Varaha Purana 97.38: Adhyaya 97, Shloka 38

The Glory of Rudra: The Origin of the Kapālamocana Pilgrimage Site and Rudra’s Expiatory Vow

Pūrva Bhāga · Naming of observances (vrata nomenclature)

Devanagari script

यद्व्रतं नग्नकपालं यद्बाब्रव्यं त्वया कृतम् ॥ यत्कृतं शुद्धशैवं च तत्तन्नाम्ना भविष्यति

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 97.38

Transliteration

yadvrataṃ nagnakāpālaṃ yadbābhravyaṃ tvayā kṛtam || yatkṛtaṃ śuddhaśaivaṃ ca tattannāmnā bhaviṣyati

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

‘నగ్నకపాల’ అనే వ్రతమూ, నీవు ఆచరించిన ‘బాబ్రవ్య’ వ్రతమూ, అలాగే ‘శుద్ధశైవ’ ఆచారమూ—అవి అన్నీ తమ తమ పేర్లతోనే ప్రసిద్ధి చెందుతాయి.

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Word by Word

• yat-vratam: whatever vow (which vow)
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular; तत्पुरुष (संबन्ध): ‘यत् (तत्) व्रतम्’
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: yad + vrata (प्रातिपदिक)

• nagna-kapālam: (called) naked-skull
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular; predicate adjective to yat-vratam
• Role: Karta-anvaya (कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Root: nagna + kapāla (प्रातिपदिक)

• yat-bābhravyam: whatever is (called) Bābhravya
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular; ‘that which is Bābhravya’
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: yad + bābhravya (प्रातिपदिक)

• tvayā: by you
• Type: Noun
• Form: Pronoun; Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: tvad (प्रातिपदिक)

• kṛtam: done/made
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Neuter, Nominative, Singular; agrees with implied ‘vratam’/‘tat’
• Role: Karta-anvaya (कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Root: kṛ (धातु) → kṛta (कृदन्त)

• yat-kṛtam: whatever is done
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular; relative ‘that which is done’
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: yad + kṛta (कृदन्त)

• śuddha-śaivam: purely Śaiva
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular; कर्मधारय: शुद्धं शैवम्
• Role: Karta-anvaya (कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Root: śuddha + śaiva (प्रातिपदिक)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: ca (अव्यय)

• tat-tat-nāmnā: by that respective name
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular; ‘by that-that name’ (i.e., by the respective name)
• Role: Karaṇa (करण)
• Root: tad + tad + nāman (प्रातिपदिक)

• bhaviṣyati: will be/will become
• Type: Verb
• Form: Luṭ-lakāra (लुट्), Prathama-puruṣa, Singular
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: bhū (धातु)

Sandhi Notes

• yadvratam = yat-vratam
• nagnakāpālam = nagna-kapālam
• yadbābhravyam = yat-bābhravyam
• yatkṛtam = yat-kṛtam
• śuddhaśaivam = śuddha-śaivam
• tattannāmnā = tat-tat-nāmnā

Speaker and setting

Shanta and Adbhuta rasa

Speaker

Brahmā

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

Varaha teaches her

Her state of mind

Curious; receiving taxonomy of observances and their standardized names

What she asks

Which specific vratas/observances did you perform, and how are they to be classified and remembered by name in tradition?

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Dharma-taxonomy and memory

Subjects

Historical Dharma-shastraEthics

Core idea

Naming stabilizes practice: dharma is preserved by clear categories and lineage of observance.

In practice

When undertaking austerities, choose a defined vrata with known parameters; keep fidelity to its constraints rather than mixing incompatible observances.

Dharma

Vrata

Cross references

Tags

• Vrata Nomenclature
• Śaiva Observance Categories
• Purāṇic Classification
• Textual Standardization

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It shows a classificatory impulse: practices are stabilized through naming, enabling later communities to reference, transmit, and institutionalize observances.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is specified; the verse concerns terminological standardization of observances.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The passage emphasizes ordered practice and clear categorization—disciplines are presented as identifiable, communicable frameworks rather than private or ambiguous acts.