Varaha Purana 3.20: Adhyaya 3, Shloka 20

Nārada’s Account of a Former Birth and a Hymn to Nārāyaṇa

Devanagari script

परात्परं पारगतं प्रमेयं युधाम्पतिं कार्यत एव कृष्णम्। गदासिचर्मण्यभृतोत्थपाणिं नमामि नारायणमप्रमेयम्॥ ३.२० ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 3.20

Transliteration

parātparaṁ pāragataṁ prameyaṁ yudhāṁpatiṁ kāryata eva kṛṣṇam | gadāsicarmāṇyabhṛtotthapāṇiṁ namāmi nārāyaṇam aprameyam || 3.20 ||

Translation

परात्परं पारगतं प्रमेयं युधाम्पतिं कार्यत एव कृष्णम्। गदासिचर्मण्यभृतोत्थपाणिं नमामि नारायणमप्रमेयम्॥

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Word by Word

• परात्-परम्: supreme beyond the supreme
• परात्-परम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—'परात् परम्' (beyond the beyond / higher than the highest)

• पार-गतम्: gone beyond / transcendent
• पार-गतम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पार (प्रातिपदिक) + गत (कृदन्त; गम्-धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle) 'गत'; तत्पुरुषः—'पारं गतः' (gone to the far shore; transcendent)

• प्रमेयम्: measurable / knowable
• प्रमेयम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रमेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; 'measurable/knowable (by pramāṇa)'

• युधाम्-पतिम्: lord of battles
• युधाम्-पतिम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युधाम् (युध्/युधा-शब्द; प्रातिपदिक) + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—'युधाम् (युद्धानाम्) पतिः' (lord of battles/warriors)

• कार्यतः: as to (his) function/effect
• कार्यतः: सम्बन्ध/अपादान (Ablatival sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कार्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb) — 'कार्यतः' (from the standpoint of effect/action; as to function)

• एव: indeed
• एव: निपात (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; emphatic particle

• कृष्णम्: Kṛṣṇa / the dark one
• कृष्णम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेष्य-नाम (as an epithet/name)

• गदा-असि-चर्माणि-अभृत-उत्थ-पाणिम्: whose raised hands hold mace, sword, and shield
• गदा-असि-चर्माणि-अभृत-उत्थ-पाणिम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गदा (प्रातिपदिक) + असि (प्रातिपदिक) + चर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + अभृत (कृदन्त; भृ-धातु) + उत्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + पाणि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—'गदां च असिं च चर्म च अभृत (धारयन्) उत्थपाणिः यस्य' (whose raised hands bear mace, sword, and shield); अभृत = भृ-धातोः क्त (borne/held)

• नमामि: I bow to
• नमामि: क्रिया (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नम् (धातु)
• Form: लट्, उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन

• नारायणम्: Nārāyaṇa
• नारायणम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• अ-प्रमेयम्: immeasurable
• अ-प्रमेयम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ (नञ्) + प्रमेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; नञ्-युक्त—immeasurable

Speaker

Narratorial voice (invocation); default dialogue frame: Varāha–Pṛthivī context not explicit in this verse

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Studies
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Sanskrit Hymnology

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It functions as a maṅgalācaraṇa (invocatory benediction), a common Purāṇic literary feature that frames the chapter with an authoritative and auspicious address to a central deity, reflecting established conventions of Sanskrit composition and transmission.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is named in this verse; it is primarily a theological and iconographic invocation.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse presents a philosophical posture of humility and disciplined attention (namāmi, “I bow”) toward the transcendent principle, emphasizing reverence and epistemic restraint when approaching what is described as both knowable (prameya) and immeasurable (aprameya).