Varaha Purana 152.37: Adhyaya 152, Shloka 37
Praise of the Sacred Geography of Mathurā
Uttara Bhāga · Tīrtha-Māhātmya (Sacred Geography)
अथात्र मुञ्चते प्राणान्मम लोके स गच्छति ॥ तथा कनखलं नाम तीर्थं गुह्यं परं मम ॥
athātra muñcate prāṇān mama loke sa gacchati || tathā kanakhalaṃ nāma tīrthaṃ guhyaṃ paraṃ mama ||
athAtra muMchate prANAnmama loke sa gachChati || tathA kanakhalaM nAma tIrthaM guhyaM paraM mama
Kini, sesiapa yang melepaskan nafas hayatnya di sini akan pergi ke loka-Ku. Demikian juga ada tīrtha bernama Kanakhala—tempat suci-Ku yang tertinggi dan rahsia.
Sandhi Notes
- अथ+अत्र → अथात्र
- प्राणान्+मम → प्राणान्मम
Varāha
Curious, attentive
Which places on Earth grant the highest post-mortem destiny, and what is their hidden greatness?
Divine grace can operate through place (kṣetra) such that surrender at a sanctified locus yields transcendental destiny.
Undertake pilgrimage with faith; treat tīrthas as living sacraments; cultivate remembrance of Viṣṇu at sacred sites, especially at life’s end.
Varāha speaks as the lord of sacred geography, declaring a place where dying grants access to his loka; implicit assurance to Bhū-devī about the sanctity of her tīrthas.
Mahātmyic rule: dying (relinquishing prāṇa) at this tīrtha leads to Varāha’s world; Kanakhala is proclaimed a supreme secret tīrtha.
Attains Varāha-loka by death there; implied loss of this fruit if one neglects/derides the tīrtha.
Varāha Purāṇa 152.42–45 (continuation: other secret kṣetras and an old narrative)
FAQs
Kanakhala is associated with the Haridwar area in later pilgrimage literature; its mention reflects the textual mapping of Himalayan foothill sacred sites.
Kanakhala, commonly associated with Kankhal near Haridwar (Uttarakhand), a historically prominent tīrtha zone.
It frames certain places as culturally protected “guhya” sites, implicitly encouraging careful, respectful engagement with heritage landscapes.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Varaha Purana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
