Varaha Purana 207.3: Adhyaya 207, Shloka 3

Section on the ‘Person’ who Entices Beings within the Cycle of Rebirth

Uttara Bhāga · Exemplum: King Janaka and divine enjoyments

Devanagari script

यथा च जनको राजा कामान्दिव्यानवाप्तवान् ॥ तत्सर्वं कथयिष्यामि श्रूयतां मुनिसत्तमाः ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 207.3

Transliteration

yathā ca janako rājā kāmān divyān avāptavān || tat sarvaṃ kathayiṣyāmi śrūyatāṃ munisattamāḥ

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

రాజా జనకుడు దివ్య భోగాలను ఎలా పొందాడో—అది అంతా నేను చెబుతాను; ఓ మునిశ్రేష్ఠులారా, వినండి।

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Word by Word

• yathā: as/how
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), conjunction/adverb (यथार्थे)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), conjunction (समुच्चय)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: ca (अव्यय)

• janakaḥ: Janaka
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा) Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: janaka (प्रातिपदिक)

• rājā: king
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा) Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)

• kāmān: desires/pleasures
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया) Plural (बहुवचन)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक)

• divyān: divine
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया) Plural (बहुवचन); agrees with kāmān
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: divya (प्रातिपदिक)

• avāptavān: obtained
• Type: Verb
• Form: Past active participle (क्तवतुँ/कृत्), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग) Nominative (प्रथमा) Singular (एकवचन); ‘having obtained’
• Role: Kriya (क्रियाविशेष/भाव)
• Root: āp (धातु)

• tat: that
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया) Singular (एकवचन); demonstrative pronoun
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• sarvam: all/entire
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया) Singular (एकवचन); agrees with tat
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)

• kathayiṣyāmi: I shall narrate
• Type: Verb
• Form: Future (लृट्), 1st person (उत्तमपुरुष) Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद); causative stem kathaya-
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Root: kathaya (णिजन्त from kath/kathe?) (धातु)

• śrūyatām: let it be heard
• Type: Verb
• Form: Imperative/benedictive passive form (लोट्, कर्मणि प्रयोग), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष) Singular (एकवचन) used as polite injunction; ‘let it be heard’
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Root: śru (धातु)

• muni-sattamāḥ: O best sages
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (सम्बोधन) Plural (बहुवचन); तत्पुरुषः—मुनीनां सत्तमाः (best among sages)
• Role: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक) + sattama (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• kāmān divyān avāptavān → kāmān divyān avāptavān (no change)
• tat sarvam often written tatsarvam—resolved as tat + sarvam

Speaker and setting

Shanta and Vira rasaSetting: Kingdom

Speaker

Ṛṣiputra (narrator; inferred from continuity)

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Rāja-dharma / karma-yoga ethos

Subjects

EthicsKingshipNarrative exempla

Core idea

Enjoyment (kāma) becomes ‘divine’ when aligned with dharma and governed by self-mastery, as exemplified by Janaka.

In practice

For householders/leaders: pursue prosperity and pleasure without violating duty; cultivate inner detachment while fulfilling public responsibility.

Dharma

Cross references

Tags

• Purāṇic Literature
• Itihāsa-linked Figures
• Royal Ethics

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

Janaka is a widely referenced exemplary king in Sanskrit literature; his appearance here links Purāṇic ethics to broader classical traditions of kingship and renunciation debates.

Which geographic location is identified?

No location is named in this verse (Janaka is historically associated with Videha/Mithilā in other sources, but that is not specified here).

What is the primary ethical instruction?

It introduces a case-study narrative intended to explore desire, reward, and moral causality through a royal exemplar.