Varaha Purana 32.30: Adhyaya 32, Shloka 30
Dharma as the Bull-Form: Soma’s Transgression and the Institution of the Thirteenth Lunar Day Observance
Pūrva Bhāga · Cosmological and Theological Dialogue (Varāha–Pṛthivī saṃvāda)
चतुष्ट्रिपाद् द्व्येकपाच्च प्रभो त्वं कृतादिभिर्लक्ष्यसे येन लोकैः । तथा तथा कर्मभूमौ नभश्च प्रायोयुक्तः स्वगृहं पाहि विश्वम् ॥ ३२.३१ ॥
catuṣṭripād dvyekapācca prabho tvaṃ kṛtādibhir lakṣyase yena lokaiḥ | tathā tathā karmabhūmau nabhaś ca prāyoyuktaḥ svagṛhaṃ pāhi viśvam || 32.31 ||
chatustripAd dvyekapAchcha prabho tvaM kRRitAdibhirllakShyase yena lokaiH | tathA tathA karmabhUmau nabhashcha prAyoyuktaH svagRRihaM pAhi vishvam || 32.31 ||
Wahai Prabhu, Engkau dikenali oleh sekalian alam melalui Yuga Kṛta dan yuga-yuga yang lain, ketika Engkau menzahirkan diri berturut-turut dengan empat, tiga, dua dan satu ‘pāda’ (tapak/jejak). Demikianlah, di bumi—ranah karma—dan juga di langit, hampir sentiasa sibuk berkhidmat, peliharalah alam semesta ini seperti rumah-Mu sendiri.
Sandhi Notes
- catuṣṭripād → catuḥ-tripāt
- dvyekpācca → dvi-eka-pāt ca
- kṛtādibhir → kṛta-ādibhiḥ
- nabhaś ca (visarga before c)
Pṛthivī
Concerned yet trusting; stewardship-oriented
As dharma declines through the yugas, how will you continue to protect and sustain the universe in the sphere of action and in the heavens?
Dharma’s manifestation changes with time, yet divine protection and responsibility toward the world remain constant.
In declining ages, compensate for reduced ‘dharma-feet’ through heightened personal restraint, compassion, and protective care for shared habitats.
Pṛthivī addresses Varāha as the protector whose dharma ‘feet’ diminish across yugas; she petitions him to guard the world as his home.
The ‘four feet’ doctrine (catuṣpāda dharma) frames Varāha/Viṣṇu as the regulator of moral order across time; protection is continuous governance of cosmic ecology.
Time (kāla) and dharma are under īśvara-niyati; the Lord remains the stable ground while guṇa-driven decline unfolds in saṃsāra.
Implicit foreshadowing only in the yuga-framework that later accommodates avatāras.
Varāha Purāṇa: Dharmotpatti section leading into closure; Adjacent verse 32.32.30 on Dharmāraṇya as dharma-pervaded space
FAQs
It preserves a widely attested Purāṇic and Dharmaśāstric motif: dharma is described as standing on four ‘feet’ in Kṛta Yuga and progressively diminishing across later yugas. This offers a compact witness to medieval Sanskrit conceptions of moral time and cosmic order.
No specific pilgrimage site or named geography is identified in this verse; the terms karmabhūmi (‘realm of action’) and nabhas (‘sky/space’) function as broad cosmographic domains rather than a pinpointed location.
The verse frames a philosophical instruction of stewardship: the Lord is asked to ‘protect the universe’ and to regard it as ‘one’s own dwelling,’ emphasizing responsibility for the world across terrestrial and celestial spheres.
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