Varaha Purana 28.9: Adhyaya 28, Shloka 9
The Manifestation of Māyā as Durgā/Kātyāyanī and the Slaying of Vaitrāsura
नद्युवाच । अहं जलपतेः पत्नी वरुणस्य महात्मनः । नाम्ना वेत्रवती पुण्या त्वामिच्छन्तीह मागता ॥ २८.९ ॥
nady uvāca | ahaṃ jalapateḥ patnī varuṇasya mahātmanaḥ | nāmnā vetravatī puṇyā tvām icchantīham āgatā || 28.9 ||
നദി പറഞ്ഞു—“ഞാൻ ജലങ്ങളുടെ അധിപനായ മഹാത്മാവ് വരുണന്റെ ഭാര്യയാണ്. വೇತ್ರവതി എന്ന പേരിൽ അറിയപ്പെടുന്ന പുണ്യസ്വഭാവിനി; നിന്നെ ആഗ്രഹിച്ച് ഇവിടെ വന്നിരിക്കുന്നു.”
Nadī (Vetravatī, personified river)
FAQs
It preserves a Purāṇic motif in which rivers are personified and situated within a cosmological-hydrographic order associated with Varuṇa, reflecting how early Sanskrit literature encoded sacred geography and environmental memory.
The river named Vetravatī is identified; in historical geography it is commonly associated with the Betwa River (Vetravatī) of north-central India, noted in Sanskrit sources, though exact identifications can vary by textual tradition.
The verse foregrounds reverence toward waterways by presenting the river as a dignified agent within a moral-cosmic framework, supporting an ethic of respectful engagement with natural water systems as cultural heritage.
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