Varaha Purana 161.2: Adhyaya 161, Shloka 2

The Efficacy of the Sacred Forests: The Merit of Pilgrimage to Mathurā’s Twelve Groves

Uttara Bhāga · Devavana-prabhāva (Merits/Effects of Devavana) — Karma and Release

Devanagari script

अभुक्त्वा नारकं दुःखं सुकृतैः पुण्यदैर्नृणाम् ॥ प्रयान्ति कर्मणा येन तमुपायं ब्रवीहि मे

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 161.2

Transliteration

abhuktvā nārakaṁ duḥkhaṁ sukṛtaiḥ puṇyadāir nṛṇām || prayānti karmaṇā yena tam upāyaṁ bravīhi me

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

‘नरकाचे दुःख न भोगता, मनुष्यांच्या पुण्यदायी सुकृतांमुळे ते कोणत्या कर्माने पुढे जातात? तो उपाय मला सांगा.’

Ask anything about this verse...Ask

Word by Word

• अभुक्त्वा: without experiencing
• Type: Verb
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund) with privative अ-; ‘without experiencing/having not enjoyed’
• Role: पूर्वकाल/निषेध (Prior action with negation)
• Root: भुज् (धातु)

• नारकम्: hellish
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; ‘दुःखम्’ इति विशेषण
• Role: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Root: नारक (प्रातिपदिक)

• दुःखम्: suffering
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन
• Role: कर्म (Karman/Object of ‘अभुक्त्वा’)
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक)

• सुकृतैः: by good deeds/merits
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन
• Role: करण (Karaṇa/Instrument)
• Root: सुकृत (प्रातिपदिक)

• पुण्यदैः: merit-giving
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक) + द (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक ‘giving’)
• Role: विशेषण (Qualifier of ‘सुकृतैः’)
• Root: पुण्यद (प्रातिपदिक)

• नृणाम्: of men
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन
• Role: सम्बन्ध (Sambandha/Genitive)
• Root: नृ (प्रातिपदिक)

• प्रयान्ति: go/attain
• Type: Verb
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद
• Role: क्रिया (Action/Verb)
• Root: प्र-या (धातु)

• कर्मणा: by (what) action
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन
• Role: करण (Karaṇa/Instrument)
• Root: कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)

• येन: by which
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative: ‘by which’)
• Role: करण (Karaṇa/Instrument)
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• तम्: that
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन
• Role: कर्म (Karman/Object)
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• उपायम्: means/method
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन
• Role: कर्म (Karman/Object)
• Root: उपाय (प्रातिपदिक)

• ब्रवीहि: tell
• Type: Verb
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद
• Role: क्रिया (Action/Verb)
• Root: ब्रू (धातु)

• मे: to me
• Type: Noun
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी-एकवचन (Genitive/Dative singular); अत्र सम्प्रदानार्थे (for me)
• Role: सम्प्रदान (Sampradāna/Recipient)
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• पुण्यदैर्नृणाम् = पुण्यदैः + नृणाम्
• तमुपायम् = तम् + उपायम्

Speaker and setting

Karuna and Shanta rasaSetting: Dialogue setting (purāṇic upadeśa)

Speaker

Pṛthivī / Dharaṇī

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

She asks

Her state of mind

Urgent, seeking remedy; compassionate concern for beings

What she asks

By what means (upāya), through what action/karma, can beings proceed without experiencing naraka suffering, relying on merit-producing good deeds?

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Soteriology via karma and grace-channels

Subjects

EthicsCosmology

Core idea

Prescribed upāyas (often tīrtha, bhakti, vrata, dāna) can mitigate or avert naraka experience.

In practice

Ask for and adopt concrete dharmic practices; prioritize actions that purify (pāpa-kṣaya) and generate protective merit.

The Varaha avatara

With the Earth

Earth continues questioning the divine teacher.

Dharma

Mathura and Krishna

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Dharma Literature
• Karma Theory

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It articulates a classic Purāṇic ethical problem—how merit and action relate to post-mortem outcomes—providing evidence for lived moral reasoning in Sanskrit narrative theology.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic site is named in this verse; it is a doctrinal inquiry within the Devavana section.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

To seek clarity on which actions (karma) and merits (puṇya) conduce to improved outcomes, emphasizing moral causality rather than coercive doctrine.