Varaha Purana 196.3: Adhyaya 196, Shloka 3

Description of the City of Dharmarāja

Yama

Devanagari script

द्विगुणं परिवेषेण तद्वै प्रेतपतेः पुरम् ॥ भवनैरावृतं दिव्यैर्याम्बूनदमयैः शुभैः ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 196.3

Transliteration

dviguṇaṁ pariveṣeṇa tadvai pretapateḥ puram || bhavanair āvṛtaṁ divyair jāmbūnadamayaiḥ śubhaiḥ

Translation

เมืองนั้นของเจ้าแห่งผู้ล่วงลับ ถูกล้อมด้วยคูหา/กำแพงชั้นนอกเป็นสองเท่าโดยรอบ และรายล้อมด้วยคฤหาสน์อันเป็นมงคล งามทิพย์ ทำด้วยทองชัมพูนท (jāmbūnada)

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Word by Word

• dvi-guṇam: double (in measure)
• dvi-guṇam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvi (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + guṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of puram)

• pariveṣeṇa: by/with circumference; in perimeter
• pariveṣeṇa: Karaṇa (करण/परिमाण-निर्देश)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pariveṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; परिमाण-निर्देशक (in circumference/extent)

• tat: that
• tat: Karta (कर्ता/निर्देश)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; संकेतार्थ (that)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक निपात (particle: 'indeed')

• preta-pateḥ: of the lord of the departed (Yama)
• preta-pateḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: preta (प्रातिपदिक) + pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• puram: city
• puram: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• bhavanaiḥ: with mansions/buildings
• bhavanaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• āvṛtam: surrounded; covered
• āvṛtam: Kriyā (क्रियापद-विशेषण; predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√vṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मणि भावः (covered/surrounded)

• divyaiḥ: divine
• divyaiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: divya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (of bhavanaiḥ)

• jāmbūnada-mayaiḥ: made of Jāmbūnada gold
• jāmbūnada-mayaiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jāmbūnada (प्रातिपदिक) + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (of bhavanaiḥ): ‘made of Jāmbūnada-gold’

• śubhaiḥ: auspicious; splendid
• śubhaiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (of bhavanaiḥ)

Speaker

Nāciketa (continuation of description)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Cosmography
• Material Culture (literary)
• Sanskrit Philology

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It documents a conventional Purāṇic aesthetic vocabulary—golden architecture and encircling enclosures—used to convey grandeur and authority in otherworldly realms.

Which geographic location is identified?

The city of Pretapati (Yama) is described as an otherworldly domain; it is not a terrestrial geographic site.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

By depicting the ordered realm of the ‘lord of the departed,’ the text frames a moral universe where actions are evaluated within an overarching cosmic order.