Varaha Purana 136.119: Adhyaya 136, Shloka 119

A Sūtra-like Manual of Expiations for Ritual Transgressions

Pūrva Bhāga · Prāyaścitta (Expiation) and Dharma-śāstric Narratives

Devanagari script

आख्यानानां महाख्यानं तपसां च परं तपः ॥ अत्राहं कीर्तयिष्यामि ब्राह्मणेभ्यो महेश्वरि ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 136.119

Transliteration

ākhyānānāṁ mahākhyānaṁ tapasāṁ ca paraṁ tapaḥ || atrāhaṁ kīrtayiṣyāmi brāhmaṇebhyo maheśvari

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

นี่คือมหาคัมภีร์เรื่องเล่าท่ามกลางเรื่องเล่าทั้งปวง และเป็นตบะอันสูงสุดท่ามกลางตบะทั้งหลาย โอ้พระแม่มหेशวรี ณ ที่นี้เราจักประกาศแก่พราหมณ์ทั้งหลาย

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Word by Word

• ākhyānānām: of narratives
• Type: Noun
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Root: ākhyāna (प्रातिपदिक)

• mahā-ākhyānam: the great narrative
• Type: Noun
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Root: mahā + ākhyāna (प्रातिपदिक)

• tapasām: of austerities
• Type: Noun
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)
• Role: Samuccaya (समुच्चय/connector)
• Root: ca (अव्यय)

• param: supreme
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); used as adjective to 'tapaḥ'
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/qualifier)
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)

• tapaḥ: austerity
• Type: Noun
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)

• atra: here
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Adverb (देशवाचक अव्यय)
• Role: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/locative sense)
• Root: atra (अव्यय)

• aham: I
• Type: Noun
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)

• kīrtayiṣyāmi: I shall proclaim
• Type: Verb
• Form: Luṭ (लुट्/Future), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), Uttama-puruṣa (उत्तमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया/finite verb)
• Root: kīrtay (धातु; कृत्-प्रेरण from √kīrt/√kīrti)

• brāhmaṇebhyaḥ: to the Brahmins
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Plural (बहुवचन)
• Role: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान/recipient)
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)

• maheśvari: O Maheśvarī
• Type: Noun
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/address)
• Root: maheśvarī (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• atrāham = atra + aham
• mahākhyānam analyzed as mahā-ākhyānam (karmadhāraya)

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Shanta rasaSetting: Sacred audience-space

Speaker

Varāha

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

Varaha teaches her

Her state of mind

Receptive, reverent; positioned as listener to a ‘mahākhyāna’.

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Power of śravaṇa/kīrtana

Subjects

EthicsTextual TraditionRitual Expiation

Core idea

Sacred narrative, when rightly transmitted and received, is itself a supreme austerity that purifies and elevates.

In practice

Participate in or host dharma-kathā with qualified reciters and attentive listening; treat hearing as disciplined practice, not entertainment.

The Varaha avatara

With the Earth

Varāha frames the forthcoming account as a supreme narrative/tapas and declares its proclamation to brāhmaṇas, within the Devī-addressed discourse.

Symbolism of the boar

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Narrative
• Dharma-śāstra Themes
• Vaiṣṇavism

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It reflects a common Purāṇic self-referential style: presenting a teaching as an authoritative “great narrative,” often used to frame dharma and expiation teachings for learned audiences.

Which geographic location is identified?

No specific toponym appears in this verse; it functions as a framing statement rather than a geographic notice.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse emphasizes the transmission of an authoritative teaching—positioning the forthcoming content as a high-value ethical/ritual instruction suitable for learned custodians of tradition.