Varaha Purana 176.39: Adhyaya 176, Shloka 39

The Māhātmya of Kṛṣṇagaṅgodbhava, Kāliñjara, and the Five Sacred Baths: The Tale of Pāñcāla and Tilottamā

Devanagari script

ब्रह्महा च सुरापश्च ब्राह्मणो यदि जायते ॥ प्रायश्चित्तं विनिर्दिष्टं मुनिभिर्देहनाशनम् ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 176.39

Transliteration

brahmahā ca surāpaś ca brāhmaṇo yadi jāyate || prāyaścittaṃ vinirdiṣṭaṃ munibhir dehanāśanam ||

Translation

ब्रह्महा च सुरापश्च ब्राह्मणो यदि जायते । प्रायश्चित्तं विनिर्दिष्टं मुनिभिर्देहनाशनम् ॥

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Word by Word

• ब्रह्महा: slayer of a Brahmin
• ब्रह्महा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + हन् (धातु/प्रातिपदिक-आधारित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (ब्रह्मणः हन्ता)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• सुरापः: drinker of liquor
• सुरापः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुरा (प्रातिपदिक) + पा (धातु/प्रातिपदिक-आधारित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (सुरां पिबति इति)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• ब्राह्मणः: a Brahmin
• ब्राह्मणः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• यदि: if
• यदि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/condition)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदि (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तबोधक-अव्यय (conditional particle)

• जायते: is born / arises
• जायते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• प्रायश्चित्तम्: expiation / penance
• प्रायश्चित्तम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रायश्चित्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• विनिर्दिष्टम्: has been prescribed
• विनिर्दिष्टम्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-निर्-दिश् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (भूतकृदन्त/क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (प्रायश्चित्तम् ... विनिर्दिष्टम्)

• मुनिभिः: by sages
• मुनिभिः: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

• देह-नाशनम्: (penance) involving destruction of the body
• देह-नाशनम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह (प्रातिपदिक) + नाशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (देहस्य नाशनम्)

Speaker

Pṛthivī

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Vaishnavism
• Dharmaśāstra
• Prāyaścitta Discourse

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It aligns Varāha Purāṇa’s ethical register with dharmaśāstric categories of mahāpātaka (grave sins), showing the text’s participation in broader legal-moral discourse.

Which geographic location is identified?

No location is mentioned; the verse is normative/ethical rather than geographic.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Certain actions are treated as exceptionally severe, and the text presents an extreme form of expiation; in archival terms, this reflects the period’s penitential theory rather than a universal prescription.