Varaha Purana 129.2: Adhyaya 129, Shloka 2

Initiation for the Four Social Orders, Sandhyā Mantra Procedure, and the Merit of Offering Water in a Copper Vessel

Uttara Bhāga · Caturvarṇa-dīkṣā: Sandhyā and Lamp Offering Mantras (extended passage)

Devanagari script

शिरसा चाञ्जलिं कृत्वा वसुधा पुनरब्रवीत् ॥ धरण्युवाच ॥ एतन्मां परमं गुह्यं तद्भक्तां वक्तुमर्हसि ॥ सन्ध्यां वै केन मन्त्रेण तव कर्मपरायणाम् ॥ वद भागवतीं शुद्धां तव कर्मविनिश्चिताम् ॥ ततॊ भूमिवचः श्रुत्वा भूतानां प्रभवोऽव्ययः ॥ वराहरूपो भगवान् प्रत्युवाच वसुन्धराम् ॥ श्रीवराह उवाच ॥ माधवि तत्त्वेन यन्मां त्वं परिपृच्छसि ॥ कथयिष्यामि ते भद्रे प्रवरं गुह्यमुत्तमम् ॥ यथावद्विदितं भूपैः पुण्या भागवताः शुभाः ॥ कृत्वा तु मम कर्माणि शुचिसंसारमोक्षणीम् ॥ कुर्वीतैव परां सन्ध्यां यथावदिति निश्चितम् ॥ जलाञ्जलिं ततो गृह्य मम भक्त्या व्यवस्थितः ॥ मुहूर्तध्यानमास्थाय इमं मन्त्रमुदाहरेत् ॥ मन्त्रः— भवोद्भवमादिव्यक्तरूपमात्रं सर्वे देवा ब्रह्मा रुद्रस्त्वादृक्सममासीद्ध्यानयोगस्थिताः ते सन्ध्यासंस्था वासुदेवं नमति वयं देवमादिव्यक्तरूपमात्मसप्तदिवसं तथापि संसारार्थं कर्म तत्करणमेव सन्ध्यासंस्था वासुदेव नमोऽस्तु ते ॥ मन्त्राणां परमो मन्त्रस्तपतां परमं तपः ॥ आचारं कुरुते ह्येवं मम लोकं स गच्छति ॥ गुह्यानां परमं गुह्यं रहस्यं परमुत्तमम् ॥ य एवं पठते नित्यं न स पापेन लिप्यते ॥ नादीक्षिताय दातव्यं नोपवीते कथंचन ॥ दीक्षितायैव दातव्यमुपपन्ने तथैव च ॥ पुनरन्यत्प्रवक्ष्यामि देवि तत्त्वेन मे शृणु ॥ न दीपमपि गृह्णाति दत्तं भागवतैः शुभैः ॥ कृत्वा तु मम कर्माणि गृह्य दीपकमुत्तमम् ॥ जानुसंस्थां ततः कृत्वा इमं मन्त्रमुदीरयेत ॥ मन्त्रः— ॐ नमो भगवतेऽनुग्रह तेजसे विष्णो सर्वदेवास्त्वाग्निसंस्थाः प्रविष्टा एवं चाग्निस्तव तेजसा भविष्यति स्वतेजसा मामाशु मन्त्रस्य तेजसा संसारार्थं देव गृह्यं दीपकं मन्त्रं मूर्त्तिमन्त्रं श्वो भूत्वा इमं कर्म निष्फलम् ॥ तत्करोति यथान्याय्यं दीपकं ददते नरः ॥ तारिताः पितरस्तेन निष्कलाश्च पितामहाः ॥ गन्धेन तिलकं दद्याल्ललाटे मम सुन्दरी ॥ अन्यच्च ते प्रवक्ष्यामि कर्म लोकसुखावहम्

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 129.2

Transliteration

śirasā cāñjaliṃ kṛtvā vasudhā punar abravīt || dharaṇy uvāca || etan māṃ paramaṃ guhyaṃ tadbhaktāṃ vaktum arhasi || sandhyāṃ vai kena mantreṇa tava karmaparāyaṇām || vada bhāgavatīṃ śuddhāṃ tava karmaviniścitām || tato bhūmivacaḥ śrutvā bhūtānāṃ prabhavo'vyayaḥ || varāharūpo bhagavān pratyuvāca vasundharām || śrīvarāha uvāca || mādhavi tattvena yan māṃ tvaṃ paripṛcchasi || kathayiṣyāmi te bhadre pravaraṃ guhyam uttamam || yathāvad viditaṃ bhūpaiḥ puṇyā bhāgavatāḥ śubhāḥ || kṛtvā tu mama karmāṇi śuci-saṃsāra-mokṣaṇīm || kurvītaiva parāṃ sandhyāṃ yathāvad iti niścitam || jalāñjaliṃ tato gṛhya mama bhaktyā vyavasthitaḥ || muhūrta-dhyānam āsthāya imaṃ mantram udāharet || mantraḥ— bhavodbhavam ādi-vyakta-rūpa-mātraṃ sarve devā brahmā rudras tvādṛk-samam āsīd dhyāna-yoga-sthitāḥ te sandhyā-saṃsthā vāsudevaṃ namati vayaṃ devam ādi-vyakta-rūpam ātma-sapta-divasaṃ tathāpi saṃsārārthaṃ karma tat-karaṇam eva sandhyā-saṃsthā vāsudeva namo'stu te || mantrāṇāṃ paramo mantras tapatāṃ paramaṃ tapaḥ || ācāraṃ kurute hy evaṃ mama lokaṃ sa gacchati || guhyānāṃ paramaṃ guhyaṃ rahasyaṃ param uttamam || ya evaṃ paṭhate nityaṃ na sa pāpena lipyate || nādīkṣitāya dātavyaṃ nopavīte kathaṃcana || dīkṣitāyaiva dātavyam upapanne tathaiva ca || punar anyat pravakṣyāmi devi tattvena me śṛṇu || na dīpam api gṛhṇāti dattaṃ bhāgavataiḥ śubhaiḥ || kṛtvā tu mama karmāṇi gṛhya dīpakam uttamam || jānu-saṃsthāṃ tataḥ kṛtvā imaṃ mantram udīrayet || mantraḥ— oṃ namo bhagavate'nugraha-tejase viṣṇo sarva-devās tvāgni-saṃsthāḥ praviṣṭā evaṃ cāgnis tava tejasā bhaviṣyati sva-tejasā mām āśu mantrasya tejasā saṃsārārthaṃ deva gṛhyaṃ dīpakaṃ mantraṃ mūrti-mantraṃ śvo bhūtvā imaṃ karma niṣphalam || tat karoti yathā-nyāyyaṃ dīpakaṃ dadate naraḥ || tāritāḥ pitaras tena niṣkalāś ca pitāmahāḥ || gandhena tilakaṃ dadyāl lalāṭe mama sundarī || anyac ca te pravakṣyāmi karma loka-sukhāvaham

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

शिरसा चाञ्जलिं कृत्वा वसुधा पुनरब्रवीत्— “एतन्मां परमं गुह्यं तद्भक्तां वक्तुमर्हसि। सन्ध्यां वै केन मन्त्रेण तव कर्मपरायणाम्? वद भागवतीं शुद्धां तव कर्मविनिश्चिताम्।” ततः श्रुत्वा वराहरूपो भगवान् प्रत्युवाच— “माधवि, तत्त्वेन यन्मां त्वं परिपृच्छसि, कथयिष्यामि ते गुह्यमुत्तमम्। मम कर्माणि कृत्वा शुचिसंसारमोक्षणीं परां सन्ध्यां कुर्यात्। जलाञ्जलिं गृहीत्वा भक्त्या मुहूर्तध्यानमास्थाय इमं मन्त्रमुदाहरेत्— ‘भवोद्भवमादिव्यक्तरूपमात्रं… सन्ध्यासंस्था वासुदेव नमोऽस्तु ते।’ एष मन्त्राणां परमो मन्त्रः, परमं तपः; नित्यपाठेन पापेन न लिप्यते। नादीक्षिताय दातव्यं, दीक्षितायैव दातव्यम्। पुनश्च दीपविधिं वक्ष्यामि— दीपकं गृहीत्वा जानुसंस्थां कृत्वा इमं मन्त्रमुदीरयेत्— ‘ॐ नमो भगवतेऽनुग्रहतेजसे विष्णो…’ ततः गन्धेन तिलकं ललाटे दद्यात्; अन्यच्च लोकसुखावहं कर्म प्रवक्ष्यामि।

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Word by Word

• vasudhā/dharaṇī/vasundharā: Earth (Pṛthivī)

• añjali: joined palms

• parama-guhya: supreme secret

• sandhyā: twilight rite/regular daily juncture-practice

• mantra: formula

• bhāgavatī: Vaiṣṇava/Bhāgavata-oriented

• śuddha: pure

• paripṛcchasi: you ask

• tattvena: in truth/according to principle

• jalāñjali: water in joined palms

• muhūrta: a short period

• dhyāna: meditation

• ācāra: proper conduct

• pāpa: wrongdoing

• dīkṣita: initiated

• dīpaka/dīpa: lamp

• anugraha-tejas: gracious radiance

• tilaka: forehead mark

Speaker and setting

Shanta and Adbhuta rasa

Speaker

Dialogue: Pṛthivī (question) and Varāha (answer)

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

She asks

Her state of mind

Devotional, earnest, seeking a ‘parama-guhya’ instruction

What she asks

Which mantra should be used to perform the pure Bhāgavata sandhyā devoted to your observances, and how is it properly determined/performed?

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Bhakti-yoga + ritual hermeneutics

Subjects

Ritual PracticeEthicsMantra Studies

Core idea

Supreme mantra and daily sandhyā, grounded in devotion and brief meditation, purify karma; sacred knowledge (rahasya) requires adhikāra (initiation) and disciplined transmission; divine light (tejas) is Viṣṇu’s presence accessible through dīpa-offering.

In practice

Establish a daily sandhyā routine: water-offering (jalāñjali), short dhyāna, mantra recitation; keep mantra as a disciplined practice (nitya-pāṭha); observe eligibility/teacher-student protocol; add evening lamp offering with focused contemplation of tejas; apply fragrant tilaka as a mindful seal of consecration.

The Varaha avatara

The boar form

Varāha is named ‘Varāharūpo Bhagavān’ (the Lord in boar-form), but no specific anatomy is described here.

With the Earth

Extended guru–disciple exchange: Bhu Devī petitions; Varāha grants secret mantras, sets eligibility rules (dīkṣā/upavīta), and teaches sandhyā and dīpa-offering procedures for her welfare and for beings.

Symbolism of the boar

Dharma

Mathura and Krishna

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Sandhyā Rite
• Initiation (Dīkṣā)

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves a layered ritual program (sandhyā, mantra-recitation, lamp offering, tilaka) and explicitly records restrictions on transmission (dīkṣā), useful for reconstructing Purāṇic ritual pedagogy.

Which geographic location is identified?

No specific sacred site is named in this excerpt; the focus is on portable daily rites rather than pilgrimage geography.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Regular disciplined practice (daily recitation and proper conduct) is emphasized, along with controlled transmission of specialized formulae to qualified recipients.