Varaha Purana 22.23: Adhyaya 22, Shloka 23

Gaurī’s Rebirth, Umā’s Austerities, Rudra’s Test, and the Himalayan Wedding

Pūrva Bhāga · Narrative Dialogue (Dharma, Social Custom, and Royal/Ethical Counsel)

Devanagari script

मत्पाणिग्रहणं भद्रे वृथा यदि करिष्यसि । तदानीं ब्रह्मणः पुत्र्यामाहारार्थं ब्रवीम्यहम् ॥ २२.२३ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 22.23

Transliteration

matpāṇigrahaṇaṃ bhadre vṛthā yadi kariṣyasi | tadānīṃ brahmaṇaḥ putryām āhārārthaṃ bravīmy aham || 22.23 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

"O łagodna pani, jeśli zamierzasz uczynić moje wzięcie twojej ręki (w małżeństwie) daremnym, wtedy w tym czasie będę mówił o córce Brahmā w związku z uzyskaniem utrzymania."

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Word by Word

• मत्पाणिग्रहणम्: my taking of the hand / my hand-grasping (marriage)
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; ‘मत्’ (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: my) + ‘पाणिग्रहण’ (hand-taking)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: mat + pāṇi + grahaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)

• भद्रे: O auspicious lady
• Type: Noun
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, संबोधन-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्
• Role: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Root: bhadrā (प्रातिपदिक)

• वृथा: in vain
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; व्यर्थार्थक क्रियाविशेषण (in vain)
• Role: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Root: vṛthā (अव्यय)

• यदि: if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: शर्त-अव्यय (conditional conjunction)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)

• करिष्यसि: you will do
• Type: Verb
• Form: लृट्-लकारः (Simple Future), मध्यम-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: kṛ (धातु)

• तदानीम्: then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: काल-अव्यय (then/at that time)
• Role: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (काल-अधिकरण)
• Root: tadānīm (अव्यय)

• ब्रह्मणः: of Brahmā
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः (Genitive), एकवचनम्
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)

• पुत्र्याम्: in/with the daughter
• Type: Noun
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative), एकवचनम्
• Role: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Root: putrī (प्रातिपदिक)

• आहारार्थम्: for the sake of food
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे/नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; चतुर्थी-तत्पुरुषः—‘आहाराय अर्थः’ (for the sake of food)
• Role: Prayojana (प्रयोजन)
• Root: āhāra + artha (प्रातिपदिक)

• ब्रवीमि: I say
• Type: Verb
• Form: लट्-लकारः, उत्तम-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: brū (धातु)

• अहम्: I
• Type: Noun
• Form: उत्तम-पुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• मत्पाणिग्रहणम् = मत् + पाणिग्रहणम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)
• पुत्र्यामाहारार्थम् → पुत्र्याम् आहारार्थम्
• ब्रवीम्यहम् → ब्रवीमि अहम्।

Speaker and setting

Shringara and Raudra rasa

Speaker

Varāha

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

Varaha teaches her

Her state of mind

Hesitant/withholding consent; being cautioned

What she asks

Will you nullify the initiated bond (pāṇigrahaṇa), and if so, what social-ethical consequences follow?

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Ethics of intention (saṅkalpa)

Subjects

EthicsSocial CustomDialogue Literature

Core idea

A sacred/social act is validated by congruent intention; duplicity empties ritual/gesture of meaning.

In practice

Avoid initiating commitments you intend to revoke; align speech, intention, and action.

Dharma

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Narrative
• Sanskrit Philology
• Vaishnavism

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves a conventional Sanskrit idiom—pāṇigrahaṇa (“taking the hand”)—used for marriage, showing how Purāṇic narrative integrates social-legal terminology into dialogue and ethical counsel.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is named in this verse fragment; it is primarily a relational and rhetorical statement within a dialogue.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse frames accountability in commitments: it cautions against rendering a formal pledge (here, marital hand-taking) meaningless, and signals a consequential shift in discourse toward survival/sustenance concerns (āhāra).