Varaha Purana 113.5: Adhyaya 113, Shloka 5

Hymn to Varāha and Pṛthivī’s Inquiry

Prelude to the Sanatkumāra Dialogue

Devanagari script

धरण्युवाच ॥ कल्पे कल्पे भवानेव मां समुद्धरते भवान् ॥ न बाहुश्चेष्टते मूर्तिर्मादृशीं गां च केशव ॥

Sanskrit recitationVaraha Purana 113.5

Transliteration

dharaṇy uvāca || kalpe kalpe bhavān eva māṃ samuddharate bhavān || na bāhuś ceṣṭate mūrtir mādṛśīṃ gāṃ ca keśava ||

Translation

धरण्युवाच—कल्पे कल्पे भवानेव मां समुद्धरसे; न बाहुश्चेष्टते मूर्तिर्मादृशीं गां च केशव, तथापि त्वमेवोद्धरसि।

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Word by Word

• dharaṇī: Earth (goddess)
• dharaṇī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharaṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)

• kalpe: in an aeon
• kalpe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• kalpe: in each aeon
• kalpe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); repetition indicates distributive sense

• bhavān: you (honored)
• bhavān: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); honorific 2nd-person pronoun

• eva: indeed/alone
• eva: Sambandha/Emphasis (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात) of emphasis/restriction

• mām: me
• mām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• samuddharate: lifts up/rescues
• samuddharate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ud-√dhṛ (धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद)

• bhavān: you
• bhavān: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); reiteration for emphasis

• na: not
• na: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Negation particle (निषेध-निपात)

• bāhuḥ: arm
• bāhuḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• ceṣṭate: acts/moves
• ceṣṭate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ceṣṭ (धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद)

• mūrtiḥ: form/body
• mūrtiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūrti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• mādṛśīm: like me/such as I
• mādṛśīm: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mādṛśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); adjective qualifying gām

• gām: earth/cow (here: earth)
• gām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चय-निपात)

• keśava: O Keśava
• keśava: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: keśava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Pṛthivī (Dharaṇī)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Studies
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Dialogue Literature

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It foregrounds cyclical cosmology (repeated kalpas) and frames Earth as a speaking interlocutor—an important literary strategy for articulating environmental and moral concerns.

Which geographic location is identified?

No specific location is identified; the speaker is the Earth herself, treated as a cosmic entity rather than a single site.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

A reflection on responsibility and support: the world’s stability is presented as requiring sustaining agency beyond ordinary exertion, encouraging a stewardship-oriented worldview.