Varaha Purana 187.53: Adhyaya 187, Shloka 53

Determination of the Origin and Procedure of the Ancestral Offering

Pitṛyajña/Śrāddha

Devanagari script

पुत्रेण श्रीमता हीनं नाहं जीवितुमुत्सहे ॥ एतस्मिन्नन्तरे देवि नारदो द्विजसत्तमः

Sanskrit recitationVaraha Purana 187.53

Transliteration

putreṇa śrīmatā hīnaṁ nāhaṁ jīvitum utsahe | etasminn antare devi nārado dvijasattamaḥ ||

Translation

‘శ్రీమంతుడైన పుత్రుని లేక నేను జీవించుటకు ఉత్సాహపడను.’ ఇంతలో, ఓ దేవీ, ద్విజసత్తముడైన నారదుడు వచ్చెను.

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Word by Word

• putreṇa: by/with a son
• putreṇa: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular

• śrīmatā: prosperous, endowed with fortune
• śrīmatā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śrīmat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Adjective used substantively/qualifying; Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular; agrees with putreṇa

• hīnam: deprived/lacking
• hīnam: Karma/Predicative (पूरक)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hīna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; predicative complement with implied ‘me’ (aham)

• na: not
• na: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Negation particle (निषेधार्थक अव्यय)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (अस्मद्-शब्द), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• jīvitum: to live
• jīvitum: Karma (कर्म) of utsahe (ability/effort)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jīv (धातु)
• Form: Infinitive (तुमुन्), from √jīv ‘to live’

• utsahe: I am able / I undertake
• utsahe: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: utsah (धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), Ātmanepada, 1st person (उत्तमपुरुष), Singular

• etasmin: in this
• etasmin: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Demonstrative pronoun (एतद्-शब्द), Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular

• antare: in the meantime / interval
• antare: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; ‘in the interval/meanwhile’

• devi: O goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular

• nāradaḥ: Nārada
• nāradaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• dvijasattamaḥ: the best of the twice-born
• dvijasattamaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of nāradaḥ
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija + sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष ‘best among dvijas (Brahmins)’; sattama = superlative (तमप्)

Speaker

Narrative voice (introducing Nārada); default dialogue frame: Varāha → Pṛthivī

Tags

• Purāṇic Narrative
• Nārada Traditions
• Family Ethics

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It illustrates a recurring Purāṇic motif: personal grief becomes the narrative trigger for a sage’s ethical-philosophical instruction.

Which geographic location is identified?

No location is named here; the verse prepares for the subsequent setting.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Implicitly, it frames grief and attachment as conditions that invite counsel and reorientation toward broader philosophical understanding.