Varaha Purana 8.45: Adhyaya 8, Shloka 45

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

Dharmavyādha, Mātaṅga, and Prasanna

Devanagari script

महावराहो हविषाम्बुभोजनो जनार्दनो मे हितकृच्छितीमुखः । क्षितीधरो मामुदधिक्शयो महान् स पातु विष्णुः शरणार्थिनं तु माम् ॥ ८.४५ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 8.45

Transliteration

mahāvarāho haviṣāmbubhojano janārdano me hitakṛc chitīmukhaḥ | kṣitīdharo mām udadhikṣayo mahān sa pātu viṣṇuḥ śaraṇārthinaṃ tu mām || 8.45 ||

Translation

విష్ణువు నన్ను రక్షించుగాక—ఆయనే మహావరాహుడు, హవిస్సు మరియు జలములను భుజించువాడు; జనార్దనుడు, నా హితకర్త, భూమియే ముఖముగా కలవాడు; క్షితీధరుడు, సముద్రంలో మహాశరణ్యుడు—శరణార్థినైన నన్ను ఆ విష్ణువే కాపాడుగాక.

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Word by Word

• mahāvarāhaḥ: the great Boar (Varāha)
• mahāvarāhaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + varāha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative, 1st), Ekavacana (Singular)

• haviṣāmbubhojanaḥ: the eater of oblation and water
• haviṣāmbubhojanaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: haviṣ + ambu + bhojana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa compound (haviṣ-ambu-bhojana = ‘one whose food is oblation and water’/‘oblation-water-eater’)

• janārdanaḥ: Janārdana (Viṣṇu)
• janārdanaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: janārdana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• me: my / of me
• me: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (Pronoun), Ṣaṣṭhī vibhakti (Genitive, 6th), Ekavacana; enclitic form

• hitakṛt: beneficent / doing good
• hitakṛt: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hita + kṛt (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √kṛ (धातु))
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; kṛdanta (kṛt-pratyaya) meaning ‘doing good’

• chitīmukhaḥ: earth-faced (one whose face is the earth)
• chitīmukhaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: chiti + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa (‘earth-faced’/‘with earth as face’)

• kṣitīdharaḥ: supporter of the earth
• kṣitīdharaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣiti + dhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa (‘earth-bearer’)

• mām: me
• mām: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Dvitīyā vibhakti (Accusative, 2nd), Ekavacana

• udadhikṣayaḥ: ocean-dweller / having the ocean as abode
• udadhikṣayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: udadhi + kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa (‘ocean-abode’/‘dwelling in the ocean’)

• mahān: great
• mahān: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; irregular stem mahat → mahān (nom. sg.)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• pātu: may (he) protect
• pātu: Kriyā (क्रिया/Verbal action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pā (पा, धातु)
• Form: Loṭ lakāra (Imperative), Prathama puruṣa (3rd person), Ekavacana; parasmaipada

• viṣṇuḥ: Viṣṇu
• viṣṇuḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• śaraṇārthinam: one seeking refuge
• śaraṇārthinam: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śaraṇa + arthin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa (‘seeking refuge’)

• tu: indeed / but
• tu: Sambandha-bodhaka (सम्बन्धबोधक/Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; particle (nipāta) expressing emphasis/contrast

• mām: me
• mām: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana

Speaker

Pṛthivī (defaulted per dialogue framework; verse is a protective stuti addressed to Viṣṇu/Varāha)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Hymns
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Earth-Restoration Narrative
• Sanskrit Philology

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves a hymn-style cluster of epithets associated with the Varāha narrative, reflecting Purāṇic strategies of summarizing cosmological myth (Earth-support and ocean setting) through compact devotional language used in recitation and manuscript transmission.

Which geographic location is identified?

No specific terrestrial pilgrimage site is named in this verse; the only spatial marker is the cosmic setting of the ‘ocean’ (udadhi), a common Purāṇic backdrop for Earth-restoration imagery rather than a mappable historical locality.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse frames ‘seeking refuge’ (śaraṇārthin) and protection as a philosophical posture: acknowledging dependence on a cosmic sustainer (kṣitīdhara) who upholds the Earth—an idea often connected, in archival thematic indexing, with stewardship-oriented readings of Earth as a supported and valued realm.