Varaha Purana 196.13 — Adhyaya 196, Shloka 13

Description of the City of Dharmarāja

Yama

Devanagari script

दृश्यते न च दृश्येत नानावृक्षसमाकुला ॥ सुवर्णकृतसोपाना दिव्यकाञ्चनवालुका

Transliteration

dṛśyate na ca dṛśyeta nānā-vṛkṣa-samākulā || suvarṇa-kṛta-sopānā divya-kāñcana-vālukā

Translation

അത് ദൃശ്യമാകുന്നു; എങ്കിലും ദൃശ്യമല്ലാത്തതുപോലെ—അത്ര അത്ഭുതം. നാനാവൃക്ഷങ്ങളാൽ നിറഞ്ഞത്; സ്വർണ്ണനിർമ്മിത പടികളുള്ളത്; ദിവ്യ സ്വർണ്ണമണൽ നിറഞ്ഞത്॥

Word by Word

• dṛśyate: is seen; appears
• dṛśyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (दृश् धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (लट्, present), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Ekavacana, Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद) (passive-like sense)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Niṣedha-nipāta (निषेध-निपात) negation

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samucchaya-nipāta conjunction

• dṛśyeta: might be seen; would appear
• dṛśyeta: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (दृश् धातु)
• Form: Liṅ-lakāra (लिङ्, optative/potential), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Ekavacana, Ātmanepada

• nānā-vṛkṣa-samākulā: filled with various trees
• nānā-vṛkṣa-samākulā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nānā (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + vṛkṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + samākula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana; qualifying nadī (understood)

• suvarṇa-kṛta-sopānā: with stair-steps made of gold
• suvarṇa-kṛta-sopānā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: suvarṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛta (कृ धातु, क्त) + sopāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana; ‘having steps made of gold’

• divya-kāñcana-vālukā: having divine golden sand
• divya-kāñcana-vālukā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: divya (प्रातिपदिक) + kāñcana (प्रातिपदिक) + vālukā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana; qualifying nadī (understood)

Speaker

Varāha (default dialogue frame)

Varaha Avatara Context

Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":true,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"Continues Varāha’s descriptive narration to Bhū; no explicit embrace/lifting of Earth, only revelation of a marvel."}

Bhu Devi Dialogue

Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"astonished/curious at the paradoxical visibility of the place","key_question":"How can a sacred realm be ‘seen and yet not seen’—what makes it wondrous/otherworldly?"}

Mathura Mandala

Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}

Dharma Shastra

Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":false,"topic":"None","instruction_summary":"None","karmic_consequence":"None"}

Vrata Mahatmya

Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false,"vrata_name":"None","tithi_month":"None","promised_fruit":"None"}

Cosmic Boar Symbolism

Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":true,"symbolic_interpretation":"The ‘seen/not seen’ paradox suggests tīrtha as a liminal reality—accessible by merit and grace, not merely by ordinary sight; sacred geography as a subtle (sūkṣma) overlay on the gross world.","yajna_varaha_imagery":"None","vedantic_connection":"Avidyā/vidyā framing: the same locus can be imperceptible to the unprepared mind yet evident to purified perception; hints at adbhuta as a pedagogic device for transcendent reality."}

Philosophical Teaching

Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"sacred perception","core_concept":"Sacred places may be veiled/unveiled depending on adhikāra (fitness) and divine favor; wonder functions as a sign of the transcendent.","practical_application":"Cultivate inner purity (śauca, śraddhā) so that pilgrimage becomes more than tourism—an opening of perception."}

Subject Matter

Subject Matter: ["Geography","Cosmology","Heritage Sites"]

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shringara

Geographic Context

Type: tīrtha-riverbank/ghāṭa (implied)

Cross References

Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 196.13, 196.15-16 (Puṣpodakā’s excellence and purity)

Visual Art Cues

Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A shimmering riverbank that seems to flicker between visibility and invisibility; golden stairways descending into water; banks dense with varied trees; sand glittering like divine gold.","item_prompts":["golden steps (sopāna) into river","sparkling golden sand","dense mixed forest","atmospheric haze suggesting ‘seen/not seen’"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: stylized gold-ochre sopānas, patterned trees, river in deep blue-green; use decorative shimmer motifs to suggest the paradoxical visibility.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: heavy gold-leaf for steps and sand; embossed textures; jewel-toned trees; river with metallic highlights.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: refined architectural steps, soft luminous sand; detailed foliage variety; subtle mist layers.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: delicate landscape with terraced steps; glittering sand rendered as stippled highlights; dreamy translucence to convey ‘dṛśyate na ca dṛśyet’."}

Audio Atmosphere

Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"wonder-struck, descriptive","suggested_raga":"Yaman","pace":"medium-slow","voice_tone":"luminous, slightly hushed to convey mystery"}

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Vaishnavism
• Sacred Rivers
• Mythic Topography

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It exemplifies mythic-topographical ornamentation used to mark sacred landscapes as extraordinary and beyond ordinary perception.

Which geographic location is identified?

The verse continues the description of the Puṣpodakā river-region; no modern correlate is specified.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Rather than a direct injunction, the verse elevates the landscape as a site worthy of attention and careful description.