Varaha Purana 157.21: Adhyaya 157, Shloka 21

Praise of the Malayārjuna Sacred Ford and the Mathurā–Yamunā Pilgrimage Cycle

Devanagari script

शकटं च तदा भिन्नं घटभाण्डकुटीरकम् ॥ ताभिस्तत्रैव गोविन्दं क्रीडन्तं च यदृच्छया ॥

Sanskrit recitationVaraha Purana 157.21

Transliteration

śakaṭaṃ ca tadā bhinnaṃ ghaṭa-bhāṇḍa-kuṭīrakam || tābhis tatraiva govindaṃ krīḍantaṃ ca yadṛcchayā |

Translation

അപ്പോൾ വണ്ടി തകർന്നു; ഘടങ്ങളും പാത്രങ്ങളും ഉണ്ടായിരുന്ന കുടിലും കേടുപറ്റി. അവിടെ തന്നെയായി യാദൃശ്ചികമായി അവർ കളിച്ചുകൊണ്ടിരുന്ന ഗോവിന്ദനെ കണ്ടു.

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Word by Word

• शकटम्: cart
• शकटम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शकट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: None (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय conjunction)

• तदा: then
• तदा: None (काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक/adverb: ‘then’)

• भिन्नम्: broken
• भिन्नम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भिन्न (कृदन्त, √भिद्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle)

• घटभाण्डकुटीरकम्: pots, vessels, and a small hut
• घटभाण्डकुटीरकम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: घट + भाण्ड + कुटीरक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (घटं च भाण्डं च कुटीरकं च)

• ताभिः: by them (those women)
• ताभिः: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (स्थानवाचक)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: None (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निश्चय/avadhāraṇa particle: ‘just/indeed’)

• गोविन्दम्: Govinda
• गोविन्दम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोविन्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• क्रीडन्तम्: playing
• क्रीडन्तम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रीड् (धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; शतृ-प्रत्यय वर्तमानकृदन्त (present active participle)

• च: and
• च: None (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय conjunction)

• यदृच्छया: by chance / accidentally
• यदृच्छया: Hetu (हेतु/निमित्त)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यदृच्छा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणार्थे (instrumental of manner)

Speaker

Varāha

Tags

• Purāṇic Literature
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Kṛṣṇa-Līlā
• Narrative Traditions

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It echoes widely circulating Kṛṣṇa childhood motifs, indicating intertextual transmission of narrative units across Purāṇic and allied traditions.

Which geographic location is identified?

The verse does not name a specific site; it remains anchored to the chapter’s ‘tatra’ (there), functioning as narrative localization within a described sacred region.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Rather than explicit ethics, the verse preserves communal narrative memory; such passages often support cultural continuity and heritage-place identity.