Varaha Purana 11.39: Adhyaya 11, Shloka 39

Hospitality at Gauramukha’s Hermitage and the Power of the Wish-Fulfilling Jewel

Pūrva Bhāga · Narrative Dialogue (Royal/Pragmatic Counsel)

Devanagari script

मज्जनाभ्यवहारार्थं पथि श्रमकृते तथा । विलासिनीस्तथा दासान् प्रेषयिष्यामि ते नृप ॥ ११.३९ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 11.39

Transliteration

majjanābhyavahārārthaṃ pathi śramakṛte tathā | vilāsinīs tathā dāsān preṣayiṣyāmi te nṛpa || 11.39 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

“เพื่อการสรงน้ำและเสวยภักษาหาร และเพื่อบรรเทาความเหน็ดเหนื่อยระหว่างทาง ข้าแต่พระราชา ข้าพเจ้าจะส่งนางบำเรอและคนรับใช้ไปถวายพระองค์”

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Word by Word

• majjanābhyavahāra-artham: for bathing and eating
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/प्रयोजन), एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थे द्वितीया; तत्पुरुष (for bathing and eating)
• Role: Prayojana (प्रयोजन)
• Root: majjana (प्रातिपदिक) + abhyavahāra (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)

• pathi: on the road
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन
• Role: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Root: pathin (प्रातिपदिक)

• śrama-kṛte: for (relief of) fatigue
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/सम्प्रदान), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (for fatigue/for relieving fatigue)
• Role: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Root: śrama (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛta (प्रातिपदिक)

• tathā: also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (also)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)

• vilāsinīḥ: courtesans/ladies of pleasure
• Type: Noun
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: vilāsinī (प्रातिपदिक)

• tathā: and also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (and also)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)

• dāsān: servants
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: dāsa (प्रातिपदिक)

• preṣayiṣyāmi: I will send
• Type: Verb
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; णिजन्त (causative)
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: pra-iṣ (धातु) [णिच् causative: preṣay-]

• te: for you
• Type: Noun
• Form: द्वितीया/चतुर्थी, एकवचन; here चतुर्थी (for you)
• Role: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• nṛpa: O king
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन
• Role: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• majjanābhyavahārārtham = majjana + abhyavahāra + artham (a + a → ā)
• preṣayiṣyāmi is causative future from pra-iṣ (preṣayati)

Speaker and setting

Shringara and Shanta rasaSetting: Patha (road) linked to royal residence

Speaker

Varāha

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Social-ethical (atithi-dharma)

Subjects

KingshipTravel logisticsCourtly culture

Core idea

Care for embodied beings—rest, cleanliness, nourishment—is a concrete expression of dharma.

In practice

When hosting or leading, ensure basic needs (water, food, rest, assistance) are arranged before higher aims.

Dharma

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Narrative
• Sanskrit Philology
• Cultural History

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It reflects a courtly idiom of hospitality and travel provisioning—bathing, food, and attendants—useful for comparing Purāṇic narrative style with broader Sanskrit political and social discourse.

Which geographic location is identified?

No specific place-name appears in this verse; it is framed as general travel context (“on the road,” pathi).

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse primarily conveys pragmatic counsel about ensuring comfort and support during travel, emphasizing provisioning and attendance rather than a direct moral injunction.