Varaha Purana 32.4: Adhyaya 32, Shloka 4

Dharma as the Bull-Form: Soma’s Transgression and the Institution of the Thirteenth Lunar Day Observance

Devanagari script

इत्युक्तः समवस्थोऽसौ चतुःपद्भ्यां कृते युगे । त्रेतायां स समस्तृभ्यां द्वे चैव द्वापरेऽभवत् । कलावेकेन पादेन प्रजाः पालयते प्रभुः ॥ ३२.५ ॥

Sanskrit recitationVaraha Purana 32.4

Transliteration

ityuktaḥ samavastho 'sau catuḥpadbhyāṃ kṛte yuge | tretāyāṃ sa samastribhyāṃ dve caiva dvāpare 'bhavat | kalau ekena pādena prajāḥ pālayate prabhuḥ || 32.5 ||

Translation

เมื่อถูกกล่าวดังนี้ ท่านนั้นดำรงอยู่ในภาวะสมดุล: ในกฤตยุคทรงสมบูรณ์ด้วยสี่ส่วน; ในเตรตายุคด้วยสามส่วน; ในทวาปรยุคเหลือสองส่วน; และในกลียุค พระผู้เป็นเจ้าทรงอภิบาลประชาด้วยส่วนเดียวที่เหลืออยู่

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Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Vākyārtha-dyotaka (वाक्यार्थ-द्योतक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Quotative particle (इति-प्रयोग)

• uktaḥ: having been addressed / told
• uktaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• samavasthaḥ: in an even/steady state
• samavasthaḥ: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृ-समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sama-avastha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); compound: sama (equal) + avasthā (state)

• asau: that one (he)
• asau: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• catuḥpadbhyām: with four parts/feet
• catuḥpadbhyām: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: catuṣ-pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Dual (द्विवचन); compound: catuḥ (four) + pada (foot/part)

• kṛte: in the Kṛta (age)
• kṛte: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); used with yuge

• yuge: in the age
• yuge: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• tretāyām: in Tretā
• tretāyām: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tretā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• samastribhyām: with three (parts) equally
• samastribhyām: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sama-strī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Dual (द्विवचन); compound: sama (equal) + strī (three) used as numeral ‘three’ (त्रि) in sense; intended meaning: ‘with three (parts)’

• dve: two
• dve: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृ-समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Numeral (संख्यावाचक), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Dual (द्विवचन)

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

• eva: indeed
• eva: Avadhāraṇa (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (निश्चय/अवधारण)

• dvāpare: in Dvāpara
• dvāpare: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvāpara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• abhavat: became/was
• abhavat: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)

• kalau: in Kali
• kalau: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kali (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• ekena: with one
• ekena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (पुं/नपुंसक), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• pādena: by/with a foot (part)
• pādena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• prajāḥ: subjects/creatures
• prajāḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prajā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• pālayate: protects
• pālayate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pāl (धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद)

• prabhuḥ: the Lord
• prabhuḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Varāha (default dialogue framework; not explicit in excerpt)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Studies
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Indic Cosmology
• Dharma Discourse

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves a widely attested Purāṇic schema of progressive decline across the four yugas, using the metaphor of diminishing 'quarters' (pāda) to describe reduced completeness of an ideal order (often associated in related literature with dharma or social stability).

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is named in this verse; the content is cosmological-ethical, describing the yuga sequence rather than a tīrtha or region.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse foregrounds the idea that social order and moral completeness diminish over time, yet governance/protection of the people (prajā-pālana) remains a defining responsibility—framed here as upheld by the prabhu even under reduced conditions in Kali.