Varaha Purana - Adhyaya 52
Varaha PuranaAdhyaya 5211 Shlokas

Adhyaya 52: The Genealogy of Trivarṇa, Manohvā, and the Akṣa Lineage, with the Construction of the Nine-Gated City

Trivarṇa-Manohvā-Akṣa-vaṃśaḥ (Nava-dvāra-pura-nirmāṇaṃ ca)

Mythic-Anthropology and Cosmological Allegory (Body–City symbolism; Kingship and Ritual Order)

在伐罗诃与大地女神(Varāha–Pṛthivī)的教诲框架中,本章由阿伽斯提耶(Agastya)讲述一支谱系,示现如何在原本无规的社会领域中建立秩序。某王之精气所出者名特里伐尔那(Trivarṇa);继而生一女,具“觉醒”之体(Avabodha-svarūpiṇī);又生一子名摩诺诃婆(Manohvā)。其后裔为五位“享受者”(pañca-bhoginaḥ),其子合称阿克沙(Akṣa)。经文言其先为达修(dasyu),后为王权所降伏,并同心建成吉祥之居:九门之城,一柱而立,四衢交会,周环众河与水利设施。入城之后众人合一;具身之王帕舒帕拉(Paśupāla)显现,忆持吠陀之言,制定誓戒、约束与仪轨。由其专注祭仪与瑜伽之眠,化生一位四面四臂、与四部吠陀相应之形;随后诸兽遍于不同栖境,皆归王政统摄。

Speakers

VarāhaPṛthivīAgastya

Key Concepts

trivarṇa (social-typological symbolism)avabodha-svarūpiṇī (personified cognition/awakening)pañca-bhoginaḥ (five-fold enjoyment; possible sense-complex allegory)akṣa (lineage-name; also semantic field of ‘axis/die/eye’)dasyu → vaśīkṛta (subjugation and incorporation into polity)nava-dvāra-pura (nine-gated city; body–polis metaphor)eka-stambha (single pillar/axis motif)catuṣpatha (four crossroads; spatial/ritual ordering)karmakāṇḍa (ritual performance as governance technology)yoga-nidrā (creative latency; generative trance)caturvaktra–caturbāhu (four-faced, four-armed archetype; Vedic totality)pṛthivī-santulana (implicit terrestrial order via waterworks and habitat governance)
Recitation with translationVaraha Purana Adhyaya 52

Shlokas in Adhyaya 52

Verse 1

अगस्त्य उवाच । स त्रिवर्णो नृपोत्सृष्टः स्वतन्त्रत्वाच्च पार्थिव । अहं नामानमसृजत् पुत्रं पुत्रस्त्रिवर्णकम् ॥ ५२.१ ॥

阿伽斯提耶说道:“大王啊,那位特里瓦尔那——被国王放出之后——便成了自主之人。随后我生下一子,名为那摩那;而那子即特里瓦尔那迦。”

Verse 2

तस्यापि चाभवत् कन्या अवबोधस्वरूपिणी । सा तु विज्ञानदं पुत्रं मनोह्वं विससर्ज ॥ ५२.२ ॥

他也生了一位女儿,其本性即为觉悟与明了。她又生一子——名为毗阇那那陀(Vijñānada),号称摩诺诃婆(Manohva)。

Verse 3

तस्यापि सर्वरूपाः स्युः स्तनयाः पञ्चभोगिनः । यथासंख्येन पुत्रास्तु तेषामक्षाभिधानकाः ॥ ५२.३ ॥

他也有诸子,形相各异,被称为“五享受者”。依次而下,他们的儿子皆以“阿叉(Akṣa)”为称号。

Verse 4

एते पूर्वं दस्यवः स्युस्ततो राज्ञा वशीकृताः । अमूर्ता इव ते सर्वे चक्रुरायतनं शुभम् ॥ ५२.४ ॥

这些人从前是达修(dāsyu);后来被国王降伏而受其统御。随后仿佛无形无躯,他们众人共同建成一处吉祥庄严的圣所(āyatana)。

Verse 5

नवद्बारं पुरं तस्य त्वेकस्तम्भं चतुष्पथम् । नदीसहस्रसङ्कीर्णं जलक्रीत्या समास्थितम् ॥ ५२.५ ॥

那座城有九道门,以一根独柱为标志,并有四向交会的十字路口。城中千河交织,建立为水戏与水上游乐之所。

Verse 6

तत्पुरं ते प्रविविशुरेकीभूतास्ततो नव । पुरुषो मूर्त्तिमान् राजा पशुपालोऽभवत् क्षणात् ॥ ५२.६ ॥

随后那九者合而为一,进入那座城;顷刻之间,国王化为具身之人,成为牧牛者。

Verse 7

ततस्तत्पुरसंस्थस्तु पशुपालो महान्नृपः । संसूच्य वाचकाञ्छब्दान् वेदान् सस्मार तत्पुरे ॥ ५२.७ ॥

其后,大王居于彼城,虽为牧牛之身,却以提示性的词句为线索,于彼处忆起诸《吠陀》。

Verse 8

आत्मस्वरूपिणो नित्यास्तदुक्तानि व्रतानि च । नियमाञ् क्रतवश्चैव सर्वान् राजा चकार ह ॥ ५२.८ ॥

那些恒住自性者,连同所宣说的誓戒(vrata)与律仪,乃至一切规制与祭仪(kratu),国王皆悉力奉行。

Verse 9

स कदाचिन्नृपः खिन्नः कर्मकाण्डं प्ररोचयन् । सर्वज्ञो योगनिद्रायां स्थित्वा पुत्रं ससर्ज ह ॥ ५२.९ ॥

有一次,那位国王心生疲惫,转而偏重仪轨之道(karmakāṇḍa)。全知者入于瑜伽睡眠(yoganidrā),遂生出一子。

Verse 10

चतुर्वक्त्रं चतुर्बाहुं चतुर्वेदं चतुष्पथम् । तस्मादारभ्य नृपतेर्वशे पश्वादयः स्थिताः ॥ ५२.१० ॥

(彼)具四面四臂,与四部吠陀相应,并主宰四方道路(十字路口)。自此以后,诸兽及其他众生皆处于国王的统御之下。

Verse 11

तस्मिन् समुद्रे स नृपो वने तस्मिंस्तथैव च । तृणादिषु नृपस्सैव हस्त्यादिषु तथैव च । समोऽभवत् कर्मकाण्डादनुज्ञाय महामते ॥ ५२.११ ॥

在那大海之中,亦复在那森林之中,国王皆以同一方式而存;在草等之中亦然,在象等之中亦然。蒙业仪之部(karmakāṇḍa,祭仪—业力之秩序)所许可,噫大慧者,他遂成“平等”,即于诸形态中不复差别。

Inside Adhyaya 52

How it unfolds

  1. Where it opens

    Within the Varāha–Pṛthivī teaching frame, Agastya is invoked as an authoritative transmitter of an origin-lineage that explains how a previously unregulated social field becomes ordered through kingship, speech, and rite.

  2. Central event

    A genealogy unfolds—Trivarṇa arising from a king’s emission; a daughter embodying awakening (Avabodha-svarūpiṇī); a son Manohvā; and descendants described as five ‘enjoyers’ whose sons are collectively called Akṣa—followed by their collective construction of an auspicious nine-gated city (nava-dvāra-pura) with a single pillar and four crossroads, set amid many rivers and engineered waterworks.

  3. Climax resolution

    Upon entering and unifying within the city, a corporeal king, Paśupāla, manifests; he ‘remembers’ Vedic speech, institutes vows/restraints and ritual regulation (vrata–niyama–karmakāṇḍa), and from yogic sleep generates a four-faced, four-armed Veda-totality figure; thereafter animals across ocean/forest/grassland domains come under ordered governance, signaling stabilized polity and ecology.

Geographical context

No explicit toponyms are named. Ecological-spatial markers include: samudra (oceanic region), vana (forest), tṛṇa-ādi (grassland/ground-cover habitats), hasty-ādi (faunal domain exemplified by elephants), nadī-sahasra-saṃkīrṇa (landscape densely interlaced with many rivers), and jalakṛti (constructed waterworks/irrigation features) surrounding the nava-dvāra-pura.

Ritual instructions

  • Primary RitualInstitution of vrata–niyama and karmakāṇḍa as a governance-forming discipline grounded in Vedic recollection (Vedic speech as normative speech).
  • BenefitTransformation of dasyu-status groups into integrated civic participants; stabilization of social hierarchy and conduct through disciplined speech and rite; establishment of a well-watered, habitat-spanning order under kingship (social and ecological balance).

The narrative frame

  • Varāha (primary frame) relaying/hosting Agastya’s accountPṛthivī · Pedagogical-mythic and etiological (explaining origins of social order through genealogy, city symbolism, and ritual authority).

The emotional journey

  • Dominant RasaŚānta (ordered calm) with undertones of Vīra (sovereign force)
  • Emotional ProgressionFrom liminality and unruliness (dasyu condition) → collective building and spatial coherence (city-making) → awe and legitimacy (king’s manifestation and Vedic recollection) → settled equilibrium (ritualized governance and ecological stewardship).

Planning a pilgrimage

  • Visit FeasibilityNot directly mappable as a single historical tirtha in the chapter summary; best approached as an allegorical ‘body–city’ and polity-foundation motif rather than a visitable site.

Frequently Asked Questions

The chapter frames social order as produced through disciplined speech (Vedic recollection), regulated conduct (vrata and niyama), and institutionalized rites (karmakāṇḍa). It depicts the transformation of formerly outside groups (dasyu) into participants in a constructed civic and ecological order, suggesting that governance is enacted through both spatial planning (city, crossroads) and normative practice (vows and ritual regulation).

No explicit calendrical data appear in the provided verses: there are no named tithis, nakṣatras, months, or seasonal markers. The only temporal structuring is narrative (e.g., “kadācit,” and the interval of “yoga-nidrā”), which functions as a literary timing device rather than a ritual calendar.

Environmental ordering is implied through the description of a settlement embedded in a river-rich landscape (nadī-sahasra-saṃkīrṇa) with deliberate water constructions (jalakṛti). The narrative also links kingship to habitat-spanning oversight—ocean, forest, grasses, and animal domains—presenting terrestrial balance as maintained by coordinated infrastructure, regulated practice, and integrated stewardship across ecosystems.

Agastya is the named sage-speaker within the chapter’s report. The text outlines a lineage sequence—Trivarṇa, Avabodha-svarūpiṇī (as a daughter figure), Manohvā, and the Akṣa-named descendants—alongside the emergence of a king titled Paśupāla. These function as mythic-cultural archetypes for genealogy, polity formation, and ritual authority rather than verifiable historical dynasties.

Ask anything about Adhyaya 52 of the Varaha Purana

Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.

Not sure where to start?

A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.

Read Varaha Purana in the Vedapath app

Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

Continue reading in the Vedapath app

Open in App
Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play