Varaha Purana 22.18: Adhyaya 22, Shloka 18

Gaurī’s Rebirth, Umā’s Austerities, Rudra’s Test, and the Himalayan Wedding

Pūrva Bhāga · Dharma-nyāya (Ethical and juridical discourse)

Devanagari script

अन्यव्यतिक्रमे धर्ममपनेतुं च शक्यते । ब्रह्मवध्याः पुनर्नैवमेवमुक्त्वा गता त्वरम् ॥ २२.१८ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 22.18

Transliteration

anyavyatikrame dharmam apanetuṃ ca śakyate | brahmavadhyāḥ punarnaivam evam uktvā gatā tvaram || 22.18 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

മറ്റു അതിക്രമങ്ങളിൽ ധർമ്മാനുസരിച്ച് ദോഷനിവാരണം സാധ്യമാണ്; എന്നാൽ ബ്രഹ്മഹത്യയുടെ കാര്യത്തിൽ അങ്ങനെ അല്ല. ഇങ്ങനെ പറഞ്ഞ് അവൾ വേഗത്തിൽ പുറപ്പെട്ടു।

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Word by Word

• anya-vyatikrame: in other transgressions
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); tatpuruṣa: 'in the transgression of another (rule)' (अन्यस्य व्यतिक्रमः)
• Role: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Root: anya-vyatikrama (अन्य + व्यतिक्रम प्रातिपदिक)

• dharmam: dharma / law
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक)

• apanetum: to remove / avert
• Type: Verb
• Form: Kridanta; Infinitive (तुमुनन्त/तुमर्थक), 'to remove'
• Role: Prayojana (प्रयोजन/उद्देश्य)
• Root: apa-√nī (अप + नी धातु) + tumun (तुमुन्)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya; conjunction (समुच्चय)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: ca (अव्यय)

• śakyate: is possible
• Type: Verb
• Form: Present (लट्), Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन); impersonal/passive sense: 'it is possible'
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Root: śak (शक् धातु)

• brahmavadhyāḥ: from the sin of brahmin-slaying
• Type: Noun
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Ablative (पञ्चमी), Singular (एकवचन); tatpuruṣa: 'from brahmin-slaying (sin)' (ब्रह्मवध्यायाः)
• Role: Apadana (अपादान)
• Root: brahma-vadhyā (ब्रह्म + वध्यā प्रातिपदिक)

• punar: again / however
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya; adverb (पुनरावृत्तिवाचक)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Root: punar (अव्यय)

• na: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya; negation particle (निषेध)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निषेध)
• Root: na (अव्यय)

• eva: indeed / only
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya; emphatic particle (अवधारण)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/अवधारण)
• Root: eva (अव्यय)

• evam: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya; manner-adverb (प्रकारवाचक)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Root: evam (अव्यय)

• uktvā: having said
• Type: Verb
• Form: Kridanta; Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त), 'having said'
• Role: Purvakala (पूर्वकाल/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Root: vac (वच् धातु) + ktvā (क्त्वा)

• gatā: went
• Type: Verb
• Form: Kridanta (past active participle by usage/क्त); Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: gam (गम् धातु) + kta (क्त)

• tvaram: quickly / in haste
• Type: Noun
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); used adverbially (क्रियाविशेषणवत्)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Root: tvarā (त्वरा प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• dharmam apanetuṃ = dharmam + apanetuṃ
• punarnaivam = punar + na + evam (r-sandhi and vowel sandhi)
• evamuktvā = evam + uktvā

Speaker and setting

Bhayanaka and Shanta rasaSetting: Ethical-legal discourse space

Speaker

Pṛthivī

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

Varaha teaches her

Her state of mind

Anxious, didactic, and hurried—pressing the point of inexpiability

What she asks

Which sins admit prāyaścitta, and why is brahma-hatyā uniquely resistant to expiation?

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Moral psychology of karma

Subjects

EthicsDharmaśāstra discourseSin and expiation (prāyaścitta)

Core idea

Some karmic violations are portrayed as structurally destabilizing to social-sacral order, hence treated as nearly irreversible.

In practice

Prioritize prevention over cure in ethical life; do not rely on ritual expiation as a substitute for restraint and protection.

Dharma

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Ethics
• Sanskrit Philology
• Dharma Traditions

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It reflects a common dharma-legal hierarchy found across Sanskrit normative literature, where certain acts are framed as more difficult (or impossible) to expiate, illustrating how Purāṇic texts transmit and popularize ethical-juridical categories.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is named in this verse fragment; the content is ethical-juridical rather than topographical.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse distinguishes between expiable transgressions and the especially grave category of brahma-hatyā, presenting a hierarchy of wrongdoing and stressing the exceptional seriousness attributed to that act in the dharma tradition.