Varaha Purana 82.3: Adhyaya 82, Shloka 3

The Descent of the Rivers: The Sky-Gaṅgā and Her Fourfold Division

Devanagari script

आकाशसमुद्रो यः कीर्त्यते सामाख्यस् तस्मादाकाशगामिनी नदी प्रवृत्ता ।

Sanskrit recitationVaraha Purana 82.3

Transliteration

ākāśasamudro yaḥ kīrtyate sāmākhyas tasmād ākāśagāminī nadī pravṛttā |

Translation

‘సామ’ అని కీర్తింపబడే ఆకాశ-సముద్రమునుండి ఆకాశగామినీ నది ప్రవహించెను.

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Word by Word

• ākāśa-samudraḥ: the ‘sky-ocean’
• ākāśa-samudraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ākāśa (प्रातिपदिक) + samudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (ākāśasya samudraḥ)

• yaḥ: which / who
• yaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); relative pronoun (सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम)

• kīrtyate: is called / is praised
• kīrtyate: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kīrt (धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), Passive voice (कर्मणि प्रयोग), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• sāma-ākhyaḥ: named ‘Sāma’
• sāma-ākhyaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sāma (प्रातिपदिक) + ākhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); कर्मधारयः (sāmaḥ ākhyaḥ = ‘named Sāma’)

• tasmāt: from that
• tasmāt: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (पुं/नपुं), Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular (एकवचन); demonstrative pronoun (सर्वनाम)

• ākāśa-gāminī: sky-going / moving in the sky
• ākāśa-gāminī: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ākāśa (प्रातिपदिक) + gāminī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (ākāśaṃ gacchatīti)

• nadī: river
• nadī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nadī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• pravṛttā: has arisen / has started flowing
• pravṛttā: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√vṛt (धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त/कृत्-प्रत्यय), Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); used predicatively with ‘nadī’

Speaker

Rudra

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Cosmology
• Ancient Hydrology

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It exemplifies Purāṇic cosmology that locates river origins in supra-terrestrial realms, reflecting a symbolic hydrology used to explain sacred rivers’ exceptional status.

Which geographic location is identified?

A cosmological location is named: ākāśasamudra (“sky-ocean”), not a terrestrial place with a stable modern cartographic equivalent.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Implicitly, rivers are framed as part of a larger cosmic order, a viewpoint that supports cultural-heritage respect for water systems without asserting dogmatic obligation.