Varaha Purana 39.69: Adhyaya 39, Shloka 69

Discrimination of the Three Bodies and the Dharaṇī Vow: A Manual for Dvādaśī Observance

Pūrva Bhāga · Vrata-vidhi (Ritual Observances) and Phala-śruti (Stated Results)

Devanagari script

वन्ध्या नारी भवेद्या तु अनेन विधिना शुभा । उपोष्यति भवेत् तस्याः पुत्रः परमधार्मिकः ॥ ३९.६९ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 39.69

Transliteration

vandhyā nārī bhaved yā tu anena vidhinā śubhā | upoṣyati bhavet tasyāḥ putraḥ paramadhārmikaḥ || 39.69 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

Uma mulher estéril, se por este rito prescrito se tornar auspiciosa e observar o jejum, terá um filho varão supremamente devotado ao dharma.

Ask anything about this verse...Ask

Word by Word

• vandhyā: barren
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: vandhyā (प्रातिपदिक)

• nārī: woman
• Type: Noun
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: nārī (प्रातिपदिक)

• bhavet: may be/would be
• Type: Verb
• Form: Liṅ-lakāra (लिङ्, optative), Parasmaipada, Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Singular
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: bhū (भू धातु)

• yā: who (she who)
• Type: Noun
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; relative pronoun
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• tu: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), particle (निपात), contrast/emphasis
• Role: Sambandha-bodhaka (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: tu (अव्यय)

• anena: by this
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular; pronoun
• Role: Karaṇa (करण)
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• vidhinā: by the rule/rite
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular
• Role: Karaṇa (करण)
• Root: vidhi (प्रातिपदिक)

• śubhā: auspicious/fortunate
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक)

• upoṣyati: fasts/undertakes a fast
• Type: Verb
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (लट्, present), Parasmaipada, Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Singular
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: upa-vas (उपवस् धातु)

• bhavet: would become
• Type: Verb
• Form: Liṅ-lakāra (लिङ्, optative), Parasmaipada, Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Singular
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: bhū (भू धातु)

• tasyāḥ: of her
• Type: Noun
• Form: Feminine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular; pronoun
• Role: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• putraḥ: son
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: putra (प्रातिपदिक)

• parama-dhārmikaḥ: supremely righteous
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; karmadhāraya (परमः धार्मिकः)
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: parama + dhārmika (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• paramadhārmikaḥ = parama + dhārmikaḥ
• verse implies: ‘If a barren woman, being auspicious, fasts by this rite, her son will be supremely righteous’

Speaker and setting

Karuna and Shanta rasa

Speaker

Varāha

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

Varaha teaches her

Her state of mind

Compassionate concern

What she asks

Does this observance remove the sorrow of barrenness and grant righteous progeny?

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Dharma-oriented household ideal

Subjects

EthicsRitual ObservancesDharma-shastra (normative discourse)

Core idea

Progeny is valued not merely as continuation but as dharma-sampanna lineage; ritual observance is framed as a means to align fertility with righteousness.

In practice

Undertake the prescribed vrata with śraddhā and purity of conduct; pair ritual with compassionate, dharmic living to cultivate 'parama-dhārmika' outcomes in family life.

Dharma

Vrata

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Studies
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Ritual Culture

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It exemplifies a common Purāṇic literary pattern: a ritual prescription (vidhi) followed by a stated result (phala-śruti). Such passages are historically valuable for understanding how ethical ideals (dharma) were linked to domestic and social aspirations in premodern Sanskrit textual culture.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is named in this verse fragment; it focuses on ritual practice and its stated outcome rather than sacred geography.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse foregrounds disciplined observance (fasting/upoṣa) within a prescribed rite, and it frames the ideal outcome as the birth of a child characterized by strong commitment to dharma (paramadhārmika).