Varaha Purana 149.85: Adhyaya 149, Shloka 85
The Sacred Geography and Merit of Dvārakā
Uttara Bhāga · Dvārakā–Prabhāsa Tīrtha Māhātmya (Normative Praise and Values)
धर्माणां परमो धर्मो द्युतिनां परमा द्युतिः ॥ लाभानां परमो लाभः क्रियाणां परमा क्रिया ॥
dharmāṇāṁ paramo dharmo dyutīnām paramā dyutiḥ || lābhānāṁ paramo lābhaḥ kriyāṇāṁ paramā kriyā ||
dharmANAM paramo dharmo dyutInAM paramA dyutiH || lAbhAnAM paramo lAbhaH kriyANAM paramA kriyA
ధర్మాలలో ఇది పరమ ధర్మం; కాంతులలో పరమ కాంతి; లాభాలలో పరమ లాభం; క్రియలలో పరమ క్రియ.
Varāha
Curious, seeking normative clarity
What is the highest dharma and the highest efficacious rite/action among all practices?
Among many dharmas and rites, one God-centered practice is supreme in radiance, gain, and efficacy.
Prioritize the text’s recommended devotion/recitation/pilgrimage discipline over merely auxiliary rites.
Varāha establishes a value-hierarchy (parama-dharma etc.) for Bhū-devī, framing the teaching as the summit of dharma and ritual action.
Varāha as yajña-personified: ‘paramā kriyā’ hints that devotion to the Lord is the consummation of all ritual action—inner yajña culminating in God-realization.
Implied equivalence: all kriyā culminates in Viṣṇu/Varāha as the telos of yajña.
Karma is perfected when oriented to the Supreme (īśvara-arpana); ‘parama dharma’ aligns with bhakti/śaraṇāgati as highest means.
Establishes a hierarchy: the taught practice is declared the supreme dharma, supreme splendor, supreme gain, and supreme ritual act.
Following the ‘parama’ practice yields the highest merit/goal; neglecting it implies settling for lesser fruits.
Implied: attainment of the highest ‘lābha’ and ‘kriyā-phala’ through the recommended practice (contextually, śravaṇa/paṭhana/tīrtha-sevā).
General Vaiṣṇava framing of ‘parama dharma’ (often bhakti), but no explicit Kṛṣṇa/Mathurā cue.
Varāha Purāṇa 149.96 (recitation at dawn leads to Varāha-loka)
FAQs
It showcases the Purāṇic technique of ranking practices and ideals, aligning ritual action and ethical duty with a soteriological goal.
No specific place is named here; the verse functions as a generalized superlative praise within the chapter’s pilgrimage narrative.
It promotes an integrated ideal where ethical duty (dharma) and practice (kriyā) are oriented toward what the text presents as the highest good.
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