Varaha Purana 22.23: Adhyaya 22, Shloka 23

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

Devanagari script

मत्पाणिग्रहणं भद्रे वृथा यदि करिष्यसि । तदानीं ब्रह्मणः पुत्र्यामाहारार्थं ब्रवीम्यहम् ॥ २२.२३ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 22.23

Transliteration

matpāṇigrahaṇaṃ bhadre vṛthā yadi kariṣyasi | tadānīṃ brahmaṇaḥ putryām āhārārthaṃ bravīmy aham || 22.23 ||

Translation

ഭദ്രേ, എന്റെ പാണിഗ്രഹണം നീ വ്യർത്ഥമാക്കുവാൻ ഉദ്ദേശിക്കുന്നുവെങ്കിൽ, അപ്പോൾ ആഹാരലഭ്യതയ്ക്കായി ഞാൻ ബ്രഹ്മാവിന്റെ പുത്രിയെക്കുറിച്ച് പ്രസ്താവിക്കും.

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Word by Word

• मत्पाणिग्रहणम्: my taking of the hand / my hand-grasping (marriage)
• मत्पाणिग्रहणम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mat + pāṇi + grahaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; ‘मत्’ (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: my) + ‘पाणिग्रहण’ (hand-taking)

• भद्रे: O auspicious lady
• भद्रे: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhadrā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, संबोधन-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• वृथा: in vain
• वृथा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vṛthā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; व्यर्थार्थक क्रियाविशेषण (in vain)

• यदि: if
• यदि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्त-अव्यय (conditional conjunction)

• करिष्यसि: you will do
• करिष्यसि: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकारः (Simple Future), मध्यम-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• तदानीम्: then
• तदानीम्: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (काल-अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadānīm (अव्यय)
• Form: काल-अव्यय (then/at that time)

• ब्रह्मणः: of Brahmā
• ब्रह्मणः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः (Genitive), एकवचनम्

• पुत्र्याम्: in/with the daughter
• पुत्र्याम्: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative), एकवचनम्

• आहारार्थम्: for the sake of food
• आहारार्थम्: Prayojana (प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āhāra + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे/नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; चतुर्थी-तत्पुरुषः—‘आहाराय अर्थः’ (for the sake of food)

• ब्रवीमि: I say
• ब्रवीमि: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: brū (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः, उत्तम-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तम-पुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

Speaker

Varāha (default speaker per dialogue framework; speaker not explicitly marked in excerpt)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Narrative
• Sanskrit Philology
• Vaishnavism

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves a conventional Sanskrit idiom—pāṇigrahaṇa (“taking the hand”)—used for marriage, showing how Purāṇic narrative integrates social-legal terminology into dialogue and ethical counsel.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is named in this verse fragment; it is primarily a relational and rhetorical statement within a dialogue.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse frames accountability in commitments: it cautions against rendering a formal pledge (here, marital hand-taking) meaningless, and signals a consequential shift in discourse toward survival/sustenance concerns (āhāra).