वरम् n. ind. (
अम्) (
g. स्वर्-आदि) preferably, rather, better (also = preferable, sometimes with
abl. which in
वेद is often followed by
आe.g. अग्नि॑भ्यो व॑रम्, ‘better than fires’
[RV.] ;
स॑खिभ्य आ॑ व॑रम्, ‘better than companions’
ib.; exceptionally with
acc. e.g. शिष्यैः शत-हुतान् होमान्,
एकः पुत्र-हुतो वरम्, ‘better one sacrifice offered by a son than a hundred offered by disciples’
[ṢaḍvBr.] ),
[RV.] &c. &c.
वरम् n. ind. it is better that, it would be best if (with
pres. e.g. वरं गच्छामि, ‘it is better that I go’; or with
Impv. e.g. वरं नये स्थाप्यताम्, ‘it would be better if he were initiated into our plan’
[Kathās.] ; or without any verb
e.g. वरं सिंहात्, ‘better [death caused] by a lion’
[Pañcat.] ; sometimes with
Pot. , e.g.
वरं तत् कुर्यात्, ‘better that he should do that’
[Kām.] ),
[Kāv.] ;
[Kathās.] &c.
वरम् it is better than, rather than (in these senses is followed by
न,
न च,
न तु,
न पुनः,
तद् अपि न or
तथा-पि न, with
nom. e.g. वरं मृत्युर् नचा-कीर्तिः, ‘better death than [lit. ‘and not’] infamy’; exceptionally with
instr. e.g. वरम् एको गुणी पुत्रो न च मूर्ख-शतैर् अपि, ‘better one virtuous son than hundreds of fools’
[Hit.] ;
न हि-वरम्, ‘by no mean - but rather’),
[Mn.] ;
[MBh.] &c.