Varaha Purana 21.17: Adhyaya 21, Shloka 17

The Disruption of Dakṣa’s Sacrifice, the Hari-Hara Conflict, and the Establishment of Rudra’s Sacrificial Share

Pūrva Bhāga · Cosmological Enumerations (Deva-gaṇa Listing)

Devanagari script

तत्र भागार्थिनो देवा आदित्या वसवस्तथा । विश्वेदेवाः सपितरो गन्धर्वाद्या मरुद्गणाः ॥ २१.१८ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 21.17

Transliteration

tatra bhāgārthino devā ādityā vasavas tathā | viśvedevāḥ sapitaro gandharvādyā marudgaṇāḥ || 21.18 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

ਉੱਥੇ ਆਪਣੇ ਆਪਣੇ ਭਾਗ ਦੇ ਇੱਛੁਕ ਦੇਵ—ਆਦਿਤ੍ਯ, ਵਸੂ, ਪਿਤਰਾਂ ਸਮੇਤ ਵਿਸ਼੍ਵੇਦੇਵ, ਅਤੇ ਗੰਧਰਵ ਆਦਿ ਤੇ ਮਰੁਦਗਣ—ਇਕੱਠੇ ਹੋਏ।

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Word by Word

• tatra: there
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण) of place
• Role: Desha-adhikarana (देशाधिकरण)
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)

• bhāga-arthinaḥ: desirous of (their) shares
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन); तत्पुरुषः ‘seeking a share’
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: bhāga (प्रातिपदिक) + arthin (प्रातिपदिक)

• devāḥ: gods
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)

• ādityāḥ: Ādityas
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: āditya (प्रातिपदिक)

• vasavaḥ: Vasus
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: vasu (प्रातिपदिक)

• tathā: also/likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Adverb/particle (निपात) meaning ‘also/likewise’
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)

• viśve-devāḥ: the Viśvedevas
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन); कर्मधारयः ‘all-gods’ (Viśvedevas)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: viśva (प्रातिपदिक) + deva (प्रातिपदिक)

• sa-pitaraḥ: together with the Pitṛs
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन); अव्ययीभावः ‘together with the Pitṛs’
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: sa (अव्यय/उपसर्गवत्) + pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)

• gandharva-ādyāḥ: Gandharvas and others
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन); तत्पुरुषः ‘Gandharvas and others’
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: gandharva (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)

• marut-gaṇāḥ: hosts of Maruts
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन); तत्पुरुषः ‘groups of Maruts’
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: marut (प्रातिपदिक) + gaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• bhāgārthino = bhāga-arthinaḥ
• viśvedevāḥ = viśve-devāḥ
• sapitaro = sa-pitaraḥ
• gandharvādyāḥ = gandharva-ādyāḥ
• marudgaṇāḥ = marut-gaṇāḥ

Speaker and setting

Shanta and Adbhuta rasaSetting: Ritual-cosmic setting

Speaker

Varāha

The teaching

Path

Cosmology Through Ritual

Subjects

CosmologyMythic GenealogiesRitual Culture (Bhāga/Share motif)

Core idea

Order (dharma/ṛta) is maintained by rightful shares and mutual recognition among cosmic stakeholders.

In practice

In worship and giving, respect proper recipients and procedures; cultivate fairness and role-clarity in communal rites.

Symbolism of the boar

Dharma

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Studies
• Sanskrit Philology
• Vaishnavism

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves a standard Purāṇic catalog of divine classes (deva-gaṇas), reflecting shared cosmological and ritual vocabularies across early medieval Sanskrit literature.

Which geographic location is identified?

No specific geographic location is named in this verse; it functions as a cosmological/ritual enumeration rather than a topographic reference.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse does not present a direct ethical injunction; its primary function is descriptive—situating multiple divine and ancestral groups within a shared framework of 'allotted shares' (bhāga) commonly associated with ritual distribution and cosmic order.