Varaha Purana 80.2: Adhyaya 80, Shloka 2

Cosmographic Ordering of the Southern and Western Quarters: Valleys, Forest-Plateaus, and Sacred Sites

Pūrva Bhāga · Sacred Geography & Forest Descriptions (Vana–Māhātmya)

Devanagari script

फलितं तद्वनं भाति महाकूर्मोपमैः फलैः ॥ तद्वनं देवयोन्योऽष्टौ सेवन्ते सर्वदैव ॥ ८०.२ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 80.2

Transliteration

phalitaṃ tad vanaṃ bhāti mahākūrmopamaiḥ phalaiḥ || tad vanaṃ devayonyo 'ṣṭau sevante sarvadaiva || 80.2 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

وہ جنگل پھلوں سے لدا ہوا نہایت درخشاں دکھائی دیتا ہے؛ اس کے پھل جسامت میں بڑے کچھوؤں کے مانند ہیں۔ اور دیوی اصل کے آٹھ وجود ہمیشہ اس جنگل کی خدمت و حاضری کرتے رہتے ہیں۔

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Word by Word

• फलितम्: fruit-bearing
• Type: Adjective
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (वनम्) विशेषण
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: फलित (कृदन्त, फल्/फल)

• तत्: that
• Type: Adjective
• Form: सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (वनम्) विशेषण
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• वनम्: forest
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: वन (प्रातिपदिक)

• भाति: shines/appears
• Type: Verb
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Root: भा (धातु)

• महाकूर्म-उपमैः: comparable to great tortoises
• Type: Adjective
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; (फलैः) विशेषण; ‘mahākūrma-similar’
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: महाकूर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + उपम (प्रातिपदिक)

• फलैः: with fruits
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन
• Role: Karana (करण)
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)

• तत्: that
• Type: Adjective
• Form: सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; (वनम्) विशेषण
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• वनम्: forest
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: वन (प्रातिपदिक)

• देव-योन्यः: divine beings / divine-born (classes)
• Type: Noun
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (देवानां योनयः)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक) + योनि (प्रातिपदिक)

• अष्टौ: eight
• Type: Adjective
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (संख्यावाचक)
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: अष्टन् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)

• सेवन्ते: resort to / inhabit
• Type: Verb
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Root: सेव् (धातु)

• सर्वदा: always
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (always)
• Role: Kāla (काल)
• Root: सर्वदा (अव्यय)

• एव: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: निश्चय/अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (indeed/just)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: एव (अव्यय)

Sandhi Notes

• तद्वनम् = तत् वनम्
• महाकूर्मोपमैः = महाकूर्म-उपमैः
• देवयोन्योऽष्टौ = देवयोन्यः अष्टौ

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Shanta rasaSetting: Forest

Speaker

Varāha

The teaching

Path

Sacred Ecology

Subjects

Sacred GeographyEcologyMythic Natural DescriptionCultural Heritage

Core idea

Prosperous nature is a sign of dharmic order and divine presence; sacred landscapes are sustained by reciprocal ‘sevana’ (care/attendance).

In practice

Treat groves and fruiting trees as sacred commons—protect, do not waste, and approach with restraint and reverence.

Cross references

Tags

• Purāṇic Literature
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Ancient Ecology
• Sacred Landscapes

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It exemplifies a common Purāṇic literary mode in which landscapes are catalogued through signs of abundance (fruit, radiance) and association with non-human/divine beings, supporting the text’s broader cultural mapping of sacred environments.

Which geographic location is identified?

No explicit toponym appears in this fragment; it refers generically to “that forest” (tad vanam). Scholarly identification would depend on adjacent verses in Adhyāya 80 that may supply a place-name or pilgrimage context.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Implicitly, the verse frames the forest as a valued heritage ecology—an abundant, frequented environment—supporting a preservation-oriented reading consistent with Purāṇic respect for sacred natural spaces.