Varaha Purana 133.2 — Adhyaya 133, Shloka 2
Expiations for ritual-time impurity and the offense of defecation/urination in a sacred context
मक्षिका पञ्च वर्षाणि त्रीणि वर्षाणि मूषकः ॥ श्वा चैव त्रीणि वर्षाणि कूर्मो वै जायते नव ॥
makṣikā pañca varṣāṇi trīṇi varṣāṇi mūṣakaḥ | śvā caiva trīṇi varṣāṇi kūrmo vai jāyate nava ||
(One becomes) a fly for five years; a mouse for three years; a dog for three years; and indeed is born as a tortoise for nine years.
Varāha (contextual continuation)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":true,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"Continuation of Varāha’s instruction to Bhū-devī via further rebirth-duration catalogue."}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"attentive; sobered by consequences","key_question":"How do particular faults translate into specific minor/lowly births and their durations?"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"None","instruction_summary":"Karmic demerit can mature into lowly embodiments (fly, mouse, dog, tortoise) for stated periods, underscoring the degradative trajectory of adharma.","karmic_consequence":"Adharma yields constrained, suffering-prone births; dharmic correction and expiation prevent descent into such yonis."}
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":"ethical didacticism via rebirth imagery","core_concept":"Karma can contract consciousness into smaller, more constrained life-forms; duration emphasizes the ‘time-cost’ of vice.","practical_application":"Avoid cruelty, impurity, and heedlessness; adopt prāyaścitta and disciplined conduct to arrest karmic decline."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Karmic Consequences","Rebirth Doctrines"]
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Type: None
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa ch.133 (continuation of karmic rebirth lists alongside prāyaścitta material)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Varāha’s teaching accompanied by small illustrative emblems: fly, mouse, dog, tortoise, each paired with a year-count, conveying karmic descent.","item_prompts":["Varāha as teacher","Bhū-devī listening","four animal icons","year numerals (5,3,3,9)","scroll/palm-leaf of enumeration"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: central dialogue; animals as stylized border motifs with numerals; earthy palette; clear didactic layout.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: gold-framed medallions of the four animals with embossed numerals; Varāha in the center with ornate halo.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: subdued narrative; animals lightly sketched as background symbols; emphasis on the gravity of instruction.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: miniature composition with four corner vignettes of animals; crisp numerals; gentle landscape backdrop."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"cautionary, matter-of-fact","suggested_raga":"Darbari Kanada","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"steady, enumerative, grave"}
FAQs
It exemplifies a mnemonic list-format used in Purāṇic moral instruction, where consequence is communicated through recognizable life-forms and durations.
No geographic reference appears in this verse.
Conduct is portrayed as consequential across lifetimes, encouraging ethical restraint through the logic of moral causality.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
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 audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.