Varaha Purana 175.19: Adhyaya 175, Shloka 19

The Sanctity of the Kṛṣṇagaṅgā Pilgrimage-Ford and the Account of the Brahmin Vasu’s Daughter

Uttara Bhāga · Tīrtha–Māhātmya and Courtly/Social Narrative (Devagartteśvara–Śiva; Kānyakubja episode)

Devanagari script

सुनखी स्वक्षिणी सुभ्रूः सुप्रमाणा सुभाषिणी ॥ तेन तेनैव सम्पूर्णरूपेण च तिलोत्तमा ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 175.19

Transliteration

sunakhī svakṣiṇī subhrūḥ supramāṇā subhāṣiṇī | tena tenaiva sampūrṇarūpeṇa ca tilottamā ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

Móng nàng thanh tú, mắt đẹp, mày xinh; thân hình cân xứng và lời nói êm dịu. Ở mọi phương diện, nàng hiện ra như chính Tilottamā, viên mãn về dung sắc.

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Word by Word

• सु-नखी: having beautiful nails
• Type: Adjective
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (सु + नखी)
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + नखिन्/नखी (प्रातिपदिक)

• स्व-अक्षिणी: having lovely eyes
• Type: Adjective
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (सुन्दर/स्व-नेत्रा)
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: स्व (प्रातिपदिक) + अक्षि (प्रातिपदिक)

• सु-भ्रूः: having beautiful eyebrows
• Type: Adjective
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: सु (अव्यय) + भ्रू (प्रातिपदिक)

• सु-प्रमाणा: well-proportioned
• Type: Adjective
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: सु (अव्यय) + प्रमाण (प्रातिपदिक)

• सु-भाषिणी: sweet-speaking
• Type: Adjective
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: सु (अव्यय) + भाषिन् (प्रातिपदिक; from √भाष्)

• तेन: by that
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (pronoun), तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; ‘by that/with that’
• Role: Karana (करण)
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• तेन: by that (again)
• Type: Noun
• Form: तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति—‘in that very way/with that’
• Role: Karana (करण)
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic particle)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Root: एव (अव्यय)

• सम्पूर्ण-रूपेण: with complete form/beauty
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (सम्पूर्णं रूपम्)
• Role: Karana (करण)
• Root: सम्पूर्ण (प्रातिपदिक) + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Root: च (अव्यय)

• तिलोत्तमा: Tilottamā (the apsaras)
• Type: Noun
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; व्यक्तिनाम (proper noun)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: तिलोत्तमा (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• तेन तेनैव = तेन तेन एव
• सम्पूर्णरूपेण = सम्पूर्ण-रूपेण

Speaker and setting

Shringara and Adbhuta rasa

Speaker

Varāha

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Alaṅkāra/poetics (rūpaka-upamā)

Subjects

PoeticsMythic AllusionAesthetics

Core idea

Mythic archetype (Tilottamā) is used as a poetic yardstick to convey superhuman beauty and completeness of form.

In practice

Read the description as kāvya-style characterization: the Purāṇic narrator legitimizes social/ritual narrative by first establishing an irresistible aesthetic presence.

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Narrative
• Mythology
• Sanskrit Poetics

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

The verse shows how Purāṇic texts employ shared mythic figures (Tilottamā) as literary shorthand for idealized beauty, aiding intertextual study across epic–Purāṇic literature.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic site is identified in this verse.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse is descriptive and does not present an explicit ethical teaching.