Varaha Purana 21.52: Adhyaya 21, Shloka 52

The Disruption of Dakṣa’s Sacrifice, the Hari-Hara Conflict, and the Establishment of Rudra’s Sacrificial Share

Pūrva Bhāga · Pr̥thivī-uddhāra and Divine Conflict Narrative (Weapon-Combat Episode)

Devanagari script

नारायणं पाशुपतमुभेऽस्त्रे व्योम्नि रोषिते । युयुधाते भृशं दिव्यं परस्परजिघांसया । दिव्यं वर्षसहस्रं तु तयोर्युद्धमभूत् तदा ॥ २१.५३ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 21.52

Transliteration

nārāyaṇaṃ pāśupatam ubhe ’stre vyomni roṣite | yuyudhāte bhṛśaṃ divyaṃ parasparajighāṃsayā | divyaṃ varṣasahasraṃ tu tayor yuddham abhūt tadā || 21.53 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

Pagkatapos, sa kalangitan, ang dalawang banal na sandata—Nārāyaṇa at Pāśupata—ay nag-alab sa poot at naglaban nang mabagsik, kapwa nagnanais na lipulin ang isa’t isa; at noon, tumagal ang kanilang labanan sa loob ng isang libong banal na taon.

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Word by Word

• nārāyaṇam: Nārāyaṇa-weapon (as entity) / Nārāyaṇa
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: nārāyaṇa (नारायण प्रातिपदिक)

• pāśupatam: Pāśupata (weapon)
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter/Masculine, Accusative, Singular; here as name of astra (weapon)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: pāśupata (पाशुपत प्रातिपदिक)

• ubhe: both
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Dual (द्विवचन); agreeing with astre
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: ubha (उभ प्रातिपदिक)

• astre: weapons
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Dual; subject with ubhe
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: astra (अस्त्र प्रातिपदिक)

• vyomni: in the sky
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular
• Role: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Root: vyoman (व्योमन् प्रातिपदिक)

• roṣite: enraged
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Neuter, Nominative, Dual; qualifying ubhe astre: “enraged/infuriated”
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: ruṣ (रुष् धातु)

• yuyudhāte: fought
• Type: Verb
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person, Dual (द्विवचन); ātmanepada
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: yudh (युध् धातु)

• bhṛśam: fiercely
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya; adverb (तीव्रता)
• Role: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Root: bhṛśam (भृशम् अव्यय)

• divyam: divine
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular; used adverbially with bhṛśam/yuyudhāte or qualifying yuddham implied
• Role: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Root: divya (दिव्य प्रातिपदिक)

• paraspara-jighāṃsayā: with mutual intent to kill
• Type: Noun
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular; तत्पुरुष—“desire to kill each other”; denotes motive
• Role: Hetu (हेतु)
• Root: paraspara + jighāṃsā (प्रातिपदिकानि)

• divyam: divine
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular; qualifying varṣasahasram (as measure: “divine”)
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: divya (दिव्य प्रातिपदिक)

• varṣa-sahasram: a thousand years
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular; तत्पुरुष—“a thousand years” (measure of time)
• Role: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण)
• Root: varṣa + sahasra (प्रातिपदिकानि)

• tu: indeed/and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya; particle (निपात) with contrast/emphasis
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Root: tu (तु अव्यय)

• tayoḥ: of the two
• Type: Noun
• Form: Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Dual; pronoun referring to the two (weapons/deities)
• Role: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Root: tad (तद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• yuddham: battle
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: yuddha (युद्ध प्रातिपदिक)

• abhūt: was/occurred
• Type: Verb
• Form: Aorist (लुङ्), 3rd person, Singular; parasmaipada
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: bhū (भू धातु)

• tadā: then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyaya; temporal adverb
• Role: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण)
• Root: tadā (तदा अव्यय)

Sandhi Notes

• ubhe ’stre = ubhe astre (avagraha indicates a- elision)
• tayor yuddham = tayoḥ + yuddham (visarga sandhi)

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Raudra rasaSetting: Cosmic battlefield/time-theatre

Speaker

Varāha

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Reflection on kāla and restraint

Subjects

CosmologyMythic WarfareTheology (Inter-deity motifs)Time (Divine Chronology)

Core idea

Unchecked power persists across vast time; true mastery is the capacity to withdraw/contain śakti, not merely to project it.

In practice

In leadership and sādhanā, cultivate ‘saṃyama’: do not unleash forces (speech, punishment, vows) without a clear path to pacification.

Symbolism of the boar

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Narrative
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Śaiva-Vaiṣṇava Motif
• Sanskrit Epic Style

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It reflects a common Purāṇic narrative technique: dramatizing theological concepts through personified divine weapons and situating events within “divine time,” a literary device used to convey cosmic scale rather than ordinary chronology.

Which geographic location is identified?

No specific terrestrial location is named in this verse; the setting is “vyoman” (the sky), indicating a celestial arena rather than a mapped pilgrimage geography.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse does not present a direct ethical injunction; instead, it foregrounds the theme of uncontrolled wrath and mutual destructiveness, which later Purāṇic contexts often resolve through restraint, pacification, or higher-order cosmic balance.