Varaha Purana 148.7: Adhyaya 148, Shloka 7

The Greatness of Stutasvāmi: Varāha’s Disclosure of the Bhūtagiri Sacred Landscape and Its Ethical Discipline

Uttara Bhāga · Narrative Transition: Varāha Responds to Earth

Devanagari script

ततो महीवचः श्रुत्वा धर्मश्रेष्ठी महामनाः ॥ वराहरूपी भगवान् प्रत्युवाच वसुन्धराम् ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 148.7

Transliteration

tato mahīvacaḥ śrutvā dharmaśreṣṭhī mahāmanāḥ || varāharūpī bhagavān pratyuvāca vasundharām ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

అప్పుడు మహీ (భూమి) మాటలు విని, ధర్మంలో శ్రేష్ఠుడైన మహామనస్కుడు, వరాహరూప భగవాన్ వసుంధరను ప్రత్యుత్తరం పలికాడు।

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Word by Word

• ततः: then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; adverb ‘then/thereupon’
• Role: कालाधिकरण (Kāla-adhikaraṇa)
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)

• महीवचः: Earth’s words
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: मह्याः वचः
• Role: कर्म (Karma)
• Root: मही + वचस् (प्रातिपदिक)

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• Type: Verb
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय, absolutive/gerund)
• Role: पूर्वकाल (Pūrvakāla-kriyā)
• Root: श्रु (धातु)

• धर्मश्रेष्ठी: the best in dharma / foremost in righteousness
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: धर्मे श्रेष्ठी/श्रेष्ठः (epithet)
• Role: कर्ता (Karta)
• Root: धर्म + श्रेष्ठिन् (प्रातिपदिक)

• महामनाः: great-minded
• Type: Adjective
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि: महत् मनः यस्य सः
• Role: विशेषण (Viśeṣaṇa)
• Root: महा + मनस् (प्रातिपदिक)

• वराहरूपी: having the form of Varāha
• Type: Adjective
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: वराह-रूपः अस्य (rūpin)
• Role: विशेषण (Viśeṣaṇa)
• Root: वराह + रूपिन् (प्रातिपदिक)

• भगवान्: the Blessed Lord
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन
• Role: कर्ता (Karta)
• Root: भगवत् (प्रातिपदिक)

• प्रत्युवाच: replied
• Type: Verb
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन, परस्मैपद
• Role: क्रिया (Kriyā)
• Root: प्रति-उप-√वच् (धातु)

• वसुन्धराम्: to Vasundharā (Earth)
• Type: Noun
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन
• Role: सम्प्रदान/कर्म (Recipient/Target; to whom replied)
• Root: वसुन्धरा (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• महीवचः treated as षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (मही + वचः)
• प्रत्युवाच = प्रति + उवाच (इ/उ sandhi → यु)

Speaker and setting

Shanta and Adbhuta rasa

Speaker

Narrator (dialogue frame; defaults to primary dialogue context)

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

She listens

Her state of mind

Heard/acknowledged; positioned as respectful interlocutor awaiting reply.

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Authority of dharma-teacher

Subjects

Dialogue framingEthical authority (dharma)Narrative structure

Core idea

Dharma is transmitted through attentive listening and authoritative reply within a sacred dialogue.

In practice

Model of śravaṇa (hearing) and praśna-uttara (question–answer) as the method for dharma learning.

The Varaha avatara

The boar form

Explicit only as ‘varāha-rūpī’ (in the form of Varāha).

With the Earth

He listens to Earth’s words and prepares to reply—teacherly engagement in dialogue.

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Studies
• Narratology
• Sanskrit Philology

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It marks a formal turn-taking point in the saṃvāda (dialogue) genre, a key narrative technique in Purāṇic instruction.

Which geographic location is identified?

No location is identified in this transition verse.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Implicitly, it legitimizes the forthcoming teaching by portraying the instructor as dharma-śreṣṭha (ethically authoritative).