Varaha Purana 3.2: Adhyaya 3, Shloka 2
Nārada’s Account of a Former Birth and a Hymn to Nārāyaṇa
Pūrva Bhāga · Tīrtha–Māhātmya (Veda-saras / ritual memory narrative)
नारद उवाच । स्नातस्य मम राजेन्द्र तस्मिन् वेदसरस्यथ । सावित्र्याश्च वचः श्रुत्वा तस्मिन् जन्मसहस्रकम् । स्मरणं तत्क्षणाज्जातं शृणु जन्मान्तरं मम ॥ ३.२ ॥
nārada uvāca | snātasya mama rājendra tasmin vedasarasy atha | sāvitrīyāś ca vacaḥ śrutvā tasmin janmasahasrakam | smaraṇaṁ tatkṣaṇāj jātaṁ śṛṇu janmāntaraṁ mama || 3.2 ||
nAdarada uvAcha | snAtasya mama rAjendra tasmin vedasarasyatha | sAvitryAshcha vachaH shrutvA tasmin janmasahastrakam | smaraNaM tatkShaNAjjAtaM shrRRiNu janmAntaraM mama || 3.2 ||
नारद उवाच—राजेन्द्र, तस्मिन् वेदसरसि स्नात्वा सावित्र्याः वचः श्रुत्वा, तत्क्षणादेव मम जन्मसहस्रस्य स्मरणं जातम्। मम जन्मान्तरं शृणु॥
Sandhi Notes
- वेदसरसि + अथ → वेदसरस्यथ
- सावित्र्याः + च → सावित्र्याश्च
- तत् + क्षणात् → तत्क्षणात्
- तत्क्षणात् + जातम् → तत्क्षणाज्जातम् (ज् doubling)
Nārada
How did bathing at the Veda-saras and hearing Sāvitrī’s words immediately awaken remembrance of many past births, and what was that former birth?
Smṛti (deep memory) can be unveiled when the mind is purified through tīrtha-kriyā and śravaṇa of mantra/śāstra-vākya.
Approach tīrthas with disciplined snāna, reverent listening, and inward attention; treat sacred speech as transformative, not merely informative.
Tīrtha-snāna and attentive śravaṇa of sacred speech are presented as purifying acts that can yield extraordinary spiritual cognition (janma-smṛti).
Merit from tīrtha-snāna/śravaṇa ripens into heightened memory and insight; neglect implies continued forgetfulness and saṃsāric opacity.
Indirect Vaiṣṇava frame via Purāṇic tīrtha-māhātmya.
Varāha Purāṇa: tīrtha-māhātmya sections where snāna yields special fruits; Narrative frame: sage-to-king instruction episodes (rāja-praśna / ṛṣi-uttara)
FAQs
It preserves a common Purāṇic narrative device: a sacred site (tīrtha) experience triggers extraordinary recollection (janma-smṛti), allowing the text to introduce a didactic backstory within a dialogue framework.
The verse names “Veda-saras” (Veda-lake). The excerpt does not provide enough internal markers to securely equate it with a specific modern location; it is best cataloged as a named tīrtha pending corroboration from adjacent verses or parallel recensions.
The verse foregrounds disciplined engagement with cultural-ritual heritage (bathing at a tīrtha and attentive listening), presenting these acts as catalysts for self-reflection and moral narrative learning rather than as coercive doctrine.
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