Varaha Purana 39.64: Adhyaya 39, Shloka 64

Discrimination of the Three Bodies and the Dharaṇī Vow: A Manual for Dvādaśī Observance

Pūrva Bhāga · Cosmological Time-Reckoning (Kāla-nirūpaṇa)

Devanagari script

एवं त्रिंशद्दिनो मासस्ते द्वादश समाः स्मृताः । तेषां शतं ब्रह्मणस्तु आयुर्नास्त्यत्र संशयः ॥ ३९.६४ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 39.64

Transliteration

evaṁ triṁśaddino māsas te dvādaśa samāḥ smṛtāḥ | teṣāṁ śataṁ brahmaṇas tu āyur nāsty atra saṁśayaḥ || 39.64 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

“如是，一月被记为三十日；十二月为一年。如此之一百年即为梵天之寿命——于此无疑。”

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Word by Word

• evam: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (manner adverb)
• Role: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Root: evam (अव्यय)

• triṁśat-dinaḥ: having thirty days
• Type: Adjective
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः; विशेषण (qualifying māsaḥ)
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: triṁśat (संख्याशब्द) + dina (प्रातिपदिक)

• māsaḥ: month
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: māsa (प्रातिपदिक)

• te: they
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• dvādaśa: twelve
• Type: Noun
• Form: संख्यावाचक; अव्ययवत्/अविकारी; (here: number of years)
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: dvādaśa (संख्याशब्द-प्रातिपदिक)

• samāḥ: years
• Type: Noun
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: samā (प्रातिपदिक)

• smṛtāḥ: are remembered/considered
• Type: Verb
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; (te samāḥ)
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Root: smṛ (स्मृ धातु) + kta (कृत्)

• teṣām: of those
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• śatam: a hundred
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: śata (संख्याशब्द-प्रातिपदिक)

• brahmaṇaḥ: of Brahmā
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)

• tu: indeed; but
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; विशेषार्थक/विरोधार्थक निपात
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Root: tu (अव्यय)

• āyuḥ: lifespan
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: āyus (प्रातिपदिक)

• na: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; निषेधार्थक निपात (negation)
• Role: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Root: na (अव्यय)

• asti: is
• Type: Verb
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Root: as (अस् धातु)

• atra: here; in this matter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (locative adverb)
• Role: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Root: atra (अव्यय)

• saṁśayaḥ: doubt
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: saṁśaya (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• triṁśaddino → triṁśat + dinaḥ (t + d → dd)
• nāsty → na + asti
• brahmaṇas tu → brahmaṇaḥ + tu (visarga sandhi)

Speaker and setting

Shanta and Adbhuta rasaSetting: Cosmic/temporal schema

Speaker

Varāha

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

Varaha teaches her

Her state of mind

Attentive

What she asks

How do day-month-year measures relate to Brahmā’s lifespan, and what is the accepted Purāṇic standard?

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Metaphysics of time

Subjects

CosmologyTime-reckoningPuranic pedagogy

Core idea

Time is structured and finite even for cosmic administrators; Brahmā’s lifespan is a defined measure, not eternity.

In practice

Practice humility and urgency in sādhanā: if Brahmā’s tenure ends, human life should be used for dharma and liberation.

Symbolism of the boar

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Cosmology
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Sanskrit Philology

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It exemplifies Purāṇic kāla-nirūpaṇa (time-reckoning), a traditional didactic framework used to relate human calendrical units to larger cosmological lifespans such as that of Brahmā.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is specified in this verse; its focus is calendrical and cosmological measurement rather than sacred geography.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse primarily conveys a philosophical instruction about orderly knowledge of time and cosmic scale, emphasizing clarity and certainty (“no doubt”) in the transmitted schema.