Varaha Purana 32.8: Adhyaya 32, Shloka 8
Dharma as the Bull-Form: Soma’s Transgression and the Institution of the Thirteenth Lunar Day Observance
Pūrva Bhāga · Dharma–Itihāsa Narratives (Somā–Tārā Episode)
स धर्मः पीडितः पूर्वं सोमेनाद्भुतकर्मणा । तारां जिघृक्षता पत्नीं भ्रातुराङ्गिरसस्य ह ॥ ३२.९ ॥
sa dharmaḥ pīḍitaḥ pūrvaṃ somenādbhuta-karmaṇā | tārāṃ jighṛkṣatā patnīṃ bhrātur āṅgirasasya ha || 32.9 ||
sa dharmaH pIDitaH pUrvaM somenAdbhutakarmaNa | tArAM jighRRikShatA patnIM bhrAturA~Ngirasasya ha || 32.9 ||
سابقًا أُوذِيَ الدَّرْمَا على يد سوما، صاحب الأفعال العجيبة، حين سعى إلى اغتصاب تارا، زوجة أخيه أنغيراسا.
Sandhi Notes
- सोमेनाद्भुतकर्मणा = सोमेन + अद्भुतकर्मणा
- भ्रातुराङ्गिरसस्य = भ्रातुः + आङ्गिरसस्य
- स (IAST sa) restored as सः before consonant in analysis
Varāha
Desire unchecked by dharma harms both individual integrity and cosmic-social equilibrium.
Cultivate self-restraint (dama), respect relational boundaries, and seek prāyaścitta/repair when harm is done; leaders must model restraint to prevent dharma’s ‘affliction’.
Adultery/abduction of another’s wife (especially within kin/teacher-line relations) is a direct affliction of Dharma and destabilizes moral order.
Such transgression breeds conflict, loss of merit, and social-cosmic disturbance; restraint and respect for marital boundaries preserve dharma and auspiciousness.
Varāha Purāṇa’s subsequent/preceding explanation of dharma’s decline and its causes (within the same discourse arc)
FAQs
It reflects a recurrent Purāṇic narrative motif where breaches of social and moral order (dharma) are illustrated through well-known mythic episodes, serving as a didactic frame within Sanskrit literary tradition.
No geographic location is explicitly named in this verse; it is focused on a mythic-ethical episode involving Soma, Tārā, and Aṅgirasa.
The verse foregrounds the disruption of dharma caused by an attempt to appropriate another’s spouse, presenting transgression as a source of social and cosmic disturbance.
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