Varaha Purana 37.40: Adhyaya 37, Shloka 40
The Threefold Discipline (Mental, Physical, Verbal) and the Salvific Power of Hearing Nārāyaṇa’s Name
Pūrva Bhāga · Dialogues on Dharma and Means to Attain Viṣṇu (Vyādha–Instruction Cycle)
व्याध उवाच । य एष भवता प्रोक्तो विष्णुर्नारायणः प्रभुः । स कथं प्राप्यते मर्त्यैरेष एव वरो मम ॥ ३७.४० ॥
vyādha uvāca | ya eṣa bhavatā prokto viṣṇur nārāyaṇaḥ prabhuḥ | sa kathaṃ prāpyate martyair eṣa eva varo mama || 37.40 ||
vyAdha uvAcha | ya eSha bhavatA prokto viShNurnArAyaNaH prabhuH | sa kathaM prApyate martyaireSha eva varo mama || 37.40 ||
Pemburu itu berkata: “Viṣṇu—Nārāyaṇa, Tuhan Yang Berdaulat—yang tuan jelaskan itu, bagaimana manusia fana dapat mencapai-Nya? Inilah satu-satunya anugerah yang kupohon.”
Sandhi Notes
- martyair eṣa = martyaiḥ eṣaḥ
- viṣṇur nārāyaṇaḥ = viṣṇuḥ nārāyaṇaḥ (visarga sandhi)
Vyādha (the hunter)
Curious
How can mortals attain Viṣṇu-Nārāyaṇa, the sovereign Lord?
The highest boon is not worldly gain but the method of attaining the Supreme Lord.
Reframe desires into a single pointed spiritual inquiry; seek a clear upāya (means) rather than multiple boons.
Implicit: the Lord addressed as Nārāyaṇa/Vişṇu anticipates later Vaiṣṇava bhakti currents that culminate in Kṛṣṇa-bhakti, but no explicit Mathurā cue here.
37.37.41 (answer: vrata dedicated to Acyuta with bhakti leads to supreme attainment)
FAQs
It illustrates a common Purāṇic dialogic method: a lay figure (here, a hunter) poses a concise soteriological question—how the supreme deity is attained—prompting a didactic response that systematizes practice and ethics for broad audiences.
No geographic location is named in this verse; it is a doctrinal inquiry focused on the means of attainment (prāpti) rather than sacred geography.
The verse frames ethical-philosophical priority: the speaker seeks guidance on the attainable path for “mortals,” emphasizing practical accessibility and disciplined inquiry rather than status or birth-based entitlement.
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