Varaha Purana 138.5 — Adhyaya 138, Shloka 5
The Episode of the Khañjarīṭa Bird
and the Saukarava Tīrtha’s Merit
अकामान्म्रियमाणस्य मानुषत्वमजायत ॥ किं वान्यद्वृत्तमाख्याहि क्षेत्रे सौकरवेऽमले।
akāmān mriyamāṇasya mānuṣatvam ajāyata || kiṃ vānyad vṛttam ākhyāhi kṣetre saukarave 'male
“আকাংক্ষা নথকা অৱস্থাত মৃত্যু হোৱা জনৰো পুনৰ মানৱজন্ম হ’ল। আৰু কি ঘটনা ঘটিল—কওক—সেই নিৰ্মল সৌকাৰৱ ক্ষেত্ৰত?”
Pṛthivī (default inquirer framework)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":true,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"Earth presses Varāha for explanation of a paradoxical karmic outcome within his pure kṣetra"}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"questioner","bhu_devi_state":"curious, puzzled by a karmic paradox","key_question":"Why/How did one ‘dying without desire’ obtain human birth again, and what other events occurred in the pure Saukārava-kṣetra?"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"Saukārava-kṣetra (amala)","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"None","instruction_summary":"Raises a soteriological issue: the karmic logic of rebirth even when desirelessness is claimed; implies the need to distinguish true vairāgya from mere akāmata at death.","karmic_consequence":"Implied: incomplete detachment/latent saṃskāras can still yield rebirth; tīrtha-context may modify or reveal karmic outcomes."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false,"vrata_name":"None","tithi_month":"None","promised_fruit":"None"}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false,"symbolic_interpretation":"None","yajna_varaha_imagery":"None","vedantic_connection":"None"}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"karma-viveka / soteriology","core_concept":"Apparent desirelessness at death is not identical with liberation; subtle impressions (vāsanā) and dharma/adharma residues govern rebirth unless knowledge/bhakti fully matures.","practical_application":"Cultivate sustained vairāgya and sattva through life (not only at death); use tīrtha, dāna, and seva as supports, but aim for inner transformation."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Heritage Sites"]
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: vicāra
Type: kṣetra/tīrtha
Related Themes: Leads into subsequent questions on merits of acts (138.6–7) as practical means within the kṣetra
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Bhu Devī, earnest and slightly perplexed, asks Varāha about a case where a seemingly desireless dying person still returns to human birth, within the pure Saukārava field.","item_prompts":["Bhu Devī questioning with furrowed brow softened by devotion","Varāha as teacher listening","symbolic backdrop: tīrtha water and a faint funeral/transition motif (lamp, path) kept subtle","inscription-like cue ‘amala kṣetra’"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: dialogue tableau with expressive eyes; include a subdued lamp and riverbank to hint at death/transition, while keeping the sacred field serene.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: teacher Varāha enthroned with gold halo; Bhu Devī in inquiry; background includes stylized tīrtha kalasha and a small lamp motif for the death-question.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: nuanced facial expressions; minimal symbolic props (lamp, water pot) to suggest the karmic theme without crowding.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: gentle narrative vignette near a stream; a tiny distant figure/path to suggest ‘rebirth journey’; soft colors emphasizing contemplative inquiry."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"contemplative questioning","suggested_raga":"Todi (for gravity and introspection)","pace":"vilambita","voice_tone":"thoughtful, slightly emphatic on ‘akāmān mriyamāṇasya’ and ‘kim vānyad’"}
FAQs
It reflects Purāṇic discussions of death, intention, and post-mortem outcomes, framed within the sanctifying context of a kṣetra.
Saukārava-kṣetra is explicitly named as the setting for noteworthy events; the verse does not provide further topographic markers.
It foregrounds the role of intention (kāma/akāma) and context (kṣetra) in evaluating actions and outcomes, inviting careful moral reflection rather than simplistic causality.
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