Varaha Purana 113.19: Adhyaya 113, Shloka 19

Hymn to Varāha and Pṛthivī’s Inquiry

Prelude to the Sanatkumāra Dialogue

Uttara Bhāga · Mythic recollection (Kūrma avatāra and churning of the ocean)

Devanagari script

अन्यद्दैवः कूर्मरूपस्त्वं समुद्रस्य मन्थने ॥ धृतवानसि कौर्मेण मन्दरं मधुसूदन

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 113.19

Transliteration

anyad devaḥ kūrma-rūpas tvaṃ samudrasya manthane || dhṛtavān asi kaurmeṇa mandaraṃ madhusūdana

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

اور ایک اور وقت، اے معبود، تم نے کُرم (کچھوے) کا روپ دھار کر سمندر کے منتھن کے دوران، اے مدھوسودن، اپنے کُرم-روپ کے ذریعے مَندر پہاڑ کو تھامے رکھا۔

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Word by Word

• anyat: at another time/elsewhere
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Adverbial accusative neuter used as avyaya-like (अन्यत् = ‘at another time/otherwise’)
• Role: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)

• devaḥ: O god / the god
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)

• kūrma-rūpaḥ: (as) the tortoise-form
• Type: Noun
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) ‘kūrmasya rūpam’; Masculine, Nominative, Singular; predicate/apposition to ‘tvaṃ’
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: kūrma (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)

• tvam: you
• Type: Noun
• Form: 2nd person pronoun, Nominative (1st), Singular
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• samudrasya: of the ocean
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th), Singular
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Root: samudra (प्रातिपदिक)

• manthane: in the churning
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative (7th), Singular; ‘in the churning’
• Role: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Root: manthana (प्रातिपदिक)

• dhṛtavān: having held/held
• Type: Verb
• Form: Past active participle (क्तवतु/क्तवत्), Masculine, Nominative, Singular; with ‘asi’ forms periphrastic perfect sense ‘you have held’
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: dhṛ (धृ धातु)

• asi: are (auxiliary)
• Type: Verb
• Form: Present (लट्), 2nd Person, Singular
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: as (अस् धातु)

• kaurmeṇa: by means of the tortoise (form)
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Neuter/Masculine, Instrumental (3rd), Singular; ‘by/with (your) tortoise (form)’
• Role: Karaṇa (करण)
• Root: kaurma (प्रातिपदिक)

• mandaram: Mandara (mountain)
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: mandara (प्रातिपदिक)

• madhusūdana: O slayer of Madhu (Viṣṇu)
• Type: Noun
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) ‘madhoḥ sūdanaḥ’; Masculine, Vocative (8th), Singular
• Role: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Root: madhu (प्रातिपदिक) + sūdana (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• anyad devaḥ appears as anyad + devaḥ (often written anyad-daivaḥ in some recensions)
• kūrma-rūpas tvaṃ = kūrma-rūpaḥ + tvam (visarga before t → s)

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Vira rasaSetting: Mythic-cosmological site

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Theology of divine support

Subjects

CosmologyMythology (Avatāra)Ocean churning narrative

Core idea

Great undertakings succeed when the sustaining ground is secured; divine support is the hidden condition for cosmic and personal transformation.

In practice

In practice: establish steadiness (dharma, discipline) as the ‘tortoise-base’ before intense pursuits; remember the sustaining presence of Viṣṇu in collective endeavors.

Symbolism of the boar

Mathura and Krishna

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Purāṇic Mythology
• Cosmological Narratives

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It cross-references the widely attested samudra-manthana myth, showing how Purāṇas interlink avatāra narratives to build a shared cultural memory across texts.

Which geographic location is identified?

Mandara is named (mythic mountain used as the churning rod); its identification is primarily mythological rather than securely mappable to a single modern geographic feature.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Rather than a direct injunction, the verse emphasizes a cosmological motif of support and stabilization—divine agency presented as sustaining order during crisis.