Varaha Purana 157.48 — Adhyaya 157, Shloka 48
Praise of the Malayārjuna Sacred Ford and the Mathurā–Yamunā Pilgrimage Cycle
पितरस्तारितास्तेन कुलानां सप्तसप्ततिः ॥ सोमवारे त्वमायां वै पिण्डदानं करोति यः ॥
pitaras tāritāstena kulānāṃ saptasaptatiḥ || somavāre tvamāyāṃ vai piṇḍadānaṃ karoti yaḥ
તેના દ્વારા પિતરો તારાય છે અને સત્તોતેર કુળો લાભ પામે છે. જે અમાવાસ્યાના દિવસે, સોમવારે પિંડદાન કરે છે, તે નિશ્ચયે આ ફળ પામે છે.
Varāha (default framework)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":true}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false,"speaker_role":"instructor"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":true,"specific_site":"Unspecified tīrtha in the same Mathurā-maṇḍala sequence; rite is tied to the place-context of preceding verses","parikrama_context":"Ritual stop within yātrā; not explicit circumambulation."}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"shraddha","instruction_summary":"Perform piṇḍadāna on amāvāsyā that falls on a Monday (Somavāra-amāvāsyā) to deliver pitṛs and benefit ‘seventy-seven’ lineages.","karmic_consequence":"Observance grants pitṛ-tāraṇa and expansive kula-uddhāra; neglect implies continued pitṛ-ṛṇa and loss of this amplified śrāddha-phala."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":true,"vrata_name":"Somavatī Amāvāsyā piṇḍadāna/śrāddha (tīrtha-vidhi)","tithi_month":"Amāvāsyā when it coincides with Monday (Somavāra)","promised_fruit":"Pitṛs are ‘carried across’ and merit extends to seventy-seven ancestral lines."}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"pitṛ-ṛṇa and intergenerational dharma","core_concept":"The living sustain the dead through śrāddha; merit is transmissible across lineage, binding family ethics to ritual responsibility.","practical_application":"Observe Somavatī Amāvāsyā with śauca, faith, and proper piṇḍa/tilodaka offerings (ideally at a tīrtha), dedicating merit to known and unknown ancestors."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Heritage Sites","Ritual Studies"]
Primary Rasa: karuṇa
Secondary Rasa: śānta
Type: tīrtha for śrāddha
Related Themes: Continuation of tīrtha-phala claims in 157.157.1-4
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A devotee performs piṇḍadāna at a sacred bank on Somavāra-amāvāsyā; pitṛs are shown being lifted/led across a symbolic river, with lineage figures behind them.","item_prompts":["offerings: piṇḍa balls, sesame (tila), water vessel","new-moon sky (darkened) with subtle Monday संकेत (crescent motif subdued)","river/ford symbolizing ‘tāraṇa’","ancestral silhouettes receiving offerings"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural with ritual foreground—piṇḍa on leaf plates; stylized pitṛs in upper register crossing a water band; earthy reds and greens.","tanjore_prompt":"Gold-leaf highlights on ritual vessels; pitṛs in luminous upper panel; ornate border with sesame/lotus motifs.","mysore_prompt":"Soft, devotional realism: priest/devotee at bank, careful depiction of offerings; faint ethereal pitṛ figures above.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari riverside śrāddha scene with minimal figures; expressive pitṛ procession across a narrow stream; night-toned palette for amāvāsyā."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"solemn, compassionate","suggested_raga":"Darbārī Kānaḍā","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"grave, steady, prayerful"}
FAQs
It documents a Purāṇic articulation of śrāddha-related practice (piṇḍadāna) tied to calendrical markers, useful for reconstructing the history of ritual observances.
No specific place-name appears in this line; the rite is understood as performed within the previously described tīrtha context.
It emphasizes intergenerational responsibility—actions of the living are depicted as supporting ancestral continuity and social memory.
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