Varaha Purana 4.18: Adhyaya 4, Shloka 18
On Nārāyaṇa’s Ten Avatāras and Eightfold Manifestations, and the Account of King Aśvaśirā
Pūrva Bhāga · Dialogic Narrative (Royal Inquiry and Identification of Nārāyaṇa)
विप्रावूचतुः । क एष प्रोच्यते राजंस्त्वया नारायणो गुरुः । आवां नारायणौ द्वौ तु त्वत्प्रत्यक्षगतो नृप ॥ ४.१८ ॥
viprāvūcatuḥ | ka eṣa procyate rājaṁs tvayā nārāyaṇo guruḥ | āvāṁ nārāyaṇau dvau tu tvatpratyakṣagatau nṛpa || 4.18 ||
viprAvUchatuH | ka eSha prochyate rAjaMstvayA nArAyaNo guruH | AvAM nArAyaNau dvau tu tvatpratyakShagatau nRRipa || 4.18 ||
Kedua brahmana berkata: “Wahai Raja, siapakah yang engkau sebut sebagai Nārāyaṇa, sang guru itu? Kerana kamilah dua Nārāyaṇa, hadir nyata di hadapan matamu, wahai pemerintah.”
Sandhi Notes
- विप्रौ + ऊचतुः → विप्रावूचतुः (औ + ऊ = आवू)
- राजन् + त्वया → राजंस्त्वया (न् + त् → ंस्)
- त्वत् + प्रत्यक्ष + गतौ → त्वत्प्रत्यक्षगतौ (समास)
Vipras (two brahmins)
If the king calls someone else Nārāyaṇa as guru, who is that Nārāyaṇa—since we two are ‘Nārāyaṇas’ standing before you?
Honorifics and divine epithets require discernment; the true referent of ‘Nārāyaṇa’ is not established by mere self-assertion.
Test spiritual claims by scriptural marks, conduct, and realized qualities rather than by titles or social presence.
Varāha Purāṇa 4.4.19-22 (resolution via identification of Viṣṇu and Garuḍa)
FAQs
It illustrates a common Purāṇic narrative technique: a dialogic exchange where authority and identity are tested through speech, emphasizing the social and intellectual role of brahmin interlocutors in royal settings.
No geographic location is named in this specific verse; it is centered on courtly dialogue and identification rather than sacred geography.
The verse foregrounds discernment in attribution of honorific titles (such as “guru” and “Nārāyaṇa”), encouraging careful recognition of authority rather than unexamined proclamation.
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