Varaha Purana 162.18: Adhyaya 162, Shloka 18
The Efficacy and Merit of Cakra-tīrtha
कदाचिद्देवयोगेन कान्यकुब्जनिवासिनः ॥ गृहे प्रविष्टो विप्रः स भोजनार्थं महामतिः ॥
kadācid devayogena kānyakubjanivāsinaḥ || gṛhe praviṣṭo vipraḥ sa bhojanārthaṁ mahāmatiḥ ||
Einst, durch göttliche Fügung, betrat jener weise Brāhmaṇa das Haus eines Bewohners von Kānyakubja, um Speise zu erbitten.
Varāha (default narrative frame)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"dana","instruction_summary":"A householder should receive a guest (especially a brāhmaṇa) and provide food as an act of dharma (atithi-satkāra).","karmic_consequence":"Honoring guests supports puṇya, social harmony, and auspicious household fortune; neglect leads to demerit and loss of merit from one’s rites."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"dharma-ethics","core_concept":"Providence (daiva) tests dharma through ordinary encounters like feeding a hungry guest.","practical_application":"Treat unexpected visitors with respect and practical help; see service as worship rather than inconvenience."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Sacred geography","Cultural heritage"]
Primary Rasa: śānta
Secondary Rasa: karuṇa
Type: city/region
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 162.21-24 (continuation of the hospitality/family-duty episode)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A travel-worn, dignified brāhmaṇa enters a Kānyakubja house at dusk, asking for food; the threshold becomes the stage for dharma.","item_prompts":["city-house doorway","brāhmaṇa with staff/waterpot","humble gesture of request","householder’s attentive reception","evening lamp"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: warm ochres and greens, stylized doorway and lamp, serene brāhmaṇa with minimal motion, emphasis on dharmic calm.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore style: ornate doorway arch with gold highlights, brāhmaṇa figure centered, lamp and offering plate suggested with gilded accents.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore style: delicate linework, soft shading, domestic interior hinted behind the threshold, restrained devotional mood.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari style: hill-painting palette, narrative vignette with architectural detail, expressive but gentle faces, dusk sky wash."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"narrative, contemplative","suggested_raga":"Yaman","pace":"medium-slow","voice_tone":"clear, steady, story-telling"}
FAQs
It reflects the cultural centrality of hospitality and mendicant/learned mobility, with named toponyms indicating networks of settlement and reputation.
Kānyakubja, commonly identified with Kannauj in modern scholarship.
The narrative sets up the ethics of receiving a guest (atithi) and providing sustenance, a recurring dharma theme.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free Google sign-in 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.