Varaha Purana 134.58 — Adhyaya 134, Shloka 58

Expiations for Ritual and Temporal Offences in Worship, and the Prescribed Purificatory Procedure

Upaspṛśya

Devanagari script

अज्ञानस्य च दोषेण दुःखान्यनुभवन्ति च ॥ वानरो दश वर्षाणि मार्जारश्च त्रयोदश ॥

Transliteration

ajñānasya ca doṣeṇa duḥkhāny anubhavanti ca || vānaro daśa varṣāṇi mārjāraś ca trayodaśa ||

Translation

«Y por la falta nacida de la ignorancia, padecen sufrimientos. (Renacen) como mono durante diez años, y como gato durante trece.»

Word by Word

• ajñānasya: of ignorance

• doṣeṇa: due to the fault

• duḥkhāni: sufferings

• anubhavanti: experience

• ca: and

• vānaraḥ: monkey

• daśa: ten

• varṣāṇi: years

• mārjāraḥ: cat

• trayodaśa: thirteen

Speaker

Varāha

Varaha Avatara Context

Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":true,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"Instruction continues to Bhū-devī, detailing karmic sufferings due to ignorance and specific animal rebirth durations."}

Bhu Devi Dialogue

Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"absorbing, morally alert (learning karmic mechanics)","key_question":"How does ignorance (ajñāna) translate into concrete sufferings and rebirth forms?"}

Mathura Mandala

Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}

Dharma Shastra

Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"prayaschitta","instruction_summary":"Ignorance-driven ritual/ethical fault leads to experiential suffering and degraded rebirths (monkey for ten years; cat for thirteen).","karmic_consequence":"Embodiment in lower yonis with specified time spans, implying prolonged limitation of dharmic agency and continued duḥkha."}

Vrata Mahatmya

Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false,"vrata_name":"None","tithi_month":"None","promised_fruit":"None"}

Cosmic Boar Symbolism

Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false,"symbolic_interpretation":"None","yajna_varaha_imagery":"None","vedantic_connection":"None"}

Philosophical Teaching

Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"avidyā critique / karma theory","core_concept":"Ajñāna is not neutral; it becomes a ‘doṣa’ that conditions karma and constrains consciousness through lower embodiments.","practical_application":"Pursue right knowledge (śāstra-guided discernment), correct ritual practice, and ethical conduct to avoid avidyā-born actions."}

Subject Matter

Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Karmic consequence","Didactic zoology (rebirth imagery)"]

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayānaka

Secondary Rasa: karuṇa

Geographic Context

Type: cosmological/ontological domain

Cross References

Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 134.65-66 (continued rebirth list)

Visual Art Cues

Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Varāha explains that ignorance causes suffering, illustrated by symbolic visions of rebirth as monkey and cat with marked durations.","item_prompts":["Varāha teaching gesture","Bhū-devī listening","visionary silhouettes of monkey and cat","time markers (ten/ thirteen) as symbolic inscriptions or beads"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: discourse scene with a secondary cloud-panel showing stylized monkey and cat forms, earthy palette, clear separation of ‘vision’ and ‘teaching’.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: divine figures richly gilded; small inset medallions for monkey and cat rebirths with minimal detail, decorative numerals subtly integrated.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: refined inset vignettes of monkey and cat, soft shading, emphasis on didactic clarity over horror.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: playful-yet-moral animal vignettes in margins, central calm teacher-disciple scene, delicate landscape framing."}

Audio Atmosphere

Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"didactic with undertone of warning","suggested_raga":"Darbari Kanada","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"measured, explanatory, slightly somber on ‘duḥkhāny anubhavanti’"}

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Ethics
• Karma and Rebirth
• Sanskrit Philology

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It demonstrates a didactic strategy in Purāṇas: moral-ritual errors are illustrated through graded consequences, including time-bound animal births, reflecting broader karmic narrative traditions.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is identified.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Ignorance (ajñāna) is treated as a culpable fault that leads to suffering; ethical-ritual discernment is implied as necessary.