Varaha Purana 175.20 — Adhyaya 175, Shloka 20
The Sanctity of the Kṛṣṇagaṅgā Pilgrimage-Ford and the Account of the Brahmin Vasu’s Daughter
यं यं पश्यति चार्वङ्गी यस्तां चैव प्रपश्यति ॥ स स चित्र इव न्यस्तो विचेता जायते नरः ॥
yaṃ yaṃ paśyati cārvāṅgī yas tāṃ caiva prapaśyati | sa sa citra iva nyasto vicetā jāyate naraḥ ||
સુંદર અંગવાળી તે જેને જેને જુએ છે, અને જે તેને જુએ છે—તે પુરુષ જાણે ચિત્રની જેમ સ્થિર રાખેલો હોય તેમ સ્તબ્ધ થઈ જાય છે અને ચિત્તસ્થૈર્ય ગુમાવે છે.
Varāha (default for this fragmentary excerpt)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false,"speaker_role":"instructor"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":false}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"psychology of perception (kāvya-anubhava)","core_concept":"The gaze (dṛṣṭi) is portrayed as a force that arrests agency—beauty becomes a binding power that stills the mind and body.","practical_application":"Treat as a literary depiction of moha: cultivate discernment (viveka) when confronted with sensory captivation; in narrative terms, it foreshadows social consequences around desire and reputation."}
Subject Matter: ["Poetics","Psychology (literary depiction)","Social Narrative"]
Primary Rasa: śṛṅgāra
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 175.21.0 (her extraordinary beauty); Varāha Purāṇa 175.23.0 (her tīrtha practice and social encounter)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A fair-limbed woman casts a glance; men who meet her gaze become frozen, posed like painted figures, their expressions blank with astonishment.","item_prompts":["woman with poised sideways glance","onlookers immobilized mid-step","‘painted’ stillness (stiff posture)","dropped garland or halted gesture","contrast of her fluid grace vs their rigidity"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: stylized faces and wide eyes; depict the woman’s controlled glance and multiple men in frozen mudrā-like poses, strong color blocks.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: ornate central figure with gold accents; surrounding figures rendered as stiff, icon-like attendants to convey ‘painted’ immobility.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: refined expressions; emphasize subtle shock on faces and the arrested movement through delicate shading.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: narrative vignette with gentle architecture/terrace; show the gaze-line and the men paused like miniatures, lyrical and restrained."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"mesmerizing, slightly dramatic","suggested_raga":"Madhyamavati","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"narrative with a hint of wonder, clear emphasis on the mutual gaze"}
FAQs
It illustrates a common Sanskrit literary trope: the arresting power of beauty described through simile (becoming ‘like a painting’), relevant to the history of kāvya-style expression within Purāṇic prose-verse narrative.
No location is specified; the focus is on interpersonal encounter and literary effect.
No explicit moral directive is given; the verse functions as narrative-poetic description.
Ask anything about this verse
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