Varaha Purana 113.2: Adhyaya 113, Shloka 2

Hymn to Varāha and Pṛthivī’s Inquiry

Prelude to the Sanatkumāra Dialogue

Devanagari script

नमस्तस्मै वराहाय लीलयोद्धरते महीम् ॥ सुरमध्येगतो यस्य मेरुः खणखणायते ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 113.2

Transliteration

namas tasmai varāhāya līlayoddharate mahīm || sura-madhye gato yasya meruḥ khaṇa-khaṇāyate ||

Translation

礼敬彼婆罗诃：以神圣游戏之举托举大地；在诸天之中，连须弥山亦似铿然作响、震颤不已。

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Word by Word

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/obeisance)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Indeclinable salutation (नमः), governs dative

• tasmai: to him
• tasmai: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (सर्वनाम), Masculine/Neuter, Dative (चतुर्थी/4), Singular (एकवचन)

• varāhāya: to Varāha
• varāhāya: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varāha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Dative (चतुर्थी/4), Singular (एकवचन)

• līlayā: playfully / as a sport
• līlayā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: līlā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Instrumental (तृतीया/3), Singular (एकवचन)

• uddharate: lifts up / rescues
• uddharate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud-√hṛ (हृ धातु)
• Form: Laṭ (लट्/present), Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद), Prathama-puruṣa (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• mahīm: the earth
• mahīm: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन)

• sura-madhye: in the midst of the gods
• sura-madhye: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura + madhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) ‘surāṇāṃ madhye’; Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (सप्तमी/7), Singular (एकवचन)

• gataḥ: gone / situated
• gataḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (गम् धातु)
• Form: Past active participle (क्त), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन); agrees with meruḥ

• yasya: whose
• yasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (सर्वनाम), Masculine/Neuter, Genitive (षष्ठी/6), Singular (एकवचन)

• meruḥ: Mount Meru
• meruḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: meru (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• khaṇa-khaṇāyate: clinks / resounds
• khaṇa-khaṇāyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: khaṇa-khaṇāy (धातु/नामधातु)
• Form: Laṭ (लट्/present), Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद), Prathama-puruṣa (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन); onomatopoetic denominative ‘to make a clinking sound’

Speaker

Narrator (stuti voice; not explicitly attributed)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Purāṇic Cosmology
• Environmental Motifs

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It encapsulates the pṛthivī-uddhāra motif central to the Varāha narrative cycle, a key theme in Purāṇic cosmological storytelling and cultural memory.

Which geographic location is identified?

Meru is named as a cosmological mountain (not a directly mappable historical site), central to Purāṇic and broader Indic cosmography.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

An implied ethic of protection and restoration: the Earth is portrayed as worthy of safeguarding, with governance/agency oriented toward preservation.