Varaha Purana 172.10 — Adhyaya 172, Shloka 10
The Harm of Destroying a Grove and the Merit of Tree-Planting as Pūrta-Dharma
यदि गोप्यं ममार्तस्य वैरूप्यं कथयिष्यथ ॥ अगाधे दुस्तरे प्राणांस्त्यक्ष्याम्यद्य सुदुःखितः ॥
yadi gopyaṃ mamārtasya vairūpyaṃ kathayiṣyatha || agādhe dustare prāṇāṃs tyakṣyāmy adya suduḥkhitaḥ ||
“If you will not disclose to me—who am afflicted—the cause of this disfigurement, then today, in this unfathomable and difficult-to-cross state, I shall give up my life, utterly sorrowful.”
Varāha
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":true,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"questioner","bhu_devi_state":"afflicted, desperate, emotionally flooded","key_question":"Will you disclose the hidden cause of this disfigurement—without which life feels unbearable?"}
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":"Crisis speech-act: threats of self-harm arise from unbearable duḥkha; dharma requires preventing despair and offering truthful guidance to protect life.","karmic_consequence":"Choosing life and seeking counsel supports recovery and dharma; self-destruction is portrayed as a tragic fall into deeper suffering and obstruction of spiritual progress."}
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":"soteriological psychology","core_concept":"Duḥkha can appear as an uncrossable ocean; disclosure of truth and compassionate instruction become the bridge (setu) back to dharma.","practical_application":"In crisis, seek trustworthy guidance; for caregivers/teachers, respond promptly with compassion and clarity rather than secrecy that worsens despair."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Suffering","Narrative Literature"]
Primary Rasa: karuṇa
Secondary Rasa: raudra
Type: inner/psychological landscape framed as an abyss
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 172.9.0 (silence of the distressed); Varāha Purāṇa 172.12.0 (one speaks to recount suffering)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Varāha, overwhelmed, declares an ultimatum: if the secret cause is not told, he will abandon life in an unfathomable, hard-to-cross misery; the women/devīs react with alarm.","item_prompts":["Varāha with anguished expression","gesture of despair (hand to chest/raised in oath)","women/devīs startled, one reaching out","symbolic abyss/ocean motif behind (dark waters, depth)"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: heightened expression, dramatic gestures; dark oceanic backdrop symbolizing 'agādha'; attendants in anxious poses; strong contrasts.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: central dramatic Varāha with ornate halo; background stylized waves in relief; attendants with expressive hands; gold used to frame but keep mood intense.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: controlled drama—expressive but refined; subtle wave/abyss symbolism; careful depiction of sorrow and urgency.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: emotive, narrative immediacy; stylized river/ocean as metaphor; attendants clustered, one stepping forward to stop him."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"urgent, anguished","suggested_raga":"Bhairav","pace":"medium-fast","voice_tone":"strained, intense, pleading"}
FAQs
It shows a narrative intensification technique: a threat of self-abandonment (tyāga of prāṇa) compels disclosure, a common dramatic device in classical storytelling.
No physical geographic location is named; “agādha” and “dustara” function metaphorically for an overwhelming condition.
The verse foregrounds the urgency of truthful communication in moments of crisis, while also portraying the destructive weight of unresolved suffering.
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