Varaha Purana 74.4: Adhyaya 74, Shloka 4

Measures of the Earth and the Cosmos: The Expansion of the Universe and the Division of Continents and Regions

Pūrva Bhāga · Purāṇa-paricaya (Puranic taxonomy and cosmographic framing)

Devanagari script

रुद्र उवाच । सर्वेष्वेव पुराणेषु भूर्लोकः परिकीर्त्यते । ब्रह्मविष्णुभवादीनां वायव्ये च सविस्तरम् ॥ ७४.४ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 74.4

Transliteration

rudra uvāca | sarveṣv eva purāṇeṣu bhūrlokaḥ parikīrtyate | brahmaviṣṇubhavādīnāṃ vāyavye ca savistaram || 74.4 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

رُدر نے کہا: تمام پُرانوں میں بھولोक (زمینی لوک) کا بیان کیا گیا ہے؛ اور وایویہ (پُران) میں برہما، وِشنو، بھَو (شیو) وغیرہ کے حالات تفصیل سے بیان ہوئے ہیں۔

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Word by Word

• rudraḥ: Rudra
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)

• uvāca: said
• Type: Verb
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: vac (धातु)

• sarveṣu: in all
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (पुं/नपुंसक), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Plural (बहुवचन); agrees with purāṇeṣu
• Role: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)

• eva: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Emphatic particle (निश्चयार्थक अव्यय)
• Role: Nipāta (निपात)
• Root: eva (अव्यय)

• purāṇeṣu: in the Purāṇas
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Plural (बहुवचन)
• Role: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Root: purāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)

• bhūḥ-lokaḥ: the Bhū-loka (earth-world)
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); समासः—कर्मधारय (भूः एव लोकः)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: bhū (प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक)

• parikīrtyate: is described/celebrated
• Type: Verb
• Form: Present (लट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद), Passive sense (कर्मणि प्रयोग)
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: kīrt (धातु)

• brahma-viṣṇu-bhava-ādīnām: of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Bhava and others
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन); समासः—इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (ब्रह्मा च विष्णुश्च भवश्च) + ādi; ‘of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Bhava (Śiva) and others’
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक) + bhava (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)

• vāyavye: in the Vāyavya (Purāṇa)
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); understood ‘vāyavye purāṇe’
• Role: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Root: vāyavya (प्रातिपदिक)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)
• Role: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Root: ca (अव्यय)

• sa-vistaram: in detail
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Avyayībhāva compound (अव्ययीभाव), adverbial; indeclinable meaning ‘with detail/at length’
• Role: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Root: sa (अव्यय/उपसर्गार्थ ‘with’) + vistara (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• sarveṣv eva = sarveṣu eva
• bhūrlokaḥ = bhūḥ-lokaḥ
• savistaram = sa-vistaram (avyayībhāva)

Speaker and setting

Shanta and Adbhuta rasaSetting: Cosmic realm (loka)

Speaker

Rudra

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

Varaha teaches her

Her state of mind

Observer; receiving a classificatory statement about Purāṇic descriptions of Bhūrloka

What she asks

Which Purāṇas treat Bhūrloka and the deeds/lineages of Brahmā–Viṣṇu–Bhava in detail?

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Hermeneutics / śāstra-maryādā

Subjects

CosmologyTextual taxonomyPuranic literatureSacred geography (Bhūrloka as a category)

Core idea

Purāṇas are interlinked; topics (like Bhūrloka) recur with varying degrees of detail across texts.

In practice

Read Purāṇas comparatively: use one text for overview and another (e.g., Vāyavīya) for expanded accounts of specific deities/lineages.

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Studies
• Indic Cosmography
• Intertextuality

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It reflects Purāṇic intertextuality: the Varāha Purāṇa situates its discourse within a wider Purāṇic corpus by noting that Bhūrloka is a common topic and by pointing to the Vāyavīya tradition as a detailed source for narratives about major deities.

Which geographic location is identified?

No specific terrestrial site is named; the verse refers to Bhūrloka as a cosmographic category (the earthly realm) rather than a particular place identifiable on the modern map.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse does not present a direct ethical injunction; its primary function is classificatory—highlighting how Purāṇas organize knowledge about the world and the divine figures within a broader textual tradition.