Varaha Purana 201.53: Adhyaya 201, Shloka 53

The Battle between the Rākṣasas and Yama’s Attendant-Messengers

Devanagari script

उपस्थानं च कुर्वन्ति कालचिन्तकमब्रुवन् ॥ यथा लोका यथा राजा यथा मृत्युḥ सनातनः ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 201.53

Transliteration

upasthānaṃ ca kurvanti kālacintakam abruvan || yathā lokā yathā rājā yathā mṛtyuḥ sanātanaḥ ||

Translation

അവർ ഔപചാരിക സേവനം നിർവഹിച്ചു കാലചിന്തകനോടു പറഞ്ഞു— “ലോകങ്ങൾ എങ്ങനെയോ, രാജാവും അങ്ങനെയോ, അതുപോലെ മരണവും സനാതനമാണ്.”

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Word by Word

• upasthānam: attendance/standing near (service)
• upasthānam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upasthāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति (2nd/accusative), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/conjunction): ‘and’

• kurvanti: they do/perform
• kurvanti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन

• kālacintakam: the time-contemplator (epithet)
• kālacintakam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla + cintaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति (2nd/accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘कालस्य चिन्तकः’ (one who thinks/reflects on time)

• abruvan: they said
• abruvan: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √brū (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/past), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन

• yathā: as/just as
• yathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (सम्बन्धबोधक/relative adverb): ‘as/according as’

• lokāḥ: worlds/people
• lokāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति (1st/nominative), बहुवचन

• yathā: as
• yathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (सम्बन्धबोधक/relative adverb): ‘as’

• rājā: king
• rājā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति (1st/nominative), एकवचन

• yathā: as
• yathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (सम्बन्धबोधक/relative adverb): ‘as’

• mṛtyuḥ: Death
• mṛtyuḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛtyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति (1st/nominative), एकवचन

• sanātanaḥ: eternal/ancient
• sanātanaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sanātana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति (1st/nominative), एकवचन; adjective to mṛtyuḥ

Speaker

Varāha (default speaker framework; explicit speaker not stated in excerpt)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Time and Mortality Themes
• Purāṇic Philosophy (descriptive)

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves a compact aphoristic style within Purāṇic narrative, linking sovereignty, cosmic order, and mortality through parallel construction.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is identified.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

It underscores the universality and permanence of mortality, encouraging ethical seriousness under the horizon of time.