Varaha Purana 82.3: Adhyaya 82, Shloka 3

The Descent of the Rivers: The Sky-Gaṅgā and Her Fourfold Division

Pūrva Bhāga · River Origins (Celestial Waters and Flow)

Devanagari script

आकाशसमुद्रो यः कीर्त्यते सामाख्यस् तस्मादाकाशगामिनी नदी प्रवृत्ता ।

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 82.3

Transliteration

ākāśasamudro yaḥ kīrtyate sāmākhyas tasmād ākāśagāminī nadī pravṛttā |

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

จากมหาสมุทรแห่งท้องฟ้าที่สรรเสริญว่า ‘สามะ’ ได้บังเกิดสายน้ำหนึ่งซึ่งดำเนินไปในเวหา

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Word by Word

• ākāśa-samudraḥ: the ‘sky-ocean’
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (ākāśasya samudraḥ)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: ākāśa (प्रातिपदिक) + samudra (प्रातिपदिक)

• yaḥ: which / who
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); relative pronoun (सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)

• kīrtyate: is called / is praised
• Type: Verb
• Form: Present tense (लट्), Passive voice (कर्मणि प्रयोग), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: kīrt (धातु)

• sāma-ākhyaḥ: named ‘Sāma’
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); कर्मधारयः (sāmaḥ ākhyaḥ = ‘named Sāma’)
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: sāma (प्रातिपदिक) + ākhya (प्रातिपदिक)

• tasmāt: from that
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (पुं/नपुं), Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular (एकवचन); demonstrative pronoun (सर्वनाम)
• Role: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)

• ākāśa-gāminī: sky-going / moving in the sky
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (ākāśaṃ gacchatīti)
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: ākāśa (प्रातिपदिक) + gāminī (प्रातिपदिक)

• nadī: river
• Type: Noun
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: nadī (प्रातिपदिक)

• pravṛttā: has arisen / has started flowing
• Type: Verb
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त/कृत्-प्रत्यय), Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); used predicatively with ‘nadī’
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: pra-√vṛt (धातु)

Sandhi Notes

• sāmākhyas → sāma-ākhyaḥ (a + ā)
• tasmād ākāśagāminī → tasmāt ākāśa-gāminī (final d → t before vowel; compound resolved)

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Shanta rasaSetting: Cosmological water-source

Speaker

Rudra

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

Varaha teaches her

Her state of mind

Curious

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Cosmology/metaphysics of nature

Subjects

CosmologyGeographyEcology

Core idea

Nature’s sacred elements (rivers) are continuous across planes—celestial to terrestrial—implying a layered cosmos where purity and power descend.

In practice

Approach river-tīrthas as interfaces between realms; ritual bathing/offerings are framed as contact with a higher source, encouraging ethical purity and ecological care.

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Cosmology
• Ancient Hydrology

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It exemplifies Purāṇic cosmology that locates river origins in supra-terrestrial realms, reflecting a symbolic hydrology used to explain sacred rivers’ exceptional status.

Which geographic location is identified?

A cosmological location is named: ākāśasamudra (“sky-ocean”), not a terrestrial place with a stable modern cartographic equivalent.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Implicitly, rivers are framed as part of a larger cosmic order, a viewpoint that supports cultural-heritage respect for water systems without asserting dogmatic obligation.