Varaha Purana 174.43 — Adhyaya 174, Shloka 43
The Sanctifying Power of River Confluences: Release from the Preta-State and the Rite of Śravaṇa Dvādaśī with Vāmana Worship
मातरं पितरं भ्रातृभगिन्यौ च स्त्रियं सुतम् ॥ अदुष्टान्यस्त्यजेत्सोऽपि प्रेतो भवति च ध्रुवम् ॥
mātaraṃ pitaraṃ bhrātṛ-bhaginyau ca striyaṃ sutam || aduṣṭān yastyajet so 'pi preto bhavati ca dhruvam
Whoever abandons a mother, father, brother, sister, wife, or child—though they are not at fault—he too certainly becomes a preta.
Vipra (continuation)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"instructor"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"prayaschitta","instruction_summary":"Abandoning blameless close kin (parents, siblings, spouse, child) is adharma and leads to preta-birth.","karmic_consequence":"Certain preta state as post-mortem result of dereliction of family duty."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"dharma (relational ethics)","core_concept":"Dharma is sustained through faithful care of those bound by natural and social obligation; abandonment of the innocent fractures moral order.","practical_application":"Support and protect dependent family members; do not renounce responsibilities without just cause and proper provision."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Family duty","Social responsibility"]
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Type: gṛhastha-dharma (general)
Related Themes: Varaha Purana 174.46, 174.48-49, 174.51 (preta-causes list)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A moral tableau of a person turning away from blameless parents and family, while the Vipra’s instruction and the looming preta consequence frame the scene.","item_prompts":["elderly mother and father reaching out","brother and sister in distress","wife with child","figure walking away","scripture-bearing Vipra admonishing","preta shadow behind the deserter"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: expressive family group, strong gestures, warm earth tones, preta as dark outline, didactic composition.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: gold accents on household shrine, family figures richly adorned, deserter in contrast, preta hinted in dark lacquered tones.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: refined domestic interior, emotive faces, subtle supernatural presence, calm but stern moral emphasis.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: narrative clarity with architectural home setting, poignant separation, soft landscape, moral caption-like feel."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"somber admonition","suggested_raga":"Todi","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"grave, compassionate but firm"}
FAQs
It highlights the centrality of kinship obligations in Purāṇic moral instruction and provides evidence for normative family ethics in Sanskrit textual culture.
No place is mentioned.
Do not abandon blameless dependents and close family members; the text frames such abandonment as severely harmful in karmic terms.
Ask anything about this verse
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