Shloka 32

वाराहावतारः (भूम्युद्धारः) — Varāha, the Raising of the Earth and the Recommencement of Creation

Devanagari script

पादेषु वेदास् तव यूपदंष्ट्र दन्तेषु यज्ञाश् चितयश् च वक्त्रे हुताशजिह्वो ऽसि तनूरुहाणि दर्भाः प्रभो यज्ञपुमांस् त्वम् एव

Transliteration

pādeṣu vedās tava yūpadaṃṣṭra danteṣu yajñāś citayaś ca vaktre hutāśajihvo 'si tanūruhāṇi darbhāḥ prabho yajñapumāṃs tvam eva

Translation

Pada kaki-Mu bersemayam Veda; taring-Mu ialah tiang yūpa. Pada gigi-Mu ada tata upacara yajña, dan di mulut-Mu ada altar api serta tungku persembahan. Engkaulah lidah Agni pembawa persembahan; bulu tubuh-Mu ialah rumput darbha. Wahai Prabhu, Engkaulah Yajña-Puruṣa.

Word by Word

• पादेषु: in (your) feet
• पादेषु: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी (Locative/7th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• वेदाः: the Vedas
• वेदाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• तव: of you, your
• तव: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• यूप-दंष्ट्र: O (one) whose tusk is like a sacrificial post
• यूप-दंष्ट्र: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यूप (प्रातिपदिक) + दंष्ट्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular); समासः कर्मधारयः (यूप इव दंष्ट्रा = 'tusk like a sacrificial post')

• दन्तेषु: in (your) teeth
• दन्तेषु: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी (Locative/7th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• यज्ञाः: sacrifices
• यज्ञाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• चितयः: altar-fires, funeral/ritual pyres (citīs)
• चितयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चिति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• च: and
• च: Connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Indeclinable), समुच्चय (conjunction)

• वक्त्रे: in (your) mouth/face
• वक्त्रे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वक्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• हुताश-जिह्वः: (you) whose tongue is fire
• हुताश-जिह्वः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हुताश (प्रातिपदिक) + जिह्वा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); समासः कर्मधारयः (हुताशः एव जिह्वा यस्य = 'whose tongue is fire')

• असि: you are
• असि: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• तनू-रुहाणि: body-hairs
• तनू-रुहाणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तनू (प्रातिपदिक) + रुह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural); समासः तत्पुरुषः (तनौ रुहाणि = 'growing on the body', i.e., hairs)

• दर्भाः: darbha-grass
• दर्भाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दर्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• प्रभो: O Lord
• प्रभो: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• यज्ञ-पुमान्: the personified sacrifice
• यज्ञ-पुमान्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक) + पुमांस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); समासः कर्मधारयः (यज्ञः एव पुमान् = 'the sacrifice-personified')

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• एव: indeed, alone
• एव: Sambandha/Emphasis
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Indeclinable), निपात (particle), अवधारण (emphasis)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya; hymn identifying Vishnu as the cosmic sacrifice)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Meaning of the sages’ stuti identifying the Lord as the very form of yajña and Veda

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: revealing

Avatara Context

Avatara: Varaha

Purpose: The hymn reveals Varāha as Yajña-Puruṣa, embodying the Vedas and sacrificial apparatus to re-sanctify cosmic order.

Leela: Dharma-upadesa

Dharma Restored: Yajña-dharma as the sustaining principle linking gods, worlds, and beings

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: All Vedic sacrifice culminates in the Lord, who is himself the Yajña-Puruṣa—Veda, fire, implements, and sanctifying grass embodied.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Perform worship (ritual or inward) with the understanding that every offering is to the indwelling Supreme, transforming action into devotion.

Vishishtadvaita: Integrates karma (yajña) into God-centered ontology: ritual elements are real modes dependent on the Lord, who pervades and transcends them.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Vedas
• Agni (Hutāśa)
• Yajña (Sacrifice)
• Darbha (Kuśa grass)

FAQs

What is the significance of Vishnu being called Yajña-Puruṣa in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse declares that every essential element of Vedic sacrifice—Vedas, yūpa, fire, altar, and darbha—exists as Vishnu’s own body, teaching that yajña is ultimately the worship of the Supreme Lord in cosmic form.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the relationship between ritual (yajña) and the Supreme?

By mapping ritual components onto Vishnu’s limbs, Parāśara frames yajña as a symbolic participation in the Lord’s universal order: the ritual is not separate from God, but a manifestation of Him.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Vishnu is presented as the inner reality of the Vedas and sacrifice—both the means (ritual forms) and the end (the Supreme Person)—supporting a Vaishnava view where the transcendent Lord pervades all sacred action.