Varaha Purana 151.56: Adhyaya 151, Shloka 56

The Sacred Greatness of Lohārgala

The ‘Iron-Bolt’ Tīrtha

Uttara Bhāga · Tīrtha-māhātmya (Sacred Geography and Heritage Sites)

Devanagari script

कार्त्तिकेयस्य कुण्डं तु गुह्यं क्षेत्रं परं मम ॥ यत्र पञ्चदशा धाराः पतन्ति हिमपर्वतात्

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 151.56

Transliteration

kārttikeyasya kuṇḍaṃ tu guhyaṃ kṣetraṃ paraṃ mama || yatra pañcadaśā dhārāḥ patanti hima-parvatāt

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

കാർത്തികേയന്റെ കുണ്ഡം എന്റെ പരമ ഗുഹ്യമായ പുണ്യക്ഷേത്രമാണ്; അവിടെ ഹിമാലയപർവതത്തിൽ നിന്ന് പതിനഞ്ച് ധാരകൾ പതിക്കുന്നു.

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Word by Word

• कार्त्तिकेयस्य: of Kārttikeya
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Root: कार्त्तिकेय (प्रातिपदिक)

• कुण्डम्: pond; sacred pool
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (here: nominative as subject-complement)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता/विषय)
• Root: कुण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)

• तु: indeed; but
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधसूचक (emphatic/contrastive particle)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/वाक्यसम्बन्ध)
• Root: तु (अव्यय)

• गुह्यम्: secret; mysterious
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying कुण्डम्/क्षेत्रम्)
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: गुह्य (प्रातिपदिक)

• क्षेत्रम्: sacred place; field
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (apposition to कुण्डम्)
• Role: Samānādhikaraṇa (समानाधिकरण)
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)

• परम्: supreme; highest
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)

• मम: my
• Type: Noun
• Form: षष्ठी विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• यत्र: where
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्धबोधक देशवाचक (relative locative adverb: where)
• Role: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)

• पञ्चदश: fifteen
• Type: Adjective
• Form: संख्यावाचक विशेषण; स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनरूपेण (agreeing with धाराः)
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: पञ्चदशन् (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)

• धाराः: streams; flows
• Type: Noun
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: धारा (प्रातिपदिक)

• पतन्ति: fall; descend
• Type: Verb
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Root: पत् (धातु)

• हिमपर्वतात्: from the snow-mountain
• Type: Noun
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (हिमः पर्वतः = snow-mountain); पुंलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी विभक्ति (Ablative), एकवचन
• Role: Apadana (अपादान)
• Root: हिम (प्रातिपदिक) + पर्वत (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• हिमपर्वतात् = हिम-पर्वतात् (कर्मधारय समास)
• पञ्चदशा is used as numeral adjective agreeing with धाराः (feminine nominative plural sense)

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Shanta rasa

Speaker

Varāha

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

Varaha teaches her

Her state of mind

Curious

What she asks

Which sacred waters and hidden tīrthas should be known as supremely sacred, and what marks their sanctity?

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Tīrtha-tattva (sacred geography as a mode of grace)

Subjects

GeographyHeritage SitesHydrology (Sacred Waters)

Core idea

The divine is accessed not only through doctrine but through consecrated places where nature (waters/streams) becomes a carrier of śakti and remembrance.

In practice

Approach tīrthas with secrecy/discipline (guhyatā), reverence for waters, and readiness for prescribed observances before expecting fruit.

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Ancient Geography
• Purāṇic Pilgrimage
• Cultural Heritage

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It documents a tīrtha tradition anchored in Himalayan hydroscapes, showing how Purāṇic texts encode landscapes (streams, pools) as cultural heritage and pilgrimage networks.

Which geographic location is identified?

A Himalayan setting is indicated (hima-parvata), but the exact modern identification of “Kārttikeya-kuṇḍa” is not explicit in this fragment and requires correlation with regional tīrtha lists and local traditions.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse implicitly elevates careful engagement with sacred water-sites (kuṇḍa, dhārāḥ) as a disciplined cultural practice within pilgrimage ethics.