Varaha Purana 161.7: Adhyaya 161, Shloka 7

The Efficacy of the Sacred Forests: The Merit of Pilgrimage to Mathurā’s Twelve Groves

Uttara Bhāga · Mathurā Māhātmya (Sacred Groves/Forests Catalogue)

Devanagari script

चतुर्थं काम्यकवनं वनानां वनमुत्तमम् ॥ पञ्चमं वै बहुवनं षष्ठं भद्रवनं स्मृतम् ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 161.7

Transliteration

caturthaṃ kāmyakavanaṃ vanānāṃ vanam uttamam || pañcamaṃ vai bahuvanaṃ ṣaṣṭhaṃ bhadravanaṃ smṛtam ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

चतुर्थं काम्यकवनं वनानां वनमुत्तमम्; पञ्चमं बहुवनं प्रोक्तं, षष्ठं भद्रवनं स्मृतम्।

Ask anything about this verse...Ask

Word by Word

• चतुर्थम्: fourth
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्रमवाचक
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: चतुर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)

• काम्यकवनम्: Kāmyaka forest
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (काम्यकं वनम्)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता/विषय)
• Root: काम्यक-वन (प्रातिपदिक)

• वनानाम्: of forests
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Root: वन (प्रातिपदिक)

• वनम्: forest
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन
• Role: Karta (कर्ता/विषय)
• Root: वन (प्रातिपदिक)

• उत्तमम्: best/excellent
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)

• पञ्चमम्: fifth
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्रमवाचक
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: पञ्चम (प्रातिपदिक)

• वै: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-निपात (indeed/assuredly)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निश्चय)
• Root: वै (अव्यय)

• बहुवनम्: Bahuvana (many-grove)
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (बहु वनम्/बहुवनम् नाम)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता/विषय)
• Root: बहु-वन (प्रातिपदिक)

• षष्ठम्: sixth
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्रमवाचक
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: षष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)

• भद्रवनम्: Bhadravana (auspicious grove)
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (भद्रं वनम्)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता/विषय)
• Root: भद्र-वन (प्रातिपदिक)

• स्मृतम्: is called/remembered
• Type: Verb
• Form: कृदन्त—क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘is said/remembered (as)’
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया/विधेय)
• Root: स्मृ (धातु)

Sandhi Notes

• वनमुत्तमम् → वनम् उत्तमम्
• अन्यत्र पदच्छेदः यथालिखितम्।

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Shanta rasaSetting: Sacred forests (vana)

Speaker

Varāha

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

Varaha teaches her

Her state of mind

Engaged, building a mental pilgrimage itinerary

What she asks

Which additional vanas follow after the first three, and which are regarded as foremost among forests?

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Ecological dharma within bhakti

Subjects

GeographyHeritage SitesEcology

Core idea

Sacredness is distributed across multiple habitats; devotion includes honoring diverse groves, not a single shrine alone.

In practice

Approach each vana with restraint and reverence; support conservation as a form of tīrtha-sevā.

The Varaha avatara

With the Earth

Varāha continues instructing Bhūmi, extending the ordered list of Mathurā’s sacred forests.

Mathura and Krishna

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Ancient Geography
• Cultural Heritage
• Ecological Ethics

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

Such enumerations function as textual maps, supporting the study of how sacred landscapes were organized and transmitted.

Which geographic location is identified?

Forest toponyms within the Mathurā/Braj cultural zone: Kāmyakavana, Bahuvana, Bhadravana.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The framing of forests as 'uttama' encourages valuing and safeguarding natural spaces as heritage environments.