Varaha Purana 172.32: Adhyaya 172, Shloka 32

The Harm of Destroying a Grove and the Merit of Tree-Planting as Pūrta-Dharma

Devanagari script

गोकर्ण उवाच ॥ आरामकर्तुः किं चात्र फलं भवति यादृशम् ॥ करणात्कूपदेवानां तस्य पुण्यफलं वद ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 172.32

Transliteration

gokarṇa uvāca | ārāmakartuḥ kiṁ cātra phalaṁ bhavati yādṛśam | karaṇāt kūpadevānāṁ tasya puṇyaphalaṁ vada |

Translation

โคกรณะกล่าวว่า: “ผู้ที่สร้างสวน ณ ที่นี้ ย่อมบังเกิดผลเช่นไร? และขอท่านจงบอกผลบุญอันประเสริฐที่เกิดจากการสร้างบ่อน้ำ/บ่อ (และกิจที่อุทิศแด่เทวะผู้สถิตเกี่ยวกับบ่อน้ำ) แก่ข้าพเจ้า”

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Word by Word

• gokarṇaḥ: Gokarṇa
• gokarṇaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gokarṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); proper noun

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• ārāma-kartuḥ: of the maker of a garden
• ārāma-kartuḥ: Shashthi-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ārāma (प्रातिपदिक) + kartṛ (प्रातिपदिक; agent noun from √kṛ)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) compound; Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• kim: what
• kim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular (एकवचन); interrogative pronoun

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction/particle (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• atra: here/in this (act)
• atra: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb of place (देशवाचक अव्यय)

• phalam: fruit/result
• phalam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• bhavati: is/comes to be
• bhavati: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• yādṛśam: of what kind
• yādṛśam: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yādṛśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular (एकवचन); interrogative-relative adjective

• karaṇāt: from (the) making/doing
• karaṇāt: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• kūpa-devānām: of the well-deities (spirits presiding over wells)
• kūpa-devānām: Shashthi-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kūpa (प्रातिपदिक) + deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) compound; Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन)

• tasya: of that/of him
• tasya: Shashthi-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (पुं/नपुंसक), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• puṇya-phalam: meritorious fruit/reward
• puṇya-phalam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक) + phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Karmadhāraya (कर्मधारय) compound; Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• vada: tell/say
• vada: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vad (धातु)
• Form: Imperative (लोट्), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 2nd person (मध्यमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Gokarṇa

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Dialogue
• Ecological Ethics
• Water Heritage

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It documents a didactic inquiry about the merit of maintaining orchards and wells, aligning moral discourse with public infrastructure in Purāṇic literature.

Which geographic location is identified?

No explicit place-name is given; the focus is on general practices (orchards and wells) applicable across regions.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse frames orchard creation and well-construction as acts whose moral consequences are worth understanding, implying their social value.