Varaha Purana 196.1: Adhyaya 196, Shloka 1

Description of the City of Dharmarāja

Yama

Devanagari script

अथ धर्मराजपुरवर्णनम् ॥ वैशम्पायन उवाच ॥ तेषां तद्वचनं श्रुत्वा ऋषीणां भावितात्मनाम् ॥ उवाच वाक्यं वाक्यज्ञः सर्वं निरवशेषतः ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 196.1

Transliteration

atha dharmarājapuravarṇanam || vaiśampāyana uvāca || teṣāṁ tadvacanaṁ śrutvā ṛṣīṇāṁ bhāvitātmanām || uvāca vākyaṁ vākyajñaḥ sarvaṁ niravaśeṣataḥ

Translation

บัดนี้เป็นพรรณนาเมืองของธรรมราช (ยม). ไวศัมปายนะกล่าวว่า ครั้นได้สดับถ้อยคำของเหล่าฤๅษีผู้ฝึกตนแล้ว ผู้ชำนาญวาจากล่าวเรื่องทั้งปวงโดยไม่ตกหล่น

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Word by Word

• atha: now; then
• atha: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/प्रसङ्गसूचक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; आरम्भसूचक/अनन्तरार्थक (particle/adverb: 'now/then')

• dharma-rāja-pura-varṇanam: description of the city of Dharmarāja
• dharma-rāja-pura-varṇanam: Karta (कर्ता/उद्देश्य-निर्देश)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + rāja (प्रातिपदिक) + pura (प्रातिपदिक) + varṇana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; शीर्षक-रूपेण (as a heading)

• vaiśampāyanaḥ: Vaiśampāyana
• vaiśampāyanaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaiśampāyana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• tat-vacanam: that statement
• tat-vacanam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + vacana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• śrutvā: having heard
• śrutvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/पूर्वकर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having heard)

• ṛṣīṇām: of the sages
• ṛṣīṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• bhāvita-ātmanām: of the self-controlled / spiritually cultivated (ones)
• bhāvita-ātmanām: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhāvita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √bhū/√bhāv) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying ṛṣīṇām)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• vākyam: a speech; words
• vākyam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vākya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• vākya-jñaḥ: knower of proper speech
• vākya-jñaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vākya (प्रातिपदिक) + jña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of the speaker)

• sarvam: everything; entirely
• sarvam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (as 'entirely')

• nir-avaśeṣataḥ: completely; without remainder
• nir-avaśeṣataḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nir (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + avaśeṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + tas (तसिल्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तसिलन्त-क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: 'without remainder/fully')

Speaker

Vaiśampāyana

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Ancient Geography (mythic)
• Purāṇic Narratology
• Ethics

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It introduces a set-piece descriptive passage (varṇana) typical of Purāṇic composition, framing moral imagination through cosmological and afterlife topography.

Which geographic location is identified?

Dharmarāja’s city is an otherworldly (mythic) locale associated with Yama; it is not a terrestrial site identifiable in modern geography.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

By transitioning into an afterlife description, the text sets a context where moral causality and its imagined settings can be contemplated.