Varaha Purana 39.2: Adhyaya 39, Shloka 2

Discrimination of the Three Bodies and the Dharaṇī Vow: A Manual for Dvādaśī Observance

Pūrva Bhāga · Philosophical Anthropology (Śarīra-traya / Doctrine of the Three Bodies)

Devanagari script

दुर्वासा उवाच । न द्वे त्रीणि शरीराणि वाच्यं तद्विपरीतकम् । विभोगायतनं चैव त्रिशरीराणि प्राणिनाम् ॥ ३९.२ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 39.2

Transliteration

durvāsā uvāca | na dve trīṇi śarīrāṇi vācyaṃ tadviparītakam | vibhogāyatanaṃ caiva triśarīrāṇi prāṇinām || 39.2 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

Durvāsā berkata: “Jangan dikatakan ada dua atau tiga tubuh; bahkan yang benar ialah sebaliknya: bagi makhluk hidup ada tiga tubuh, sebagai tempat mengalami (buah perbuatan).”

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Word by Word

• दुर्वासाः: Durvāsā (sage)
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन
• Role: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Root: दुर्वासस् (प्रातिपदिक)

• उवाच: said
• Type: Verb
• Form: लिट्-लकार, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया/Verb)
• Root: वच् (धातु)

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध-निपात (negation particle)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Negation)
• Root: न (अव्यय)

• द्वे: two
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, द्विवचन; संख्याविशेषण
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: द्वि (प्रातिपदिक)

• त्रीणि: three
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; संख्याविशेषण
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: त्रि (प्रातिपदिक)

• शरीराणि: bodies
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन
• Role: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Root: शरीर (प्रातिपदिक)

• वाच्यम्: should be said
• Type: Verb
• Form: कृदन्त; विधेय-भावे (gerundive/तव्यत्-प्रत्यय), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘to be said/should be stated’
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया/Predicative)
• Root: वच् (धातु)

• तत्: that
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Correlative)
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• विपरीतकम्: opposite/contrary
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: विपरीतक (प्रातिपदिक)

• विभोगायतनम्: the locus of (varied) experience/enjoyment
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी/उपपद-तत्पुरुष: भोगस्य आयतनम् (abode/seat of experience)
• Role: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Root: वि-भोग + आयतन (प्रातिपदिक)

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Conjunction)
• Root: च (अव्यय)

• एव: indeed/only
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphatic particle)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Emphasis)
• Root: एव (अव्यय)

• त्रिशरीराणि: three bodies
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; द्विगु-समास: त्रयः शरीराणि (three bodies)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Root: त्रि + शरीर (प्रातिपदिक)

• प्राणिनाम्: of living beings
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Possessor)
• Root: प्राणिन् (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• तद्विपरीतकम् → तत् + विपरीतकम्
• विभोगायतनम् → वि(विविध) + भोग + आयतनम् (समास)
• चैव → च + एव

Speaker and setting

Shanta and Adbhuta rasa

Speaker

Durvāsā

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

Varaha teaches her

Her state of mind

Curious; seeking clarity on embodied experience and karmic fruition

What she asks

How many ‘bodies’ (śarīras) does a living being possess as the basis for experiencing karmic results?

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Philosophical anthropology / karma-theory

Subjects

PhilosophyEthicsCosmology

Core idea

Embodied experience is structured through a triad of ‘bodies’ (trī-śarīra) that function as the locus (āyatana) for karmic enjoyment/suffering (vibhoga).

In practice

Cultivate discernment about which layer of embodiment is being purified—conduct, intention, and subtle causal tendencies—rather than reducing the self to only gross physiology.

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Studies
• Sanskrit Philology
• Philosophical Anthropology

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It reflects a Purāṇic synthesis of philosophical anthropology, using concise doctrinal language (śarīra-traya) to explain how beings undergo experience and reap results, a theme shared across late classical Sanskrit traditions.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is named in this verse fragment; the content is doctrinal rather than tied to sacred geography.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse frames embodied existence as an instrument for experiencing consequences, reinforcing a moral-philosophical principle of accountability (actions yield experienced results within embodied life).