (indeclinable numeral used adjectivally)
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: pañca (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)

• mahāśilāḥ: great stones/slabs
• Type: Noun
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative); बहुवचन; कर्मधारय (great stones/slabs)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: mahā + śilā (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• तस्मिन्क्षेत्रे = तस्मिन् + क्षेत्रे (न् + क्)।

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Shanta rasaSetting: Tīrtha-sthāna / lithic landmark cluster

Speaker

Varāha

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

Varaha teaches her

Her state of mind

Curious

What she asks

What are the named sacred spots and their identifying features within your kṣetra?

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Tīrtha-smṛti / sacred geography as sādhanā-support

Subjects

GeographyHeritage SitesMaterial Culture

Core idea

The divine is approached through recognized ‘liṅgas’ (markers) in space; place-memory becomes a vehicle of devotion.

In practice

Learn and honor the site’s markers (śilā), treating them as sacred witnesses; cultivate attentive pilgrimage rather than casual travel.

The Varaha avatara

With the Earth

Varāha speaks as kṣetra-adhipati, identifying ‘my supreme region’ and its markers for Bhū’s knowledge.

Mathura and Krishna

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Vaishnavism
• Ancient Geography
• Cultural Heritage

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves a micro-topography (named site plus fixed landmarks), useful for studying how Purāṇic texts encode navigable sacred landscapes.

Which geographic location is identified?

A tīrtha named “Pañchapada,” described with five large stones on its eastern flank; modern identification remains uncertain without correlating regional gazetteers and parallel Māhātmya traditions.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Implicitly, it encourages mindful engagement with place—recognizing and preserving named landmarks as part of cultural heritage practice.