Varaha Purana 46.3: Adhyaya 46, Shloka 3

The Rite of the Āṣāḍha Bright-Fortnight Dvādaśī Fast and the Installation (Nyāsa) of the Fourfold Manifestation

Pūrva Bhāga · Pr̥thivī-uddhāra and Vaiṣṇava Iconography (Dialogic Instruction)

Devanagari script

चक्रपाणयेति भुजौ कण्ठं भूपतये तथा । स्वनाम्ना शङ्खचक्रौ तु पुरुषायेति वै शिरः ॥ ४६.३ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 46.3

Transliteration

cakrapāṇayeti bhujau kaṇṭhaṃ bhūpataye tathā | svanāmnā śaṅkhacakrau tu puruṣāyeti vai śiraḥ || 46.3 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

“(Hendaklah ditetapkan) kedua-dua lengan sebagai ‘kepada Cakrapāṇi’; demikian juga tekak sebagai ‘kepada Bhūpati’. Sangkha dan cakra hendaklah disebut dengan nama masing-masing; dan sesungguhnya kepala sebagai ‘kepada Puruṣa’.”

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Word by Word

• cakrapāṇaye: to Cakrapāṇi (Viṣṇu)
• Type: Noun
• Form: बहुव्रीहि-समास; पुल्लिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (Dative), एकवचन; ‘चक्रः पाणौ यस्य सः’ (he whose hand holds a discus)
• Role: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Root: cakra (प्रातिपदिक) + pāṇi (प्रातिपदिक)

• iti: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय, इति-उक्त्यर्थ (quotative)
• Role: Vākyārtha-sūcaka (वाक्यार्थसूचक)
• Root: iti (अव्यय)

• bhujau: (the two) arms
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), द्विवचन (Dual)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: bhuja (प्रातिपदिक)

• kaṇṭham: neck/throat
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: kaṇṭha (प्रातिपदिक)

• bhūpataye: to Bhūpati (lord of earth)
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (Dative), एकवचन
• Role: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Root: bhūpati (प्रातिपदिक)

• tathā: likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय, तथा (adverb: likewise/also)
• Role: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)

• sva-nāmnā: by (uttering) one’s own name
• Type: Noun
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (genitive sense: svasya nāmnā), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन
• Role: Karaṇa (करण)
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + nāman (प्रातिपदिक)

• śaṅkha-cakrau: conch and discus
• Type: Noun
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास; पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), द्विवचन (Dual)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: śaṅkha (प्रातिपदिक) + cakra (प्रातिपदिक)

• tu: and/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चय/विरोध (particle)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: tu (अव्यय)

• puruṣāya: to Puruṣa
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (Dative), एकवचन
• Role: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Root: puruṣa (प्रातिपदिक)

• iti: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय, इति-उक्त्यर्थ (quotative)
• Role: Vākyārtha-sūcaka (वाक्यार्थसूचक)
• Root: iti (अव्यय)

• vai: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय, निश्चयार्थ (particle: indeed)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: vai (अव्यय)

• śiraḥ: head
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: śiras (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• चक्रपाणयेति → cakrapāṇaye iti
• पुरुषायेति → puruṣāya iti

Speaker and setting

Shanta and Vira rasaSetting: Inner iconography

Speaker

Varāha

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Devotional internalization

Subjects

IconographyRitual LanguageVaishnava TheologyBody-Symbol Mapping

Core idea

Divine attributes are not merely external symbols; through nyāsa they become contemplative supports within one’s own psycho-physical field.

In practice

While reciting, visualize cakra as protective discernment in the arms (action), śaṅkha as purity of breath/sound, and Puruṣa at the head as steady awareness.

Symbolism of the boar

Dharma

Mathura and Krishna

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇa
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Mantra/Terminology
• Sanskrit Philology

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves a Purāṇic-style instructional register where bodily features and divine epithets are systematically correlated, reflecting the development of standardized Vaiṣṇava iconographic vocabulary in medieval Sanskrit textual traditions.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is specified in this verse; the content is primarily iconographic/ritual-terminological rather than topographical.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Rather than an explicit moral rule, the verse provides a philosophical-ritual instruction: disciplined naming and conceptual alignment of the body and emblematic attributes with recognized epithets, emphasizing ordered knowledge and symbolic coherence.