Varaha Purana 174.9: Adhyaya 174, Shloka 9

The Sanctifying Power of River Confluences: Release from the Preta-State and the Rite of Śravaṇa Dvādaśī with Vāmana Worship

Devanagari script

कृतपूजानमस्कारः अध्वानं प्रत्यपद्यत ॥ अध्वप्रपन्नो ह्यदृशत्पञ्चप्रेतान्सुभीषणान्

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 174.9

Transliteration

kṛtapūjānamaskāraḥ adhvānaṃ pratyapadyata || adhvaprapanno hy adṛśat pañcapretān subhīṣaṇān

Translation

Setelah melakukan pemujaan dan sembah hormat, dia pun menempuh jalan; ketika berjalan di sepanjang laluan itu, dia melihat lima preta yang sangat mengerikan.

Ask anything about this verse...Ask

Word by Word

• कृत-पूजा-नमस्कारः: one who had performed worship and salutation
• कृत-पूजा-नमस्कारः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृत (कृ-धातु, क्त कृदन्त) + पूजा (प्रातिपदिक) + नमस्कार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: (पूजा + नमस्कार) द्वन्द्व, ततः ‘कृत’ इति पूर्वपदेन तत्पुरुष; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषण of implied subject ‘सः’

• अध्वानम्: the road / journey
• अध्वानम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अध्वन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• प्रति: towards / forth (as prefix)
• प्रति: Upasarga-dyotaka (उपसर्ग-द्योतक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रति (अव्यय/उपसर्ग)
• Form: अव्यय; here as preverb with ‘अपद्यत’ (praty-āpad)

• अपद्यत: set out / proceeded
• अपद्यत: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-पद् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (imperfect/past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; with prefix प्रति- → प्रत्यपद्यत

• अध्व-प्रपन्नः: having taken the road / journeying
• अध्व-प्रपन्नः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अध्वन् (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रपन्न (प्र-√पद्/√पद्, क्त कृदन्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; ‘having taken to the road’

• हि: indeed / for
• हि: Nipata (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle); emphasis/causal nuance

• अदृशत्: saw
• अदृशत्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (imperfect/past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• पञ्च: five
• पञ्च: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्च (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः; ‘five’ (qualifies ‘प्रेतान्’)

• प्रेतान्: ghosts / departed spirits
• प्रेतान्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रेत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन; object of ‘अदृशत्’

• सु-भीषणान्: very terrifying
• सु-भीषणान्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + भीषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उपसर्ग ‘सु’ (intensifier) + विशेषण; पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन; qualifies ‘प्रेतान्’

Speaker

Narrator (default framework: Varāha’s discourse to Pṛthivī)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Narrative
• Afterlife Motifs
• Sanskrit Philology

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It illustrates Purāṇic narrative technique where travel becomes a setting for moral and cosmological instruction through encounters with beings linked to post-mortem states.

Which geographic location is identified?

No specific site is named here; the setting is the road (adhvan), functioning as a liminal narrative space between tīrthas.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Preparation through reverent conduct (pūjā, namaskāra) precedes travel, and the encounter invites reflection on causes and consequences of actions.