Varaha Purana 5.4 — Adhyaya 5, Shloka 4
Reconciliation of Action and Knowledge: Offering All Acts to Nārāyaṇa and the Hymn to the Yajña-Puruṣa
राजोवाच । कर्मणा प्राप्यते मोक्ष उताहो ज्ञानिना मुने । एतन्मे संशयं छिन्धि यदि मेऽनुग्रहः कृतः ॥ ५.४ ॥
rājovāca | karmaṇā prāpyate mokṣa utāho jñāninā mune | etan me saṁśayaṁ chindhi yadi me ’nugrahaḥ kṛtaḥ || 5.4 ||
Der König sprach: „O Weiser, wird Befreiung (mokṣa) durch Handeln (karma) erlangt oder vielmehr durch den Wissenden (jñānin)? Zerschneide diesen meinen Zweifel, wenn du mir deine Gunst erwiesen hast.“
Rājā (the King)
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":"questioner","bhu_devi_state":"None","key_question":"Is mokṣa attained through karma (ritual/action), or through jñāna/jñānin (knowledge/knower)? Please cut my doubt."}
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 (poses a foundational soteriological problem that will govern dharma practice).","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":"soteriology (mokṣa-mārga)","core_concept":"The relation between pravṛtti (action) and nivṛtti (knowledge) in attaining liberation.","practical_application":"Evaluate one’s life-path: perform dharmic action without confusion, while cultivating knowledge that targets liberation."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Philosophy","Soteriology"]
Primary Rasa: śānta
Secondary Rasa: vicāra (inquiry)
Type: sabha/āśrama discourse
Related Themes: Kapila’s forthcoming answer framed as an older precedent (next verse)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"The king, earnest and slightly anxious, asks the decisive question about liberation; Kapila listens, poised to answer.","item_prompts":["king with folded hands (añjali)","Kapila attentive, eyes half-closed","a symbolic forked path motif (optional)","quiet court/forest hermitage ambiance"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"King’s pleading añjali, Kapila’s tranquil gaze, strong contour lines, minimal symbolic background.","tanjore_prompt":"Ornate king with gold accents, Kapila with halo, inscription-like framing emphasizing the ‘mokṣa’ question.","mysore_prompt":"Balanced composition, expressive faces, soft chiaroscuro, subtle spiritual gravitas.","pahari_prompt":"Delicate, contemplative scene; the question visually centered; subdued palette suggesting inner inquiry."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"probing, earnest","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"reverent, questioning"}
FAQs
It preserves a common Purāṇic pedagogical frame—royal inquiry to a sage—used to present debates on liberation (mokṣa) through action (karma) versus knowledge (jñāna), a theme shared across late-Vedic and classical Sanskrit literature.
No geographic location is named in this verse; the focus is philosophical (means to liberation) rather than sacred geography.
The verse foregrounds disciplined inquiry: a learner should directly ask for clarification and request the removal of doubt, treating knowledge as something to be carefully discriminated rather than assumed.
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