Varaha Purana 208.7 — Adhyaya 208, Shloka 7
Narration of the Exemplum of the Pativratā
Devoted Wife
यम उवाच ॥ विवर्णं जायते वक्त्रं शुष्यते न च संशयः ॥ यन्मया हीदृशं दृष्टं श्रूयतां तन्महामुने
yama uvāca || vivarṇaṁ jāyate vaktraṁ śuṣyate na ca saṁśayaḥ || yanmayā hīdṛśaṁ dṛṣṭaṁ śrūyatāṁ tan mahāmune
Yama sprach: Das Antlitz wird blass und vertrocknet—daran besteht kein Zweifel. Was ich derart gesehen habe, höre es, o großer Weiser.
Yama (Dharmarāja)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"None","key_question":"None (response begins: describing signs and inviting attentive listening to a witnessed account)."}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":false,"topic":"None","instruction_summary":"None","karmic_consequence":"None"}
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":"moral causality and phenomenology of fear","core_concept":"Fear and moral disturbance manifest somatically (pallor, dryness); testimony of a dharmic authority is offered as pramāṇa (authoritative evidence).","practical_application":"Treat bodily signs of fear/guilt as prompts for self-audit (ācāra-vicāra) and corrective action; listen carefully to dharmic instruction."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Dialogue","Narrative Causality"]
Primary Rasa: bhayānaka
Secondary Rasa: karuṇa
Type: didactic assembly
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 208.6– (Nārada’s question answered by Yama’s account)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Yama (Dharmarāja) speaks with judicial calm, describing pallor and dryness as signs; Nārada listens attentively.","item_prompts":["Yama with staff/daṇḍa or regal insignia","Nārada seated as listener","subtle depiction of pale, parched visage as illustrative motif","scroll or gesture of testimony"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: Yama in dignified posture with dark-complexioned iconography, ornate crown; didactic hand gesture; Nārada attentive.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: Yama enthroned with gold detailing; strong contrast between divine regalia and the austere theme of pallor/dryness.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: refined courtly setting; emphasis on Yama’s composed face and teaching mudrā.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: intimate dialogue scene under a canopy; minimal regalia, more narrative warmth; Yama’s speech shown through expressive hand movement."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"grave, testimonial, instructive","suggested_raga":"Todi","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"measured, authoritative, slightly ominous"}
FAQs
It formally introduces Yama’s explanatory speech (uvāca), a key structural marker in Purāṇic dialogue used for transmitting moral reasoning through authoritative narration.
None; the verse is a transition into Yama’s account.
To attend carefully to testimony about moral causation—Yama frames his account as an observed basis for understanding the disturbance.
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