Varaha Purana 117.27 — Adhyaya 117, Shloka 27

The Thirty-Two Offenses: Rules of Purity and Proper Conduct in Worship

Devanagari script

अपराधं पञ्चविंशं कल्पयामि वसुंधरे ॥ परप्रावरणेनैव यस्तु मामुपसर्पति ॥

Transliteration

aparādhaṃ pañcaviṃśaṃ kalpayāmi vasuṃdhare || paraprāvaraṇenaiva yastu mām upasarpati ||

Translation

اے وسندھرا! میں پچیسواں جرم مقرر کرتا ہوں: جو کسی دوسرے کا اوڑھنا/لباس پہن کر میرے پاس آئے۔

Word by Word

• aparādham: offence
• aparādham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aparādha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• pañcaviṃśam: twenty-fifth
• pañcaviṃśam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pañcaviṃśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Dvigu-samāsa (द्विगु), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); numeral adjective qualifying aparādham

• kalpayāmi: I declare/consider
• kalpayāmi: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kḷp (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ (लट्, Present), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), Uttama-puruṣa (1st person/उत्तमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• vasuṃdhare: O Earth
• vasuṃdhare: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vasuṃdharā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)

• para-prāvaraṇena: with another’s garment/covering
• para-prāvaraṇena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक) + prāvaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष; ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa sense: ‘of another’), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha-bodhaka (सम्बन्धबोधक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), emphatic/restrictive

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Relative pronoun (यत्), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha-bodhaka (सम्बन्धबोधक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात)

• mām: me
• mām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (अस्मद्), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• upasarpati: approaches/creeps near
• upasarpati: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: upa-√sṛp (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ (लट्, Present), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd person/प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Varāha

Varaha Avatara Context

Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":true,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"Varāha instructs Bhū-devī on propriety when approaching him for worship."}

Bhu Devi Dialogue

Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"Attentive; learning norms of personal and material purity.","key_question":"Implicit: what forms of material impropriety invalidate approach to the deity?"}

Mathura Mandala

Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}

Dharma Shastra

Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"None","instruction_summary":"Do not approach the deity wearing another person’s garment/covering; it is an offence.","karmic_consequence":"Counts as aparādha; worship becomes defective and may yield diminished or adverse karmic results due to impurity/appropriation."}

Vrata Mahatmya

Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false,"vrata_name":"None","tithi_month":"None","promised_fruit":"None"}

Cosmic Boar Symbolism

Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false,"symbolic_interpretation":"None","yajna_varaha_imagery":"None","vedantic_connection":"None"}

Philosophical Teaching

Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"ācāra and integrity","core_concept":"Approach to the divine requires cleanliness and ethical ownership; what is ‘not one’s own’ (paradravya) is ritually and morally problematic.","practical_application":"Wear clean, personally owned garments for pūjā; avoid borrowed/appropriated clothing in sacred contexts unless properly laundered/authorized by custom."}

Subject Matter

Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Ritual Practice","Material Culture"]

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: śānta

Secondary Rasa: None

Geographic Context

Type: None

Cross References

Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 117 (material-culture offences around worship)

Visual Art Cues

Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Varāha teaches Bhū-devī; a devotee is shown at a shrine wearing a garment marked as belonging to someone else (owner nearby or garment bundle), indicating the fault.","item_prompts":["Varāha and Bhū-devī dialogue","temple threshold","borrowed cloak/upper cloth","owner figure or labeled garment bundle","pūjā lamp and flowers"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: stylized textiles; clear narrative of ‘borrowed cloth’ near shrine; Varāha’s calm authority emphasized.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: rich fabric textures with gold borders; Varāha icon central; inset showing the borrowed garment motif.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: elegant drapery rendering; subtle storytelling—owner’s folded cloth stack beside devotee at shrine.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: miniature with patterned shawls; moral vignette of borrowed wrap at temple entrance; soft landscape framing."}

Audio Atmosphere

Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"normative, composed","suggested_raga":"Kalyani","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"steady, instructive"}

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Studies
• Ritual Purity
• Cultural Anthropology

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It indicates concerns about personal belongings and bodily-contact purity in ritual settings, contributing to studies of material culture and etiquette in Purāṇic society.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is identified.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Approach worship with appropriate personal cleanliness and propriety, including avoiding the use of another person’s garment/covering.