Varaha Purana 193.2: Adhyaya 193, Shloka 2

Naciketas’ Journey to Yama’s Abode and the Eulogy of Truthfulness

Devanagari script

अश्वमेधे तथा वृत्ते राजा वै जनमेजयः ॥ ब्रह्मवध्याभिभूतस्य दीक्षां द्वादशवार्षिकीम्

Sanskrit recitationVaraha Purana 193.2

Transliteration

aśvamedhe tathā vṛtte rājā vai janamejayaḥ || brahmavadhyābhibhūtasya dīkṣāṃ dvādaśavārṣikīm

Translation

అశ్వమేధం ఈ విధంగా పూర్తయ్యాక, రాజు జనమేజయుడు బ్రాహ్మణహత్యా దోషంతో బాధపడిన (వ్యక్తి) నిమిత్తం పన్నెండు సంవత్సరాల దీక్షను స్వీకరించాడు.

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Word by Word

• अश्वमेधे: at the Aśvamedha sacrifice
• अश्वमेधे: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्वमेध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन — locative: 'in/at the Aśvamedha'

• तथा: thus/also
• तथा: सम्बन्ध (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/समुच्चयार्थक — 'thus/also'

• वृत्ते: when (it) was completed
• वृत्ते: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Locative)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृत् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (Past passive participle/क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन — 'when completed/occurred' (locative absolute sense with अश्वमेधे)

• राजा: the king
• राजा: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — subject

• वै: indeed
• वै: सम्बन्ध (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात — emphasis/assurance

• जनमेजयः: Janamejaya
• जनमेजयः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जनमेजय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — apposition to राजा

• ब्रह्म-वध्या-अभिभूतस्य: of him who was afflicted by brahmin-slaying (sin)
• ब्रह्म-वध्या-अभिभूतस्य: सम्बन्ध (Genitive qualifier/षष्ठी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्म (प्रातिपदिक) + वध्या (प्रातिपदिक) + अभिभूत (भू धातोः क्त, कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः — 'overcome/afflicted by brahma-vadhyā (sin of Brahmin-slaying)' qualifying जनमेजयः

• दीक्षाम्: initiation/vow
• दीक्षाम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दीक्षा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — object

• द्वादश-वार्षिकीम्: twelve-year (long)
• द्वादश-वार्षिकीम्: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वादश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + वार्षिकी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः — 'twelve-year (lasting)' qualifying दीक्षाम्

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (continued narrative frame; not re-marked in this verse)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Kingship
• Vedic Ritual Reception
• Sanskrit Studies

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It links royal ritual (Aśvamedha) with notions of moral-ritual impurity (brahmavadhyā) and long-term dīkṣā, informing scholarship on how Purāṇas reinterpret Vedic rites within ethical and narrative frameworks.

Which geographic location is identified?

No specific location is named in this verse.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

It underscores accountability and expiatory discipline: serious transgressions are portrayed as requiring sustained corrective observance.