Varaha Purana 97.32: Adhyaya 97, Shloka 32

The Glory of Rudra: The Origin of the Kapālamocana Pilgrimage Site and Rudra’s Expiatory Vow

Devanagari script

यत्राप्लुतो नरो भक्त्या ब्रह्महा तु विशुध्यति ॥ कपालं पतितं दृष्ट्वा रुद्रहस्ताच्चतुर्मुखः

Sanskrit recitationVaraha Purana 97.32

Transliteration

yatrāpluto naro bhaktyā brahmahā tu viśudhyati || kapālaṃ patitaṃ dṛṣṭvā rudrahastāc caturmukhaḥ

Translation

ณ ที่นั้น บุรุษผู้ลงอาบด้วยศรัทธาภักดี แม้เป็นผู้ฆ่าพราหมณ์ก็ย่อมบริสุทธิ์ได้ ครั้นเห็นชามกะโหลกตกจากพระหัตถ์ของพระรุทระแล้ว ท่านจตุรมุข (พรหมา) …

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Word by Word

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikaraṇa-bodhaka (अधिकरण-सूचक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (relative adverb: where)

• āplutaḥ: having bathed; immersed
• āplutaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā + plut (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त) 'आप्लुत' = bathed/immersed; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन; 'naraḥ' इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), एकवचन

• bhaktyā: with devotion
• bhaktyā: Karaṇa/Prakāra (करण/प्रकार)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण/प्रकार), एकवचन

• brahmahā: a brahmin-slayer
• brahmahā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahmahan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: ब्रह्मणः हन्ता (slayer of a brahmin); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन; 'naraḥ' इत्यस्य विशेषणरूपेण

• tu: indeed; but
• tu: Sambandha-bodhaka (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण/विरोधार्थक (but/indeed)

• viśudhyati: becomes purified
• viśudhyati: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi + śudh (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• kapālam: the skull
• kapālam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• patitam: fallen
• patitam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pat (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त) 'पतित' = fallen; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-एकवचन; 'kapālam' इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund) 'दृष्ट्वा' = having seen

• rudra-hastāt: from Rudra's hand
• rudra-hastāt: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra + hasta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: रुद्रस्य हस्तः; पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान), एकवचन

• caturmukhaḥ: the four-faced one (Brahmā)
• caturmukhaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: catur + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहिः: चत्वारि मुखानि यस्य सः; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), एकवचन

Speaker

Varāha (default narrative voice)

Tags

• Tīrtha Efficacy Claims
• Purāṇic Narrative Continuation
• Brahmā-Rudra Episodes
• Ritual Bathing (snāna)

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It records the rhetoric of tīrtha efficacy—claims that immersion at a site can remove severe ritual taints—central to how pilgrimage sites were promoted and remembered in textual culture.

Which geographic location is identified?

The location is referenced implicitly as ‘where (yatra)’—the Kapālamocana tīrtha established in the surrounding verses; no additional place-name appears here.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The passage emphasizes that moral and ritual repair is achievable through devoted, disciplined action, aligning purification with intention (bhakti) and practice (snāna).