Varaha Purana 136.121: Adhyaya 136, Shloka 121

A Sūtra-like Manual of Expiations for Ritual Transgressions

Pūrva Bhāga · Prāyaścitta (Expiation) and Dharma-śāstric Narratives

Devanagari script

देवं नारायणं चैैकं सर्वलोकमहेश्वरम् ॥ हे विष्णो त्वत्प्रसादेन देवत्वं चैव माधव ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 136.121

Transliteration

devaṁ nārāyaṇaṁ caikaṁ sarvalokamaheśvaram || he viṣṇo tvatprasādena devatvaṁ caiva mādhava

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

సర్వలోక మహేశ్వరుడైన ఏకైక దేవుడు నారాయణుని నేను అంగీకరిస్తున్నాను. ఓ విష్ణో, నీ ప్రసాదముచేతనే దేవత్వం లభిస్తుంది, ఓ మాధవా.

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Word by Word

• devam: the god
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)

• nārāyaṇam: Nārāyaṇa
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); apposition to devam
• Role: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Root: nārāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक)
• Role: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Root: ca (अव्यय)

• ekam: one/unique
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); qualifies nārāyaṇam/devam
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)

• sarva-loka-maheśvaram: the great lord of all worlds
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); 'maheśvara' qualified by genitive-relation tatpuruṣa: of all worlds
• Role: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Root: sarva + loka + maheśvara (प्रातिपदिक)

• he: O
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Vocative particle (सम्बोधनसूचक अव्यय)
• Role: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Root: he (अव्यय)

• viṣṇo: O Viṣṇu
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)

• tvat-prasādena: by your grace
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन); tatpuruṣa: 'by your grace'
• Role: Karaṇa (करण/instrument/cause)
• Root: tvat (युष्मद्-प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम) + prasāda (प्रातिपदिक)

• devatvam: divinity
• Type: Noun
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Root: devatva (प्रातिपदिक)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक)
• Role: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Root: ca (अव्यय)

• eva: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Emphatic particle (निश्चय/अवधारणार्थक अव्यय)
• Role: Avadhāraṇa (अवधारण/emphasis)
• Root: eva (अव्यय)

• mādhava: O Mādhava
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Root: mādhava (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• chaikaṁ = ca + ekam
• caiva = ca + eva
• sarvalokamaheśvaram treated as tatpuruṣa compound

Speaker and setting

Shanta and Bhakti rasa

Speaker

Varāha

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Theology (descriptive)

Subjects

CosmologyTheology (descriptive, non-prescriptive)Ethics

Core idea

Divinity and lordship are grounded in Nārāyaṇa; ‘devatva’ is by Viṣṇu’s prasāda (grace), not autonomous power.

In practice

Cultivate humility and devotion; attribute spiritual attainments and authority to divine grace rather than egoic merit.

Symbolism of the boar

Mathura and Krishna

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Purāṇic Narrative
• Devotional Discourse

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

The verse reflects a Purāṇic idiom in which sovereignty over cosmic realms is attributed to Nārāyaṇa, shaping later theological vocabulary and literary convention.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is specified in this verse.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

It foregrounds the idea that status and power are contingent—portrayed as dependent on ‘prasāda’ (favor/grace), a common moral-causal framing in Purāṇic discourse.