Varaha Purana 139.51 — Adhyaya 139, Shloka 51
The Glory of Varāha’s Rite: Merits of Cow-dung Plastering, Sweeping, Singing, Instrumental Music, and Dance
with a Truth-Vow Exemplum
तां गतिं सम्प्रपद्येऽहं यद्यहं नागमे पुनः ॥ ब्रह्मघ्ने च सुरापे वा स्तेने भग्नव्रते तथा ॥
tāṃ gatiṃ samprapadye 'haṃ yady ahaṃ nāgame punaḥ || brahmaghne ca surāpe vā stene bhagnavrate tathā ||
„Möge ich dasselbe Los erlangen, wenn ich nicht wiederkehre: das Los dessen, der einen Brāhmaṇa tötet, oder eines Trinkers berauschender Getränke, oder eines Diebes, ebenso wie dessen, der ein Gelübde bricht.“
Caṇḍāla / Śvapāka (inferred from oath-sequence)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false,"speaker_role":"None","bhu_devi_state":"None","key_question":"None"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"prayaschitta","instruction_summary":"The oath enumerates mahāpātaka-type transgressions—brahmahatyā, surāpāna, steya—and adds bhagnavrata (vow-breaking), presenting them as paradigms of the worst karmic downfall.","karmic_consequence":"Committing these acts (or breaking vows) yields the severest destinies; the speaker stakes his own fate on vow-fulfillment to avoid such a fall."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":true,"vrata_name":"Vrata-rakṣaṇa (vow-preservation) framed through self-imprecation","tithi_month":"None","promised_fruit":"Steadfastness (dṛḍha-niścaya) and avoidance of ‘bhagnavrata’ stigma; moral purification through keeping one’s pledged act."}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false,"symbolic_interpretation":"None","yajna_varaha_imagery":"None","vedantic_connection":"None"}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"Karma-ethics and integrity of resolve","core_concept":"Some actions are treated as civilizational ‘red lines’; vow-breaking is placed alongside major sins, emphasizing integrity as a spiritual absolute.","practical_application":"Do not undertake vows lightly; once undertaken, complete them; avoid intoxicants, theft, and violence against the spiritually eminent."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Vows (Vrata)","Normative Transgressions"]
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Type: None
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 139.54–55 (continuation of oath catalogue)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"The oath reaches its harshest register, naming brahmahatyā, surāpāna, theft, and vow-breaking as the destinies he invokes upon himself if untrue.","item_prompts":["four symbolic panels: slain brāhmaṇa (abstract), wine-cup, stolen goods, snapped vow-thread","central oath-taker with intense gaze","dark karmic clouds"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: iconographic symbols rather than graphic violence; snapped sacred thread motif for ‘bhagnavrata’; heavy chiaroscuro mood.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: gold-leaf on symbols (thread, cup) contrasted with dark enamel-like background; central figure with strong frontal pose.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: delicate symbolism—broken mala/thread, overturned cup; emphasis on moral seriousness over horror.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: miniature-style allegorical emblems floating around the speaker; subdued yet piercing ethical tone."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"Severe, penitential","suggested_raga":"Darbari Kanada","pace":"Slow, weighty enumeration","voice_tone":"Low, resonant; strong stress on ‘bhagnavrate’"}
FAQs
It parallels well-known Dharmaśāstra taxonomies of major transgressions, showing how Purāṇas popularize normative lists within story frameworks.
No place-name is present.
Keeping one’s pledged word is treated as ethically weighty; breaking a vow is grouped with severe moral violations to emphasize accountability.
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