Varaha Purana 152.12: Adhyaya 152, Shloka 12
Praise of the Sacred Geography of Mathurā
Uttara Bhāga · Mathurā Māhātmya (Merit Comparisons with Other Tīrthas)
तत्र वासी नरो याति मोक्षं नास्त्यत्र संशयः ॥ महामाघ्यां प्रयागे तु यत्फलं लभते नरः
tatra vāsī naro yāti mokṣaṃ nāsty atra saṃśayaḥ || mahāmāghyāṃ prayāge tu yatphalaṃ labhate naraḥ
tatra vAsI naro yAti mokShaM nAstyatra saMshayaH || mahAmAghyAM prayAge tu yatphalaM labhate naraH
ผู้ใดพำนักอยู่ที่นั่น ย่อมบรรลุโมกษะ—ไม่มีความสงสัยเลย และผลบุญใดที่มนุษย์ได้รับ ณ ประยาคะ ในกาลมหามาฆะ—
Sandhi Notes
- नास्त्यत्र = न + अस्ति + अत्र
- यत्फलं = यत् + फलम् (written as one by sandhi/orthography)
Varāha
Receptive, curious about comparative tīrtha-phala
Which sacred place grants the highest fruit—especially compared to Prayāga’s Mahā-māgha observance?
Mokṣa can be catalyzed by sacred space when approached with faith and disciplined life (kṣetra-vāsa as upāya).
Undertake pilgrimage/residence with steady conduct; treat kṣetra-vāsa as a sustained sādhana, not mere tourism.
Varāha speaks authoritatively to Bhū-devī, praising the salvific power of residence in the praised kṣetra.
Kṣetra-vāsa (residing in the praised sacred region) is presented as a direct means to mokṣa and as surpassing famed tīrtha-observances.
Residence there yields liberation; neglecting such opportunity implies continued saṃsāric wandering (stated more explicitly in the following verses).
Great tīrtha-phala (merit leading toward liberation), used here as a benchmark for comparison.
Implicit foreshadowing: Mathurā’s superiority anticipates its identity as Kṛṣṇa’s janma-bhūmi and līlā-kṣetra, though Kṛṣṇa is not named here.
Varāha Purāṇa Mathurā-māhātmya sequence (same adhyāya context: escalating comparisons to other tīrthas)
FAQs
It exemplifies a common Purāṇic literary strategy: comparing the merit (phala) of multiple pilgrimage centers to elevate a particular locale within a wider network of sacred sites.
Prayāga (often identified with the confluence region at modern Prayagraj/Allahabad) and implicitly Mathurā as the primary referent of 'there'.
The verse promotes disciplined residence/association with a culturally valued place as a means of moral-spiritual cultivation, expressed in the idiom of mokṣa and phala.
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