Varaha Purana 8.1: Adhyaya 8, Shloka 1

Dialogue on the Ethical Limits of Subsistence and the Five Great Sacrifices

Dharmavyādha, Mātaṅga, and Prasanna

Devanagari script

श्रीवराह उवाच । योऽसौ वसोः शरीरे तुव्याधो भूत्वा नृपस्य ह । स स्ववृत्त्यां स्थितः कालं चतुर्वर्षसहस्रिकम् ॥ ८.१ ॥

Sanskrit recitationVaraha Purana 8.1

Transliteration

śrīvarāha uvāca | yo'sau vasoḥ śarīre tu vyādho bhūtvā nṛpasya ha | sa svavṛttyāṃ sthitaḥ kālaṃ caturvarṣasahasrikam || 8.1 ||

Translation

శ్రీవరాహుడు పలికెను—వసు అనే రాజుని శరీరంలో వ్యాధుడు (వేటగాడు)గా అయినవాడు, తన జీవికలో స్థిరంగా ఉండి నాలుగు వేల సంవత్సరాల కాలం గడిపెను।

Ask anything about this verse...Ask

Word by Word

• श्री-वराहः: Śrī Varāha
• श्री-वराहः: Karta (कर्ता—वक्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री (प्रातिपदिक) + वराह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st), Singular; karmadhāraya honorific: ‘glorious Varāha’

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वच् (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular, Parasmaipada

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; relative pronoun

• असौ: that (person)
• असौ: Karta (कर्ता—यः…असौ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असद्/अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; demonstrative pronoun

• वसोः: of Vasu
• वसोः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• शरीरे: in the body
• शरीरे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात) indicating contrast/emphasis

• व्याधः: a hunter
• व्याधः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्याध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भूत्वा: having become
• भूत्वा: Kriya (क्रिया—पूर्वकालनिर्देश)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त), ‘having become’

• नृपस्य: of the king
• नृपस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• ह: indeed/forsooth
• ह: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ह (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात) used for emphasis/recall

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• स्व-वृत्त्याम्: by his own means of livelihood
• स्व-वृत्त्याम्: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व (प्रातिपदिक) + वृत्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular; tatpuruṣa: ‘by his own livelihood/means’

• स्थितः: remained/was established
• स्थितः: Karta (कर्ता—predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्थित (कृदन्त; √स्था (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; past passive participle used predicatively

• कालम्: for a time
• कालम्: Karma (कर्म—कालपरिमाण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular; duration accusative

• चतुर्-वर्ष-सहस्रिकम्: (lasting) four thousand years
• चतुर्-वर्ष-सहस्रिकम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्रिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular; tatpuruṣa: ‘of four-thousand years’ qualifying kālam

Speaker

Varāha

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Narrative
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Sanskrit Philology

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It exemplifies a Purāṇic narrative technique: compressing long spans of time into a single verse to frame moral and karmic continuity across lifetimes or embodied states.

Which geographic location is identified?

No explicit geographic location is named in this verse; it focuses on a character-state (as a hunter) and an extended duration of time.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse foregrounds continuity of conduct and livelihood (svavṛtti) across time, implying that sustained patterns of action are central to the narrative’s moral causality.