Varaha Purana 97.5: Adhyaya 97, Shloka 5

The Glory of Rudra: The Origin of the Kapālamocana Pilgrimage Site and Rudra’s Expiatory Vow

Devanagari script

कपालिन् रुद्र बभ्रोऽथ भव कैरात सुव्रत ॥ पाहि विश्वं विशालाक्ष कुमार वरविक्रम ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 97.5

Transliteration

kapālin rudra babhro'tha bhava kairāta suvrata || pāhi viśvaṃ viśālākṣa kumāra varavikrama ||

Translation

ഹേ കപാലിൻ, ഹേ രുദ്ര, ഹേ ബഭ്രു; ഹേ ഭവ, ഹേ കൈരാത, ഹേ സുവ്രത—ഹേ വിശാലാക്ഷ, ഹേ ശ്രേഷ്ഠവിക്രമനായ കുമാര, ലോകത്തെ രക്ഷിക്കണമേ।

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Word by Word

• kapālin: O Kapālin (skull-bearer)
• kapālin: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapālin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)

• rudra: O Rudra
• rudra: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)

• babhraḥ: O Babhru (the tawny one)
• babhraḥ: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: babhru (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)

• atha: then / now
• atha: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle/adverb (निपात/अनन्तरबोधक)

• bhava: O Bhava
• bhava: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)

• kairāta: O Kirāta (mountain-hunter)
• kairāta: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kairāta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)

• suvrata: O of good vows
• suvrata: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: su-vrata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन); compound: su (good) + vrata (vow)

• pāhi: protect
• pāhi: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pā (धातु)
• Form: Imperative (लोट्), 2nd Person (मध्यमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)

• viśvam: the universe / all
• viśvam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• viśālākṣa: O wide-eyed one
• viśālākṣa: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśāla-akṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन); bahuvrīhi: viśāla (large) + akṣa (eye) = 'one whose eyes are large'

• kumāra: O Kumāra
• kumāra: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kumāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)

• varavikrama: O of excellent valor
• varavikrama: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vara-vikrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन); compound: vara (excellent) + vikrama (valor/stride)

Speaker

Varāha (narrating; the line itself is a direct address within the story)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Studies
• Śaiva Epithets (descriptive reference)
• Sanskrit Hymnic Style

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It documents a cluster of Rudra/Śiva epithets, valuable for mapping the diffusion of names across Purāṇic hymnology and regional religious vocabularies.

Which geographic location is identified?

No explicit site is named; ‘Kairāta’ is an epithet associated with hunter/mountain imagery rather than a precise toponym in this line.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The central ethical theme is protection and welfare of the world (viśva-rakṣā) articulated through a formal address.