Varaha Purana 1.22: Adhyaya 1, Shloka 22

Praise of Varāha and Pṛthivī’s Foundational Questions

Devanagari script

नमो विद्रुमरक्तास्यपाणिपल्लवशोभिने । शरणं त्वां प्रसन्नास्मि त्राहि नारीमनागसम् ॥ १.२३ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 1.22

Transliteration

namo vidrumaraktāsyapāṇipallavaśobhine | śaraṇaṁ tvāṁ prasannā ’smi trāhi nārīm anāgasam || 1.23 ||

Translation

విద్రుమవర్ణమైన ముఖముతో, పల్లవములవలె సుందరమైన చేతులతో శోభించే నీకు నమస్కారం. నేను ప్రసన్నమనస్సుతో నీ శరణు పొందితిని; అపరాధరహితమైన ఈ స్త్రీని రక్షించుము.

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Word by Word

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambodhana/Prayojana (सम्बोधन/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya; appears as namo by sandhi

• vidruma-rakta-āsya-pāṇi-pallava-śobhine: to (you) who shine with coral-red face and tender hands
• vidruma-rakta-āsya-pāṇi-pallava-śobhine: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidruma (प्रातिपदिक) + rakta (प्रातिपदिक) + āsya (प्रातिपदिक) + pāṇi (प्रातिपदिक) + pallava (प्रातिपदिक) + śobhin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular; tatpuruṣa: vidruma-sadṛśa-rakta (coral-red) āsya (face) and pāṇi-pallava (tender hands) with śobhā (splendor)

• śaraṇam: refuge
• śaraṇam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; used adverbially with √gam/√i implied: ‘as refuge’

• tvām: you
• tvām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (प्रातिपदिक सर्वनाम)
• Form: Pronoun, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• prasannā: calm/appeased
• prasannā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prasanna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; predicate adjective to speaker

• asmi: I am
• asmi: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (अस् धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), 1st person (उत्तमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• trāhi: protect/save
• trāhi: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √trā (त्रा धातु)
• Form: Imperative (लोट्), 2nd person (मध्यमपुरुष), Singular

• nārīm: the woman (me)
• nārīm: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• anāgasam: sinless, guiltless
• anāgasam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: an-āgas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; used adjectivally with nārīm (agreeing in sense; form shows m. acc. sg. as in -am)

Speaker

Pṛthivī (default dialogic framework; supplicatory voice not explicitly identified in the fragment)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Sanskrit
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Devotional Poetics

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It exemplifies a common Purāṇic literary feature: a formal salutation followed by a plea for protection, using classical poetic imagery to characterize the addressed figure and establish the emotional register of the dialogue.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic toponym is explicitly named in this verse; it functions primarily as a supplicatory address rather than a sacred-geography marker.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse foregrounds the ethical theme of protecting the blameless (anāgasa), framing safeguarding the innocent as a valued moral action within the narrative voice.