Varaha Purana 137.151: Adhyaya 137, Shloka 151

The Tale of the Vulture and the She-Jackal: The Māhātmya of the Saukarava Sacred Field

Devanagari script

तस्य पूर्वेण पार्श्वेन तीर्थं गृध्रवटं स्मृतम्॥ यत्राकामो मृतो गृध्रो मानुषत्वमुपागतः॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 137.151

Transliteration

tasya pūrveṇa pārśvena tīrthaṃ gṛdhravaṭaṃ smṛtam || yatrākāmo mṛto gṛdhro mānuṣatvam upāgataḥ ||

Translation

దాని తూర్పు వైపున ‘గృధ్రవట’ అనే తీర్థము ప్రసిద్ధము; అక్కడ ఇష్టంలేక మరణించిన గద్ద మనుష్యత్వమును పొందింది।

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Word by Word

• tasya: of that/of it
• tasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Genitive (षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• pūrveṇa: by/with the eastern (side)
• pūrveṇa: Karaṇa (करण/तृतीया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन); used adverbially ‘on the eastern side’

• pārśvena: by the side/flank
• pārśvena: Karaṇa (करण/तृतीया)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārśva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• tīrtham: pilgrimage spot/ford
• tīrtham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (प्रथमा/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• gṛdhravaṭam: Gṛdhravaṭa (Vulture-banyan)
• gṛdhravaṭam: Samjñā (संज्ञा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛdhra-vaṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (प्रथमा/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); compound: gṛdhra + vaṭa

• smṛtam: is called/remembered
• smṛtam: Kriyā (क्रिया/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (स्मृ धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त-प्रत्यय, कर्मणि कृदन्त); Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular; agrees with tīrtham

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Relative adverb (देशवाचक अव्यय)

• akāmaḥ: without desire/unwilling
• akāmaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-kāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); negative prefix a-

• mṛtaḥ: dead
• mṛtaḥ: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रिया-विशेषण/अवस्था)
• Type: Verb
• Root: mṛ (मृ धातु)
• Form: Past participle (क्त-प्रत्यय); Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• gṛdhraḥ: vulture
• gṛdhraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛdhra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• mānuṣatvam: human state/humanity
• mānuṣatvam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānuṣatva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• upāgataḥ: attained/reached
• upāgataḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: upa-√gam (गम् धातु)
• Form: Past participle (क्त-प्रत्यय); Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

Varāha (default speaker framework; continuing kṣetra description)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Ancient Geography
• Ecological Narratives
• Cultural Heritage

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It records a specific tīrtha-name (Gṛdhravaṭa) and an etiological story, both of which are key for building searchable gazetteers and motif indexes in a digital Purāṇa repository.

Which geographic location is identified?

Gṛdhravaṭa tīrtha is identified, situated ‘on the eastern side’ of the referenced kṣetra. Modern identification remains uncertain without additional contextual verses and regional correlates.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

By embedding animal life within sacred-landscape narratives, the text supports a cultural ethic of recognizing non-human beings as part of heritage landscapes (an ecological sensitivity expressed through mythic idiom).