Varaha Purana 75.65: Adhyaya 75, Shloka 65

Description of Jambūdvīpa: its regions, mountains, measurements, and cosmic structure

Pūrva Bhāga · Sacred Geography (Tīrtha/Deśa-varṇana) — descriptive narration

Devanagari script

तत्र या सा मया तुभ्यं कर्णिकीत्यभिविश्रुता । तां वर्ण्यमानामेकाग्र्यात् समासेन निबोधत । मणिपर्णशतैश्चित्रां नानावर्णप्रभासिताम् ॥ ७५.६५ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 75.65

Transliteration

tatra yā sā mayā tubhyaṃ karṇikīty abhiviśrutā | tāṃ varṇyamānām ekāgryāt samāsena nibodhata | maṇiparṇaśataiś citrāṃ nānāvarṇaprabhāsitām || 75.65 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

ที่นั่นสิ่งซึ่งเป็นที่รู้จักว่า ‘กรรณิกี’ ซึ่งเราได้กล่าวแก่ท่านแล้ว—จงฟังด้วยจิตตั้งมั่นเมื่อบรรยายโดยย่อ: งดงามหลากหลายด้วยใบราวแก้วมณีนับร้อย และส่องสว่างด้วยรัศมีหลายนานาสี.

Ask anything about this verse...Ask

Word by Word

• tatra: there
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), deictic adverb (स्थानवाचक क्रियाविशेषण)
• Role: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)

• yā: who/which
• Type: Noun
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); relative pronoun
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)

• sā: that (she/it)
• Type: Noun
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); demonstrative pronoun
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)

• mayā: by me
• Type: Noun
• Form: Instrumental (तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन); 1st person pronoun
• Role: Karana (करण)
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)

• tubhyam: to you
• Type: Noun
• Form: Dative (चतुर्थी), Singular (एकवचन); 2nd person pronoun
• Role: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Root: yuṣmad (प्रातिपदिक)

• karṇikī: Karṇikī (name)
• Type: Noun
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); proper/name-like usage
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: karṇikī (प्रातिपदिक)

• iti: thus/“as”
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), quotative particle (इति-प्रयोग)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: iti (अव्यय)

• abhiviśrutā: well-known/famed
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त-कृदन्त), Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); from √śru (श्रु) with prefix abhi-
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: abhi-√śru (धातु) + kta (कृत्)

• tām: that (her/it)
• Type: Noun
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); demonstrative pronoun
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)

• varṇyamānām: being described
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Present passive participle (शानच्/मान-कृदन्त; कर्मणि), Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन) agreeing with tām
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: √varṇ (धातु) + śānac (कृत्)

• ekāgryāt: with one-pointed attention
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Ablative (पञ्चमी), Singular (एकवचन); used adverbially: ‘from/with one-pointedness’
• Role: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Root: ekāgrya (प्रातिपदिक)

• samāsena: briefly/in summary
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन); adverbial instrument
• Role: Karana (करण)
• Root: samāsa (प्रातिपदिक)

• nibodhata: understand/learn
• Type: Verb
• Form: Loṭ-lakāra (लोट्, imperative), Madhyama-puruṣa (मध्यमपुरुष), Bahuvacana (बहुवचन); Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: ni-√budh (धातु)

• maṇiparṇaśataiḥ: with hundreds of jewel-like leaves
• Type: Noun
• Form: Compound (समास): maṇi-parṇa-śata ‘hundreds of jewel-leaves’; Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन)
• Role: Karana (करण)
• Root: maṇi + parṇa + śata (प्रातिपदिक)

• citrām: variegated/wondrous
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: citra (प्रातिपदिक)

• nānāvarṇaprabhāsitām: shining with many colors
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Compound (समास): nānā-varṇa-prabhāsita ‘illuminated by many colors’; Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: nānā + varṇa + prabhāsita (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• karṇikīty = karṇikī + iti
• varṇyamānām ekāgryāt = varṇyamānām + ekāgryāt
• maṇiparṇaśataiś citrām = maṇiparṇaśataiḥ + citrām.

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Shringara rasaSetting: Sacred/cosmographic center-region

Speaker

Varāha

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

Varaha teaches her

Her state of mind

Attentive/curious

What she asks

What is the nature and splendor of the famed Karṇikī region within this sacred/cosmic geography?

The teaching

Path

Bhakti Aesthetics And Attention

Subjects

GeographyHeritage SitesPoetics/Description

Core idea

Sacred knowledge is received through ekāgratā (one-pointed attention); beauty and radiance are pedagogical signs of the divine order.

In practice

In śravaṇa (listening/recitation), cultivate ekāgratā; in pilgrimage or worship, let aesthetic perception (color, brilliance) become a doorway to remembrance rather than distraction.

The Varaha avatara

With the Earth

Direct address to Earth (‘tubhyaṃ… nibodha’): Varāha instructs Bhū-devī to listen attentively to the description of Karṇikī.

Symbolism of the boar

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Narrative
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Sacred Geography

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It exemplifies Purāṇic sacred-geographic description (tīrtha/deśa-varṇana), using ornate natural imagery to mark a named locus (‘Karṇikī’) within the narrative mapping of culturally significant landscapes.

Which geographic location is identified?

The verse names a site/feature called “Karṇikī.” The excerpt alone does not provide enough data for a secure modern identification; it should be cross-referenced with the surrounding verses and any available chapter colophons or regional tīrtha lists.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The explicit instruction is methodological rather than prescriptive: attentive listening and focused comprehension (ekāgryāt… nibodhata). Indirectly, the verse frames the landscape as worthy of careful description and mindful attention, supporting an archival ethos of valuing natural-cultural heritage.