Varaha Purana 175.17: Adhyaya 175, Shloka 17

The Sanctity of the Kṛṣṇagaṅgā Pilgrimage-Ford and the Account of the Brahmin Vasu’s Daughter

Uttara Bhāga · Narrative description (rūpa-varṇana): embodied aesthetics in Sanskrit prose/verse

Devanagari script

सुरूपा सुकुमाराङ्गी नीलकुञ्चितमूर्द्धजा॥ कदलीकाण्डसङ्काशे तस्या ऊरू सुमांसले॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 175.17

Transliteration

surūpā sukumārāṅgī nīlakuñcitamūrddhajā || kadalīkāṇḍasaṅkāśe tasyā ūrū sumāṃsale

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

सा सुरूपा सुकुमाराङ्गी नीलकुञ्चितमूर्द्धजा। कदलीकाण्डसङ्काशौ तस्या ऊरू सुमांसलौ॥

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Word by Word

• su-rūpā: beautiful
• Type: Adjective
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—सुन्दरं रूपं यस्याः/या; adjective
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)

• su-kumāra-aṅgī: having very delicate limbs
• Type: Adjective
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—सुकुमाराणि अङ्गानि यस्याः; adjective
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: su (अव्यय) + kumāra (प्रातिपदिक) + aṅgī (प्रातिपदिक)

• nīla-kuñcita-mūrdhajā: with dark, curly hair
• Type: Adjective
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—नीलाः कुञ्चिताः मूर्धजाः यस्याः; adjective
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: nīla (प्रातिपदिक) + kuñcita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + mūrdhaja (प्रातिपदिक)

• kadalī-kāṇḍa-saṅkāśe: like banana-stalks
• Type: Adjective
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, द्विवचन; समासः—कदलीकाण्डवत् सङ्काशः (उपमान-तत्पुरुष); सप्तमी-द्विवचन, विशेषणं (ऊरू)
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: kadalī (प्रातिपदिक) + kāṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + saṅkāśa (प्रातिपदिक)

• tasyāḥ: of her
• Type: Noun
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; Genitive: ‘of her’
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• ūrū: (her) two thighs
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, द्विवचन; here nominative dual as described body-part
• Role: Karta (कर्ता/वर्ण्य-विषय)
• Root: ūru (प्रातिपदिक)

• su-māṃsale: very well-fleshed
• Type: Adjective
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, द्विवचन; adjective agreeing with ūrū (dual): ‘very fleshy/well-rounded’
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: su (अव्यय) + māṃsala (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• कन्याऽस्थीनि इत्यादि न
• अत्र सन्धिः न्यूनः। ‘कदलीकाण्डसङ्काशे … ऊरू’ इत्यत्र विशेषणद्वयम् सप्तमी-द्विवचनेन (कदलीकाण्डसङ्काशे, सुमांसले) ऊरू (द्विवचन) इति अन्वयः।

Speaker and setting

Shringara and Adbhuta rasa

Speaker

Varāha to Pṛthivī

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

She listens

Her state of mind

Curious (inquirer framework)

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Aesthetic-ethical reflection

Subjects

Literary AestheticsSocial HistoryNarrative Literature

Core idea

Rūpa-varṇana highlights embodied beauty as transient and narratively consequential, inviting restraint and discernment (viveka) in response to form.

In practice

Appreciate beauty without attachment; maintain dhārmic conduct when encountering आकर्षण (attraction).

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Narrative
• Sanskrit Poetics (Varṇana)
• Cultural Anthropology

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It exemplifies a common Sanskrit narrative device (varṇana) using culturally legible similes (e.g., plantain stalk) to convey ideals of form and vitality in classical literature.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is named in this verse; it is a descriptive passage within the ongoing narrative.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

No direct ethical instruction is stated; the verse functions as literary characterization that supports subsequent narrative developments.