Varaha Purana 43.5 — Adhyaya 43, Shloka 5

The Caitra Dvādaśī Observance and the Ritual Procedure for Worship of Vāmana

Devanagari script

प्रागुक्तपात्रे संस्थाप्य वामनं काञ्चनं बुधः । यथाशक्त्या कृतं ह्रस्वं सितयज्ञोपवीतिनम् ॥ ४३.५ ॥

Transliteration

prāguktapātre saṃsthāpya vāmanaṃ kāñcanaṃ budhaḥ | yathāśaktyā kṛtaṃ hrasvaṃ sitayajñopavītinam || 43.5 ||

Translation

ముందుగా చెప్పిన పాత్రలో స్వర్ణమయ వామనమూర్తిని స్థాపించి, జ్ఞాని సాధకుడు తన శక్తి మేరకు ఆయనను హ్రస్వరూపంగా, శ్వేత యజ్ఞోపవీతధారిగా తయారు చేయించాలి।

Word by Word

• प्राक्-उक्त-पात्रे: in the previously mentioned vessel
• प्राक्-उक्त-पात्रे: अधिकरण (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राक् (अव्यय) + उक्त (कृदन्त) + पात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/अधिकरण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (‘previously mentioned vessel’)

• संस्थाप्य: having installed
• संस्थाप्य: पूर्वक्रिया (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्√स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), पूर्वक्रिया; ‘having installed/placed’

• वामनम्: Vāmana (dwarf form)
• वामनम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वामन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/कर्म), एकवचन

• काञ्चनम्: golden
• काञ्चनम्: कर्म (Object-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काञ्चन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् वामनम्-इति

• बुधः: the wise person
• बुधः: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बुध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/कर्ता), एकवचन

• यथा-शक्त्या: according to one’s ability
• यथा-शक्त्या: करण (Manner/according to ability)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय) + शक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; समस्तपदम् अव्ययवत्; अर्थः ‘as per ability’; (instrumental sense)

• कृतम्: made/formed
• कृतम्: कर्म (Object-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (made/formed)

• ह्रस्वम्: small/short
• ह्रस्वम्: कर्म (Object-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ह्रस्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (small/short)

• सित-यज्ञोपवीतिनम्: wearing a white sacred thread
• सित-यज्ञोपवीतिनम्: कर्म (Object-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सित (प्रातिपदिक) + यज्ञोपवीतिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (‘white’ qualifying ‘wearer of yajñopavīta’); विशेषणम् वामनम्-इति

Speaker

Varāha

Varaha Avatara Context

Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}

Bhu Devi Dialogue

Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"None","key_question":"None"}

Mathura Mandala

Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}

Dharma Shastra

Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"dana","instruction_summary":"Install a golden Vāmana image in the prescribed vessel and fashion it small (hṛsva), with a white yajñopavīta, according to one’s means.","karmic_consequence":"Proper icon-making and conformity to rite supports Viṣṇu-prīti and yields merit; negligence in prescribed form diminishes ritual efficacy."}

Vrata Mahatmya

Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false,"vrata_name":"None","tithi_month":"None","promised_fruit":"None"}

Cosmic Boar Symbolism

Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false,"symbolic_interpretation":"None","yajna_varaha_imagery":"None","vedantic_connection":"None"}

Philosophical Teaching

Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"ritual-orthopraxy","core_concept":"Devotion is stabilized through correctly embodied form (mūrti) and disciplined procedure, scaled ‘yathāśakti’.","practical_application":"Perform worship/dāna with accurate iconographic markers (hṛsva Vāmana, white yajñopavīta) without overreaching one’s capacity."}

Subject Matter

Subject Matter: ["Ritual Practice","Iconography","Material Culture","Dharma (procedural instruction)"]

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: śānta

Secondary Rasa: bhakti

Geographic Context

Type: ritual-space (gṛha/maṇḍapa)

Cross References

Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 43.43.6-8 (upaskāra placement; dāna; prīti-mantra; month-name conjunction)

Visual Art Cues

Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A ritualist installs a small golden Vāmana image in a prepared vessel; the dwarf-form is shown with a bright white sacred thread, crafted modestly yet carefully.","item_prompts":["small golden Vāmana mūrti (hṛsva)","white yajñopavīta","ritual vessel (pātra) previously prepared","artisan/priest hands arranging the icon","clean altar with kusa/cloth backdrop"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: warm ochres and greens; priest in traditional attire placing a small golden Vāmana with stark white yajñopavīta into a ritual pātra on a low altar; flat decorative patterns, calm śānta mood.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore style: central small golden Vāmana icon with prominent white yajñopavīta; heavy gold-leaf ornamentation on the altar and vessel; rich reds; devotional stillness.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore style: delicate linework; soft shading; priest installing the hṛsva Vāmana into a gleaming vessel; emphasis on refined jewelry-like gold and the white thread.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari style: intimate indoor shrine scene; small golden Vāmana with white yajñopavīta; cool palette; detailed textiles around the ritual vessel; gentle devotional atmosphere."}

Audio Atmosphere

Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"measured, instructional devotion","suggested_raga":"Śrī (or Bilāval for clarity)","pace":"medium-slow","voice_tone":"clear, didactic, softly reverential"}

Tags

• Purāṇic Literature
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Ritual Studies
• Sanskrit Manuscript Tradition

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It documents a prescriptive ritual-technical register within Purāṇic literature, reflecting how icon installation (pratiṣṭhā) and material specifications (e.g., kāñcana ‘golden’) were articulated in Sanskrit textual culture.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is explicitly named in this verse fragment; it focuses on the ritual object (pātra) and the form of the Vāmana image.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse emphasizes proportionality and practical constraint in ritual performance—“yathāśaktyā” (according to one’s capacity)—framing practice as adaptable rather than absolutist.