Varaha Purana - Adhyaya 52
Varaha PuranaAdhyaya 5211 Shlokas

Adhyaya 52: The Genealogy of Trivarṇa, Manohvā, and the Akṣa Lineage, with the Construction of the Nine-Gated City

Trivarṇa–Manohvā–Akṣa-vaṃśaḥ (Nava-dvāra-pura-nirmāṇaṃ ca)

Mythic-Anthropology and Cosmological Allegory (Body–City symbolism; Kingship and Ritual Order)

Dalam bingkai pengajaran Varāha–Pṛthivī, bab ini memaparkan kisah Agastya tentang satu salasilah yang menjadi teladan bagaimana tertib ditegakkan ke atas medan sosial yang sebelumnya tidak teratur. Daripada pancaran seorang raja lahirlah Trivarṇa; kemudian seorang puteri yang berwujud ‘kesedaran terjaga’ (Avabodha-svarūpiṇī), lalu seorang putera, Manohvā. Keturunan Manohvā menjadi lima ‘penikmat’ (pañca-bhoginaḥ), dan anak-anak lelaki mereka dikenali bersama dengan nama Akṣa. Dinyatakan bahawa mereka dahulu dasyu, namun ditundukkan oleh kewibawaan diraja dan bersama-sama membina kediaman yang mujarab: sebuah kota berpintu sembilan, bertiang tunggal dan mempunyai empat persimpangan, dikelilingi banyak sungai serta prasarana air. Setelah memasuki kota itu mereka menjadi bersatu; seorang raja berjasad, Paśupāla, menzahirkan diri, mengingati ujaran Weda, lalu menetapkan nazar, pengekangan diri, dan upacara. Daripada tumpuan pada yajña dan tidur yoga, baginda melahirkan sosok bermuka empat dan berlengan empat yang terkait dengan empat Weda; sesudah itu haiwan di pelbagai habitat berada di bawah pemerintahan diraja.

Speakers

VarāhaPṛthivīAgastya

Key Concepts

trivarṇa (social-typological symbolism)avabodha-svarūpiṇī (personified cognition/awakening)pañca-bhoginaḥ (five-fold enjoyment; possible sense-complex allegory)akṣa (lineage-name; also semantic field of ‘axis/die/eye’)dasyu → vaśīkṛta (subjugation and incorporation into polity)nava-dvāra-pura (nine-gated city; body–polis metaphor)eka-stambha (single pillar/axis motif)catuṣpatha (four crossroads; spatial/ritual ordering)karmakāṇḍa (ritual performance as governance technology)yoga-nidrā (creative latency; generative trance)caturvaktra–caturbāhu (four-faced, four-armed archetype; Vedic totality)pṛthivī-santulana (implicit terrestrial order via waterworks and habitat governance)
Sanskrit recitationVaraha Purana Adhyaya 52

Shlokas in Adhyaya 52

Verse 1

अगस्त्य उवाच । स त्रिवर्णो नृपोत्सृष्टः स्वतन्त्रत्वाच्च पार्थिव । अहं नामानमसृजत् पुत्रं पुत्रस्त्रिवर्णकम् ॥ ५२.१ ॥

Agastya berkata: “Wahai raja, Trivarṇa itu—yang dilepaskan oleh raja—menjadi berdikari. Kemudian aku memperanakkan seorang putera bernama Nāmāna; dan putera itu ialah Trivarṇaka.”

Verse 2

तस्यापि चाभवत् कन्या अवबोधस्वरूपिणी । सा तु विज्ञानदं पुत्रं मनोह्वं विससर्ज ॥ ५२.२ ॥

Baginya juga lahir seorang anak perempuan yang hakikatnya ialah kesedaran dan pengertian yang jernih. Dia pula melahirkan seorang anak lelaki—Vijñānada—yang dinamai Manohva.

Verse 3

तस्यापि सर्वरूपाः स्युः स्तनयाः पञ्चभोगिनः । यथासंख्येन पुत्रास्तु तेषामक्षाभिधानकाः ॥ ५२.३ ॥

Baginya juga, anak-anak lelaki itu berwujud pelbagai rupa, dikenali sebagai “lima penikmat”. Menurut tertibnya, anak-anak mereka ialah yang menyandang gelaran “Akṣa”.

Verse 4

एते पूर्वं दस्यवः स्युस्ततो राज्ञा वशीकृताः । अमूर्ता इव ते सर्वे चक्रुरायतनं शुभम् ॥ ५२.४ ॥

Mereka ini dahulu ialah dāsyu; kemudian ditundukkan di bawah kekuasaan raja. Sesudah itu, seakan-akan tanpa jasad, mereka semua membina sebuah āyatana, tempat suci yang mulia.

Verse 5

नवद्बारं पुरं तस्य त्वेकस्तम्भं चतुष्पथम् । नदीसहस्रसङ्कीर्णं जलक्रीत्या समास्थितम् ॥ ५२.५ ॥

Kota itu mempunyai sembilan pintu; ditandai oleh satu tiang tunggal dan persimpangan empat penjuru. Ia terjalin dengan seribu sungai, dan ditegakkan sebagai tempat permainan air serta rekreasi akuatik.

Verse 6

तत्पुरं ते प्रविविशुरेकीभूतास्ततो नव । पुरुषो मूर्त्तिमान् राजा पशुपालोऽभवत् क्षणात् ॥ ५२.६ ॥

Kemudian sembilan itu, setelah menjadi satu, memasuki kota tersebut; seketika raja menjadi manusia berjasad—seorang penggembala lembu.

Verse 7

ततस्तत्पुरसंस्थस्तु पशुपालो महान्नृपः । संसूच्य वाचकाञ्छब्दान् वेदान् सस्मार तत्पुरे ॥ ५२.७ ॥

Kemudian, ketika menetap di kota itu, raja agung—sebagai penggembala—setelah memberi isyarat dengan kata-kata penunjuk, mengingati kembali Veda-Veda di tempat itu.

Verse 8

आत्मस्वरूपिणो नित्यास्तदुक्तानि व्रतानि च । नियमाञ् क्रतवश्चैव सर्वान् राजा चकार ह ॥ ५२.८ ॥

Mereka yang sentiasa teguh dalam hakikat diri mereka, bersama-sama dengan vrata (nazar suci) dan disiplin yang telah ditetapkan—segala niyama (peraturan) dan kratu (upacara korban) pun raja laksanakan semuanya.

Verse 9

स कदाचिन्नृपः खिन्नः कर्मकाण्डं प्ररोचयन् । सर्वज्ञो योगनिद्रायां स्थित्वा पुत्रं ससर्ज ह ॥ ५२.९ ॥

Pada suatu ketika, raja itu berasa letih lalu cenderung kepada disiplin ritual (karmakāṇḍa). Yang Maha Mengetahui, setelah memasuki yoganidrā (tidur yoga), lalu melahirkan seorang putera.

Verse 10

चतुर्वक्त्रं चतुर्बाहुं चतुर्वेदं चतुष्पथम् । तस्मादारभ्य नृपतेर्वशे पश्वादयः स्थिताः ॥ ५२.१० ॥

(Baginda) berwajah empat, berlengan empat, terkait dengan empat Veda, dan sebagai penguasa empat simpang jalan. Sejak saat itu, haiwan serta makhluk lain berada di bawah kekuasaan raja.

Verse 11

तस्मिन् समुद्रे स नृपो वने तस्मिंस्तथैव च । तृणादिषु नृपस्सैव हस्त्यादिषु तथैव च । समोऽभवत् कर्मकाण्डादनुज्ञाय महामते ॥ ५२.११ ॥

Di lautan itu, dan demikian juga di hutan itu, raja wujud dengan cara yang sama; di antara rumput dan seumpamanya, dan demikian juga di antara gajah dan seumpamanya. Setelah diizinkan oleh karmakāṇḍa (tatanan ritual-karmika), wahai yang berfikiran agung, baginda menjadi setara, yakni tidak lagi berbeza menurut bentuk-bentuk itu.

Inside Adhyaya 52

How it unfolds

  1. Where it opens

    Within the Varāha–Pṛthivī teaching frame, Agastya is invoked as an authoritative transmitter of an origin-lineage that explains how a previously unregulated social field becomes ordered through kingship, speech, and rite.

  2. Central event

    A genealogy unfolds—Trivarṇa arising from a king’s emission; a daughter embodying awakening (Avabodha-svarūpiṇī); a son Manohvā; and descendants described as five ‘enjoyers’ whose sons are collectively called Akṣa—followed by their collective construction of an auspicious nine-gated city (nava-dvāra-pura) with a single pillar and four crossroads, set amid many rivers and engineered waterworks.

  3. Climax resolution

    Upon entering and unifying within the city, a corporeal king, Paśupāla, manifests; he ‘remembers’ Vedic speech, institutes vows/restraints and ritual regulation (vrata–niyama–karmakāṇḍa), and from yogic sleep generates a four-faced, four-armed Veda-totality figure; thereafter animals across ocean/forest/grassland domains come under ordered governance, signaling stabilized polity and ecology.

Geographical context

No explicit toponyms are named. Ecological-spatial markers include: samudra (oceanic region), vana (forest), tṛṇa-ādi (grassland/ground-cover habitats), hasty-ādi (faunal domain exemplified by elephants), nadī-sahasra-saṃkīrṇa (landscape densely interlaced with many rivers), and jalakṛti (constructed waterworks/irrigation features) surrounding the nava-dvāra-pura.

Ritual instructions

  • Primary RitualInstitution of vrata–niyama and karmakāṇḍa as a governance-forming discipline grounded in Vedic recollection (Vedic speech as normative speech).
  • BenefitTransformation of dasyu-status groups into integrated civic participants; stabilization of social hierarchy and conduct through disciplined speech and rite; establishment of a well-watered, habitat-spanning order under kingship (social and ecological balance).

The narrative frame

  • Varāha (primary frame) relaying/hosting Agastya’s accountPṛthivī · Pedagogical-mythic and etiological (explaining origins of social order through genealogy, city symbolism, and ritual authority).

The emotional journey

  • Dominant RasaŚānta (ordered calm) with undertones of Vīra (sovereign force)
  • Emotional ProgressionFrom liminality and unruliness (dasyu condition) → collective building and spatial coherence (city-making) → awe and legitimacy (king’s manifestation and Vedic recollection) → settled equilibrium (ritualized governance and ecological stewardship).

Planning a pilgrimage

  • Visit FeasibilityNot directly mappable as a single historical tirtha in the chapter summary; best approached as an allegorical ‘body–city’ and polity-foundation motif rather than a visitable site.

Frequently Asked Questions

The chapter frames social order as produced through disciplined speech (Vedic recollection), regulated conduct (vrata and niyama), and institutionalized rites (karmakāṇḍa). It depicts the transformation of formerly outside groups (dasyu) into participants in a constructed civic and ecological order, suggesting that governance is enacted through both spatial planning (city, crossroads) and normative practice (vows and ritual regulation).

No explicit calendrical data appear in the provided verses: there are no named tithis, nakṣatras, months, or seasonal markers. The only temporal structuring is narrative (e.g., “kadācit,” and the interval of “yoga-nidrā”), which functions as a literary timing device rather than a ritual calendar.

Environmental ordering is implied through the description of a settlement embedded in a river-rich landscape (nadī-sahasra-saṃkīrṇa) with deliberate water constructions (jalakṛti). The narrative also links kingship to habitat-spanning oversight—ocean, forest, grasses, and animal domains—presenting terrestrial balance as maintained by coordinated infrastructure, regulated practice, and integrated stewardship across ecosystems.

Agastya is the named sage-speaker within the chapter’s report. The text outlines a lineage sequence—Trivarṇa, Avabodha-svarūpiṇī (as a daughter figure), Manohvā, and the Akṣa-named descendants—alongside the emergence of a king titled Paśupāla. These function as mythic-cultural archetypes for genealogy, polity formation, and ritual authority rather than verifiable historical dynasties.

Ask anything about Adhyaya 52 of the Varaha Purana

Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.

Not sure where to start?

A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.

Read Varaha Purana in the Vedapath app

Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.

Continue reading in the Vedapath app

Open in App